As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I find myself conflicted when the temperature creeps up and the sun comes out. After months of gray, overcast skies and mists of rain, I’m happy to bask in the warmth of the sun and replenish my vitamin D levels. As the owner of a chocolate shop, however, […]
Last Fall we added sweet and fruity-tasting Cacao Juice to our chocolate collection. Despite the name, it does not taste like chocolate. It’s the juice from the mucilage, the sticky pulp that surrounds each cacao bean. Mucilage is a critical element in developing chocolate’s flavor. The wild fermentation process that cacao farmers have used for […]
I am excited to be leading a chocolate expedition to Ecuador this coming September 5 – 14 with Global Family Travels and I hope you’ll join us. Not only does Ecuador have an ancient cacao tradition that dates back centuries, but it is home to a vibrant, modern craft chocolate scene that offers excellent cacao […]
About five years ago Kim Wilson came to Chocolopolis to drop off samples of her Good King Snacking Cacao to see if we might be interested in selling it. Kim had transformed quality cacao beans into tasty snacks by removing the husks and dusting the beans in sugar, herbs and spices. Her snack offered the […]
I recently came across a new chocolate product that was exactly what we were looking for to fill the void left when we stopped producing our own matzo clusters. While I’m excited about the Matzo Project’s chocolate covered matzo clusters (which look like our clusters, but also include toffee and other tasty ingredients), the memories […]
After a very long dry spell, we recently added two new chocolate makers to our collection, both made in their countries of origin. Last week we launched Momotombo Chocolate, hailing from Nicaragua. Today we are excited to introduce Mission Chocolate, coming to us directly from São Paulo, Brazil. Not only is Mission Chocolate made in […]
Momotombo Chocolate started its journey as a chocolate company with “Just a pot, a fire and a spoon,” to quote founder, Carlos Mann. Carlos’ vision was to create “fresh” chocolate using methods that could be replicated in any home kitchen in Nicaragua using a clay comale and a homemade pot. This Chocolate Fresco was easy […]
Today we’re featuring Korkowski #2, but only #2 in the order we’ve featured him and not in the order of importance! Dave Korkowski is the other half of the chocolate-loving Korkowski duo that includes his wife Marjorie who I recently profiled. The two of them met in first grade at the St. Anne’s School on […]
Liz Gotterer has been a member of our monthly chocolate tasting panel for many years now. She was drawn to the tasting panel because she hadn’t developed a vocabulary to describe flavor and texture differences, and she wanted to have the opportunity to taste a lot of chocolate and understand what she liked best before […]
I first met Kris Recarde Saada on July 10, 2014. She attended a chocolate demonstration by Jacques Dahan of Chocolat Michel Cluizel that we held in our kitchen at the Queen Anne store. She has been a devoted customer ever since. While I can’t take credit for introducing Kris to craft chocolate, I can take […]
