Chocolopolis

Bar of the Week; Cluizel's Mangaro Lait

2012-01-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is a bit of a surprise: a 50% milk chocolate made from single-origin Madagascan cacao, Michel Cluizel's Mangaro Lait bar is less sweet than you might expect of milk chocolate, and less fruity than you might expect of Madagascan chocolate. On the plus side, it has Cluizel's trademark creamy texture, perfectly matched with warmly nutty notes of steamed milk and roasted hazelnuts.

Come by on Saturday, January 28th, to savor a sample of Cluizel's Mangaro Lait.

Bar of the Week: Amedei's Pistachio

2012-01-15T16:59:00.000-08:00

Nuts and chocolate are a combination as old as the hills, but our bar of the week is an unusual combination; this bar from Italian chocolate maker Amedei features creamy white chocolate dotted with premium Sicilian pistachios. If you enjoy either pistachios or white chocolate alone, you'll love the luxurious taste of them together. The contrast between the unctuous, vanilla-tinged chocolate and the crisp pieces of nut makes this a delicate but lively treat.

Come by on Saturday, January 21st, for a taste of this out-of-the-ordinary bar.

Bar of the Week: Patric's Mint

2012-01-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

Feeling a little bedraggled after all that celebrating? How about a fresh flavor for the new year? Our first bar of the week of 2012 is the Mint OMG from small-batch chocolate maker Patric: smooth dark chocolate plus cool peppermint oil equals refreshingly delicious.

Stop by on Saturday, January 14th, for a sample of Patric's eye-opening Mint OMG bar.

Chocolate Pairings for New Years

2011-12-27T14:02:00.000-08:00

I often get questions about pairing chocolate with wine and other liquors. Actually, more often than not, it's a question about pairing red wine with chocolate. While red wine can be paired with chocolate, it can be a challenge.

The advice I give my customers is to pick wines and chocolates that have similar flavor profiles. If you have a wine with strong red fruit and citrus notes, then a chocolate made with cacao from Madagascar might be just the ticket. But if your wine doesn't have red fruit and citrus notes, it's probably not going to pair well with chocolate from Madagascar.

One of my new year's resolutions is to try red wine with chocolate more often so I can provide better guidance to customers who would like to pair these two treats. I thought for New Year's I'd provide some of my favorite liquor and chocolate pairings.

Single Malt Scotch and Chocolate
One of my favorite pairings with chocolate is single-malt Scotch. Make sure to choose a Scotch that isn’t too smoky or peaty. Some suggestions:

Oban 14 year with Bonnat Puerto Cabello 75% (Venezuela origin)
Glenkinchie 12 year with Cluizel Maralumi Milk (Papua New Guinea origin)
Cragganmore 12 year with Amedei 66% (blend)

Port and Chocolate
My husband and I went to the Douro Valley in Portugal during harvest season for our honeymoon. We had the opportunity to "tread" grapes with the locals, and I got to know and love Port well.

One of my favorite treats is chocolate with a glass of colheita Port (a tawny that's been barrel aged since harvest). It's not a treat I can afford often, so my sips come only once in awhile. If you’re looking for a special Port for New Year’s, try a Quinta do Noval Tawny Colheita. The richness of an aged colheita is an incredible experience with any fine chocolate.

Anise Ganache Fig

If you’d prefer to pair a vintage, late bottle vintage or ruby Port with chocolate, our award-winning Anise Ganache Filled Figs are a fantastic option. We stuff black mission figs with a chocolate truffle that's been lightly infused with anise, and then we dip the whole thing in chocolate. Our figs won Judges Choice for Best Confection at the NW Chocolate Festival. We made a few too many last week, so we've put them on sale for $1 this week, while supplies last. It's not likely you'll see such a bargain on our figs again.

Quinta do Noval is hard to find in Seattle, but those of you in other major cities should have no problem. If you're in Seattle, try The Spanish Table or Wine World. They're your best bets for a good selection of Port.

Champagne and Chocolate
The acid qualities of champagne and sparkling wines can make them tough to pair with chocolate. Chocolate dipped fruits like our apricots or pears are the perfect complement to a glass of bubbly. We dip dried California apricots and Extra Fancy Pears in Valrhona dark chocolate made with cacao from Africa. Delicious and elegant-looking, our pears and apricots are sure to be a hit on your New Year’s table!

Armagnac
I don't know much at all about Armagnac, but I do know it pairs well with chocolate. Our friends, Dawn and Eric Wright, shared some with my husband and I shortly before I opened Chocolopolis, and it really was a treat. If your budget permits, I highly recommend it.

May your 2012 be filled with health, happiness and fantastic chocolate!

Cheers,

Lauren
Chief Chocophile

Bar of the Week: Patric's PBJ OMG

2011-12-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

Our very last bar of the week of 2011 is a real doozy: imagine the peanut-butter and jelly sandwich of childhood dreams dunked in dark chocolate and you'll have an idea of Patric's PBJ OMG. The Missouri-based small-batch chocolate maker blends sea salt and peanut butter into a dark chocolate whose naturally fruitiness stands in for jelly. The resulting bar is smooth, rich, and juicy--pair with a tall glass of milk for the perfect after-school snack, even if you graduated a few decades ago!

Since this nostalgic treat is one of Patric's seasonal specials (only available through Valentine's Day), make sure to stop by on Saturday, December 31st, for a taste; we'll be open until 5pm.

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Palmira

2011-12-18T17:16:00.000-08:00

Prepare yourself to say hello and goodbye to our new bar of the week, Valrhona's Palmira. Made from criollo cacao grown on the Palmira plantation in west Venezuela, this 64% dark chocolate features notes of high-pectin fruits such as apple and quince, underlined by a pronounced honeyed sweetness that lingers for a long finish.

Valrhona has announced that it is discontinuing this delectable bar, so quantities are limited and once they're gone, they're gone for good. If you haven't yet tried Palmira, don't miss this chance to get acquainted. And if Palmira is one of your favorites, you might consider stocking up (consider that properly stored dark chocolate will keep indefinitely.

Stop by on Christmas Eve to savor a sample of Valrhona's Palmira--and of course, to pick up any last-minute treats or gifts for the chocolate lovers on your list.

Bar of the Week: Grenada 71%

2011-12-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

Send your tastebuds south for the winter with our new bar of the week. Grenada Chocolate Company's 71% dark chocolate is a tropical treat with an effervescent acidity that reminds many tasters of fresh, ripe pineapple. Grenada Chocolate Company is a cooperative chocolate maker owned by its cacao-farming shareholders. The cacao and other ingredients are organic and the factory runs on solar energy.

Come by on Saturday, December 17th, to have a taste of Grenada 71% and pick up great gifts for everyone on your holiday shopping list.

Gifts for Your Entire List

2011-12-08T23:41:00.000-08:00

Having trouble finding the perfect gift? We've got a gift for every person on your holiday list, including the person who has everything.

For the Person Who Has Everything...

Chocolate Tasting Party in a Box

...we recommend our Chocolate Tasting Party in a Box. Filled with some of the best single-origin chocolate the world has to offer, it’s a chocolate tasting experience in a box! Featured in Zagat’s Holiday Gift Guide, it includes 6 artisan chocolate bars from different countries, chocolate-covered cacao beans, cacao nibs, instructions for hosting a chocolate tasting party, a Chocolopolis Flavor Wheel and sheets for up to 10 participants to record tasting notes. If you’re good, maybe you’ll be invited to the party.

Chocolopolis Mint Meltaways

The Chocoholic
When one box of chocolates isn’t enough, we’re here to help. Chocolopolis is packed to the rafters with artisan chocolate of every kind to suit the Chocoholic. Whether your favorite chocoholic prefers bars or confections, we have something they’ll enjoy. Gifts that will sate their cravings include our ½ pound box of Peppermint Bark, our 15-piece box of Chocolopolis Mint Meltaways, our 19-piece assorted truffle box or any of the 200 artisan chocolate bars on our shelves.

The Chocolate Connoisseur
Know someone who sniffs their chocolate before eating it? Then you have a Chocolate Connoisseur in your life. Let us take the fear out of purchasing chocolate for the connoisseur. We’ve put our taste buds and palates to work creating the perfect gift for the connoisseur, our Chocolate of the Month World Tour. Each month brings a new delivery of artisan, single-origin chocolate to the Chocolate Connoisseur’s door. What’s more, we encourage them to sniff their chocolate as much as they’d like. They’ll think of you every month when their package arrives, and they’ll happily sniff away in privacy. Chocolate of the Month World Tour comes in 3-month and 6-month packages. There are three levels, Beginner, Advanced and Connoisseur. The levels are appropriate for any chocolate lover. The Advanced and Connoisseur levels were developed for returning Chocolate of the Month Club members who have already been through the first year.

The Foodie

Anise Ganache Fig

Do you know someone who is always in the know about the hottest new restaurants and food trucks? Impress them with your knowledge of the hottest new chocolate, our award-winning Anise Ganache Filled Figs. Made by hand in our chocolate kitchen, we stuff these delicious black mission figs with a chocolate truffle that has been lightly infused with a hint of anise, and then we dip each one in chocolate. Winner of the Judges Choice for Best Confection at the NW Chocolate Festival, these chubby chocolate figs will leave your favorite foodie craving more. Packaged in a box of 4.

The Perfect Hostess

Peaches

Her day has been spent baking cookies, running errands, cleaning the kids, and putting the breakables away. You arrive at her house and it is filled with more people than it can hold, adults sipping wine and nibbling on sliced rosemary turkey breast, kids running up and down the stairs, not staying in the designated “kids” area. Yet she handles it all with aplomb, grace and a smile on her face. How do you say “Thank you” to the perfect hostess? With chocolate, of course! An elegant and delicious gift, she’ll appreciate a box of our Chocolate Dipped Extra Fancy White Peaches or our Chocolate Dipped Extra Fancy Pears. Each of these fruity confections is dipped in Valrhona dark chocolate. We marry the peaches with Valrhona Manjari, its tart red fruit and citrus notes pairing beautifully with the sweetness of the peach, and we top the pears with Valrhona Nyangbo chocolate, its chocolaty notes pairing perfectly with the pear. Peaches come five to a box and are packaged in a clear rectangular box. Pears come six to a box and are packaged in a clear round box.

Clients and Colleagues

Chocolate Filled Sleigh

Thank your clients and colleagues with chocolate gifts to share. From our 19-piece assorted truffle box to our selection of chocolate treats from around the world, we have plenty of choices to tempt an entire office. Choose from boxes of Recchiuti’s Cherries Two Ways or boxes of Mademoiselle de Margaux Mint Twigs. Need chocolate nibbles for an entire office? Let us put a selection of treats in a gift basket that will leave an impression on clients and colleagues and keep them nibbling chocolate until the holidays.

Kids

Peppermint Marshmallow

Kids and kids at heart will love our Peppermint and Gingerbread marshmallows. Made with candy canes, our Peppermint Marshmallows are cut into circles, dipped in chocolate, topped with pieces of candy cane, and wrapped to look like a peppermint candy. Our Gingerbread Marshmallows are made with ginger and molasses, cut into the shape of gingerbread men, dipped in dark chocolate and decorated with faces in white chocolate. They’re adorable and addictive!

Bar of the Week: Fine & Raw's 78%

2011-12-04T16:46:00.000-08:00

From Brooklyn chocolate maker Fine & Raw, our bar of the week is a 78% dark chocolate with an extra kick. The organic Ecuadorian cacao beans from which the bar is made are carefully processed at low temperatures, resulting in a chocolate that's rich, earthy, tantalizingly textured, and maintains more of the cacao's inherent nutrients and antioxidants.

Feeling like you might benefit from a healthy treat? Come by for a sample of Fine & Raw's 78% bar on Saturday, December 10th.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Teyuna

2011-11-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

Our Bar of the Week is a longstanding favorite around the shop. Made by Domori, an Italian maker known for the impeccable texture of its chocolates, the Teyuna bar is a 70% dark chocolate from Colombian cacao. The flavor is simple but seductive, with notes of honey and toasted cashews and exactly the right amount of sweetness.

