Tag: craft chocolate

American Chocolate Bar #7: Askinosie Chocolate

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It happened. Time Cupsoul finally tried Askinosie Chocolate!

Askinosie‘s Dark Chocolate (70% Tanzania) + Crunchy Sugar Crystals & Vanilla Bean bar caught our attention; Askinosie partnered with “pioneering food friends” for a collection of their artisan “CollaBARation Bars,” including the ancho chile and pistachio bar with Cafe Pasqual, and a dark chocolate and coffee bean bar with Intelligentsia Coffee Roasters. This particular vanilla bean chocolate bar represents collusion with Zingerman’s Delicatessen.

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Need to Know: Washington DC’s Chocolates

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cropped-7007327881_ae119a5d32_o.jpgCherry Blossoms and the Jefferson Memorial — Washington (DC), image by Ron Cogswell. Some rights reserved on Flikr Commons.

Editors Note, September 2018: Since this article was published in 2016, we understand that Undone Chocolate no longer exists.

Washington, DC has so much to offer. Beautiful monuments, restorative and awe-inspiring museums, and the power and pulse that is the United States political system. There are delicious coffee shops aplenty, and touring the city by chocolate is not far behind. If you’re a tourist or locavore, what chocolate truly represents “DC”? What chocolate brands are made in DC? And where can you buy great chocolate in the District? Here are some essential facts for when you need a chocolate souvenir (or an everyday chocolate treat) from the nation’s capital.

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‘Luck of the Irish’ – Bean and Goose Chocolate Bar

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It’s Saint Patrick’s Day today in the United States and what better a day to taste a handmade Irish chocolate bar!

Bean and Goose Chocolate is a sister-owned craft chocolate operation in Wexford, Ireland. Heeding a barista’s recommendation, the “Single Origin Irish Sea Salt and Cocoa Nibs, Cocoa 76%,” was purchased. Would pure chocolatier craftmanship and a touch of Irish luck make this bar a winner?

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The Bean and Goose bars’ packaging (seen also on other selections), is somewhat minimalist, with one washed color and bright white lettering (see picture above). The Irish Sea Salt and Cocoa Nibs bar has a grey paper package, and upon turning over, reveals a white sticker with further information regarding the brand: “We are Karen and Natalie Keane, sisters and premium chocolate makers based in the Wexford countryside… We create chocolate that reflects contemporary Ireland, its flavours, its colours and its people.” Never having traveled to Ireland, this concept seemed exciting. What flavors would reveal themselves?

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Traveling the Caribbean: Grenada Chocolate Company

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A dear friend and sailorwoman recently navigated through the Caribbean and stopped on the island of Grenada. A gorgeous island located near St. Lucia, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, Time Cupsoul looked up pictures of the stunning oasis and followed the friends’ adventures via reading articles online. Among other attractions, a key discovery was made: Grenada has cocoa trees, and The Grenada Chocolate Company is an award-winning bean-to-bar maker on the island. After a few short weeks, the “Organic Dark Chocolate Nib-A-Licious 60%” bar arrived at the Time Cupsoul doorstep, direct from the Caribbean Sea.

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AMERICAN CHOCOLATE BAR #3: [Taza Chocolate]

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TAZA Chocolate Mexicano (Mexican-Style Stone Ground Chocolate, Organic & Direct Trade) “Cacao Puro” 70% Dark

It’s another East Coast chocolate bar up for review today: Taza Chocolate, based out of Somerville, Massachusetts. This chocolate bar is very unique in its circular shape and texture. The bar is “stone ground,” meaning that the cocoa beans are “unrefined” and “minimally processed,” according to the labeling on the package.

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American Chocolate Bar #2: [Nathan Miller]

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In Time Cupsoul’s most recent chocolate bar review (found here), tasting of an East Coast bar was promised next… The lucky winner: Nathan Miller Chocolate.

Nathan Miller Chocolate received a recent nod of approval from this New York Times (NYT) article listing the best tasting bean-to-bar chocolate from the United States. The Nathan Miller bar chosen for the NYT article was the 72 percent Peru. Ceremony Coffee Roastery & Espresso Bar (Time Cupsoul review here) provided another vintage: Nathan Miller Pretzel & Cherry.

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Favorite American Chocolate Brands: Theo

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The false traceability scandal at Mast Brothers Chocolate (summary here) recently turned a spotlight onto other United States chocolate makers. It is safe to say that Europe is cocoa’s “hub” in terms of (chocolate) bar-making history and manufacturer legacy. Yet, the USA has numerous large chocolate companies, and furthermore, birthed many specialty and smaller “craft” chocolate makers besides Mast Brothers within the past decade or two. Time Cupsoul sets out to explore the best of American chocolate in the coming weeks.

One place to find unique chocolate bars of all origins (bean and brand), is at specialty food stores, such as Fresh Market, Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. These store types each carry different selections of chocolate and sometimes, their own brand of bars.

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