Elena Chocolate - Hawaii - March 26, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Elena Chocolate

1.) Ginger Cappuccino
Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $13.50 for a 6-piece box (add shipping for online orders)
Purchased from: Elena Chocolate, Keauhou Farmers Market, Hawaii

2.) Raspberry
Very Good
Weight: .38 oz. (10.7 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 57 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $13.50 for a 6-piece box (add shipping for online orders)
Purchased from: Elena Chocolate, Keauhou Farmers Market, Hawaii

Aloha and welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.

My thoughts returned to Hawaii this week. I couldn't be there in person; however, I enjoyed two Elena Chocolate chocolates in a 6-piece box from the Big Island. I discovered Elena's chocolates when friends took me to the Keauhou Farmers Market, near Kona, where Elena Garcia had a table, near stands with exotic island-grown fruits; macadamia nuts; Hawaiian fruit jams, jellies and butters; and other treasures.

Both today's chocolates were very good, and were made with high quality chocolate, and fresh fruits, coffee, and other local ingredients from Hawaii. I was impressed with Elena's knowledge of chocolate and her talent for combining flavors.

If you like ginger, you won't mind that the fresh ginger in the Ginger Cappuccino chocolate overshadowed the Kona coffee flavor in this flavorful piece that was topped with a dab of white chocolate and ginger.

The Raspberry truffle was delicious and fresh tasting as well. It was a version of this heart-shaped beauty that grabbed my attention when I stopped at the Elena booth at the Farmers Market in Hawaii last month. It contained a skillfull blend of fresh raspberry and passion fruit (liliko'i). What a great combination, although this may have been a seasonal item for Valentines Day.

Peet's Chocolate Espresso Beans - March 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Peet's Coffee and Tea
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
Good - Good +
Weight: .28 oz. (8 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) total bag
Calories: 36 calories in 5 pieces
Cost: $6.50 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Peet's Coffee and Tea, Tiburon, CA

Nothing better to fuel a hike than chocolate covered espresso beans from Peet's Coffee and Tea (Berkeley, CA).

A tiny handful (5 pieces) was enough to satisfy. These espresso-colored, dark, shiny pearls (a little butter oil and confectioner's glaze never hurts) held their shape well -- doing so without a hard candy shell, making them a great easy-to-share, portable pick-me-up snack.

A slightly fudgey, dark chocolate coating provided a rich, mellow counterpoint to a crunchy, aromatic coffee bean center.

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week. 

SF Chocolate Salon - March 24, 2013

Chocolate Salon - San Francisco
March 24, 2013

Good fun was had today at the annual Chocolate Salon, held at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, CA. I enjoyed saying hello to local favorites (Socola, Neo Cocoa, Jade Chocolates, Clarine's Florentines, and many others) as well as discovering new bars, truffles and flavor combinations.

Trends, What's New
New chocolatiers in this year's group of exhibitors included Marco Paolo Chocolates, Mission Blue Confections, Nosh This, Fab. At least one chocolate maker was missing who'd been attending in recent years, Dandelion Chocolate (the company was likely focusing on ramping up their new place on Valencia, in the Mission district of SF).

There also seemed to be more wine and spirits vendors this year. The first table in the hall was occupied by a sparkling wine vendor from Los Angeles. And TV host Leslie Sbrocco ("Check Please! Bay Area" on KQED/PBS Channel 9) gave a lively presentation with suggestions for wine pairings with Toffee Talk, Poco Dolce, and Marich chocolates. The audience enjoyed samples as well.

Speaking of presentations, this year's show had at least one, conveniently located separate break-out room (off the floor) for some sessions/talks -- an improvement from earlier years. And a well-done presentation schedule was posted at the entrance in a few places from the start. Hurray!
 


Presentations, Demos, Talks
I wasn't able to attend every event, but in addition to exhibitors, the show included a variety of talks and presentations, including a...
- Talk about orchids, vanilla and chocolate by Bruce Rogers (author of "The Orchid Whisperer," Chronicle Books), that included whiffs of lovely chocolate-smelling orchids, and vanilla beans
- Chocolate Meetup featuring a talk, given by Marcia Gagliardi of tablehopper, about great chocolate desserts in San Francisco, accompanied by mouth-watering photos
- Demonstration on how to make a world class chocolate mousse (on-site) from a distinguished chef and teacher, Stephen Durfee
- Panel discussion about where chocolate comes from, from farm to bar, with Art Pollard of Amano Chocolate (Orem, UT), and Gary Guittard of Guittard Chocolate (South San Francisco, CA), moderated by food writer, cookbook author and chocolate fan, Amy Sherman.

Location, Location
San Francisco was a great place for this show. When we needed a break from too much sugar and chocolate, we needed only to look out the window, or to step outside, to catch a little breeze, and to see sailboats scudding by on the San Francisco Bay, on a day so clear that Mt. Tamalpais (across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County) was visible in the distance.

