Sweets and Stories

Last week I had my epiphany when asked ‘What is your favorite chocolate?’ I always seemed to not know. Really it would instill a sort of funny, ‘Well all of them are our favorites, why would we sell anything otherwise?’ internal dialog. The reality being so close to chocolate all the time the term favorite gets more granular, more delicious, because time and mood can play a factor.

To this we ran a quick contest for people to tell us a moment and what kind of chocolate they would pair it with. Now most people took my examples and made them their interpretation. I was hoping for a little larger play with the idea but I understand. I probably wasn’t being as clear in the scope I was letting you all have fun in. We’ll play again soon. This is all for fun anyhow!

Your Chocolate Moments

Since there were just a handful of respondents, we’ll recap them here.

From the ever faithful Jenny, aka Mom:

• Sunny spring afternoon, outside: I’ll SHOCK myself and go with the new white, or a fresh mint truffle.
• A quick snack before your work day is done: The darker the better!!
• A quiet moment to yourself when all might be still: Dark with a single yet complex flavored infusion, preferably that has warmed to room temp.

A chocolate lady in her own right, Andrea:

• Outside: A delicate key lime truffle
• A quick snack: Dark chocolate truffles
• A quiet moment: Your chai truffle

The (in)famous Terie:

• My special time is when I am able to work under the pergola smelling all the flowers with my laptop designing anything that has to do with graphics. The best compliment is rich dark chocolate and anything orange. I love the aroma of the orange and the pairing with chocolate is something special for the senses. It’s almost an overload between the sweet clean smell of the outdoors and when I close my eyes and pop a chocolate confection in my mouth, ohhhhhhh baby. Heaven

We have thousands of visitors a month, hundreds of fans across the galaxy, and three of our loyal fans are there to talk with us. I hear Princess Bride references in my head but I’ll digress too much. On to our thoughts..

The Secret Chocolatier

Bill’s Chocolate Moment

• The one time that I always enjoy a truffle is when we rotate flavors into a new season. It’s only when we rotate flavors and one of my favorites comes back, like grapefruit in the spring or basil in the summer, that I even take the time to stop and actually enjoy the moment. It is not a big ordeal though. I just stop, still in the kitchen, and eat one truffle from the first batch of that season. It’s a perfect moment four times a year.

Karen’s Chocolate Moments

• Sitting on the porch with a white chocolate truffle would be my current moment of choice. I love the smooth creamy texture with a slight sweetness yet a hint of salt.
• If I could have anything I wanted it would be a few moments with our extra dark tcho chocolate truffle. It makes me think of an espresso roast of the chocolate, it has a bite to it that leaves me wanting more yet only able to take small bits at a time. It gives me that extra buzz too.

Robin’s Chocolate Moment

• My days are crazy (and I’m not talking about just the family), I teach too and after a long day in the classroom all I want is a little isolation. If the weather is right sitting outside on my chair-swing with an espresso truffle can do me wonders. A moment of quiet enjoyment and pleasure that also gives me a little pick-me-up to handle a second shift of chocolate duties.

Andy’s Chocolate Moment

• The day is long over but I’m at the keyboard still. A large orange truffle has been at my desk for over an hour and I can just tell it’s only holding form for me. My lightly heated office has created a perfect moment, orange infused chocolate held together by a tenuous shell. Pop it in my mouth and it’s just perfect.
• Another quick moment I have a lot lately is when the market has gone quiet during a lull between rushes and I find myself haunted by something. A quick trip to our sampler cooler with a big spoonful of white chocolate ganache is amazing at refreshing the palate and making a piece of my soul just smile. Something about that buttery–hint of salt flavor that keeps me smiling for the rest of the morning.

Enough! Who won already?!

As I read over a draft of this I can hear in my head Jenny badgering me into getting done and telling who wins a sampler box from us. Well the results are a four way tie. I should have known a simple vote wouldn’t work..

To complicate this (*grin*) I went to the most random place on the internet and ran a number randomizer from 1-300, each hundred aligned to a person based on when they submitted their entry. The result was: 151.

Andrea wins a chocolate sampler box of her choosing (Spring box not listed but available).

There was a Reason..

The heart of it all was our taste-buds and our desires change throughout the day. We want different things based on a myriad of personal factors. Next time you ask an artisan crafter what their favorite it, give them some context. Besides making them look at you funny, you might get a far more useful and serious response.