We also know from experience that Teyuna's best qualities translate well to drinking chocolate; if you're already a Teyuna fan, keep in mind that for only $1.50 extra we can take this bar (or any other) and transform it into a hot, frothy, hand-warming treat.

Stop by on Saturday, December 3rd, for a sample of Domori's Teyuna.

Bar of the Week: Original Beans' Esmeraldas with Salt

2011-11-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you combine a German conservation entrepreneur, a Dutch fair trade pioneer, and an American organic food marketer? It sounds like the set-up for a bad joke, but it was actually the start of a great chocolate company. Founded in 2006, Original Beans produces environmentally-friendly chocolate focused on conserving types of cacao that grow wild in the company's partner communities. For every bar of chocolate sold, Original Beans plants in a tree in those communities; a number on the package allows you to look up the tree associated with any of their bars.

Our bar of the week is Original Beans' Esmeraldas with Salt, a 42% Ecuadorian milk chocolate made from indigenous Arriba cacao rather than the more prevalent industrial hybrid. Mixed with just a hint of fleur de sel, this bar is velvety-smooth and every bit as a rich as a butter caramel.

We'll be offering samples of Original Beans' Esmeraldas salt salt on Saturday, November 26th.

Bar of the Week: Madecasse 63%

2011-11-13T14:08:00.000-08:00

Hungry for a chocolate that'll make you feel as good as it tastes? Then give one our Madecasse bars a try!

The company was founded by two former Peace Corps volunteers who leveraged their experience in Madagascar to start a chocolate company that trades directly with rural farmers. Even more unusually, Madecasse chocolate is made in Madagascar itself; as Madecasse's website notes, "85% of the world’s cocoa comes from Africa. less than 1% of chocolate is made there." By basing their operations in Madagascar, Madecasse ensures that more of its profits stay in the country. Although Madecasse isn't certified "fair trade", the company estimates that localized manufacturing has even more benefits for its farmers than would certification alone.

Our bar of week is Madecasse's "sweet & smooth" 63% bar, a rich-textured dark chocolate with a softened take on the notes of cherry and citrus so characteristic of Madagascar. Come by for a sample on Saturday, November 19th.

Chocolopolis + Kiva, Part 2

2011-11-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

We just accumulated enough change in our unofficial tip jar to make another microloan through Kiva! Last time we funded a fudge maker in Nicaragua; Juana used the loan to expand her production facilities and has already started to make repayments.

This time we chose Elizabeth, a cacao farmer in Peru who will use her loan to buy more cacao plants. What could be more perfect?

If you're one of those who has told us to "keep the change," we hope that you'll approve of our choice. Thanks so much for helping us to help others.

And go, Elizabeth, go!

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Tanariva

2011-11-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Milk chocolate lovers, we haven't forgotten about you! Although we have a lot more dark chocolate than milk chocolate in the store, the milk chocolates we do carry hold up their side ably, with tons of personality in a creamy package. Case in point, our bar of the week: Valrhona's Tanariva.

Tanariva is a 33% milk chocolate made from single-origin cacao grown in Madagascar. The cherry and citrus notes typical of the region are present, but muffled by rich, warm layers of cream and caramel.

Be sure to stop by on Saturday, November 12th for a melt-in-your-mouth taste of Valrhona's Tanariva.

Bar of the Week: Patric's In-NIB-itable

2011-10-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of chocolates that bite back, be sure to come by and try Patric's In-NIB-itable, our current bar of the week. Missouri-based small batch maker Patric combines zingy 70% Madagascan dark chocolate with crushed, roasted nibs from the same origin. The nibs add crunch and a pure hit of flavor to the smooth, refined chocolate, adding up to a two-layered texture and a double-pow taste.

We'll have samples of Patric's In-NIB-itable available on Saturday, November 5th.

What a Weekend!

2011-10-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

Customers often ask me if Seattle is the leader in the artisan chocolate movement. While Seattle certainly has a vibrant artisan chocolate community and a lot of local pride, I've always felt there were other cities like San Francisco, Portland and Washington, DC, that deserved equal credit. Until this weekend.

I'm very proud to say that the Northwest Chocolate Festival, held last weekend at Seattle Center, has firmly established Seattle as a leader in the artisan chocolate movement. There are chocolate festivals held all around the country, so what makes this festival so unique and successful? Its focus on cacao and education.

Unlike most festivals, it's not just another feeding frenzy where attendees eat as much chocolate as they can without really getting to know the artisan. The Northwest Chocolate Festival educates chocolate lovers by putting them face-to-face with craft chocolate makers, not just for samples, but for interesting talks about how chocolate is made from the bean and what defines quality chocolate. You can learn about the magic of conching, taste the fruit of the cacao tree or meet an Ecuadorian cacao farmer, all while tasting great chocolate.

Admittedly, it was a bit of a hard sell at first. Craft and artisan chocolate makers are often on shoestring budgets with little money to travel across country for another chocolate festival that sounds like a feeding frenzy. The team that put together the Northwest Chocolate Festival did a great job convincing 19 craft and artisan chocolate makers to attend, many of them from places like North Carolina and Massachusetts. These artisans, all passionate about chocolate, filled up a room with tables offering samples of their chocolate. I looked into the room on Sunday afternoon, and there was a line snaking out of the room waiting to file by every table. Sales were so brisk that many of the artisans ran out of chocolate to sell.

But don't let me leave you thinking the festival was too serious. There was plenty of chocolate fun to be had as well. The Culinary Kitchen Stage offered great demos from local chocolatiers with plenty of samples to try as well as booths for purchasing local bonbons and confections. And the Aphrodisiac Room was, well, aphrodisiac, with chocolate body painting and wine and chocolate pairings, to name a few activities. There was something to enjoy for chocolate lovers of every ilk, be they chocoholics, chocophiles or just curious.

I'd like to thank the organizers, who did a fabulous job of putting this event together. Brian Cisneros, Brie Moulton, Kate Selting and your many staff volunteers and volunteers, great work! I'd also like to thank Seattle, for demonstrating to the world of chocolate what we've known all along, that Seattleites enjoy learning about their food as much as they enjoy eating it.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren Adler
Chief Chocophile

Bar of the Week: Cluizel's Vila Gracinda

2011-10-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our Bar of the Week is Michel Cluizel's Vila Gracinda, a 67% dark chocolate named for the plantation on which the cacao was grown. Vila Gracinda is located on the equatorial island of São Tomé, off the coast of west Africa, where the rich volcanic soil and marine climate have supported cocoa plantations since the early 19th century. Dried in the sun, these beans maintain their complex aromas and give this chocolate notes of spice and herbs, liquorice and tropical fruit.

Come by on Saturday, November 5th, for a taste of this exotic and historic chocolate.

Bar of the Week: Fine & Raw with Sea Salt

2011-10-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn-based chocolate maker Fine & Raw keeps its chocolate at low temperatures during processing, maintaining more of the cacao's naturally beneficial nutrients--without sacrificing any deliciousness.
Our bar of the week is Fine & Raw's Sea Salt inclusion bar. The base is a 70% dark chocolate made from Ecuadorian cacao, to which they add a touch of sea salt and "crystals" of palm sugar, a sweetener made from palm tree flowers. The balance of flavors and textures is absolutely amazing and dangerously addictive.

Stop by on Saturday, October 22nd, for a taste of Fine & Raw's Sea Salt bar...if you dare!

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Tainori

2011-10-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of pain au chocolat, make sure to try this bar of the week. From French chocolate maker Valrhona, Tainori is a 64% dark chocolate made from single origin cacao grown on an historic plantation in the Dominican Republic. In addition to some fruity and nutty notes, Tainori's dominant flavor mimics the heady warmth of yeasted bread or pastry straight from the oven.

Come by and sample this toasty treat on Saturday, October 15.

Bar of the Week: Santander 36%

2011-10-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

If you're a coffee lover who has come to Chocolopolis in search of chocolate, odds are we've steered you towards Santander bars from the Colombia's Compania Nacional de Chocolates. Throughout the range, Santander chocolates have a rich, roasty flavor that calls to mind espresso or hazelnuts. Our bar of the week is what you might think of as the "cafe au lait" version, a sweet 36% milk chocolate that offers a milder and more caramelized take on Santander's usual flavor notes.

Stop by on Saturday, October 8th, to try Santander's 36% milk chocolate.

Bar of the Week: Valrhona Abinao

2011-09-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is as intense, dark, and brooding as a French New Wave film star; you can almost imagine it breakfasting on cigarettes and coffee after a beat poetry all-nighter. From French maker Valrhona, Abinao is an 85% dark chocolate made from African cacao. It features a smooth, silky mouthfeel and meaty hints of raw coconut that sharpen into lingering, oaky tannins.

Be sure to come by on Saturday, October 1, to try Valrhona's Abinao--especially if you've been up all night!

Bar of the Week: Domori Arriba

2011-09-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

The highly aromatic Arriba Nacional cacao bean is one of Ecuador's natural treasures. Italian chocolate maker Domori has crafted that special cacao into our bar of the week, a mild but nuanced 70% dark chocolate made from single-origin beans. Domori's Arriba bar is crisp and smooth, with flavor notes that might make it ideal for an indulgent breakfast: perfectly-ripe banana, fresh citrus, and toasted hazelnuts.

We'll be offering samples of Domori's Arriba on Saturday, September 24.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Dominican Repubic

2011-09-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is the Republique Dominicaine from French chocolate maker Pralus. A 75% dark chocolate is made from organic Dominican cacao, this silky smooth bar layers warm fruit flavors with intriguingly edgy notes of anise, wormwood, and tannin, which taper to a remarkably drawn-out finish.

Come by on Saturday, September 17, to savor a sample of Pralus' Republique Dominicain.

Bar of the Week: Fearless' Midnight

2011-09-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Fearless takes a fun approach to serious chocolate. The California-based company carefully processes its organic cacao at low temperatures, preserving more of its inherent nutrients and qualifying Fearless chocolates for "raw" status. The bars come in an elephant-adorned wrapper and with a bite already taken out, representing the 1% of its annual profits that Fearless donates to causes nominated by its customers.

Our bar of the week is the company's 75% Dark as Midnight bar, an unflavored showcase for the earthy depths of its raw, organic cacao.

Swing by on September 10th for a taste of of Fearless' Dark as Midnight.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Sambirano

2011-08-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of certain Chinese foods, you might want to try this Bar of the Week: Domori's Sambirano is known for its intriguing blend of sweet and sour notes. This 70% dark chocolate uses an hybrid criollo-trinitario cacao grown in Madagascar's Sambriano Valley. The intense but agreeable sweet-sour flavor of this chocolate also has hints of berries, cashews, pepper and cinnamon, and a long finish.

Stop by on Saturday, September 3rd, for a sample of Domori's Sambirano.

This week's happy hour: Staff Picks II

2011-08-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

Our Staff Pick's happy hour is back this Thursday from 5-9pm. Our first Staff Picks happy hour in July was a huge hit, and we're excited to have different team members choosing bars this time around. Make an evening out of it by shopping at the Queen Anne Farmers Market, and then drop by Chocolopolis for a taste of chocolate. Here are our staff picks for this week:

Reina - Valrhona Palmira Single-Estate 2010 (64%)
Dominica - Coppeneur Trinidad Habanero & Lavender bar
Sebastian - Askinosie White Chocolate (made with goat's milk and small-batch pressed cocoa butter)
Lauren - Patric In-NIB-itable BAR (70% Madagascar w/Madagascar cacao nibs)

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Tainori

2011-08-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of pain au chocolat, make sure to try this bar of the week. From French chocolate maker Valrhona, Tainori is a 64% dark chocolate made from single origin cacao grown on an historic plantation in the Dominican Republic. In addition to some fruity and nutty notes, Tainori's dominant flavor mimics the heady warmth of yeasted bread or pastry straight from the oven.

