{"id":7862,"date":"2015-12-10T18:08:28","date_gmt":"2015-12-11T02:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=7862"},"modified":"2024-11-30T17:26:37","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T01:26:37","slug":"the-raw-and-the-cooked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/the-raw-and-the-cooked\/","title":{"rendered":"The raw and the cooked"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The General\u2019s Residence at Fort Mason was the new location for the Fall Chocolate Salon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"interior\"
Great space: Look at those lovely floors. And comfy chairs!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 6th Annual Fall Chocolate Salon<\/a>, Sunday, Nov. 15, was held in a new, more comfortable venue. The General\u2019s Residence at Fort Mason is a little hard to find, but once inside, it\u2019s an attractive vintage space with lots of windows overlooking the Bay, and it had the one thing that\u2019s been missing from most chocolate salons: seating! This time, it was easier to spend more time at the event because we could rest our feet and chat. We hope this becomes the location every fall.<\/p>\n

As always, it was a smaller event than the spring International Chocolate Salon. With 30+ vendors, only 13 of them were local chocolate makers\/chocolatiers\/candy makers, so I could easily meet all the SFBA vendors and try almost everything I wanted. There were other great chocolate vendors there, like Amano Artisan Chocolate and Marco Paolo Chocolates, plus other complementary product vendors, like wineries and perfume makers.<\/p>\n

We were happy\u00a0 to see some new local chocolate vendors come to the show (Alexander\u2019s Patisserie, CaCoCo, Firefly Chocolate, and Heavenly Taste Toffee), and to meet some new-to-us vendors (R & J Toffees and Kindred Cooks).<\/p>\n

There was a nice variety of chocolate too, ranging from the raw versions by Endorfin and CaCoCo to the cooked: a lot of brittle, toffee, and caramels (from CocoTutti, Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s Artisan Chocolates, Heavenly Taste Toffee, Kindred Cooks, NeoCocoa, and R & J Toffees). Sprinkled in the mix were artisan chocolatiers (Alexander\u2019s Patisserie, CocoTutti, Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s Artisan Chocolates, flying noir, and NeoCocoa), larger chocolate makers (Alter Eco, TCHO, and The Tea Room Chocolate Company), and the very health-conscious bean-to-bar maker, Firefly Chocolate.<\/p>\n

\"Kasie
Kacie Epperly (left) assembles a box of her pretty chocolates with help from her fellow patisserie co-workers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On with the show<\/h2>\n

The very first chocolatier we talked to was Kacie Epperly of Alexander\u2019s Patisserie<\/a>.<\/strong> This new patisserie opened a year ago in Mountain View, and in addition to its full line of French pastries and macarons, they also carry a line of truffles in 25 flavors, ranging from classics like Fleur de Sel Caramel, through tropical fruits, teas, and an extensive selection of alcohol-enhanced flavors, to the more unusual like honey fennel pollen and hemp seed with almond praline. Kacie developed all the flavors, which include one seasonal Chef\u2019s Special. At the salon, the special was Pumpkin Spice.<\/p>\n

Kacie\u2019s truffles are tasty, beautiful hand-decorated orbs.\u00a0Depending on your point of reference, they resemble planets or superballs. Nestled in their slots in simple black boxes, they would make a stand-out gift. However, Kacie told us that these truffles have no preservatives, so they are best enjoyed within 1-2 weeks of purchase, so we CBTB-ers enjoyed our show purchases all by ourselves.<\/p>\n

\"Alexanders
Alexander\u2019s Patisserie chocolates make an eye-catching gift box.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What we liked most about these truffles is their freshness, the flavors are bright, and you know what you\u2019re tasting. They start with a good base of Valrhona chocolate, which\u00a0 enhances the flavors Kacie adds to the truffles.<\/p>\n

We especially liked the \u201cGin Me Up Scotty,\u201d which is very refreshing with its mix of lemon, cucumber and gin in a milk chocolate ganache and dark chocolate shell. And the Chef\u2019s Special, which was a buttery, gingerbread-flavored caramel, that wasn\u2019t overly sweet. The Honey Fennel got the most divided comments of our group: Some liked its fennel taste a lot, others thought it too herb-y or a little bit like soap.<\/p>\n

Alexander\u2019s Patisserie (209 Castro Street, Mountain View) does not have an online shop, so you must travel to Mountain View to purchase Kacie\u2019s truffles. They are open Tues-Sun, starting at 8am and are open through dinnertime, so we encourage you to find the time to visit and try their chocolates yourself.<\/p>\n

Healthy hot chocolate<\/h2>\n

The next chocolate we tried went in a different direction. CaCoCo<\/a><\/strong> is a raw chocolate maker based in Santa Cruz, which co-founder Tony Portugal described as \u201cWillie Wonka meets Indiana Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n

CaCoCo uses an heirloom variety of cacao to make 3 different drinking chocolates, two 65% versions and an 80% version. Tony described the mostly-organic ingredients: \u201cIt\u2019s cacao powder, cacao butter, coconut crystal sugar, vanilla and salt. Some are infused with herbs and spices.\u201d<\/p>\n

