New Good Things

Do I ever get tired leading the same Chocolate Tour, week after week? No, because the incredibly talented chocolate makers we work with are always coming out with something new. We love tasting what's new and also getting reactions from the chocolate lovers on our tour. Not everything we try is a winner, but below are our favorites of the last few months:

Scharffen Berger Asante Bar
With the factory set to close and Joseph Schmidt soon to retire, here is some good news coming out of Berkeley - the new Scharffen Berger Asante bar. This single origin bar from Ghana is the second in Scharffen Berger's Chocolate Makers series. Locals and tourists are loving its deep chocolate flavor, with just a hint of cherry and spice. It also makes for a fun comparison with the 68% Tome Acu bar - which really does have the finish of a fine dessert wine. We can't wait to see what country Scharffen Berger will turn to for its next bar in this series.

Ginger Elizabeth Bars
What were you doing when you were 24? Sitting in a cubicle, I'm afraid - definitely not running an eponymous chocolate company. Ginger Elizabeth has set up an elegant chocolaterie in Sacramento, and although not making bean-to-bar chocolate, she is melting and mixing with a careful touch. She has apprenticed with big names in the pastry world, including Jacques Torres and Daniel Budd. While a trip to Sacramento is a must for her filled chocolates, three of her bars are for sale at Fog City News. A definite favorite for hazelnut lovers is the Crunchy Gianduja Bar.

Schoggi Drinking Chocolate
Why is it so hard to find good drinking chocolate in San Francisco? You may know about Boulette's Larder's rich and creamy chocolate, but Schoggi on Yerba Buena Lane has been making authentic drinking chocolate for the past couple months. The recipe is simple: melted bittersweet Swiss chocolate, cream and a hint of spice. And for those of us who are ready to trash our Swiss Miss mixes, Schoggi sells little bags of the drinking chocolate to replicate the experience at home.

Christopher Elbow Chocolate Marshmallow
With such a wide and impressive assortment of international chocolates, there is always something new and delicious at Cocoa Bella. Micheal Mischer fans should take note that Cocoa Bella is now selling Mischer truffles, with unique flavors like "root beer" and "banana split." But my favorite new thing has to be the Christopher Elbow chocolate marshmallow. Think mallomar, only with homemade marshmallow and fine gourmet chocolate. And if you're a coconut lover, like I am, the flaked coconut coating will make this confection simply irresistable.

And if this is not enough, we can't wait to simple four new flavors coming out of Michael Recchiuti's kitchen next week. Just in time for spring, we've heard that cherries will be well represented.

Original Beans

Original Beans has been in the news lately because of what many consider its exorbitant price - $14.95 for a standard 3 oz bar. True, it's more than double the cost of fine chocolate bars like Scharffen Berger and Michel Cluizel. But after sampling their delectable "Beni Wild Harvest" and "Cru Virunga" bars, I've decided that $13.95 is not such a bad price for an occasional indulgence. And if you think it's the most expensive chocolate out there, it's not even close. The Bonnat Porcelana bar, available on Chocosphere for $21.95, is still 57% more expensive, and you can't even boast that your purchase is good for the planet.

"The planet: replant it" is Original Beans' slogan - and a fun tongue twister. For each bar you buy, Original Beans plants a tree in the region of the bean's origin. If you take the extra step of visiting their web site and typing in your bar's lot number, you'll learn more about the plantations Original Beans is working with, with pictures of nurseries, plantation farmers and conservation programs. Recyclable packaging? check. Renewable energy in chocolate production? check. Offsetting of fossil fuel use? check. It should be no surprise, then, that the headquarters of this unique chocolate company is San Francisco.

Another bean-to-bar chocolate company in San Francisco? Not exactly. Original Beans co-founder Lesal Rusky has two partners in Amsterdam and produces the chocolate in Switzerland. So it's a good thing carbon offsetting is taken care of, because these beans have been around before they make it to San Francisco retailers. The Swiss influence is also evident in the taste and texture of these bars. The "Beni Wild Harvest," made from Bolivian beans, boasts a 60 hour conch. It's incredibly rich and voluptuous. If you prefer the taste of rough and unprocessed bars (like Taza), then Original Beans is not for you. But lovers of brands like Valrhona and Swiss or Belgian chocolate are bound to enjoy Original Beans bars.