Come by and sample this toasty treat on Saturday, August 27th.

Bar of the Week: Olive and Sinclair's Salt and Pepper

2011-08-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

You hear a lot about salt and chocolate; also about chocolate and peppers of the spicy variety. But what about salt and good old black pepper? That classic combo hasn't really shown up in chocolate bars...until now.

Nashville-based Olive and Sinclair is the South's first artisan bean-to-bar maker, specializing in stone-ground chocolate bars. They have a knack for pairing their chocolates with match-made-in-heaven spices, such as our bar of the week, a richly textured 67% dark chocolate from Ghana sprinkled with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Can't imagine taking the salt shaker and pepper mill to your own favorite chocolate? Then be sure to stop by on Saturday, August 20th, to taste a chocolate that's at once strangely familiar and totally new.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Papouasie

2011-08-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is a silky-smooth 75% dark made from Papua New Guinean cacao by French maker Francois Pralus. Less smoky than the other Southeast Asian bars in Pralus' range, Papouasie has strong cocoa notes and a pronounced sweetness given added interest by hints of tart fruits.

We'll have samples of Pralus' Papouasie available on Saturday, August 13th.

Bar of the Week: Askinosie's Tanzanie

2011-07-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

What do a model volcano, a colonial settlement diorama, and our current bar of the week have in common?

They're all school projects.

Askinosie's 72% dark chocolate Tenende bar was developed by students of the Chocolate University, aSpringfield, MO program that introduces high school students to the inner workings of socially responsible small business. Generous sponsorship allowed thirteen Chocolate University students to travel to Tanzania, where they met face-to-face with Perce Kyeja, head of the UWATE group of cacao farmers. The collaboration culminated in the Tenende bar and a wrapper featuring Kyeja's photo.

Tenende is a mild dark chocolate with notes of earth and herbs and a sweetness that recalls dried cherries. Come try a sample on Saturday, August 6th.

Picking Our Favorite Chocolate

2011-07-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

When customers ask, "What's your favorite bar?", it's always a difficult question to answer. Asking me to choose a favorite from our carefully curated selection is like asking me to choose my favorite child. While I certainly have some bars that I eat more often than others, I enjoy almost every bar in the store at some time or another. I say "almost every bar" because my palate is different than some of our other team members. One of our team members, Julia, has a wonderful palate for chocolate, and prefers the earthy and smoky bars much more than I do. She has some favorites that I don't like so much. They're still fantastic bars of chocolate, they just aren't as suited to my preferences.

I use the differences between me and Julia as an example of how we curate our collection. While I make the final buying decisions, I take into account the feedback of my team because they eat a lot of chocolate, they have great palates and they know what makes a quality bar of artisan bean-to-bar chocolate.

In honor of the many varied palates of the Chocolopolis team, this week's Thursday happy hour features staff picks! It's the first time we've done this, and the team is excited. Each of them has made a sign describing one of their favorite bars, and we'll have those signs and samples of the bars out during happy hour on Thursday from 5-9pm. Here's what they've picked:

Julia - Fine + Raw Sea Salt
Roxanne - Amedei Red
Jennifer - Michel Cluizel Mangaro (Madagascar)
Heaven - Bonnat Java Milk 65%

For our final week of our third anniversary celebration we've scheduled a bevy of great chocolate events in addition to our weekly happy hour. From smoked chocolate mousse, to a happy hour that features Staff Picks to a serious talk on cacao farming in Panama to a "Meet the Chocolate Maker" event, we have something fun for everyone.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren

Bar of the Week: Fresco's 213

2011-07-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Exceptional chocolate is created through a series of events. Change any one event and the outcome is a new creation.

-Rob Anderson, Fresco Chocolate

This week we're featuring the 213 bar from Lynden,WA small-batch chocolate maker Fresco. Fresco's well-edited range of "prototype" bars are differentiated not just by cacao origins but also by processing particulars.

Just like Fresco's 212 bar, the 213 is a 72% dark chocolate made using single-origin cacao from the Dominican Republic. What sets the two siblings apart is the details of their manufacture: Fresco creates different chocolates out of the same cacao by adjusting the levels of roast and of conche (the process of smoothing out flavor and texture by subjecting liquid chocolate to high temperature and pressure). While the 212 has had a light roast and "subtle" conche, the 213 has had a heavy roast and no conche at all, and so conveys more strongly the cacao's natural notes of raisin and dried plum.

You can try Fresco 213 anytime on Saturday, July 30th, but if this post leaves you either curious or hungry, don't miss the opportunity to meet Fresco's founder, Rob Anderson, from 3-5pm. Rob will be offering more samples of his range and answering your questions about his unique take on chocolate making.

Bar of the Week: Chocolopolis' Dark Fruit, Nut & Sea Salt

2011-07-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

This week, our bar of the week is truly ours; the Dark Fruit and Nut bar is one of the range of treats we make back in our very own kitchen. A super-sized version of our traditional mendiants, this bar features a dream team of hazelnuts, dried cherries and blueberries, and vanilla-infused sea salt. held together by rich dark chocolate. It's the perfect energy bar to take on hikes during our cold, damp summer!

Come by on Saturday, July 23rd to enjoy a taste of our Dark Fruit and Nut bar.

Christopher Elbow is Coming to Town!

2011-07-11T10:15:00.000-07:00

Its the first week of our anniversary celebration and we've got a lot of exciting and chocolaty events on the calendar! Highlights this week include Taza Tuesday on 7/12 featuring samples of Taza's stone-ground, Mexican-style chocolate, and Bastille Day Happy Hour on Thursday 7/14 from 5-9pm featuring samples of French chocolate by makers such as Valrhona, Pralus and Cluizel.

We cap off the first week with a HUGE event! We're incredibly excited to have Christopher Elbow, the man himself, come to visit us during our anniversary celebration. Upon hearing Christopher would be hosting an event at Chocolopolis, one of our team members exclaimed, "It's like meeting Bobby Flay!" He'll be here this Saturday, July 16 from 1:30 to 4 with samples of his gem-like truffles for tasting. He'll be bringing 2 special varieties that he made just for the occasion.

Christopher's beautiful creations have graced our counter since we opened in 2008, and he's gained an incredibly loyal following among our customers. He'd love to meet loyal fans and newcomers alike. Stop by for a taste and a chat with Chris!

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Gran Couva

2011-07-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is the Gran Couva from French chocolate maker Valrhona. This 64% dark chocolate is made from Trinitario cacao grown on a single plantation in Trinidad. Valrhona currently produces three such "chocolat de domaine" bars, each of which is labeled with a "vintage" year (our current stock is 2010). By sampling one year's produce against another, you can gain new appreciation for annual variations in a specific cacao crop.

Come by on Saturday, July 16th for a taste of Valrhona's Gran Couva.

The Story of One Golden Ticket

2011-07-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

During our annual anniversary celebration we hide three golden tickets among our collection of chocolate bars. Whoever finds these Golden Bars wins a free bar of chocolate every week for a year. One of last year's winners, Richard Vaughan, was so inspired by the experience he started a chocolate blog to chronicle his year of chocolate tasting. I asked Richard to tell the story of his experience. Here it is in his own words.

"Before last year I'd had good chocolate from Lindt and Green and Black's, but in 2010, Chocolopolis exposed my palate to great chocolate. I attended five of their free chocolate tastings during anniversary week, and ending up buying 8 or 9 chocolate bars. Artisan chocolate is expensive (at typically $6 to $10 for only a few ounces), so I savored each bar and ate them slowly, perhaps one per week. As luck would have it, it took me until September before I opened the last of those bars to discover, to my astonishment and delight, one of the golden tickets!

Realizing I would have the opportunity to try literally dozens of different chocolate bars, I decided to start a blog to keep track of my experiences as I tasted and reviewed this huge variety of chocolate. The result was One Golden Ticket. At first it was rather overwhelming, as I was new to the world of artisan chocolate. I asked several of my chocolate-loving friends, and Lindy volunteered to help me with this project. Over the past year, we've reviewed nearly 100 bars of chocolate, and in the process, we've learned about cacao beans, farming, regional origins, ingredients, production, and chocolate makers. Chocolate is almost as complex as wine.

If you love chocolate and have not yet experienced artisan chocolate makers, you owe yourself a trip to Chocolopolis. It might feel overwhelming when you get there and see hundreds of different chocolate bars, but just ask one of the friendly staff there for help. They can explain about different regions, typical flavors, and suggest bars based on your preferences. To try some chocolate before buying, stop by their free Thursday evening "happy hour" chocolate tastings (5 to 9 p.m.). Better yet, visit some of their events during anniversary week, and if you find some chocolate you especially like, buy a bar or two and you might just win a golden ticket as I did."

Richard Vaughan

One Golden Ticket

http://onegoldenticket.blogspot.com

Eat Chocolate, Help us Celebrate our 3rd Anniversary!

2011-07-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's our third anniversary! Help us celebrate by joining us for one of many delicious, free events scheduled throughout July.

Event highlights include a visit from award-winning chocolatier Christopher Elbow, expert talks on cacao farming in Panama and the controversial topic of slavery in West African cacao, chocolate demonstrations by Chocolopolis’ own talented chocolatiers, and a tasting with local up-and-coming chocolate maker Rob Anderson of Fresco Chocolate.

Up to three lucky chocolate lovers will win a year of free chocolate in our annual Golden Bar Giveaway contest.

Check out the full schedule, below, for details. We hope to see you at Chocolopolis!

Schedule and Description of Anniversary Events

Ongoing throughout the month:
Annual Golden Bar Giveaway
At Chocolopolis every bar is a treat--and a few are bona fide treasures. During July, find one of three hidden golden bars and win a bar of chocolate every week for a year. The first golden bar hits the shelves on July 11. The second golden bar will be hidden on July 18 and the final golden bar will be hidden on July 25. Please check our website for additional contest details (www.chocolopolis.com).

Daily schedule of events:
Saturday, July 9
11am – 5pm: Queen Anne Sidewalk Sale
Chocolopolis kicks off its 3rd Anniversary celebration during the Queen Anne Sidewalk Sale. As you stroll the street in search of bargains, come by to cool off with a sample of iced drinking chocolate, re-charge with a Chocolopolis truffle for a special price of only $1, and pick up a schedule of free chocolate events happening throughout the month of July.

Tuesday, July 12
12pm-7pm: Taza Tuesday
If you like texture in your chocolate, you'll love Taza Chocolate's rustic, stone-ground approach. Stop by for a taste of a variety of Taza chocolate.

Thursday, July 14
5pm – 9pm: Happy Hour: Accent on French Chocolate
Do chocolate lovers observe Bastille Day? Mais oui! Feast your eyes on a documentary about lauded French chocolate maker Michel Cluizel (in both French and English) while enjoying samples of rich, creamy chocolate from French makers including Cluizel, Pralus, and Valrhona.

Saturday, July 16
1:30pm-4pm: Meet the Chocolatier: Christopher Elbow
Kansas City-based chocolatier Christopher Elbow makes jewel-like truffles and caramels that are “too beautiful to eat”--but too delicious not to! These delectable chocolates have graced our truffle counter since we opened and have garnered many enthusiastic fans. Stop by to meet the artist himself, sample his confections and see why his devotees are so loyal! Christopher will be making some special chocolates just for the occasion.

Tuesday, July 19
7pm – 9pm: Focus on Chocolate: “Did a Slave Make My Chocolate Bar?”
Many of us want to know more about how our food is produced, but with cacao coming from near the equator, due diligence can be tough. Dr. Kristy Leissle will share a rare glimpse into life and work on West African cacao farms, addressing the pressing question: “Did a Slave Make My Chocolate Bar?”

