Adventures With Chocolate

Here is another mostly-done article from the archives. It amused me to read it, and it might amuse you, too. Many things have changed since then— I'm not doing chocolate these days, and Kalpi and I have long since gone our separate ways (though we remain tight, and, in some ways, have a better relationship than ever).

You deserve chocolate. Yes, you. You should have some today. Right now. You'll be happier.

I've been  into chocolate lately. I mean, I've always loved chocolate. I was that kid who would trade all his flavored sugar Halloween candy (like Smarties and Sweet Tarts and vapid fruity lollipops) for good, solid chocolate bars like Snickers and Twix. Candy without chocolate in it never lasted long in my heart.

But I've been *savoring* chocolate lately, casting it wistful thoughts in spare moments, lusting after it. Not in some crass self-deprived sinful Catholic guilt-induced American diet-craving-complex way, but rather with the slow, pooling, ardent longing of lifelong companions. I have wanted bar chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream, but more than anything, *good* chocolate.

In this regard I have to give thanks to my sweetheart, partner in life, crime and the kitchen, Kalpi. Her love and knowledge of chocolate has opened my eyes and my palette. When I met her I was an experienced but uneducated lover of chocolate - I trusted my gut and adventured widely, but I never engaged in proper research and rigor. She has taught me the theory behind the practice, taken me to the next level, from a solid "B" chocolate-lover, maybe B+, say 87%, to an "A"-stamped (95%) savorer of the true treasure of the Americas. I wouldn't be the chocolate lover I am today without her influence. Much of what I share with you here has come directly from her.

First step: drinking Chocolate:

I'm not often a fan of premade hot chocolate mixes. They usually contain all kinds of unnecessary, corner-cutting bullshit and produce something surprisingly lackluster, something disappointingly less than chocolate. Consequently, I was surprised when my dad brought home Dagoba's Xocolatl Drinking Chocolate which, aside from being Organic (good) and Fairly Traded (whatever that means to you), is also one of the only hot chocolate mixes I would recommend you use unadulterated, straight from the can. It is spiced with both cinnamon and cayenne pepper, which gives it a kick that I have come to love and which has been especially welcome during this, my first wretched Eugene winter. They recommend using a facemelting 4 tablespoons per cup; I have been using up to half that amount and definitely feeling the burn. 

Sidebar: I've long been a fan of Dagoba chocolate. They explore the world of the weird and wild with composure. For any of you coffee-heads, I would compare Dagoba's chocolate to good Ethiopian beans - fruity and full of edge. They make excellent eating chocolate, and by that I mean something best taken straight from the wrapper and put in your mouth. Their flavors are too bold and interesting to blend well with others or cook with. Kalpi finds Dagoba to be too fruity and perhaps too earthy, both qualities I recognize but personally enjoy.

A good, solid alternative mix for a more familiar "Swiss Miss"-style hot chocolate is Ghirardelli's Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. We used this at the Whole Foods espresso bar where I used to work, and I found it to make better mochas and hot chocolates than whatever the majority of the competition was using (Starbucks were exceptional - they make a mean and mysterious hot chocolate). As far as Ghirardelli goes, this is about their only product I recommend. The rest is junk chocolate, one step above Hershey's and overpriced, considering. As Sharffenberger could attest, these are the woes of selling out.

I like both of these mixes because they use a blend of chocolate and cocoa powder. In my opinion, this makes for the best hot chocolate, because it contains both the rich fattiness of chocolate and the dark earthiness of cocoa. Fantastic hot chocolate can be made melting straight chocolate into milk, but I always like to add at least a dash of cocoa powder to fill it out.

Eating Chocolate:

Chocovic Ocumare 71%. Wow. *This* is chocolate.