Both Fog City News and Chocolate Covered carry the two Original Beans bars I sampled, as well as their Esmeraldas bar, a 42% cacao milk chocolate bar with fleur de sel. Look for the distinctive slate packaging with delicate silver vines. And know that, even if you're spending more than you would on a bottle of wine, you're helping some real vines blossom in cacao country.

Candy Darling open in TenderNob

This year has been a big one for Andy Warhol in San Francisco. First, the Contemporary Jewish Museum showed "Warhol's Jews," a series of 10 portraits by Andy Warhol. Next, the De Young will be opening its "Warhol Live" music based exhibit on Valentine's Day. And finally, Candy Darling recently opened on Sutter and Jones, making it the first chocolate shop in the TenderNob. The name comes from one of Warhol's muses, a transexual who died young with these famous last words: "I am just so bored by everything. You might say bored to death."

I visited the shop, whose friendly owners live in the hood, in early January and it still looked like they were moving in. The white walls were clean and bare, just waiting for some Andy Warhol portraits. The kitchen, which they plan to rent out to aspiring chefs, is visible and on some days you may even see them in the midst of making truffles. Clear glass canisters line two walls filled with the usual assortment of candy, from gumdrops to lollipops to gummie bears. But that was of no concern to me; I was there for the chocolate.

When I inquired about the prices, I had to ask again to be sure I heard correctly. $10 a pound! For a bit of perspective, imported French chocolate will run you $120/pound (Richart) or $75/pound (Teuscher). Even local Recchiuti is up to $60/pound. So if you've lost your job thanks to this economy, or are worried about losing your job, then Candy Darling is the place to go for an inexpensive chocolate indulgence. But like mama said, you get what you pay for. So don't expect to see the Mona Lisa artfully displayed on top of your chocolate, exotic or rare ingredients, fancy names or 7 layers of coordinated packaging. These are simple truffles, hand made using Guittard, with just 4 varieties available when I visited. They are rich, buttery and quite large - similar to the famous Joseph Schmidt "American" truffle.

A specialty of Candy Darling is the spicy ginger dipped in chocolate, as well as apricots. The owners, who have been in the confectionery business for many years, have plans to expand their line-up and even sell something frozen in the retro-cooler. Maybe professional labels and gift packages are in the works too. I'll be back to Candy Darling - and I hope the neighborhood, transexuals and all, gives them a warm welcome!

A Chocolate Report from the Fancy Food Show

I spent today turning down mildly flavored bottled waters, organic margarita mixes, acai goji energy bars and sea salt everything - only to focus on chocolate bars and confections at the Fancy Food Show. Almost every major chocolate manufacturer was represented, from bean-to-bar manufacturers like Republica del Cacao to truffle makers like Joseph Schmidt. Naturally, sampling was a part of the experience and, like guests on our Chocolate Tours, I learned to control my portions and squirrel away what I could for later.

Rather than list the "best" chocolates I tried today, I've synthesized the experience into the top 7 trends in gourmet chocolate right now. For the most part, customers seem to be buying into these trends - especially when the quality is high, the price point reasonable and the packaging impressive:

1) Nibs
Scharffen Berger has been selling nibs for many years now, but newer companies are now either mixing nibs into bars, coating nibs in chocolate or roasting nibs and selling them straight up. Nibs are everywhere! Sweet Riot, a 3 year old company formed primarily around the sale of nibs, offers 3 chocolate coated varieties, all at 140 calories a recyclable tin. This marketing driven company ("cacao, culture, cool") is proud of the fact that svelte celebs like Eva Longoria and Sarah Jesica Parker snack on the nibs and stay, well, svelte. Other Fancy Food participants with note-worthy nib creations were Amano (who now sells 6 origin-based varieties of roasted nibs) and Coco-luxe (debuting their new Roark bar, studded with nibs). The name is based on the protagonist in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. The skyscraper on the packaging pays homage to his devotion to architecture (and himself, of course).

