Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Spicy, Sweet & Serious Treats for Dad

Is your dad a Red Hot Chili Pepper or a Serious Connoisseur when it comes to chocolate? Not sure? We've put together profiles in chocolate for Father's Day to help you pick the perfect chocolate for your dad.

Red Hot Chili Gift
The Red Hot Chili Pepper: We see them all the time in the store. They ask, "Do you have chocolate with chilies in it?". We show them our array of chocolate with chilies and their eyes widen. You can see them begin to pant in anticipation of the capscaicin coursing through their veins. Then they try to decide which bar to try first. Do they want to start with the DO NOT EAT THIS CHOCOLATE, with its painful heat that will make them sweat? Do they want to start with something pleasantly hot, like Pacari's Chili Bar, with just enough heat to make their tongues tingle with a pleasing amount of pain? Or do they want something a bit more balanced like the Olive & Sinclair Cinnamon Chili bar? Whatever their preference, we've learned to recommend appropriate bars for the level of heat they'd like. For Father's Day we've put together a Red Hot Chili gift pack that offers some of our favorites.

Salty Nutty Blonde
The Chocoholic: Not content with one bite, the Chocoholic likes his chocolate rich and substantial. Whether he prefers milk or dark chocolate, it's sweetness he's after. A Venchi Chocolate Cigar filled with a truffle & candied orange peel center is sure to be a hit. For something a bit more sophisticated that will leave him in chocolate bliss, get him The Player by Chocolat Moderne. Each square of this bar is filled with dark chocolate & Scotch truffle. Our own Salty Nutty Blonde bar is made with rich milk chocolate and salted blister peanuts and topped with more peanuts and sea salt - it's hard to eat just one bite. If it's quantity he's after, why not get him a pound of chocolate disks? We have a whole menu of single-origin bulk chocolate from chocolate makers such as Guittard, Felchlin and Valrhona. We'll let you taste them to see which might be the best fit for dad.

Connoisseur Gift
The Serious Connoisseur: This dad likes being an expert. Whether he discovered his penchant for expertise through wine, single-malt Scotch or chocolate, the Serious Connoisseur treats every fine food as a research project. When we think of a chocolate connoisseur, we think of Richard, a good customer of ours who started a chocolate review blog. Richard's favorite bar, the Amedei Chuao, is a favorite among many a chocolate connoisseur. Made with cacao from the remote village of Chuao, Venezuela, the Amedei Chuao bar has complex but balanced notes of bread, butter & jam with hints of anise. Its rarity and price make it the perfect special treat for a special day. We've also put together a wonderful Connoisseur Gift that will delight any dark chocolate lover.

Stop by for more suggestions for Father's Day gifts.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren
Chief Chocophile

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