Another Chocolate Post

Have you ever eaten cocoa nibs? These are the seeds from the cacao tree that are used to make chocolate. Until recently I never had. I unexpectedly got some from Tcho a couple weeks ago and had to try them. They were smaller than I thought, about the size of small pebbles. The looked like chocolate, and they really smelled like chocolate. They weren't really meant to be eaten as they were, but in the name of discovery I had to try them. Popping a small handful into my mouth, however, I found that they didn't taste exactly like chocolate. Not in the way peanut butter tastes like peanuts. They were kind of bitter, and my first impression was a taste of hops (as in the hops used to flavor and preserve beer) with an earthy chocolate side taste. I mean, the chocolate taste was there, it just wasn't right up front. They are good for cooking, so I'll find something to add them to in the future. And I think they will be a better addition to brewing a chocolate porter or stout than using unsweetened cocoa powder.

I also tried the Citrus sample that came with the nibs. Another dark chocolate that's right on the mark for a dark chocolate, but I didn't really taste any citrus flavors right away. That flavor, more of an aroma, came out after the residue had been in my mouth after I swallowed the bite. That bar was good in that it didn't have a burnt taste that some dark and bittersweet chocolates have, and it wasn't overly sweet like others. All in all, a good chocolate!

Hold the Press!

Last week I reviewed a sample of Tcho's "Fruity" chocolate. Since then I received a sample of their "Nutty" flavor and need to add our review to give you a better picture of the three types. Contrary to its name, Nutty, the chocolate does not contain any nuts. In fact, the only difference between the varieties, as far as I can discern, is the source of the cacao bean. The other ingredients listed on all three packages are the same. I'm sure the relative amounts of the other ingredients are different between the types as they have different textures and hardness.

We first sampled Nutty then compared it to Fruity and Chocolatey. We both had similar impressions. Nutty has a very intense bittersweet chocolate aroma and flavor, much more than the others. We didn't notice any nutty flavor or aroma like one would eating a chocolate bar with almonds. This is in contrast to the hint of raisin in Fruity and the fudgey taste of Chocolatey. Nutty's texture was much more firm and brittle compared to the others. All three were at room temperature, so that was not a factor. The smaller squares of Nutty didn't break off along the indentations of the larger piece as one would expect; it pretty much broke where my fingers were grabbing it. Fruity was the least firm, breaking off cleanly at the indentations.

Of the three, our taste preference is Nutty - we just love the stronger, more intense flavor, then Chocolatey, and Fruity last. Texture preference goes to Chocolatey, then Nutty, and Fruity last.

This kind of taste testing, sampling similar varieties of the same food, is very enjoyable. I do the same with beer occasionally. Its interesting to see how similar or dissimilar a single variety of food is when made by either one manufacturer or several. Sometimes when I go to a new brewpub I'll order the sampler of all the different beer that they brew to see if they all taste the same or if they really worked on perfecting the various styles. Similarly, sampling the same type of beer, wheat beers for example, from a variety of breweries really brings out how they each interpreted that style.

Which reminds me, I should have paired the Nutty chocolate with a good porter. Back to the table...

Tcho Chocolate "Fruity"

I recently enjoyed another sample of chocolate from chocolatier Tcho, this time a sample of the "Fruity" kind. (See here for my post on "Chocolatey") As before, the "Fruity" chocolate came in the small brown wrapper and contained two large squares of chocolate with small sections to make dividing easier. The nose knows, so once I opened the package, I deeply inhaled the aroma. Wow! I'm glad I was sitting down - pure heaven! If only someone would make a perfume that smelled like chocolate you'd have to beat me away from it... Anyway, the aroma reminded me somewhat of a deep red wine mixed with bittersweet chocolate. Very good IMO. I took a piece out, and here's where I wished I had not left the package in a warm part of the kitchen. It wasn't melty, but just didn't have that kind of crisp snap that I like. Leaving it in the fridge would have helped, but the cold would have also dampened the aroma and taste. I put the piece in my mouth and just let it sit there to melt. That's how I like to savor good chocolate - just let it melt without any chewing (the cheap stuff I chew right down). Mmmm, bittersweet chocolate with a hint of raisins. It melted well on my tongue and sent waves of the same aroma through my nose.