2) Spice
There is no holding some chocolate makers back when it comes to adding heat to chocolate. At several Fancy Food chocolate stops, I was happy to have gourmet crackers from the next both over to cleanse my palate and offer some relief. One of the hottest I tried was the Chuao Firecracker bar. Founded by two Venezuelan brothers, Chuao Chocolatier is no stranger to the spicy side of chocolate. Another best selling bar is the Spicy Maya, with pasilla chile, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. The Firecracker bar has pop rocks(see trend #7), chipolte and salt. The least appealing spicy/exotic bar I sampled was the New Tree Thyme and Flax seed. For me, the thyme and flax completely overpowered the chocolate. But I kind of believe, just like there is a person for everyone, there has got to be consumer for every kind of chocolate bar. Just not me, thank you.

3) Toffee
While some go for spice, others love chocolate confections that hearken back to childhood. This widespread love of toffee may coincide with the popularity of comfort desserts (like sticky toffee pudding) in San Francisco restaurants, compared to ground-breaking savory treats from pastry chefs like Boris Portnoy and Elizabeth Faulkner. The best toffee I sampled today was from Cary's of Oregon, which, lucky for us, is also available at Cocoa Bella. I was happy to see that some chocolate makers, including SF's Poco Dolce and Vosges, are experimenting with toffee bars. After noting that their Toffee tiles topped the sales charts, Poco Dolce just unveiled 4 new toffee flavors. The Double Espresso variety was tasty and a welcome pick-me-up after hours of grazing. And those familiar with Vosges know that Katrina Markoff would not settle for classic toffee. Her Red Fire Toffee contains ancho and chipolte chiles, ceylon cinnamon and red fire pecans. Hot? Yes, but it won't make your eyes water.

4) Organic
Everybody's doing it, but who is doing it well? Green and Blacks and Dagoba were well represented. The best all-organic filled chocolates I tried were Jim Shepherd's Lille Belle Farms. We love sampling his unique Smoked Blue Cheese truffle on our Chocolate Tours at Cocoa Bella, as well as the Fresh Mint ganache. At the show, I tried his juicy Cherry Cordial as well as his new spicy almonds. And as for organic chocolate bars, Vosges again impressed with several new all-organic varieties. This fanciful Vosges packaging is starting to look like something I'd pick up at my yoga studio, right next to the overpriced ghee. I liked the Peanut Butter BonBon (something like the Ghirardelli filled peanut butter squares, only with big flakes of salt), but if you're part of the artisan salt backlash, then stay clear. I also liked the Habana bar, subtly filled with Ecuador plantains. The Enchanted Mushroom bar (with such a promising name!) tasted dry and dusty, and I was not convinced by the label's suggestion that the Reishi mushroom is going to make me live longer. I'll go to my acupuncturist for Chinese herbs, not my chocolate shop!

5) Chocolate and Wine
We run Chocolate and Wine Tours every Friday, so we know about the popularity of chocolate and wine. In addition to the San Francisco Chocolate Factory's Cocoa Vinosa, several other companies have put together some unique chocolate and wine offerings. A company called Sweets had samples of their new chocolate wine sticks. Once I looked at the ingredient list and saw "corn syrup" and "palm oil" I declined a taste. And then a company with a name appealing mainly to oenophiles, Brix, has created 8 oz slabs of chocolate to match with specific wines. They don't make their own chocolate, but instead blend with a Ghana bean (not so unusual) that has the "red fruit tones" critical for a good wine pairing. I was skeptical of their milk chocolate bar, which they said could pair with pinot noir, port, ice wine, rose and burgandy! With claims like that, I'm considering ordering some to try on our next few tours.

