Thursday, July 30, 2015

Chocolate Gallery - Chocolate Explosion - July 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Chocolate Gallery
Chocolate Explosion
Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $1.50 (guess) for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Explosion, Goleta, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Santa Barbara Theme Week.

During a recent trip to Santa Barbara, a friend and I visited Goleta, a community adjacent to the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), and just north of Santa Barbara proper.

When we saw the "Chocolate Gallery" sign, I had to stop and check out this local shop. We wandered into store, and after admiring shelves full of different chocsimiles*, and chocolates behind glass, we talked with one of The Chocolate Gallery owners (Karen Kegg).

Karen (and husband Tim Johnson) have been in the chocolate business in the Santa Barbara area for 35+ years -- a real accomplishment for any small business. And, that's long enough time to see many trends come and go. When I asked about certain flavor combinations, she admitted that she was not a fan of a lot of exotic flavors.

Basic chocolates (perhaps molded into different shapes), and basic flavor and texture combinations were her preference. She handed me a Chocolate Explosion to taste, that had a creamy chocolate filling and crunchy cocoa nibs, and was covered in dark chocolate. Yep, that's the essence of chocolate all right. And it was pretty tasty too.

*Chocsimiles are facsimiles of objects rendered in chocolate -- think Easter bunnies and other animals, musical instruments and other shapes.

Chocolate Maya - Basil chocolate - July 29, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolate Maya
Basil chocolate
Good ++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Santa Barbara Theme Week.

I love flowers and herbs in filled chocolates, truffles and bonbons. So I was interested in trying this basil-flavored filled chocolate (adorned with a dark and white colored patterned stencil) from Chocolate Maya (Santa Barbara, CA).

Chocolate and mint is a popular combination. And basil is a member of the very large mint family. Both the chocolate and the basil-almost-mint herbal flavoring in the smooth ganache (filling) complemented each other nicely and the flavors were refreshingly natural and authentic.

Today's piece was one of several interesting, unique and carefully crafted filled chocolates packed into a relatively small Santa Barbara-based shop that also contained a great selection of chocolate bars from around the globe.

Chocolate Maya - Buddha in Jasmin; Ganesh chocolates - July 28, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Chocolate Maya

Buddha in Jasmin (sic) tea
Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA

Ganesh
Good ++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $1.50 for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Santa Barbara Theme Week.

These two wonderful and exotic pieces, a Buddha-shaped chocolate infused with jasmine tea, and a Ganesh medallion-shaped chocolate, were from Chocolate Maya (Santa Barbara, CA).

Both were made with rich, high-quality chocolate; and buddha contained a subtle hint of floral flavored tea.

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