Wednesday, July 20
1pm-2pm: Demonstration: Tempering Chocolate
Ever wonder why that beautiful bar of chocolate you left on a sunny windowsill was never the same afterwards? Chocolopolis’ own chocolatiers will discuss and demonstrate the intricate art of tempering--melting and cooling chocolate in exactly the right way so that it stays shiny and hard.

Thursday, July 21
5pm-9pm: Happy Hour: Handmade by Chocolopolis
They say good things come in small packages, and the Chocolopolis kitchen is no exception. It’s a tiny space from which issues an unbelievable amount of goodness. Join us in celebrating that bounty at a tasting featuring our greatest hits (single origin truffles, ganache-filled figs) and some works-in-progress.

Friday, July 22
7pm-9pm: Coffee & Chocolate Pairing
Enjoy a match made in Seattle, as Roy Street Coffee’s Ryan Soeder guides you through the murky waters of pairing coffee with chocolate. Discover how optimal pairings bring out hidden flavor notes in both chocolate and coffee--then stay awake all night appreciating your new insight!

Tuesday, July 26
7pm-9pm: Focus on Chocolate: Cacao Production in the Indigenous Ngobe Communities of Panama
More tales from the frontlines of cacao: former Peace Corp volunteer Kate Selting spent her 2008-2010 stint in Panama, where she supported local farmers’ efforts to improve their production practices. Get the nitty-gritty on Kate’s experiences and an update on Panamanian cacao farming.

Wednesday, July 27
1pm-2pm: Demonstration: Ganache
See how Chocolopolis’ chocolatiers produce the melty centers of our popular truffles. Making creamy ganache is as simple as adding cream to melted chocolate--just as long as your temperature, timing, and proportions are exactly right.

Thursday, July 28
5pm-9pm: Happy Hour: Staff Picks
If you’ve been to Chocolopolis, you know our staffers have strong opinions! At this anniversary month Happy Hour, put those opinions to a taste test. Enjoy samples of each staffer’s favorite bars and decide whose palate is most in line with your own.

Saturday, July 30
12pm-1pm: Demonstration: Smoked Chocolate Mousse
You won’t want to blink as Chocolopolis’ chocolatiers make more magic right in front of your eyes. First they’ll smoke (!) premium chocolate to add extra depth and flavor. Then they’ll turn that chocolate into rich, creamy mousse.

3pm-5pm: Meet the Chocolate Maker: Rob Anderson, Fresco Chocolate
Learn more about Washington State's very own micro-batch artisan chocolate maker. Rob Anderson will introduce you to his line of single-origin bars and describe his unique approach to processing. If you’ve ever wondered how conching contributes to flavor profile, don’t miss this event.

Bar of the Week: Amano's Madagascar

2011-07-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week comes from Utah's small batch chocolate maker, Amano. The Madagascar bar is a 70% dark chocolate made from cacao grown in--you guessed it!--Madagascar. This bar takes the bright, fruity flavors you'd expect from the region and cranks the volume to 11, featuring what Amano describes as "assertive" citrus and raspberry notes.

On Saturday, July 9th we'll be celebrating both the Queen Anne Sidewalk Sale and the start of Chocolopolis' Third Anniversary Month. Stop by for a samples of Amano's Madagascar bar and our iced drinking chocolate, as well as our own housemade truffles for only $1 each!

What's a Cacao Nib and What the Heck Do I Do with It?

2011-06-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

Like delicious chocolate nuts, cacao nibs are pieces of the roasted cacao bean. Crunchy and nutty, with hints of liquor-y fermentation, these little gems are the building blocks of artisan chocolate. Taste a cacao nib from Madagascar and you may recognize the red fruit notes commonly associated with Madagascar chocolate. Try one from Venezuela and you may taste walnut notes. Like single-origin chocolate, the flavor of a nib depends upon cacao varietal, terroir, fermentation and roasting style.

So where does a nib come from? After an artisan chocolate maker has roasted cacao beans, he or she needs to remove the papery thin shell on the outside of the beans before beginning the chocolate-making process. Most chocolate makers do this with a machine called a "winnower". The winnower shakes the roasted beans into small pieces (nibs), and air blows the papery shells away from the nibs. So nibs are just pieces of the roasted cacao bean, ready to be ground up into liquid chocolate.

Wondering how the crunchy, nutty nib becomes chocolate? The chocolate maker grinds the nibs, melting their fat and creating liquid chocolate, more recognizable as what you expect chocolate to be. Cacao is made up of approximately equal parts cocoa solids and cocoa butter, so there's a lot of fat in these beans.

Why would someone eat nibs instead of chocolate? Not only are they a delicious and nutritious snack, but they contain a significant number of antioxidants. They are also good for your teeth, as long as there's no sugar added. If you approach nibs with the understanding that they aren't going to taste like a bar of chocolate they can be a delicious and healthful culinary experience.

So what to do with nibs? The possibilities are endless. Whether you're trying to add crunchy texture to a baked good, depth to a spice rub or a savory note to your pasta, nibs can be used pretty much anywhere. The most interesting recipe we've seen is one recommended by a customer for Cacao and Zucchini Absorption Pasta. Give it a try, let us know what you think!

Other ideas for nibs, many of them from our devoted customers, follow. Have fun trying them!

Add to waffles, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies, yogurt or trail mix
Grind with cayenne, salt and other spices as a rub for meat, poultry or seafood
Toss with vinaigrette for a nutty note to your salad
Cook nibs with sugar to make brittle

Happy nib-bling!

Bar of the Week: Pacari's Manabi

2011-06-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Send your tastebuds on an Ecuadorian adventure with the Manabi bar from Quito-based Pacari Chocolate. Pacari is a family-owned company that partners with small farms to produce certified organic and kosher chocolate using Arriba Nacional cacao. The Manabi bar is 65% dark chocolate with assertive notes of nuts and citrus and a long finish.

We'll be offering samples of Pacari's Manabi on Saturday, July 2nd.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Caracas

2011-06-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is a subtle exotic from French maker Francois Pralus. A 75% dark chocolate made from Venezuelan cacao, the Caracas bar combines Pralus's usual creamy texture and dark roast with a mellow earthiness inherent in the cacao. Come by on Saturday, June 25th, for a sample of Pralus' Caracas.

Remembering Dad this Father's Day

2011-06-16T16:46:00.002-07:00

As Father's Day approaches this Sunday, I've been thinking a lot about my dad. This is my first Father's Day without him. He was never much into birthdays and holidays, particularly those he considered "greeting card" holidays. While Father's Day certainly qualified as a "greeting card" holiday in his book, he loved getting my cards, and he loved our recent tradition of going to a Yankees-Mariners game for a belated Father's Day celebration. I'm fortunate and lucky I got to spend these last three years in the same city with him. I cherish every moment he was in Seattle. I'm really lucky.

My unsolicited advice to those of you with a Dad still around is to enjoy him while you can. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can share with him today. While I could certainly suggest a gift of chocolate for Dad ;), the best present is quality time spent together.

In honor of my dad, I've provided a link to the chocolate-covered send off I gave him when he passed away in November. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. May you and your father have a wonderful Father's Day.

Chocolopolis: Farewell to Our Biggest Fan

Bar of the Week: Michel Cluizel's Grand Noir

2011-06-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you're one of those chocolate lovers who's trying to gently ease into the higher percentages, our bar of the week might be for you. Or if you're one of those who thinks anything over 70% will taste like baking chocolate, it just might change your mind.

Michel Cluizel's Grand Noir is a blended from a number of carefully chosen cacaos. It's 85% strength is noticeably mainly in its muted sweetness; the other flavors are surprisingly soft, with no sharp edges and an overall mellowness that recalls slow-roasted nuts.

Come in for a taste of Michel Cluizel's Grand Noir on Saturday, June 18th.

Chocolopolis + Kiva

2011-06-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Although Chocolopolis doesn't have a tip jar, the occasional customer will insist on leaving a little something on the counter. For years that change has been slowly accumulating in a Dixie cup while we wondered what to do with it.

Finally our coins collection reached critical mass, and we decided to use our change for change. The microlending website Kiva gave us the opportunity to turn our tips into a loan to an entrepreneur in a developing country. We couldn't find any cacao farmers or chocolate makers in the directory of borrowers, but we did find Juana (above), a Nicaraguan confectioner who hopes to expand her fudge-making business. Juana will use her loan to improve her production and distribution capabilities, then use her increased profits to repay her loan--which we can then re-lend to another entrepreneur.

If you're one of those who told us to "keep the change," we hope that you'll approve of our choice. Thanks so much for helping us to help others.

And go, Juana, go!

Bar of the Week: Fine and Raw's Blueberries

2011-06-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

We're welcoming summer with a fresh, fruity bar of the week: Fine & Raw's Blueberries. Brooklyn-based F&R specializes in delectable chocolates with a healthy spin; processed at lower-than-normal temperatures, their "raw" chocolates maintain more of cacao's natural nutrients. The Blueberries bar ups the ante even further, adding antioxidant-laden dried blueberries to a 70% dark chocolate made from Ecuadorian cacao and sweetened with palm sugar. It's a rich, jammy treat you can feel good about!

Stop by on Saturday, June 11th, for a sample of Fine & Raw's Blueberries bar.

Not in our neighborhood? Fine & Raw's Blueberries bar is also available from our online store.

Bar of the Week: Bonnat's Java

2011-05-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

If you've finally gotten your head around the differences between "dark", "semi-sweet", and "bittersweet", our bar of the week might throw you for a new loop. From France's venerable bean-to-bar chocolate maker Chocolat Bonnat comes Java, made from single-origin Indonesian cacao. Java is a 65% milk chocolate, a so-called "dark milk" that contains milk but also has a higher percentage of cocoa solids than is typical for a milk chocolate.

A dark milk chocolate tends to be creamier than most darks and less sweet than most milks. Bonnat's Java lives up to this reputation, with a flavor that is at once sophisticated and comforting, intense and gentle. Notes and smoke and peat provide a bassline for lighter tones of citrus and cream.

Come by on Saturday, June 4th, for a sample of Bonnat's Java and an introduction to the world of dark milks.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Ghana

2011-05-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

Pralus' Ghana bar is made in France using Forestero beans grown in Ghana. Like most of Pralus' line, Ghana is a 75% dark chocolate with strong roasty notes and a silky-smooth texture. In other respects, Ghana has its own thing going on. Pralus' tasting notes describe Ghana as "relentlessly aromatic, cocoa, spicy," but most of us here experience it as milder and more subtle than many of Pralus' other offerings, with the earthiness characteristic of the region leavened by a nutty sweetness not unlike sun-warmed hay.

We'll have samples of Pralus' Ghana available on Saturday, May 28th.

Bar of the Week: Cluizel's Mangaro Noir

2011-05-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is the Mangaro Noir from French chocolate maker Michel Cluizel. Made from beans grown in Madagascar on the site of a former mango forest, this 65% dark chocolate is so light, bright, and fruity it's tempting to chalk its personality up to terroir alone.

Stop by on Saturday, May 21st, for a sample of Cluizel's mouthwatering Mangaro Noir.

A Shout Out - Best Use of Single-Origin Chocolate

2011-05-09T10:05:00.000-07:00

As you may have heard, The Serious Chocolate Contest is being held at Chocolopolis this coming Sunday, May 15. While there are four categories you can enter, there's one category that is particularly close to our hearts. I'd like to make a special shout-out to the category "Best Use of Single Origin Chocolate".

Why do we like this category so much? If you've been to Chocolopolis, you'll know that we arrange our carefully curated selection of artisan chocolate according to cacao origin. For us, it's all about cacao varietal, proper fermentation, terroir and the style of the chocolate maker in creating delicious chocolate. Whether the cacao has the smoky, earthy notes of Papua New Guinea, or the red fruit and citrus notes of Madagascar, we want to taste and enjoy what's unique about each of these regions. For The Serious Chocolate Contest, entries in this category will be judged based on how well they show off the unique flavor profile of the single-origin chocolate.

