Chocolate du jour

Chocolate, in recent years, has become the source of both considerable delight and substantial disappointment.  When the chocolate is real, and by real I mean actual chocolate- not just corn syrup and fillers, it is a wonderous thing, nigh irresistible.  When it has reached "Halloween Candy" status, as my family has dubbed it, it is somewhat of a disappointment.  Without bashing names, it has become apparent to me (and several of my friends will also attest to this) that the candies I once ate as a kid have had their formulas changed several times - they just don't taste as good as they used to, and now include corn syrup, soy (and it's various forms), overly refined sugar, emulsifiers, preservatives, artificial flavorings, colorings, and an extra dose of instant heartburn.
Fortunately, I've found refuge.  There are some companies/brands that are making real chocolate, and there are several of these that are doing it very very well.  Normally I do not feel the need to write about chocolate.  However, when chocolate is truly spectacular, it most definitely necessitates written acknowledgement.

The Hot Chocolate Sparrow, Orleans, MA

When you enter the store (locals and cool kids come in the back door), you are almost immediately greeted by the sweet smells of freshly brewed coffee, pastry, and chocolate.  It's not a very big store, and not very flashy - but it is a very inviting space, and really it's the sweets and the camaraderie that you come for anyway.  To one side of the store is a long and wonderous glass countertop filled with all kinds of delightful chocolaty items.  The chocolate is all hand made, with their own recipes. They have everything from the expected solid chocolate (white, milk, and dark), to the adventurous, including chocolate covered fruit or coffee beans and chocolate bark with sea salt - that's right... sea salt.  I was skeptical of this new offering at first, but my doubt soon turned to love after one taste.  This combination of salty and sweet is very dangerous, especially if you are hungry.  The one piece of bark purchased did not last long, it barely made it to the car, hence the lack of a photograph (like I said, dangerous).  In addition to the salty bark, there are chocolate truffles; equally addictive if not more so, and a host of other delectable items.  I find it almost impossible to leave without a bag full of goodies.
If you have extra time, and a good friend, it's absolutely worth it to order a fancy dessert, or open that box you just purchased at the glass counter, and enjoy it with a nice cup of freshly brewed coffee.

I found the following two chocolate bars in The Main Street Gourmet (Orleans, MA), and I hope to find them somewhere locally soon as I cannot get to Orleans often.

Villars Larmes de Poire Williams

This milk chocolate bar filled with Poire Williams (Villars, Product of Switzerland) was absolutely amazing.  If you have the chance, I recommend you try it. Smooth chocolate, a little bit of crunch from the natural sugars in the Poire William, and the sweet aftertaste of ripened pears.  (Poire William is that pear brandy that you frequently see with a whole pear in the bottle - The great secret of the whole fruit in a glass bottle? They place the bottle over the pear while it's small and growing on the tree.)

Dolfin Noir Lavande Fine de Haute-Provence

The Noir Lavande Fine de Haute-Provence (Dolfin, Product of Belgium) is a bar of smooth, rich Dark Chocolate with lots of Lavender flowers.  Bite into a square and breath through the nostrils at the same time for the full experience.  It is an unusual sensation of eating chocolate-covered flowers. It is possibly not for everyone, as lavender can be a strong flavor, but I adore lavender in chocolate, and ice cream.  Croatia sparked my interest in Lavender (where I first tasted the lavender ice cream) it's very popular there and is grown all over the place.  I have been inspired to plant several pots of it in my patio herb garden, and I intend to experiment!

Big Chunks of Fruit!

Dagoba

Another delicious discovery; Dagoba Organic Chocolate.  My most recent favorite being their Roseberry variety, with big pieces of raspberries and rosehips in dark chocolate.  They make 12 different chocolate bars, as well as tasting squares, drinking chocolate, and several other products. (Sci-Fi geek note: Yes I will admit that I did find the name similarity Dagoba vs. Dagobah amusing. Just to clarify, Dagoba is chocolate, Dagobah is a fictional planet from the movie Star Wars.)

The Chocolate Garden

Most recently, I was fortunate enough to be able to stop in at The Chocolate Garden in Coloma, Michigan.  They are a purveyor of spectacular handmade truffles, in 26 flavors!  There is a reason they "have been featured repeatedly on The Food Network as well as Fine Living TV and the Travel Chanel."  These truffles are truly a wonder to behold (cue ethereal music)- an incredibly smooth center, perfect balance of flavor - you will feel like royalty just biting into one.  Don't worry- you don't have to go all the way to Michigan to get them, you can order online.  Handmade with high quality ingredients, and some unique flavors like Vanilla Rose (real distilled rose petals), Citrus Ginger, and Cayenne Kick - these truffles are extraordinary.

I hope to make more fascinating chocolate discoveries...soon.