I have to make a recommendation. This past weekend, a friend came from Cincinnati for a visit, and he brought us a box of chocolates from Marble Hill Chocolatier.

The stuff is GOOD. There's a lot of variety - my personal favorite was the caramel and lavender combination. It was awesome! The lavender fragrance and flavor was in perfect proportions to enhance and not overwhelm. This place knows what they are doing!

This artisan chocolate boutique and tasting room is located in the historic O’Bryonville area of Cincinnati. Order online, or plan to visit during one of their frequent chocolate tasting events!

Well, isn't a Chocomap just a handy little thing?

I have been prodded into posting!

One Ms. cocoajava put me in the way of a box of chocolates from soufflon.com. The following is what ensued, this morning:


7 a.m.: I realize I forgot to check the mail, and announce to my husband that I'm going to do just that.

"Hey, it's a good thing I did. We got a package... *examines* looks like from England?"

"It's from David?" Rick says.

I whisper to myself that I hope not... I didn't send him anything this year. But it seems inevitable. "It says chocolates! But I don't recognize the return address." Maybe David's sister, Judith? That would be odd, though possible. She's thoughtful.

*fishes a knife from the junk drawer and stabs at packing tape, finally pulling a golden box from the cardboard* "Oooh." *shakes box slightly, removes burgundy ribbon, lifts lid*

*puppy dances around* "I wanna see! I wanna see!"

Rick and I peer in. Eight chocolates of various shades, each about .75" across, some coated in nuts, rattle around the top layer. I pick one up. It is covered in golden lettering. "It says curry?!"

"Look at that one," Rick says, pointing. I look. "La Violetta," it says. Another is having an identity crisis... Citrone Tea, The Citron, Citronella Thee... (Transcribing from memory may not guarantee 100% accuracy.)

Rick picks up a white chocolate ball covered in ... bits... and pops it in his mouth. I decide I must know what Curry tastes like with chocolate. I frown as I chew, waiting. The Curry will burst any second... but the chocolate melts... guh... a hint of liquor... my knees relax. God, it's good. No idea what "Curry" meant. Maybe it just tastes incredibly good in Chocolate. My inner Chris-Farley-In-Drag wakes up and screams, "EAT THEM ALL."

We've hidden the rest in the tea cupboard and have one rule that must not be broken: the box cannot be opened unless we are both here. *whine*

Chocoholics and fashionistas became one last evening at the 9th Annual Chocolate Show in New York on Thursday, November 9th. Hosted by Mark DeCarlo of NBC's Sale of the Century, top fashion labels such as Rebecca Taylor, Abaete, Hollywould and Jean Yu, worked alongside gifted pastry chefs and chocolatiers to create edible haute couture that was modeled by VIPs and tastemakers.

Read more... The 9th Annual Chocolate Show

Be sure to browse the photo gallery. These fashions are INCREDIBLE. Don't miss the chocolate parasol and chocolate purse! I'm impressed!

I'm not sure if this is the same in the US, but has anybody else noticed that chain 'chocolatiers' are pretty disappointing? I mean, for the relative price I might as well go to the supermarket; at least the store nearest me sells good chocolate bars - Green & Blacks (which actually isn't that superlative in my opinion), Isis, a brand I've mentioned here before (good praline) and freetrade organic Ecuadorian 80% from Kaoka, for the good karma boost. If I go a little further up the road, I can pick up Lindt and occasional other goodies like the sugar-free hemp seed chocolate from what is really just a convienience store, but a convienience store of the Random Chocolate Stockage Joy.

In comparison, Thortons, which is arguably the most well known chain of chocolate-and-such store, I've found do good toffee and good icecream, but that's about it. Their chocolates tend to be oversweet, and even the dark chocolates don't seem to have that really good mouthfeel you get with other brands.

Hotel Chocolat, which just opened in my area and which certainly aspires to upmarketness, doesn't suffer so much from the oversweetness, but I've been disappointed by everything I've had from there. Not that's it's awful, just that I expect more for my money than supermarket-quality chocolate in swish packaging. Nothing I've had from there has made me keel over in divine worship to the chocolate gods (and you all know the sort of chocolate I'm referring to; I'm an atheist but I've met truffles that very nearly made me reconsider).

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this about H. C. as when it first opened it was stuffed full of curious shoppers (also helped that they opened right before Xmas) and nowadays it's deserted. Granted, I don't expect as much from a chain as I would from other sources, but you'd think they'd at least manage the level of mass-produced Belgian and Swiss chocolate bars which my local convienience store stacks next to the Pringles.

Today I was in an area of town I'm not often in and noticed a chocolate shop, so stopped in to get myself a 'tasting box'; what a difference handmade-on-the-premises makes. Among my favourites; a 'chocolate mousse' center surrounded with dark chocolate that melted on the tongue, a pink champagne truffle that managed not to be too sweet and actually tasted like champagne, and a simple dark-chocolate enrobed chunk of crystallised ginger that embodies all that is right with the world. I'm glad I got two of those.

In fact, I can only think of one chain which does good chocolate and they're not even a chocolate shop; Whittards, more usually sellers of coffee and tea, also do chocolate covered expresso beans. The chocolate's not fantastic, but I get very lenient when it comes to my favourite all-nighter-in-a-bag. (I bought two packets today. Expect to see my feet on the ground again some time in 2007)

So, the actual questions are:

Are there any chocolate chains which actually do good chocolate? Or should I give up on them entirely and stick to my Lindt and Isis for day-to-day chocolate needs and support my local independant chocolatiers when I want a treat? Is it okay to set fire to Hotel Chocolat on the basis that if I melt everything in there together it might actually taste good?

So I finally sampled the Italian and French chocolate my co-worker gave me. I have to say props to the writer of the article in Food&Wine for being spot on. The first I sampled was the Michel Cluizel Chocolat Grand Amer 85% from France. The flavor was especially sweet for 85%, but I found it a tad dry. The acidity was moderate. There was a slight aftertaste. I almost wanted a drink of water after that one.

Next, I tried the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 70%. It too was sweet, in my opinion, for 70% but not like that's a bad thing. I found it to have slight vanilla overtones and berry that gave it a little bite. It finishes clean and melts in your mouth like no other 70% I've had.

Last, I had the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 66%. This is extremely smooth with a low acidity. It almost has a milky finish and leaves no hint of an aftertaste. It was a very decadent chocolate.

Out of all of them, I think I prefer the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 70%. I like my percentages somewhere around there and it had just the right acidity and vanilla. Excellent chocolate. My next quest is to someday try the Amedei Porcelana although the mere smell of it may put me in chocolate shock. Happy Monday everyone, drink lots of coffee and eat some chocolate!

I just got the most decadent treat for my husband. :) He's had a rough week, so I went and got him chocolates!

They're these enormous egg-shaped chocs from a local Chocolaterie. I got him two of each kind I liked the look of: milk chocolate, hazelnut, champagne, and espresso. ;)

I think he'll really appreciate the indulgence! These did cost a pretty penny, but they look absolutely delicious, so it was money well spent! I loooove giving him things.