Category: Global Chocolate Makers

Omnom Chocolate Reykjavík Raises the Holiday Chocolate “Bar”

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A year ago in October, we were in Paris and it was absolute magic. It was a last minute decision. A purely incredible deal on Iceland Air. (Note that if you’re willing to stop-over in Reykjavík while en-route to another destination, airfare can be a bargain, and you can even extend your trip, apparently with zero penalty.) Don’t get us started on how magical Paris was, but this post is about a different landscape — a frozen dusk with quiet, twinkling stars, warm, crackling firelight, snow falling — a comforting yet invigorating experience that you can find just by tasting a chocolate bar by Icelandic brand: Omnom Chocolate.

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Chocolates Para Ti: Bolivian Milk Bar – Happily Evokes a Chocolate Milkshake

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Happy summer from the bellows of Washington, DC where the mosquitoes have started to buzz around all of us and the fireflies are officially out. It’s been quite a wet and stormy spring here and we’re so excited for June.

Lately, we haven’t stopped enjoying glorious sunsets beyond the national monument, sight-seeing and shopping in the city… and of course, nibbling on chocolate galore.

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SOMA Chocolatemaker: Embodying the Essence of Chocolate

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The 70 percent dark chocolate bar from Dreketi, Vanua Levu Island, Fiji, by Soma Chocolatemaker had a big reputation to live up to…

  1. Time Cupsoul had never eaten chocolate from Fiji
    • According to the brands’ packaging, Fiji’s national flag touts a cacao pod in lions paws (reputation signal and/or national pride, perhaps?) and also explains that, the Fijian concept of “vanua” means the land as an “extension of oneself; including one’s life, sustenance and culture”
  2. The tasting notes on the bar were listed as “chocolate, honey and grapefruit”
  3. The Soma Chocolatemaker chocolate molding is one of the most whimsical in the industry, notable for intricate details and a romantic rendition of the cacao forest (cacao pods, tropical birds, and cacao flowers)

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La Naya Chocolate: Delicious Experience for Taste-buds and Thoughts Alike

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Recently, on our Instagram, Time Cupsoul tagged/conversed with the maker of the La Naya Chocolate‘s beautiful chocolate bar molding. It goes without question that La Naya’s chocolate bars have the most distinct and beautiful chocolate bar shape/mold in the current market. Reminiscent of geodes or a cut jewel, this bar’s shape is unforgettable.

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La Naya Chocolate Raspberries & Pineapple Dark Chocolate 65% Cacao

Time Cupsoul picked up La Naya at the DC Chocolate Festival, and similar to the Magia Piura bar, this was Lithuanian brand, La Naya Chocolate’s, first formal experience/show in the United States. Exciting! The bar even survived the sweltering DC heat the day of the festival – upper 90’s.

After admiring the shape of the bar, the first few bites ensued. Yummy.

On the chocolate tasting wheel:

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Magia Piura Peruvian ‘White Bean’ Cacao

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The 2017 DC Chocolate Festival was a wonderful experience today! Hundreds of attendees came out to meet local chocolatiers/chocolate makers and to sample decadent craft chocolate and bean to bar creations. Time Cupsoul collected a large goodie bag of various unique chocolates which will be revealed very shortly via in-depth analysis. Which chocolate bar to devour first? White bean cacao!

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An Italian Love Affair: Amedei Chocolate

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Time Cupsoul was wandering around Georgetown, Washington, DC, recently, and happened upon Dean & DeLuca, a phenomenal grocery store with a fantastic selection of unique goods, including: fine craft chocolate. The chocolate bar offerings were seemingly endless at the store and even provided choices special to the DC area. How to choose which bar to buy? Sometimes, you just have to listen to what speaks or calls to you. An Italian brand, Amedei, on the top shelf, whispered in Italian. Andiamo.

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Marou Chocolat: A Flavor Journey

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Marou Chocolat: Faiseurs de Chocolat bars are fairly small in size with gorgeous packaging and a thin weight.The experience of tasting this bar was a definite time cupsoul and deserves some attention.

The package for the Marou, Tien Giang 70% single origin dark chocolate bar, is a beautiful rich purple colored paper with shiny gold lettering and cocoa bean drawings. Glimmering gold paper enveloping the chocolate bar peeks out from underneath of the purple wrapping, and it’s easy to slide the bar out slowly or simply to tear the paper right off. Unwrap the packaging from around the chocolate and discover the thin chocolate rectangle with diamonds.

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