How does "Fruity" compare with "Chocolatey"? I definitely liked "Chocolatey" better. "Fruity" is excellent chocolate, mind you, its just that I'm a chocoholic. I'd pick "Fruity" over just about any other solid chocolate bar, except for "Chocolatey". I like raisins just as raisins, not mixed in cookies or bread. Not that the taste of raisins is overpowering in "Fruity", it isn't, but given the choice "Chocolatey" it is.

Not sure when Tcho is going from the beta phase of manufacturing to full production. Not too long I hope. I do hope they make a powdered chocolate - I'm itching to improve my chocolate stout recipe!

"Hi! gang at Cheers!" as the line goes. I hope that I haven't lost too many people with the sparce postings. Things have been super busy lately.

Feetman. Has anybody seen or heard from Feetman? He used to have several great blogs about the beauty of the female foot. He left a few comments on my Flickr account over the weekend. And what do you know? As I'm blogging about him, I checked my Yahoo Messenger and we're chatting. No new blogs :(

Tcho Chocolate. Remember waaayyy back in February's Valentine's Day post I mentioned Tcho Chocolate? No? Ok, I'll wait a few minutes for you to re-read it. Back? I recently ordered two of the "Chocolatey" flavor. Mmmm, mmm! Damn! That's good stuff! I'm not much of an artist when it comes to describing how things taste, so excuse this if it doesn't make a lot of sense. Its a dark chocolate, more on the bittersweet side than the milk-chocolatey or sugary. The flavor seems to develop as I keep it in my mouth to melt. At the $5 price point it is not an everyday chocolate bar, more for a special occasion. It would go great with a nice dark, malty porter.

4th of July. We had some rain this weekend, but it didn't spoil the parade. No Eagles cheerleaders in it this year :(

Lots of fire engines!

Can't forget the AOH!
The local gang.
And no parade is complete without Mummers!

Happy Chocolate Day!

Valentines, shmalentines, I niether love it nor hate it. One thing I do like about today is that it gets everyone thinking about chocolate, which is something I do love. So whether you're giving, receiving, or just need some for yourself, here's some info:


The founders of Wired magazine have started a specialty chocolate company, Tcho, that "aims to do for cacao beans what Starbucks did for those other beans." per the article in the most recent issue of Wired. It looks pretty good to me. Not too expensive for a treat ($4 for a 50 gram bar), but the shipping charges ($5 flat rate) make ordering just one bar a bit prohibative. I do want to try some!

Trader Joe's 72% Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar is the best value - high quality Belgian chocolate, large quantity (17.6 oz or 500 grams), and low price ($3-$4 I think). Put a square into your mouth and its like you own big piece of heaven!

Are you a cereal addict? The try Cereality's Threes A Charm combination (General Mills® Cocoa Puffs® and Nature’s Path® Panda Puffs™ with Cereality Charms and triple chocolate chips) or Devil Made Me Do It (Cocoa Puffs®, Lucky Charms with chocolate, malt balls, and chocolate syrup). I've had the Devil, and it is not only very chocolate satisfying, it will wire you up for hours.

Need some finer chocolates for home? If you're in Canton, OH, try my favorites, Ben Heggy's and Harry London's. Heggy's is by far the better of the two, and just walking into the store the aroma will put you in chocovana. They make the best dark chocolate Easter bunnys. London's offers a factory tour and a huge gift shop. If you're in the Allentown, PA, area, then go to Josh Early Candies. Mmmm, if I had to pick a way to die, then it would be drowning in a vat of dark chocolate (which raises new and troubling questions, often baffling and perverse).

Need to fill your chocolate blog reading for today? Try David Lebovitz's Chocolate FAQ. Or get a fix at Never Go Hungry Again, where the wonders of Valrhona are explained. (Speaking of which, the guys at the homebrew store said that I should try Valrhona next time when I brew a chocolate beer.) And then there's Chocolate Blog. And Chocolate & Zucchini (I think I'm in love). And Chocolate Obsession. And Chocablog.

Is it too much to want to go to the Hotel Hershey and experience the Chocolate Escape Package at the spa? Hershey's also has a great website Allchocolate. Can't make it there? Then go to Origins and pick up a few of their Cocoa Therapy products. I can personally vouch for the body butter. They used to have a cocoa soap, but I don't see it on the web site.

Oh, man, I need some milk...