6) Single Origin
Yes, this has been the buzzword for some time now. Even Scharffen Berger, whose founders believed that blended was better, has introduced a Maker's Series of Single Origin bars. Remelters are getting in on the single origin action, and using the term to lure buyers into their Fancy Food booths. I sampled from Chocolove and Vermont's Lake Champlain, among others. The origin I was most excited to learn more about at the show was Hawaii - the only U.S. state that grows cacao. I sampled from The Original Hawaiian Chocolate Factory, located on the big island. And on Oahu, Malie Kai Chocolates. Both offer tours - the perfect experience to fold into your next Hawaii getaway!


7) Pop Rocks
I was surprised when I sampled Christopher Elbow's Pop Rocks bar recently at Cocoa Bella. This is taking exotic chocolate to a new level, I thought! But now it seems Pop Rocks is the go-to wacky new ingredient for a host of chocolatiers. I tried the Chauo Firecracker bar (noted above) as well as a delicious new creation from Cosmic Chocolate in Oakland. A perfect Valentines gift, their "Champagne and Rocks" bar is 64% cacao with, you guessed it, champagne and pop rocks. Classic French chef Francois Payard has even dabbled with pop rocks and chocolate, though he calls it a "guilty secret."

What do you think about these trends? Let us know at info@gourmetwalks.com, or comment here on this blog.

Salt & Chocolate

Salt and chocolate is a beautiful combination that is all the rage in the artisan chocolate scene. We must talk it up a fair amount on our Chocolate Tours, because a customer recently asked me if I've had my blood pressure checked. (My acupuncturist continues to marvel at my low blood pressure, so there!) Salt enhances the flavor of most foods, but is a particularly nice match with milk chocolate - cutting some of the sweetness and adding complexity.

When I was growing up, the only salt my mom used was the blue Morton brand with the little blonde umbrella girl. Now the world of gourmet salt is vast and almost overwhelming. Using kosher salt in any good recipe is just about a given, even for my mom. Sea salt was the first artisan salt to capture the attention of American chefs, especially those with French training. Artisan sea salts are typically natural and organic, harvested from the sea with very little treatment or refining. The mineral content and quality of the water is what creates a fine salt. The most common salt added to chocolate is fleur de sel, a type of grey sea salt. It is harvested by hand by "paludiers" in France and named for the aroma of violets created when the salt dries. Like wine, different regions produce fleur de sel of varying styles. The best known are Britanny and the Camargue, where you can horseback ride through the salt flats.

Chocolatiers also experiment with pink salts. Michael Mischer uses a Murray River sea salt, whose pink flakes come from the largest river in Australia. And Katrina Markoff of Vosges likes pink Himalayan salt mined from the Himalayan mountains in Tibet. So enough of the history lesson...What are some of my favorite salty sweet chocolate creations?

1) Charles Chocolate Cashew Bar
I love filled chocolates from Charles, but his widely available bars have never made it into my shopping cart, until now. Chuck Siegel has developed a new "Emeryville Collection" of chocolate bars exclusive to Whole Foods. I guess if you don't live in the Bay Area, Emeryville sounds exotic. Each bar features organic Straus Family cream and butter, nuts and, of course, salt. My favorite is the Cashew Bar, a blend of roasted cashews, fleur de sel and 41% milk chocolate.

2) Domori Latte Sal
This bar has made me an unofficial member of the Domori "Cult Cacao." Domori is an Italian chocolate maker that actually owns their own plantations and focuses solely on the quality of cacao - without adding vanilla or even soy lecithin. At 44% cacao, its flavor is deep and rich. Like most of the bars listed here, the addition of salt (fleur de sel here) is not overpowering and makes the chocolate even more memorably satisfying.

3) Vosges Goji Exotic Candy Bar
This Vosges milk chocolate bar is a tribute to the Himalayas - with pink Himalayan salt and the goji berry, both harvested from the mountains of Tibet. A staple of health food stores, the goji berry (also known as the wolfberry) is believed to be full of astounding nutritional benefits. But whether or not the goji berry will make us live until 252, like a famous goji loving Chinese emperor, I'll still love this Vosges bar.

