What We're Eating: Michel Cluizel Mangaro Noir

Madagascar is always one of my favorite regions. I love sampling it to people and watching the disbelief in their eyes at the flavor profiles hidden within. It is often where I steer the reluctant dark chocolate eater because the underlying notes are so pleasant and interesting many can hardly believe it is dark chocolate. Cluizel's Mangaro Noir 65% is no exception to this rule.



It is not surprising that this bar has quite a few awards under its belt. The wonderful chocolaty aroma greets you immediately upon opening the packaging, followed by a smooth texture with sweet, tart cherry notes that are woven perfectly through this intense chocolate experience. Hints of coffee and exotic spices round out this pleasingly mellow bar. Not one to beat you over the head with the classic Madagascar flavors, this bar is chocolate through and through. Why not stop by and try it some time? We will be sampling all day Saturday but if you'd rather, stop by any time and ask for a taste. You won't be disappointed.

Cheers!
Emily
Purveyor of fine chocolate and operations extraordinaire

Taking Beauty Shots of our Bars

Chocolopolis Hand Poured Chocolate Bars

I spent the whole day taking photos of our own hand poured chocolate bars. The photos were so mouthwatering, I had to share.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren
Chief Chocophile

What We're Eating: Valrhona Palmira 2010

For those of you who have been following along for awhile now you might recognize this bar. Back in December (through this post) we let you know that the Valrhona Palmira bar would soon be no more. However, it has been a long-time favorite of all of us. Most particularly our Store Manager Reina.

Reina recently left us for California, and while we can't say the parting wasn't bittersweet, we wish her and her husband the best in their new endeavors. From 1,600 miles away, here is her take on this delicious, and soon to be discontinued, bar. Stock up while you can!
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Cheers!

Emily

Purveyor of Fine Chocolate and Operations Extraordinaire

Congratulations Askinosie Chocolate on 5 Years

Shawn Askinosie with a Cacao Tree

When I opened Chocolopolis four years ago, there were a handful of artisan craft chocolate makers who created chocolate from the bean in very small batches. Askinosie was one of them. At that time, the bean-to-bar movement was so new that the one year of experience Askinosie had under its belt qualified as an eternity in the world of micro batch chocolate making. While there are many new artisan craft chocolate makers that have popped up in the ensuing five years, Askinosie is a well-tested veteran with a unique approach that deserves to be singled-out and celebrated on their fifth anniversary.

What is that unique approach? Askinosie only buys cacao directly from cacao farms. While it doesn't sound revolutionary, it is.

The large players in the mass market chocolate category buy cacao on the bulk market through many layers of middle men, usually having no direct relationship with the farmers. Each layer in this vast chocolate supply chain takes its cut of the value of the cacao, leaving very little profit for the farmer. The farmers do not receive a price premium for producing better quality cacao, so they have no incentive to improve fermentation or drying techniques. This results in poor quality cacao that is not attractive to artisan craft chocolate makers.

Artisan craft chocolate makers search for quality. They look for cacao from flavorful genetic varietals that have been well fermented and dried. They learn about the farms, the farmers and the production practices before they purchase cacao from a particular farm. They pay a minimum of 2-3x the bulk market commodity price for cacao when they find something of quality, far more than fair trade pays. While they might have conversations with a particular farmer about his practices, they'll often employ a broker when it comes time to cut a check. Not all of them purchase directly from the farmer.

There are many practical reasons for this, so I'm not in any way faulting other artisan bean-to-bar makers. It's just reality. If you're searching for the best quality cacao and you can't buy container-load quantities, you're often limited to purchasing from cooperatives or from larger cacao importers. When you do find a small producer of great cacao, sending a check directly in the mail to a cacao farmer in a country with little infrastructure can be a risky strategy. While there are individual instances where this can work, it doesn't happen in every situation. So you can see why it would be difficult for a chocolate maker to only purchase cacao directly from farmers in every situation.

That's what makes Askinosie so unique. While many chocolate makers start their chocolate making process with the cacao, Askinosie Founder, Shawn Askinosie, begins his chocolate-making process with the farmers. He looks for farmers who are willing to listen to feedback on fermentation and drying practices. He visits each farm before purchasing their cacao, and he shares 10% of his profits from each bar with its respective cacao farm, giving the farmers A Stake in the Outcome. His message of doing good for the farmers comes through loud and clear on all of his packaging, with pictures of the farmers on the bars. Askinosie Chocolate is good chocolate that's good for the farmers. It's the best of both worlds.

On its fifth anniversary, it seemed appropriate to celebrate Askinosie's unique success in the craft chocolate world. Congratulations to the entire Askinosie team and their partner farmers on five successful years!