So yes, it's a challenge. But those who enter the Best Use of Single-Origin Chocolate category will earn our admiration and respect, whether or not they win. And we don't bestow our admiration easily.

If you're considering entering this category and you want to talk about it first, I'm happy to talk. Just give us a call and let whoever answers the phone know that you'd like to discuss this category. If I'm not here when you call, I promise to call you back very soon.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren Adler
Chief Chocophile

Bar of the Week: Rogue's Hispaniola

2011-05-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is Rogue's Hispaniola, a 70% dark chocolate made from cacao beans grown, fermented and sun-dried by a small cooperative in the Dominican Republic. With a list of ingredients that's as about as short as they come ("cocoa beans, cane sugar"), Hispaniola's flavors are clear and bright. Sunny notes of citrus and red fruit are grounded by mild spices and cool, herbal licorice.

This is the first time we've featured Rogue Chocolates since micro-batch chocolate maker Colin Gasko since he packed up his contraptions and moved from Minnesota to Massachusetts. Come by on Saturday, May 14th, to sample Rogue's Hispaniola and join us in wishing Gasko the best of luck in his new neighborhood.

Bar of the Week: Santander 70%

2011-05-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

Calling all coffee lovers! Our bar of the week is notorious for robust, roasty, full-bodied flavor. Chocolate Santander's 70% dark bar is a terrific eating chocolate and the basis for our Colombian truffle and one of our most popular drinking chocolates.

The cacao for Santander's range of single origin bars is sourced from small farms in Colombia. Unusually, the chocolate is also manufactured in Colombia, by a firm established in 1920.

Come by our Queen Anne store for a "sip" of Santander 70% on Saturday, May 8th.

Bar of the Week: República Del Cacao's Manabi

2011-04-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is one of those rare chocolates made in the same country in which the cacao beans were grown. República Del Cacao's Manabi bar is produced in Quito from Arriba Nacional cacao grown in the western province of Manabi. In case you'd like to have a closer look at the area, the bar's packaging includes the GPS coordinates of the relevant farm.

Although Manabi is a 75% dark chocolate, its profile is what you might call "relaxed". Soft fruity flavors unfold slowly as the chocolate melts, growing into a mild but well-rounded sweetness that fades just as laconically. This gentle, fresh-tasting chocolate is perfect for spring palates.

Come by and try República Del Cacao's Manabi at our Braven store on Thursday, April 28, or at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, April 30.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Sur del Lago

2011-04-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week comes from Italian chocolate maker Domori. Sur del Lago is a 70% dark chocolate made from Venezuelan cacao grown south of Lake Maracaibo. It's smooth, rich, and well-rounded, with notes of almonds and coffee, and a subtle smokiness.
Come by and try Domori's Sur del Lago at our Braven store on Thursday, April 21st, or at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, April 23rd.

Bar of the Week: Amedei's Toscano Black 63%

2011-04-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

This week we're focusing on a bar from Italian chocolate artisan Amedei. The Toscano range of bars features a carefully chosen blend of different cacaos, presented in a range of different percentages. The 63% is a creamy, full-flavored dark chocolate with an unusal and evocative flavor profile. Amedei suggests that tasters pay particular attention to the aromas, which may include, "Mediterranean woodland, millefleurs honey, a hint of bread baked in a wood oven, fresh tobacco, [and] green tomato chutney."

Will you detect the tobacco, the chutney, or something else entirely? Try a sample and find out; Thursday, April 14th, at our Bravern branch, or Saturday, April 16th, at our store on top of Queen Anne.

Bar of the Week: Madecasse Sea Salt & Nibs

2011-04-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is an especially delectable representative from our "inclusions" section. Madecasse's Sea Salt & Nibs bar blends their 63% dark chocolate with crunchy nibs and a sprinkle of salt for a sweet-bitter-fruity-savory flavor extravaganza. As always, Madecasse's chocolate is made in Madagascar from local cacao, ensuring that a higher percentage of the company's profits benefit the local community.

You'll have two chances to try this delicious bar: at our Bravern store on Thursday, April 7th, or at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, April 9th.

Bar of the Week: Cluizel's Maralumi Lait

2011-03-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Milk chocolate lovers, you've been waiting patiently, so here's a Bar of the Week for you! From French chocolate maker Michel Cluizel, Maralumi Lait is a 47% milk chocolate made from single origin cacao grown in Papua New Guinea. Here's what Cluizel has to say about it:

“...'Maralumi' plantation lies on a land rich in alluvial deposits. Its strongly aromatic cocoa beans blend well with milk to make a distinguished and powerful combination. In the mouth, the characteristic notes of bananas, red berries, and blueberries emanate progressively in an herbaceous harmony and then in “salty caramel.”

(If you like the sound of that but prefer dark chocolate, Maralumi also comes in a dark version...)

You can sample Maralumi Lait at our Braven store in downtown Bellevue on Wednesday, March 31st, or at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, April 2nd.

Bar of the Week: Pralus Tanzanie

2011-03-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is Pralus' single-origin Tanzanie, a 75% dark chocolate that is typical of the maker in some ways and unexpected in others. Made from Forestero cacao, Tanzanie is surprisingly light and fruity, full-bodied but with little of the bitter heavy-roasted notes that are a common theme in Pralus' chocolates. The glossy temper and silky texture, however, are pure Pralus.

You can try Pralus' Tanzanie at our Bravern store on Wednesday, March 24th, or at our store on upper Queen Anne on Saturday, March 26th.

Bar of the Week: Patric's Madagascar 67%

2011-03-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Our Bar of the Week comes from Patric, chocolate-maker Alan McClure's small-batch company based in Missouri. Of his 67% Madagascar bar, McClure writes: "I created this beautiful chocolate to showcase the naturally occurring notes of plum preserves that intermingle with fruits rouges and enticing hints of butter-hazelnut toffee in the amazing single-estate Madagascar cacao."

To try this distinctive dark chocolate, visit our store at the Braven in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, March 17th, or our Queen Anne store on Saturday, March 19th.

Bar of the Week: Grenada 71%

2011-03-06T16:49:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is what might be considered a "green" chocolate, grown and processed on a lush island nation in the Caribbean. Founded in 1999, Grenada-based Grenada Chocolate Company produces chocolate using cacao from a co-operative group of organic farmers. The factory is located in a rain forest and operates off solar energy.

Grenada's 71% is a dark chocolate that also includes organic vanilla from Costa Rica and organic sugar from Paraguay. It's intense and somewhat fruity, with a notably long finish and a refined texture.

You can sample Grenada 71% at our store in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, March 10th, or at our Queen Anne flagship on Saturday, March 12th.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Teyuna

2011-02-27T14:36:00.000-08:00

Our Bar of the Week is the Teyuna from Domori, an Italian maker known for the impeccable texture of its chocolates. The Teyuna bar is a 70% dark chocolate made from Colombian cacao. The flavor is simple but seductive, with notes of honey and cashews and exactly the right amount of sweetness.

Want to try this toasty treat? Stop by our Bravern store in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, March 3rd, or our Queen Anne store on Saturday, March 5th.

Bar of the Week: Pacari's Los Rios

2011-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:00

This week we are revisiting a bar of the week from late 2010. The Los Rios bar from family-owned Ecuadorian chocolate maker Pacari features arriba nacional cacao grown Ecuador's Los Rios region. It's a 72% dark chocolate that's organic, soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and certified kosher. According to Pacari, “The Los Rios bar evokes the exotic aromas of the lush tropical forests where the cacao is grown. You will find strong upfront cacao with notes of fruit blossom and subtle finish of guanábana and roasted coffee.”

If you missed out on sampling Los Rios last time around, you have two more chances: try it at our Bravern store in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, February 24th, or at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, February 26th.

Bar of the Week: Cluizel's Noir de Cacao

2011-02-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is also one of our favorite drinking chocolates; heck, if came in an atomizer we'd probably like that, too! Cluizel's Noir de Cacao is a masterfully blended 72% dark chocolate, smooth, rich, intense, and just a little bit sweet. Like all of Cluizel's products, Noir de Cacao has a luxurious mouthfeel, rather like velvet covered in cream. We consider it an ideal, go-to dark chocolate.

Samples of Cluizel's Noir de Cacao will be available at our store inside the Bravern in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, February 10th, and at our Queen Anne store on Saturday, February 12th.

Bar of the Week: Patric 70% with Nibs

2011-01-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a bar of the week to help you practice your pucker: Patric's 70% with Nibs. Like most chocolate made from single-origin Madagascan cacao, this smooth dark chocolate features bright, tart notes of citrus and cherries. A sprinkling of crunchy roasted nibs of the same cacao reinforces that tartness as well as adding a mellow note and nutty texture.

Stop in and try Patric's 70% with Nibs at our store inside the Bravern in downtown Bellevue on Thursday, February 3rd, or at our store in upper Queen Anne on Saturday, February 5th.

Bar of the Week: Bonnat's Surabaya

2011-01-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is a high cacao-content milk chocolate from Bonnat, France's oldest bean-to-bar chocolate maker (established 1884). Surabaya is a 65% milk chocolate made from single-origin Indonesian beans. It's named for the capital city of East Java; Surabaya is also, coincidentally, one of Seattle's sister cities.

Less sweet than many milk chocolates but milder than most darks, Surabaya has a sophisticated smoky edge and an incredibly creamy texture. Come in and try Bonnat's Surabaya on Saturday, January 29th.

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Abinao

2011-01-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is Valrhona's Abinao, an 85% dark chocolate made from African cacao. If your tastebuds are feeling sluggish and dull, this deliciously bitter treat is sure to wake them up! With hints of black tea and dried oak leaves, this bar more than lives up to its tagline: "Powerful & Tannic."

Come by and try Abinao on Saturday, January 22nd.

Bar of the Week: Madecasse 63%

2011-01-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

Madecasse's premium direct-trade chocolate bars are made in Madagascar from single origin Madagascan cacao. Our bar of week is their "sweet & smooth" 63% bar, a rich-textured dark chocolate with a softened take on the notes of cherry and citrus so characteristic of Madagascar. Come by for a yummy sample on Saturday, January 15th.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Colombie

2010-12-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is another staff favorite that we featured earlier in the year. A 75% dark chocolate of single-origin Trinitario beans, Pralus' Colombie combines the nutty and coffee notes common to the region's chocolates with Pralus' typical heavy roast and creamy texture. If you're a fan of strong coffee, this bar will probably appeal.

Since Chocolopolis will be closed for a brief holiday next weekend, we'll have samples of Pralus' Colombie on Friday, December 31st.

Bar of the Week: Pacari's Los Rios

2010-12-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week comes from family-owned Ecuadorian chocolate maker Pacari, and features arriba nacional cacao grown Ecuador's Los Rios region. The 72% dark chocolate Los Rios bar is organic, soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and certified kosher. According to Pacari, “The Los Rios bar evokes the exotic aromas of the lush tropical forests where the cacao is grown. You will find strong upfront cacao with notes of fruit blossom and subtle finish of guanábana and roasted coffee.”

Since we will be closed on Christmas Day, we'll offer samples of Pacari's Los Rios on Friday, December 24th.

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Palmira

2010-12-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is the 2010 vintage Palmira from Valrhona, a 64% dark chocolate made from criollo cacao grown on the Palmira plantation in west Venezuela. Notes of fruit and cocoa are underlined by a pronounced honeyed sweetness that lingers for a long finish.

Since properly stored dark chocolate can keep indefinitely, Valrhona's policy of labeling each batch of Palmira with a year rather than just an expiration date suggests that it might a good candidate for aging. Perhaps a few years in a cool, dry place would allow Palmira's flavor profile to develop even more character. For comparison's sake, why not get one for snacking and one for cellaring?

Be sure to come by for a taste of "fresh" 2010 Palmira on Saturday, December 18th.

