Favorite chocolate?

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.22.2008

Lately I’ve been on this chocolate kick. Normally, I’m not a huge chocoholic like Captain Caffeine. I enjoy chocolate, but if given a choice, I’ll usually choose a fruit or custard/creamy dessert over a triple decadence chocolate layer cake or a chocolate-lovers’ downfall brownie.

But lately, I’ve been eating dark chocolate squares. I think it started when I went into Joseph Schmidt gourmet chocolate shop in Santana Row.

We’d gotten Joseph Schmidt truffles for Christmas, and they’d been fabulous—I can honestly say that they were as good as DeBrand truffles (author Colleen Coble’s favorite).

So when I saw the brick and mortar shop in Santana Row, I went in immediately.

Inside, this man was buying up stacks—and I kid you not, stacks—of the Joseph Schmidt Belgian Dark Chocolate bars. He raved about them, said they were terrific.

A cashier was restocking the display case the man had cleaned out, and I snagged a bar. “I’ve got to try one, after watching him,” I told her.

She laughed. “The last time we didn’t have any, he got so upset. I’ve never seen a customer so upset that we didn’t have a chocolate bar.”

I have had Ghirardelli chocolate, and Trader Joe’s Belgian chocolate, and DeBrand, and Scharffen Berger, and Vosges Haute-Chocolat, and See’s, and Ethel M—basically, a lot of gourmet chocolate. So I was a bit skeptical about this particular chocolate bar.

OH. MY. GOSH.

This chocolate really is very good. It’s smoother than most chocolate, yet not as sweet as some other dark chocolate bars (which is an aspect of it that I like). It’s bitter, but not too bitter, without the harsh aftertaste you sometimes get with bittersweet or extra dark chocolate.

I even tasted it side by side with Scharffen Berger just to make sure I wasn’t kidding myself. I can truly tell the difference between them, and the Joseph Schmidt chocolate is better.

My second favorite is Vosges Haute-Chocolat, but that is just insanely expensive and I only indulge because my friend Patti Lacy gave me two bars that I’m savoring.

So lately I’ve been keeping some dark chocolate by my computer and eating small pieces while I work. I’m a good girl—I break off a small piece and let it melt in my mouth so it lasts longer and I ingest less fat and sugar. My thighs have been thanking me.

So how about you? What chocolate do you turn to to warm your heart, ease your aches, dry your tears, or just boost your spirits?

Comments

Anne Dayton said…

Mmm... Vosges. The black pearl bar is my favorite chocolate bar ever.

Tue Apr 22, 06:03:00 AM 2008

Carole said…

Great post! I'm not a big chocolate fan, although I do like plain chocolate-covered cherries. Then I remembered that my daughter brought some chocolate bars home from a mission trip in Germany, and they were wonderful. My favorite had a strawberry center.

Tue Apr 22, 08:19:00 AM 2008

Brenda said…

Oh goodness, I love chocolate, so almost any chocolate is good for me. My husband used to go to Brussels a lot, and would bring home the yummiest chocolate. Dark chocolate is my favorite, but I'm too cheap to buy expensive stuff.

Tue Apr 22, 10:57:00 AM 2008

Camy Tang said…

Anne, I've got a black pearl bar on my desk right now! I've been making my way through it. :)

Oh my gosh, German chocolate with a strawberry center???? I'm drooling. With envy.

Wow, Brenda, Brussels chocolate? You lucky girl!

Camy

Tue Apr 22, 12:39:00 PM 2008

Tanja said…

I am no chocolate buff. That would be my husband. I stick to rushes from pure sugar... Twizzlers, Hot Tomales, etc. And I like junk food to be cheap. A couple months ago I had a Milky Way Midnight bar. And then I had a second... and a third. I liked it. A lot. Too much. Try it and see if it'll take care of that dark chocolate hankering without denting your budget.

Tue Apr 22, 01:03:00 PM 2008

Trekkie4Ever said…

I confess I am a chocoholic, and when I am really down I run down to a Christian owned coffee place and order a medium soy Snikkers latte, and that usually cheers me up.

However, I would love to try the chocolate bar you are talking about, yummy.....

Tue Apr 22, 03:47:00 PM 2008

Christina Tarabochia said…

Moonstruck. It's a local chocolate from Portland, though you can get it online. I've never had a taste of it as it's so expensive. In fact, I only buy it to send as thank yous to editors!

Tue Apr 22, 03:55:00 PM 2008

Gracie said…

I LOVE dark chocolate, and now I can't wait to try the Joseph Schmidt chocolate. As of yet, though, the best chocolate I've ever tasted is Dagoba. It's organic, 73% cacao, and has a creamy taste minus any bitter aftertaste. Plus, one bar has only seven or nine grams of sugar and I think thirteen carbs (I haven't checked the fat content yet). Even one of my friends, who usually doesn't like dark chocolate, loved it.
Blessings!

Tue Apr 22, 06:02:00 PM 2008

Deborah said…

personally i can be in 7th heaven with just a regular hershey bar with almonds. but if i'm going to splure Lindor ball truffles from Lindt are simply divine. Everytime we go to the store, we tell them we've never had one so we can get a sample. Absolutely delish.

Tue Apr 22, 06:23:00 PM 2008

Ausjenny said…

I love white chocolate and i love Lindt's white (ok any belguim or swiss for that matter). I will treat myself occasionally if i can find some when in the city. I also like milk chocolate and I love Cadbury's (aussie Cadbury's) the best. but im a chocoholic.
Im currently trying to get off it.
its been about 40 hours since the last chocolate bar!
I cant stop at one square i tend to have to keep eating it.
White chocolate I can make last longer as its much richer.
Now I have to get through today without having any just reading this is making me want some bad.

Tue Apr 22, 06:46:00 PM 2008

Fedora said…

Whoa... Camy, that sounds really good. I do love chocolate, but I'm hardly a connosieur (sp? see? I can't even spell it!)--most of the time I'm pretty happy with Dove, milk OR dark. I'm also a big fan of See's, having grown up with it. My husband splurged and bought me a couple pounds of Leonidas a few years ago, and that's good stuff, too. I'll have to look for the Joseph Schmidt and the Vosges...

Tue Apr 22, 10:05:00 PM 2008

Camy Tang said…

Wow, I haven't even heard of some of those chocolates! Leonidas? Dagoba? Moonstruck? You guys are BAD FOR MY DIET.

camy

Tue Apr 22, 10:08:00 PM 2008

Ausjenny said…

i ended up buying some Darrel lee chocolate (aussie) white cos i just needed some. my reasoning white chocolate isn't really chocolate.

Wed Apr 23, 03:48:00 AM 2008

ellehasuly said…

I have been on a Lindt chocolate truffle kick for a while now. The black or the royal blue wrappers are the ones I gravitate towards. They are the dark chocolate choices of a number of truffles I find in the local drug store. Oh,yes. Try one with a cup o'joe and be blessed:).

Cup o'joy
and a fresh taste of the bread of heaven...

Lynne

Wed Apr 23, 05:22:00 AM 2008

Anonymous said…

And I just finished a few (ahem) Nestle dark chocolate Treasures with caramel. Do I even want to know where they rate with the "good" stuff? :)

Wed Apr 23, 02:30:00 PM 2008

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