4) Rococo Dark Sea Salt Artisan Bar
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I loved Rococo even before trying the chocolate because of its beautifully unique packaging. Chantal Coady is the woman behind this British chocolate company. She specializes in unique flavor combinations (like basil and persian lime), but this simple sea salt and milk chocolate is one of her best. The bar is 37% cacao, all organic. The plastic wrapping displays various antique French molds Coady uses for her bars, and as a bonus, is re-sealable.

5) Michael Mischer Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Murray River Sea Salt
When customers on our Chocolate Tours say they like toffee, I won't hesitate to direct them to this bar. Toffee and chocolate is quite sweet, and so the addition of salt just makes sense. The bar is 38% cacao milk chocolate, made by hand in his small Oakland kitchen. Like all Michael Mischer bars, the clear packaging showcases the beauty of the bar within.

6) Recchiuti Fleur de Sel Caramel
Nearly every modern chocolatier makes a fleur de sel piece. But there are many ways to do this. Some are just too heavy handed with the salt for my taste. Others are quite goopy, when I prefer a thicker ganache center. That is why the Michael Recchiuti fleur de sel is my first choice when I'm looking for a salty sweet filled chocolate. It's a pretty little piece, enrobed in bittersweet chocolate and marbleized with Venezuelan white chocolate.

Chocolate on the Cheap

On our Chocolate Tours you'll usually find us talking about why we should be spending more money on chocolate. Especially if that money is going to companies (like Askinosie) who reward struggling cacao farmers with good wages and a stake in the outcome of the company. Or going to companies (like Dagoba) who spend money on reforesting plantations with heirloom cacao trees. But when times are tough, we can't all spend $10 or more on an artisan chocolate bar that will be gone in just a few hours.

If you need a chocolate fix and have long since sworn off 50 cent candy bars, we have some suggestions. All of the bars below are under $5 at Chocosphere, and the truffles won't cost more than $1 each. If you buy in bulk, you'll save even more. They are perfect everyday chocolate treats. And that means you can save up and buy the $19.95 Bonnat Porcelana bar for a truly special occasion!

1) E. Guittard ($2.50 for 2 oz bar)
Guittard's premium line of blended chocolate bars are named after the company's founder, Etienne Guittard. Many chocolate lovers do not know that Guittard has been around almost as long as Ghirardelli. They source their own beans, and manufacture the bars in their Burlingame factory. We like the Tsarantana 61%, but the bar is also available in 38% and 72% cacao.


2) Chocolove ($2.95 for 3 oz bar)
We've always enjoyed the smooth, creamy textures of Chocolove bars, based in Boulder, Colorado. Although they use Belgian chocolate and are not a true bean to bar company, they have a wide range of flavor options, including a new higher priced single origin line ("Chocolatour"). As a bonus for gift givers, each bar includes a love poem on the wrapper. We like the 65% "rich dark" bar and the "Chilies and Cherries" bar.

3) Dagoba ($2.68 for 2 oz bar)
If you're committed to eating organic, Dagoba is an excellent choice that is kind to your wallet. In fact, you'll often see them on sale at Whole Foods for just $2/bar. Given founder Frederick Schilling's fondness for chocolate "alchemy," there is a wide variety of flavors to choose from: seeds, superfruit, lavender, mint, lime and their most popular "xocolatl." We like the "beaucoup berries" and even include it on our Chocolate and Wine Tour. Dagoba also has a single origin line that is higher priced at $3.95/bar.


4) Ghirardelli Milk Luxe ($3.95 for 3 oz bar)
Most tourists can't leave San Francisco without a Ghirardelli souvenir, or at least a visit to Ghirardelli Square. San Francisco's oldest chocolate maker, Ghirardelli has kept pace with its artisan competitors by offering their "Intense Dark" line and the new "Milk Luxe." If you have a milk chocolate lover in the family, we recommend the Crisp Milk Luxe bar - like a Nestle crunch bar, but much better.