Bar of the Week: Amedei's Toscano Black 70%

2010-12-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

As we approach the holidays it's easy to imagine our bar of the week's elegant black wrapper as the confectionery equivalent of a tuxedo or LBD. And Amedei's Toscano Black 70% bar tastes every bit as refined as it looks.

The Toscano Black range features a top-secret blend of different cacaos developed by Italian makers Amedei. The 70% dark chocolate bar is rich and complex, with berry and floral top notes and a smooth, creamy texture.

Come by for a sample of Amedei's Toscano Black 70% on Saturday, December 11th.

Farewell to Our Biggest Fan

2010-11-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dad

David Adler
1926-2010

My wonderful and supportive father, David Adler, passed away unexpectedly two weeks ago just as we were celebrating the opening of our new store at The Bravern in Bellevue. Dad’s passions in life were good food, good conversation, me and my mom and, more recently, Chocolopolis. I’m incredibly fortunate to have been able to share Chocolopolis with him for 3 years. While my father was always proud of me, this was the first time we shared a passion for my career choice. As our biggest fan and supporter, I thought Dad deserved a chocolate-covered send off.

Mom and Dad moved to the Seattle area from Washington, DC three years ago just as I was signing a lease for our Queen Anne location and beginning the build out of Chocolopolis. He was very concerned about this undertaking of mine, trying to discourage me at every turn from moving forward. It’s not that he didn’t believe in me, it was his way of trying to protect his only child from a risky venture. As a retailer himself, he knew how hard the retail business could be, and he was concerned I wouldn’t have enough customers to support a chocolate store. He kept saying to me, “I think you should open a corned beef and pastrami stand. Now that would do really well.” It just goes to show you that you can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can’t take Brooklyn out of the boy.

When I finally opened the store, Dad was pleasantly surprised that I had customers and that I wouldn’t be going out of business. He quickly became Chocolopolis’ biggest supporter. He would lay awake at night coming up with marketing and product ideas. He’d try to tell me these ideas on a rare day off, when all I wanted to do was relax and not talk about business. Lucky for him my wonderful husband was kind enough to listen to his ideas and to share them with me later when I was ready to hear them. My mother eventually trained Dad to write his ideas down, and then he’d bring them to the store when I was working and share them with me. While some of the ideas would be more appropriate for 1940’s Brooklyn, other ideas were truly inspired and showed a deep understanding of the business, modern technology and my skill set.

The Adlers at Chocolopolis

Dad was Chocolopolis’ biggest promoter. He would sit with a cup of drinking chocolate at our window counter and tell anyone who came near the counter that the drinking chocolate was fantastic. If we tried to approach him and talk to him while he was doing this, he’d shoo us away and pretend not to know us so we wouldn’t blow his cover. On more than one occasion when my husband walked down Queen Anne Avenue with Dad, he would tell people in passing that there was a fantastic chocolate shop just down the street that had great figs or drinking chocolate. Those items, along with our chocolate-covered marshmallows, were his favorites, and he talked about them often.

My father is living testament to the idea that anyone can become a dark chocolate eater. He and I both ate almost exclusively mass-market milk chocolate for most of our lives. One of our all-time favorites was the Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar, which was usually in our fridge (yes, we put chocolate in the fridge). For a time when I was a teenager, he worked as a merchandiser for Hershey, and we’d get all the out-of-code chocolate to eat – I loved that job. When I opened Chocolopolis I began introducing him to good dark chocolate. While I’ve seen a lot of customers’ palates adapt, including my own, I never expected his to change. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that shortly after I opened the store, he would no longer touch the mass market chocolate, and he’d come to prefer dark chocolate. I’m proud to say I never saw another bar of Cadbury Fruit & Nut in the house again. He only wanted the good stuff.

Many of my staff got to know Dad well, and they took great care of him. They’d immediately offer him a cup of drinking chocolate when he arrived at the store. If they were experimenting with a new product, they’d bring out a sample just for him. He usually loved whatever they were working on. He liked to see the sales totals, so they’d print out a sales report as soon as he arrived. He was very fond of my wonderful team of young ladies. I have to say a special thanks to those he got to know particularly well. My heartfelt thanks to Stacey, who has known Dad since I opened the store, and who calls herself an “honorary Adler”. Many warm thanks also to Emily, Roxanne, Julia, Candace, Robin and Sarah. He loved talking to all of you, and he constantly told me how nice you were to him.

Dad passed away the second day of our grand opening at The Bravern. He had not been to see the store since we’d opened because he wanted to wait for the grand opening when he knew it would be packed with customers. We had very good sales on our first day of grand opening, and I was able to tell him the sales total. He smiled and tried to say something. We could tell he was pleased. Sales on day two of the grand opening were even better, but this time Dad was gone and I couldn’t share it with him. While it was hard to swallow, I take comfort that he knew our first day was an excellent one.

Davy making Egg Creams @ Chocolopolis

I’d like to offer a chocolate-covered toast to Dad. We’ll think of you every time we sip drinking chocolate, eat a Chocolopolis fig or savor a chocolate-covered marshmallow. You’ll be with us every night we have a good sales report. We’ll remember you fondly whenever we make a Brooklyn egg cream. It’s because of you that we know the proper ratio of chocolate to seltzer to milk, and we won’t forget to stir at each step. And most importantly, I’ll call it “chewauklet” with a Brooklyn accent every once in awhile just so I can hear your voice.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of these past 3 years sharing Chocolopolis with you. I love you, Dad.
Lauren

Bar of the Week: Amedei's Toscano Blond

2010-11-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is so good we're featuring it for a second time: it's Toscano Blond from Amedei. Here's what I had to say about the Blond bar in a previous post:

"We're celebrating the launch of Amedei's pretty new packaging by featuring the Tosacano Blond inclusion bar. It's a smooth, bittersweet blend of 63% dark chocolate, studded with tiny pieces of sweet/tart dried apricots and peaches--like little flashes of sunshine on a cloudy day."

If you you're in need of a little sunshine, stop by for a sample of Amedei's Blond on Saturday, December 4.

Bar of the Week: Claudio Corallo's Gengibre

2010-11-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

Feeling under the weather? Need a throat-soothing, tummy-taming, soul-warming treat? Then come try our bar of the week: Claudio Corallo's Gengibre.

Grown and processed on an island off the west coast of Africa, Corallo's unconched chocolate is deliciously earthy and cool, full of flavors you just won't find in any other chocolate. For his Gengibre bar, Corallo adds spicy crystallized ginger to his 75% dark chocolate, creating an appealing balance of contrasting textures, tastes, and temperatures.

Come by on Saturday, November 27, for a sample of Claudio Corallo's Gengibre bar.

Bar of the Week: Patric's Rio Caribe

2010-11-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Although American micro-batch chocolate maker Patric is best known for a line of Madagascar bars, they've also made one successful foray into Venezuela. Our bar of the Week is Patric's Rio Caribe, a 70% dark chocolate from cacao grown on Venezuela's Paria Penninsula. This is a full-bodied and complex chocolate with creamy, nutty base notes and flashes of bright fruit and flowers.

We'll be serving up samples of Patric's Rio Caribe on Saturday, November 20.

Bar of the Week: Valrhona's Guanaja

2010-11-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

Our bar of the week is Valrhona's Guanaja, the first of this major chocolate producer's line of "grand cru" chocolates. This 70% dark chocolate is mix of criollo, trinitario, and forastero cacaos named for the island in the Bay of Honduras where the beans were farmed. Valrhona's tagline for the bar is "bittersweet and elegant"; it features a pared-down flavor profile, with floral and fruity notes anchored by a pleasant bitterness reminiscent of coffee or nuts.

Come by and try Valrhona's Guanaja on Saturday, November 13th.

New Chocolate Makers Have Arrived!

2010-11-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

There’s a lot going on at Chocolopolis right now, including the addition of three new fantastic chocolate makers to our carefully-curated collection of bean-to-bar chocolate. Each one has an interesting story and fantastic chocolate. Without further ado, I introduce Fine + Raw, Fresco and El Ceibo.

Fine + Raw

I have to give credit for this find to Julia Harrison, who works at Chocolopolis on the weekends. Julia has been looking for good raw chocolate, and found Fine + Raw online shortly before I left for the Fancy Food Show in New York.

It was about 90 degrees outside when I dragged my mother to Greenpoint in Brooklyn for a meeting with Fine + Raw. I sat down with Daniel Sklaar, the founder of Fine + Raw, and his partner Georgie Castle. We proceeded to taste all of their chocolate, and all of it was delicious. Since we were already in the heat of summer, it wasn’t a good time to ship their chocolate to Seattle. So I’ve been anxiously awaiting Fine + Raw’s arrival for months. It’s finally here!

What is raw chocolate? It’s chocolate made from cacao that is neither roasted nor heated above 116⁰ at any point during processing. The idea is that it keeps more of the nutrients and antioxidants intact. Raw or not, this chocolate is delicious. Daniel uses Ecuadorian cacao to make his final product, and he offers more than just solid chocolate.

Fine + Raw’s bonbon bars have a very thin layer of plain chocolate bonbon or chipotle bonbon running through the center of the bar. Their Chunky Bonbon bars are filled with vegan truffles made with either almond praline or coconut milk and chocolate. They’re addictive.

Fresco Chocolate
We’re very excited to be one of the first retailers in the country to carry Fresco Chocolate, originating right up the road in Bellingham, WA. Founder and chocolate maker Rob Anderson has been bringing us prototype samples for over a year, and he finally launched his bean-to-bar chocolate in the last 2 weeks. Rob didn’t start slowly. He jumped right in with 4 bars from three origins. One of the coolest things about Fresco is that Rob provides information about roasting and conching styles on each box of chocolate. He offers 2 Jamaica 70% bars, one with a dark roast and subtle conch, and one with a dark roast and medium (longer) conch. It’s a great way to compare the difference conching makes when other variables are kept the same. He also has a Ghana bar with a medium roast and a medium conch and a Dominican Republic bar with a light roast and a subtle conch. Rob has agreed to come to Chocolopolis to sample his chocolate. Stay tuned for a date, which we hope will be soon.

Our free chocolate happy hour in Queen Anne this Thursday (11/4) features Fresco chocolate. Stop by for a chance to taste this great new chocolate.

El Ceibo
I received a phone call this summer from a Bolivian gentleman named Pastor Payllo who represents El Ceibo, a coop of Bolivian cacao growers who make their own chocolate. Pastor called me at the recommendation of Biaggio Abbatiello, the owner of Biaggio Chocolate in DC. So thanks to Biaggio, we’ve got El Ceibo. Now that's a mouthful!

Not only is this chocolate delicious, it’s great for the farmer. As the bar label says, “From the trees to the chocolate, we do not collaborate with the producers, we are the producers.” El Ceibo grows organic cacao in the low-altitude, tropical, northern part of Bolivia called Alto Beni. They transport their cacao to a chocolate factory in the Andes to process it into chocolate. El Ceibo chocolate packs a wonderful flavor profile with a bit of texture. You may notice that the bar is a bit rustic-looking with an uneven temper. To me that’s part of its charm. Ultimately the flavor of the cacao shines through.

There are 2 El Ceibo bars, a 75% bar that you'll find in our Central & South America regional section and a 77% bar with Cacao Nibs & Uyuni Salt, located in our inculsion section. The salt for the inclusion bar comes from the largest salt flat in the world, located in southwest Bolivia near the crest of the Andes. For those of you familiar with Chloe Doutre-Roussel, author of The Chocolate Connoisseur, this chocolate even has her seal of approval on the box. We have boxes of single-origin Bolivian cocoa powder at our Queen Anne store, and we expect a delivery of El Ceibo’s traditional drinking chocolate disks in the next month.

Bar of the Week: Fine & Raw's Crystals and Sea Salt

2010-10-31T17:52:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to be carrying a range of chocolate bars from Fine & Raw. This Brooklyn-based maker keeps its chocolate at low temperatures during processing, maintaining more of the cacao's naturally beneficial nutrients--without sacrificing any deliciousness.