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren
Chief Chocophile

What We're Eating: Sacha Dark Chocolate Ginger Bar

I'm often asked by employees (and customers) why I choose a particular bar of the week to feature. Sometimes it is random, sometimes it is because I haven't tried a bar in a while, and sometimes it is a request of another staffer. This week's bar is a request. Dana, one of our lovely chocolate purveyors, is soon to be gone for the summer to teach outdoor education to middle-schoolers in up-state New York. Since she only has a few more weeks of our favorite Chocolopolis perk- a free bar of chocolate every week- I asked if she had any special requests. Her choice? One of Kallari's new line of artisan chocolates, Sacha, made with their 71% Ecuadorian chocolate, Ginger and Andean Salt.

I most heartily said yes. While it seems chocolate and ginger is a love it or hate it pairing, we love this bar. Not only is it a great company that supports farmer owned cacao farms, they make a pretty darn good bar of chocolate.

This particular bar is light on the tongue with a beguiling taste of flowers and a slight sweetness. Then you get to the chunks of candied ginger and you are really in for a treat. Spicy, chewy and all that candied ginger should be, it warms and soothes. A touch of salt rounds out a truly delicious chocolate. The "Hampik Ushay" bar as they called it was created to play on the medicinal properties of ginger and cacao while still indulging our sweet-tooth. Does it really heal? Well, I feel better after eating it so I'll say yes.

Not a fan of ginger? Sacha also comes as a single-origin Ecuadorian bar.  Feel free to stop by any time this week (or in weeks to come) and ask for a sample. Our official Saturday bar of the week launch still stands but we understand if you can't wait until then. I couldn't.

Cheers!
Emily
Purveyor of Fine Chocolate and Operations Extraordinaire

Heart Your Mother

Lauren Adler (Chief Chocophile) with her mother Marcie

Last Monday the Chocolopolis crew stayed late boxing for a very important cause- the American Heart Association. The lucky attendees of the Heart's Delight Wine Tasting in Washington DC will be receiving our Signature Truffle Box for their tasting delight.

Since our truffles will be attending a black tie event we gave them a little sprucing up and debuted our new label which will eventually adorn all of our boxes and bars.

Can't attend the event? Don't worry, you can do your part to help the cause from your very own computer. On May 7th we're hosting a special sales event on our website in advance of Mother's Day. 20% of all online product sales for one day (May 7th) will be donated to the American Heart Association. Heart your mom just in time for Mothers Day and give something back.

Cheers!
Emily
Special Programs Coordinator

Sacha by Kallari: Great Story, Great Chocolate

Cacao from the Kallari Association

We're excited to have a cacao farmer hosting Thursday night's free chocolate happy hour from 5-9pm. Felipe, a cacao farmer from the Kallari Association in Ecuador, will be here to sample Kallari's new line of Sacha chocolate and answer questions about life on a cacao farm. In anticipation of tonight's event I thought I'd share the Kallari Association's unique story.

What's so special about chocolate from the Kallari Association? The farmers who grow the cacao also make the chocolate. While this may not seem revolutionary, it's rare for cacao farmers to make chocolate. By shepherding the cacao from tree to bean to bar, these cacao farmers earn 4x what they would earn from selling their beans to a broker who would then sell them to a large chocolate company and make more money than the farmers.

While earning more money is certainly a boon to these farmers, there are other benefits that come from maintaining control of the final product. One important factor is quality and taste. As the farmers learn about consumer appreciation for fine chocolate and begin to see the profit potential of fine flavor cacao varietals, they have incentive to produce better quality. They understand the importance of focusing on heirloom varietals and proper fermentation. It encourages them to continually improve farming techniques and chocolate production.

For Thursday's happy hour we'll be tasting a new line of chocolate called Sacha. While Kallari farmers have been selling chocolate bars made with their cacao using a proprietary recipe for some time, they've been contracting out the chocolate making to a vendor in Ecuador. Sacha marks the first time that the Association itself is making chocolate. While Sacha uses the same recipe as Kallari chocolate, it is made in smaller batches using artisan techniques. This new process has brought improved texture and more complex flavor notes to the final product.

A little bit more about the people of Kallari. The Kallari Association is made up of indigenous Kichwa farmers and their families who live in the Upper Napo River Basin in the Ecuadorian rainforest. In addition to cacao, Kallari youth sell handicrafts, encouraging them to practice traditional harvesting, drying, weaving and carving techniques. These handicrafts have generated more income for Kallari families than any agricultural crop. Started in 1997 with fewer than 50 families, the Kallari Association now counts 850 farmer families among its membership.

Stop by any time between 5 and 9 Thursday night to meet Felipe and to sample tastes of three Sacha bars. We'll be trying the Sacha 85%, Sacha 75% and Sacha 71% with Ginger bars.

Happy chocolate tasting,
Lauren
Chief Chocophile