5) Scharffen Berger ($4.15 for 3 oz bar)
Scharffen Berger bars are the most expensive on this list, but they are still well below our $5 threshold. And like Dagoba, Scharffen Berger often discounts the bars at stores like Whole Foods. Since bars can last up to a year, it makes sense to stock up. Your money will buy you a high quality artisan, small batch chocolate bar, made right in their Berkeley factory from a blend of cacao beans. A favorite on our Chocolate Tours is the Nibby bar, available in milk (41%) or dark (62%).

6) Whole Foods 365 ($2.19 or 3 oz bar)
Whole Foods, Safeway and Trader Joes, among others, are getting into the chocolate scene with their own private label brands. No surprise, the Whole Foods bar is one you can feel good about eating. They work with a co-op of small-scale farmers in the Dominican Republic, and say they pay a premium to guarantee organic production. But the chocolate itself it actually made in Switzerland, which means a bigger carbon footprint than some of the other brands we've recommended.

7) Leonidas (truffles approximately $1 apiece)
The Belgians invented filled chocolates, and Leonidas is just the place to go for those creamy, luscious treats - all at $34/pound. If this sounds like a lot to you, step into Richart and get your credit card ready. If you're a hazelnut fan, we recommend anything with praline or gianduja. Their buttercreams are always a big hit on our Chocolate Tours.

7) See's (filled chocolates approximately 50 cents each)
You crave something sweet and a 75% cacao bar is just not going to do it for you. Chances are a See's is right around the corner. Their filled chocolates are priced at an amazing $15/pound - plus they'll always give you one free sample! You won't find any cutting edge exotic flavors, but you'll get chocolate the way grandma likes it. That can be a very good thing.

Looking for even more savings? Join one of our Chocolate Tours and you'll get a Gourmet Walks Chocolate Lover Card. This card entitles you to discounts at 8 different Bay Area chocolate shops, including Scharffen Berger (which also sells Dagoba), Leonidas and Fog City News. Fog City News carries the complete E. Guittard line.

Enjoy!

TCHO "Beta" Store Now Open

"Single origin" is the phrase of choice for most fine chocolate makers right now, but not for TCHO. TCHO, founded by Timothy Childs of Wired Magazine, aims to be flavor-driven. This is good news for the average chocolate enthusiast who walks into a store like Fog City News and is overwhelmed by eight different varieties of Michel Cluizel plantation bars. They're all the same cacao percentage; how do you know which one to choose?

TCHO's 50 gram tablets (all 70% cacao) are now available in "chocolatey," "fruity," "nutty" and "citrus." The beans come Ghana, Peru and Madagasgar (for now) and are processed right in TCHO's Pier 17 facility. Since Ghirardelli and Guittard have moved East and South, TCHO is actually the only bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco. Like most small batch American chocolate makers, TCHO says they are committed to working closely with cacao growers to grow the best possible beans while raising their income for the long-terms. That all sounds very good, but you're probably wondering - how is the chocolate?

Customers on my Chocolate and Wine Tour have been loving the "chocolatey" variety, one which TCHO has had ample time to perfect as consumers emailed in their feedback to tcho.com. A nice democratic touch, and I can't help but wonder what the uber-secretive Valhrona would think! While "fruity" was not to my liking, I've been enjoying the "citrus" variety that just came out a few weeks ago. It makes for an interesting comparison to Scharffen Berger, whose signature bars have citrus flavors. For several months now TCHO has been selling the bars online only ($5 apiece), but the big news as of last week is the new "beta store" at Pier 17.

Pier 17 is not particularly close to anything, so think of it as a destination chocolate shop. The tiny office-like space sells all the TCHO bars (now available in a snazzy orange and gold packaging), and cute, simple t-shirts designed to advertise your personal flavor preference. As in "I am chocolatey." Soon they will be selling coffee (Blue Bottle) and hot chocolate drinks as well. The best part for all Gourmet Walks customers is that our new Chocolate Lover Card entitles you to a 10% discount. Sample TCHO, and we'd love to hear what you think!