Our bar of the week is Fine & Raw's Crystals and Himalayan Sea Salt. The base is a 70% dark chocolate made from Ecuadorian cacao, to which they add a touch of sea salt and "crystals" of palm sugar, a sweetener made from palm tree flowers. The balance of flavors and textures is absolutely amazing and dangerously addictive. Stop by on Saturday, November 6th, for a taste of Fine & Raw's Crystals and Himalayan Sea Salt...if you dare!

Bar of the Week: Domori's Sambirano

2010-10-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of certain Chinese foods, you might want to try our new Bar of the Week: Domori's Sambirano is known for its intriguing blend of sweet and sour notes. This 70% dark chocolate uses an hybrid criollo-trinitario cacao grown in Madagascar's Sambriano Valley. The intense but agreeable sweet-sour flavor of this chocolate also has hints of berries, cashews, pepper and cinnamon, and a long finish.

Come by on Saturday, October 23rd, for a taste of Domori's Sambirano.

Bar of the Week: Cluizel's Villa Gracinda

2010-10-10T13:44:00.000-07:00

Come by on Saturday, October 16th, for a taste of this exotic and historic chocolate.

We're Coming Soon to Bellevue

2010-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

We're very excited to announce that we're opening a seasonal store at The Bravern in Bellevue at the end of October. We'll be in suite 192, right next door to Wild Ginger, across from Vovito Cafe and down a few doors from Anthropologie. I highly recommend stopping by for chocolate after you've enjoyed the happy hours at Wild Ginger and John Howie Steakhouse.

We can't provide a specific date yet, but it will be towards the end of October. We'll know more once the cabinet maker finishes fabricating our shelves and we start to stock the store with chocolate. Watch our Twitter account (@chocolopolis) for updates on the build-out with photos. We'll announce the date there.

Below is the official press release. I hope we'll see you there!

Happy chocolate eating,
Lauren

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chocolopolis Opens Seasonal Store at The Shops at The Bravern
BELLEVUE, WASH. (September 29, 2010) – Since July 2008, Chocolopolis has been satisfying chocolate cravings and educating Seattle about fine artisan chocolate. In October, they will expand their operations to the east side of Lake Washington to open their second store at The Shops at The Bravern.

Located adjacent to Wild Ginger, Chocolopolis will treat guests to a world of chocolate they may not have known before. Chocolopolis is dedicated to helping customers discover the world of fine artisan chocolate through their selection of over 200 bars of chocolate from more than 20 countries, one of the largest selections of chocolate in the country. Much like a wine store, their chocolate bars are arranged by the geographic origin of the cacao. They also offer truffles and other wonderful chocolate creations from world-renowned chocolatiers. For those interested in learning more through tasting, they invite guests to come in and discover the world of chocolate at their free chocolate happy hours, featuring rotating samples from an array of cacao origins and chocolate makers.

“We are very excited to be a part of The Bravern because of the wonderful community they’ve created. It’s not just a shopping center, it’s a center of business and technology, a place to live, a spot for fine dining and the best address for fashion in the region”, says Chocolopolis founder Lauren Adler. “The Bravern is the perfect location for us to introduce the world’s finest artisan chocolate makers and chocolatiers to the Eastside. We also know that our existing Eastside customers will be thrilled that Chocolopolis will be so conveniently located on their side of the lake.”

-30-

Contact
Tami Elwin
425-456-8780
telwin@schnitzerwest.com

About The Bravern
The Bravern is a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly outdoor village at the gateway to downtown Bellevue, Washington. Completed in 2009 by Schnitzer West, LLC, the mixed-use development encompasses The Shops at The Bravern with fashion retail, lifestyle services and premier restaurants anchored by Neiman Marcus; The Bravern Signature Residences in two elegant towers; The Bravern Office Commons featuring two towers fully leased to Microsoft; and abundant parking. For more information, call (425) 456-8780 or visit the web site at www.thebravern.com. You will also find The Shops at The Bravern on Facebook and may follow on Twitter @bravern.

About Schnitzer West LLC
Schnitzer West LLC is one of the West Coast’s fastest growing real estate investment, development and property management companies. Founded in 1997 by managing investment partner Dan Ivanoff of Seattle and Schnitzer Investment Corp of Portland, the company has built a successful track record in the commercial and multi-family housing markets through product innovation, disciplined management and investment expertise. Known for its commitment to “Outperform The Expected,” Schnitzer West has earned recognition for creating innovative workplaces and living spaces, for delivering superior-to-market returns and for its value-creation approach to property management. To date, it has developed and delivered in excess of 5.1 million square feet of Class-A office and suburban office, flex, industrial and bio-tech space; 305,000 square feet of upscale retail and more than 1,250 luxury multi-family apartment and condominium units in the Seattle and Portland markets. Additionally, it has acquired and repositioned approximately 1.0 million square feet of commercial product. Currently, its Asset Operations group actively manages 5.5 million square feet of office, retail, industrial and bio-tech property for a variety of clients. Building on its success in the Northwest, Schnitzer West owns additional properties in Denver and is exploring new market opportunities across the Western United States. Learn more at www.schnitzerwest.com.

Bar of the Week: Coppeneur's Hacienda Iara

2010-10-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Most of the world's cacao is a hearty, adaptable variety known as Forestero. While less-prevalent Trinitario and Criollo cacaos are generally considered finer and more flavorful, there are also some very fine Foresteros out there. Arriba Nacional is a subspecies of Ecudaorian Forestero known for its robust but nuanced flavor.

Our Bar of the Week puts Arriba Nacional on a well-deserved pedestal. A 72% dark chocolate from German maker Coppeneur, Hacienda Iara has a tangy personality with bright jasmine overtones balanced by mellow notes of roasted nuts. Hacienda Iara is EU-certified organic and contains just three ingredients: cacao, sugar and cocoa butter.

We will be offering samples of Coppeneur's Hacienda Iara on Saturday, October 9th.

Bar of the Week: Michel Cluizel's Grand Lait

2010-09-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

When customers ask about the difference between "single-origin" and "blend" chocolate, I usually explain that a single-origin takes advantage of a particular cacao's unique qualities, while a blend starts with a particular chocolate maker's unique vision. With an "ideal" chocolate in mind, the chocolate maker can pick and choose different cacao, mixing and adding to achieve the desired effect.

Case in point, the Grand Lait bar from Michel Cluizel, our current Bar of the Week. This incredibly smooth milk chocolate contains 45% cacao and features rich, creamy notes of hazelnut and caramel. If you've been disappointed by weak or cloying milk chocolates, this is definitely one to try.

Stop by on Saturday, October 2nd, for a sample of Cluizel's Grand Lait.

Bar of the Week: Madecasse's 67%

2010-09-19T17:28:00.000-07:00

This bar of the week is a taste-good, feel-good combo. Madecasse was founded by two former Peace Corps volunteers who leveraged their experience in Madagascar to start a chocolate company that trades directly with rural farmers. Even more unusual, Madecasse chocolate is made in Madagascar itself; as Madecasse's website notes, "85% of the world’s cocoa comes from Africa. less than 1% of chocolate is made there." By basing their operations in Madagascar, Madecasse ensures that more of its profits stay in the country. Although Madecasse isn't certified "fair trade", the company estimates that localized manufacturing has even more benefits for its farmers than would certification alone.

And how does it taste? The 67% bar is characterized as "mellow and subtle," a toned-down take on the fruity notes of raspberry, cranberry and cherry that you'd expect from Madgascar chocolate. Other ingredients include the emulsifier soy lecithin, and a hint of vanilla.

We'll be sampling Madecasse's 67% on Saturday, September 25.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Sur del Lago

2010-09-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

We're on a Domori roll this week with another featured bar from the Italian chocolate maker. This time it's the Sur del Lago, a 70% dark chocolate made from Venezuelan cacao grown south of Lake Maracaibo. It's a smooth, rich, well-rounded chocolate with notes of almonds and coffee, and a subtle smokiness

Stop by on Saturday, September 18th, for a taste of Domori's Sur del Lago.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Rio Caribe

2010-09-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

This 70% dark chocolate from Italian maker Domori uses premium cacao from a single estate in Venezuela. The Rio Caribe bar is intense but well balanced, with fruity notes and hints of tobacco, nuts, and spice. Come by on Saturday, September 11th, for a taste of Domori's Rio Caribe.

Bar of the Week: Pacari's Esmeraldas

2010-08-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

While the vast majority of cacao originates close to the equator, the vast majority of chocolate manufacturers are based thousands of miles from the farms and plantations where their raw material is grown. Pacari is one of the exceptions to that rule.

Quito-based Pacari produces chocolate from cacao grown in Ecuador by independant small farmers, which means that more of the chocolate-making profits stay in the country. Pacari's chocolate is also certified organic and kosher.

Pacari's single-region Esmeraldas bar is a 60% dark chocolate made from Arriba Nacional cacao. In addition to cocoa solids and sugar it contains some additional cocoa butter and sunflower-derived lecithin as an emulsifier, but is dairy- and soy-free. This fruity and floral chocolate has particular notes of banana and honey and a long finish.

We'll be offering samples of Pacari's Esmeraldas on Saturday, September 4th.

Bar of the Week: Michel Cluizel's Maralumi

2010-08-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Our tasting trip through Southeast Asia continues with Cluizel's Maralumi bar, a 64% dark chocolate named for the Papua New Guinean plantation on which the beans were grown. Most tasters tend to pick up on notes of fresh and dried fruits, spice and smoke. Cluizel's copywriters go a little further, describing the bar as mellow, with "slightly roasted and spicy flavors, fresh notes of green bananas and adiculated flavours of red currants prolonged by charming aromas of Havana tobacco leaves."

Which charming notes will you detect? Come by on Saturday, August 28th, to sample Cluizel's Maralumi--and let us know what you think!

Bar of the Week: Askinosie's Davao

2010-08-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our bar of the week is the dark Davao from Missouri-based Askinosie Chocolate. Made from trinitario cacao grown in the Philippines, this 77% dark chocolate is the first Filipino single-origin bar. It's yet another chocolate milestone from the trailblazers at Askinosie!

By looking up the "choc-o-lot" number stamped on each bar on the Askinosie website, you can learn more about the timeline and formulation of a particular bar. Askinosie constantly tinkers with its formulas to achieve a consistent product based on inconsistent natural ingredients. In the spirit of full disclosure, Askinosie notes that the current batch of 77% Davao includes 1% of cocoa butter made from the same Davao beans; the other 23% is organic sugar.

Each Askinosie wrapper is adorned with a photo of the lead farmer responsible for the cacao inside. The Davao bar features the smiling face of Peter Cruz. These personal touches are a nod to Askinosie's close and direct relationship with the farming communities that grow its cacao.

The Davao bar has won rave reviews, with tasters hailing its intensity and richness, and some comparing its fruity depths to those present in a well-aged red wine.

Stop by for a sample of Askinosie's Davao on Saturday August 21st.

Bar of the Week: Amano's Jembrana

2010-08-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

Since Seattle is not getting much of a summer this year, we're sending our taste buds on vacation with a month-long celebration of chocolate from Southeast Asian origins. Our current Bar of the Week is Amano's Jembrana, a 70% dark chocolate made from beans grown in Bali. Jembrana boasts a rich but subtle chocolate flavor with soft notes of honey and fig.

Amano is an artisan chocolate maker located in Salt Lake City ("One of the highest-altitude chocolate manufacturers in the world!"). Amano chocolates are kosher-certified and although the company has not sought fair trade certification, it does pay its farmers well above markets rates for cacao.

We'll be offering samples of Amano's Jembrana on Saturday, August 14th. Come join us in virtual Bali!