Marco Paolo - Espresso truffle - March 24, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Marco Paolo Chocolates, LLC
Espresso with Anise Marzipan (truffle)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece / 4.3 oz. (127 g.) (estimate) 9-piece box
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $25.00 for 9-piece box
Purchased from: Marco Paolo Chocolates, Van Nuys, CA

The annual Chocolate Salon was held in San Francisco today. This show offered a dazzling display of chocolate wares from a long list of chocolatiers, confectioners, chocolate makers -- and an opportunity to discover new chocolates. (I left the show with two full bags.)

Today's Espresso with Anise Marzipan truffle was part of a beautifully designed, 9-piece box of colorful gems (the "Sense Venture" collection) from Marco Paolo Chocolates (Van Nuys, CA). I sampled a tiny tasting truffle at the Marco Paolo table at the show, before buying a box. (These 1/2 bite sized truffles are a great, economical way to sample flavors for exhibitors and attendees alike.)

Each of the 9 pieces in this collection contained bold combinations of layered flavors. Today's piece contained espresso mocha ganache on top of a layer of anise infused marzipan; and these flavors were encased in a dark chocolate shell (fair trade from Kallari), decorated with strokes of colored cocoa butter.

I Love Layers
I'm a big fan of filled chocolates and truffles containing flavor parfaits like today's collection.  These separate layers can add to the complexity and richness of the tasting experience, in the same way that a sandwich allows one to taste all the ingredients -- separately, and together. I wouldn't put a sandwich into a blender first before eating it, particularly if it were made with fine ingredients that I wanted to savor one flavor bite at a time. The same is true for certain flavor combinations.

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

Cary's dark espresso toffee - March 23, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Cary's of Oregon, LLC
Good - Good +
Weight: .636 oz. (18 g.) in 3 pieces / 8 oz. (227 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 90 calories for 3 pieces
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Paradise Foods, Corte Madera, CA

Cary's of Oregon (Grants Pass, OR) makes several flavored English-style toffees. Today, Day #7 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week, I tasted Cary's dark chocolate espresso flavor.

The toffee was shaped into bite-sized pieces of crunchy, buttery English toffee (made with real butter and pure vanilla) and almond bits. These hearty square nuggets were enveloped in dark chocolate, and drizzled with ground coffee.

I liked the bite-sized pieces. Great for sharing with others and packaging for snacks. And I appreciated the higher-quality ingredients.

My only quibble: the tagline on the package that described the English toffee: "unique soft crunch recipe." I found biting down on these chunky little squares a bit tough. The cracking crunch was not quite ringing-in-your-ears rattling, but close to it. However, given a choice, I'd prefer a heartier crunch over a sticky, grab-your-fillings texture.

Marini's Espresso Bark - March 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Marini's Candies
Espresso Bark
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.9 g.) serving
Calories: 178 calories (estimate) for 1.2 oz. (33.9 g.) serving
Cost: $2.30 (estimate) for 2 pieces
Purchased from: Marini's Candies, Santa Cruz, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

These broad, relatively thin strips of dark, Espresso chocolate bark from Marini's Candies (Santa Cruz, CA) contained crunchy bits of coffee and had a slight malted milk taste. Not too bitter, and not too sweet, the chocolate and espresso/coffee flavors were uniform and balanced. While others may like a stronger, grittier coffee bean flavor, I've had a little too much strong coffee this week, and felt like tasting more of the chocolate again.

Coracao Espresso Truffle - March 21, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Coracao Confections
Espresso Truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (18.6 g.) (estimate) for 1 truffle/ 3.29 oz. (93 g.) in 1 box
Calories: 99 calories (estimate)
Cost: $11.19 (sale) for 1 5-piece Collection box
Purchased from: Coracao Confections (online)

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

For a lunchtime treat, I enjoyed an Espresso truffle from Coracao Confections (Emeryville, CA). At the center of this plump, dark cream puff of a chocolate was a whipped bouffant of dark chocolate ganache. Coated with dark chocolate, and topped with a coffee bean, this truffle was creamy soft and delivered its espresso payload with a naughty, yet virtuous, smile. Coracao used healthy, high-quality ingredients (coconut palm sugar helped defuse the sugar bomb) in their 5-piece Collection box.

Because of a 6-mile hike in the hills this afternoon filled with deer, bunnies, and spring wildflowers, I managed to justify a second chocolate item. For an after-dinner dessert, I consumed an entire slice of flourless (gluten free) chocolate cake at Aqui restaurant (in Cupertino, CA). On top of this rich, coffee-flavored cake sat a very generous, fluffy mound of coffee-flavored whipped cream.

Summary of today's espresso flavored chocolates. I was wired. And now I'm tired. Best to all, and good night.