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Melissa

2010-08-01T17:02:00.000-07:00

Our next Bar of the Week is Pralus' Melissa, chosen by Roxanne. Melissa is a 45% milk chocolate made from cacao grown in Indonesia, where fresh cacao beans are often dried over fires. It has the creamy texture you'd expect of either a good milk chocolate or a typical Pralus bar, along with an intriguingly smoky sweetness and aromatic notes of vanilla and caramel.

Come by on Saturday, August 7th, for a taste of Pralus' Melissa.

Bar of the Week: Pralus' Cuba

2010-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

The final Bar of the Week for our anniversary month is Emily's favorite, the Pralus' Cuba. This 75% dark chocolate has Pralus' usual heavily-roasted sweetness, with subtle, exotic notes of spice, pepper, and licorice. Stop in for a sample on Saturday, July 31st.

What a Ride it's Been!

2010-07-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Chocolopolis May 2008Two years ago I opened Chocolopolis. It was July of 2008, and while the economy had been struggling for awhile, the biggest hit was yet to come. Winter is the time for heavy chocolate consumption, not summer, yet we had a very good July and August in 2008. I don't know if it was the economy or the "wow" factor of being a new business with a cool concept, but our sales were better than I'd expected. I remember thinking, "If business is this good in July and August, can you imagine what September will be like?" We got to September and the stock market tanked. Cue the crickets.

Chocolopolis May 2010

It was a tough first year. We were trying to teach people about artisan chocolate and educate their palates in a very poor economy. Looking back I remember nights of little sleep and many tears. My wonderful husband, Mark Kotzer, kept me sane with optimistic reminders of why I would succeed. In my heart I knew I'd succeed because I always work hard and smart, and I don't doubt my ability to make things work. But it was really tough.

Two years later the sleepless nights and tears are gone. My days are still filled with a lot of hard work, but my job is a lot more fun now. We have many wonderful, loyal customers who have learned about artisan chocolate and come in to chat about their favorite bar, their children or their grandchildren. We've built a reputation around the country for being one of a handful of chocolate retailers that really understand artisan bean-to-bar chocolate. We've got an incredible team working at the store, all of whom are passionate about chocolate and enjoy working with our customers. I'm lucky to have such incredible employees!

One of the absolute best parts of this job is getting to talk to some of the most talented chocolate makers and chocolatiers in the world on a regular basis. I feel like I have a red line phone to Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate and Colin Gasko of Rogue Chocolatier. It's really great talking to these guys, and what I don't hear from one of them directly, I hear from the other. They're incredibly passionate about chocolate, and they're really talented artisans who are both friends and competitors. I've also learned from other artisan chocolate makers like Art Pollard of Amano and Shawn Askinosie. All of these chocolate makers are sources of so much information when it comes to the many interesting topics around fine cacao such as bean genetics, fermentation and drying techniques and cacao sourcing. I'll be talking with all of them in the near future for some upcoming blog posts on these issues.

I also have to thank Christopher Elbow, a world class chocolatier who took our word that we'd treat his confections right and agreed to let us sell these tasty gems on our truffle counter. Chris has been an incredible supporter, making us the only store in Washington state that sells his chocolates, and coming to Seattle to meet our customers in our first year. It's been a pleasure working with Chris and his team, who are incredibly supportive and down-to-earth, and who really care about producing excellent chocolates.

I've also enjoyed getting to know some of the other retailers around the country who are equally geeky about chocolate. Who are they? Seneca Klassen of Bittersweet Cafe in San Francisco, Biaggio Abbatiello and his team from Biaggio Chocolate in DC (my hometown!), Jesse Manis and Aubrey Lindley of Cacao: Drink Chocolate in Portland, and Jack from Chocolate Covered in the Noe Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. These guys are all incredibly interesting characters (particularly Jack), and they're passionate about their chocolate. I look forward to visiting Seneca, who is leaving the Bay Area for Hawaii, where he'll tend his own grove of cacao trees full time. He's taking the plunge into cacao growing and chocolate making. I admire his willingness and fortitude in being able to follow his passion to the root of the cacao tree! If you'd like to follow Seneca's journey, check out his blog or follow his progress on twitter.

Most importantly, I'd like to thank our customers. True to Seattle's reputation, you have proven yourselves to be engaged and interested customers who want to learn about chocolate from farm to bar. Chocolate makers who conduct tastings at Chocolopolis are always impressed by how many of you want to hear their story while trying their chocolate. You don't just eat samples and walk away. We're proud to have so many chocolate lovers in Seattle.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make our first two years a success! We made it!

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren

Bar of the Week: Claudio Corallo's Sablé

2010-07-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

This week we're featuring Julia's favorite bar, a unique chocolate from a unique chocolate maker. Claudio Corallo is a cacao farmer and chocolate maker based on the island of Sao Tome, off the west coast of Africa. Wishing to retain the full range of his cacao's natural flavors, Corallo skips conching--the high-temperature, high-pressure process that most chocolate makers used to refine the texture and flavor of their chocolate. Despite this, Corallo's chocolate is silky-smooth and full of intense but balanced flavors.

For the Sablé bar, Corallo concocts an 80% dark chocolate then adds in large grains of sugar towards the end of the manufacturing process so that they remain distinct, giving the bar its appealing "sandy" texture. Initial flavors recall cool, dark, rich soil, with a sweet finish kicking in as the sugar slowly melts.

Come by and try this extraordinary chocolate on Saturday, July 24th.

Bar of the Week: Domori's Teyuna

2010-07-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Next up is Candace's favorite bar, the Teyuna from Domori, an Italian maker known for the impeccable texture of its chocolates. The Teyuna bar is a 70% dark chocolate made from Colombian cacao. The flavor is simple but seductive, with notes of honey and cashews and exactly the right amount of sweetness.

We'll be offering samples of Domori's Teyuna on Saturday, July 17th. Stop by to see what all the fuss is about!

Bar of the Week: Amano's Dos Rios

2010-07-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

Since July is anniversary month at Chocolopolis, we've decided to feature staff favorites as our bars of the week. First up is Stacey, our Chocolatier. She chose Amano's Dos Rios bar as one of her favorites. Stacey liked this bar so much she made a truffle out of it! Here's what we had to say back in February when Dos Rios was the new bar on the block:

"From his base in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Art Pollard of Amano Artisan Chocolate seeks out the cacao world's most eccentric and flamboyant beans, transforming them into chocolate that showcases their strong personalities.

"Amano's new Dos Rios bar is the product of a chance encounter and behind-the-scenes matchmaking. A friend in the industry came across a uniquely flavorful cacao while traveling in the Dominican Republic and immediately alerted Pollard, who adjusted his processing techniques to maximize the cacao's inherent flavors. The result is a strongly perfumed 70% chocolate with pronounced notes of bergamot, rose, and orange blossom, and a long floral finish. It's hard to believe that none of these flavors were added!

"Dos Rios is probably unlike anything you've tasted before."

Six months later, this chocolate is no longer a novelty, but remains one of our staff favorites. Stop by for a sample on Saturday, July 10.

Aisles and aisles of chocolate

2010-07-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ina Garten at the Fancy Food Show

Close your eyes and imagine this. Five football fields full of cheese, olives, oils, sauces and chocolate. The Barefoot Contessa sitting at a booth radiating her warm smile and waiting to meet you, cupcakes in hand. Rick Bayless sauteing samples of his chicken in roasted garlic and chipotle tomato sauce and arranging them on a tortilla just for you.

This is how I spent last Sunday and Monday, sampling the latest creations of the world's culinary experts at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York. Open to retailers, distributors and importers, the Fancy Food Show is the trade show to the gourmet industry, and it's a sensory experience to behold. As a veteran, I expertly walked past the blue cheese, the spice-infused olives and the warm cupcakes and nibbled on many samples of chocolate. I hit chocolate saturation pretty quickly, but I soldiered on like a chocolate veteran.

While others might be taking photos with Rick Bayless, I was more excited to meet Francois Pralus, Marc Cluizel and Maricel Presilla, pillars of the world chocolate community. I came home with a camera full of photos of me with the chocolate glitterati, an album only a chocolate geek would appreciate.

Me w/Marc Cluizel and Art Pollard (Amano)

Choco-celebrity meetings included an evening choctail reception at Michel Cluizel's boutique on Fifth Avenue with Michel Cluizel's son, Marc Cluizel, a great guy.

Stopping at Amano's booth for another taste of Art Pollard's newest single-origin bar from the famed Chuao cooperative. I promised Art we'd have the bar available for Amano's tasting event at Chocolopolis during our anniversary week so our customers can weigh in on this limited edition bar. Stop by Monday, July 13 between 4:30 and 6:30 to try some Amano chocolate!

Hanging out with Francois Pralus

Talking cacao with Francois Pralus at his booth on the France aisle as he loaded me up with samples of his fondue, giandujia and barre infernale (which really is infernal).

Meeting Santiago Peralta, the founder of Ecuadorian chocolate company, Pacari, and being interviewed by the Trade Office of Ecuador at his booth.

Me w/Shawn Askinosie and Kesha Alexander

Finally meeting Shawn Askinosie and hearing about his upcoming trip to Tanzania with students of his Chocolate University. His Cocoa Honors students chose a village in Tanzania as the origin of cacao beans for Askinosie's next chocolate bar, and they raised money to fund the drilling of a deep-water well for the village.

Taste testing Joan Coukos' new line of milk chocolate confections for Chocolat Moderne and sharing a drink with her at a great, neighborhood Greek restaurant she's been frequenting for almost 20 years.

I've got so many stories from my NYC travels, I had to break this up into 3 posts. Next up, geeking out on chocolate at the Fine Chocolate Industry Association event before the Fancy Food Show.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren Adler
Chief Chocophile

Bar of the Week: Patric's Madagascar with Nibs

2010-06-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

We're celebrating our anniversary throughout the month of July by highlighting some of our own favorite bars. First up, a 70% dark chocolate from Madagascar with added nibs by microbatch maker Patric: "...a bar that is both refined and rustic, it is our most munchable and crunchable bar yet, while at the same time amplifying the delicious and complex chocolate flavor that you've come to expect from Patric Chocolate."

Come crunch on a sample on Saturday, July 3rd!

Bar of the Week: Coppeneur's Ocumare with Chili and Cacao Nibs

2010-06-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

The final featured bar for our "Inclusion Month" is Coppeneur's Ocumare with Chili and Cacao Nibs. Coppeneur takes its inspiration from the Aztecs with this 72% dark chocolate made from Venezuelan criollo cacao grown in the Ocumare coastal region. The chocolate's fruity and earthy notes are complemented by the carefully chosen inclusions; roasted nibs provide crunch and bursts of pleasant bitterness while the chili delivers a degree of warmth that Coppeneur calls "slightly provocative".

Come by to try Coppeneur's spicy Ocumare on Saturday, June 26th.

Bar of the Week: Amedei's Toscano Red

2010-06-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

Our "Inclusion Month" continues--with a fruity twist. Amedei's Toscano Red is mouthwatering bar from a renowned Italian maker that combines a fruity "extra dark" 70% blend with tiny pieces of strawberry, cherry, and raspberry.

Stop by on Saturday, June 19th, for a taste of this rich, ripe treat!

Bar of the Week: Claudio Corallo's Laranja

2010-06-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Our "Inclusion Month" continues with the classic combo of chocolate and orange taken to new heights of refinement.

Claudio Corallo's Laranja bar features tiny pieces of crystallized orange peel embedded in Corallo's classic 75% dark chocolate. As both a cacao farmer and a chocolate maker, Corallo creates meticulous chocolate from heirloom plants grown on the island of Sao Tome, off the west coast of Africa. While the vast majority of makers subject their chocolate to a high temperature process known as "conching", Corallo chocolates are unconched, retaining the flavorful acids that would otherwise have been driven off by the heat. The result is an earthy, complex chocolate that makes a wonderful base for bright citrus notes.

Come by on Saturday, June 12th, to enjoy a taste of Claudio Corallo's Laranja.