They make their chocolate without roasting. After grinding and mixing the ingredients together, the resulting mass is \u201cformed into a huge brick, which we then grind into a powder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CaCoCo\"
We liked the wabi-sabi aesthetic of CaCoCo\u2019s drinking chocolate as much as we liked its taste.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The powder is not a fine grind like most cocoas and chocolate drink mixes we\u2019re accustomed to. Instead, it is a beautiful mix of different size chunks and finer grinds, which means that to make a cup of drinking chocolate, Tony advises to follow James Bond\u2019s instructions, \u201cIt should be shaken, not stirred.\u201d<\/p>\n

We tried all 3 varieties of drinking chocolate, but found the 65% versions too sweet. Surprising to me that I preferred the 80% because I usually find anything above 75% too bitter \u2014 especially with raw cacao. But the 80% has a rich, chocolately taste with a nice, thick texture. It reminded me of European drinking chocolates. It\u2019s definitely for people who like dark chocolate (like me).<\/p>\n

We bought a package of the 80% and made it ourselves. The printed proportions seemed wrong: 5 tablespoons of chocolate to 2 ounces of hot water, but I followed them exactly. I didn\u2019t quite go James Bond on it. Instead, I used my handheld milk frother to meld the rough chunks and water together.<\/p>\n

It worked beautifully, and my cup was every bit as thick, creamy, and delicious as the sample at the Salon. If you want to eat raw chocolate for its health benefits, but want it to be tasty, I can recommend CaCoCo.<\/p>\n

CaCoCo drinking chocolates are available online<\/a> and at natural food stores, mostly in Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n

\"Endorfin
Endorfin displayed their new packaging at the Salon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More chocolate you can feel good about<\/h2>\n

Endorfin<\/a>,<\/strong> the almost-raw chocolate vendor at the Salon (they don\u2019t roast their beans, but they do ferment them), didn\u2019t have their drinking chocolate when we stopped by their booth because they had sold out after doing a vintners event the same weekend. So we couldn\u2019t do a straight-up comparison with CaCoCo, but we remember enjoying Endorfin\u2019s hot chocolate at a previous Salon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At this show, Brian Wallace, Endorfin\u2019s founder and chief chocolate maker, showed us their new packaging, which extended the shelf life of their bars, and sampled a new product, Bliss Butter, a combination he described as \u201ccashew, coconut sugar, and cacao nibs stone ground with the melanger I use for grinding our cacao. I grind it smooth, then add cacao nibs, flax and chia seeds. It has a kind of cookie dough flavor. You can spread it on apples, bananas, and toast.<\/p>\n

He recommended putting it on ice cream, \u201cIt turns into a shell like Magic Shell\u00ae<\/a>. It firms up and you can crack it with a spoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Endorfin
That\u2019s not a misspelling on Endorfin flavored bar packages.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We didn\u2019t get to try it with ice cream, but it is a more interesting treat than any cashew butter I\u2019ve tried before, with more flavor (hey, it\u2019s got chocolate mixed in) and a slightly crunchy texture. It\u2019s not available on their website yet, but keep your eye out for this new treat.<\/p>\n

We tried a couple of Endorfin\u2019s flavored bars, which are labeled \u201cDark Mylk Chocolate,\u201d which was a head-scratcher for me until Brian explained, \u201cWe start with 60\u201370% cacao and add coconut milk, so it\u2019s dairy free. The \u2018mylk\u2019 spelling is because it\u2019s non-dairy. Federal regulators prohibit calling something \u2018milk\u2019 if it\u2019s non-dairy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coffee drinkers among us loved the Turkish Coffee bar; the coffee made it taste like a darker chocolate. Brian said it\u2019s their most popular bar, and that \u201cpeople were grabbing them by the handful [to buy].\u201d<\/p>\n

The Passion bar got a more mixed reception. Most of us thought the ginger and rose were nicely balanced, but some thought the ginger overpowered the rose and was too harsh. With both bars, the texture was smoother than most people expected from raw chocolate.<\/p>\n

Endorfin has an online store<\/a> where you can buy their bars, monthly chocolate subscriptions, and bulk chocolate supplies.<\/p>\n

\"Jonas
Jonas Ketterle makes Firefly Chocolate in a traditional Mexican-inspired way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Traditional techniques<\/h2>\n

Firefly Chocolate<\/a><\/strong> is a new chocolatier we met at the salon. Jonas Ketterle, Firefly\u2019s Founder & Chief Chocolatier, just started selling his 85% cacao bars in June. While his bars aren\u2019t raw, he focuses on the health aspects of chocolate, which he calls, \u201can amazing superfood.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spent 3-1\/2 years learning the art of chocolate making, which he described as \u201cmaking dark chocolate that people love by picking the right bean and roasting it to eliminate acidity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cI roast at low temperature. You don\u2019t need a French roast, but I believe fire is part of the alchemy of making chocolate. I learned to make chocolate in Oaxaca, Mexico the traditional way and that includes fire roasting.\u201d<\/p>\n

He uses organic cacao that he sources from a cooperative of 300 farmers in Belize. The chocolate has a fruity taste. His sweetener is coconut palm sugar. He currently offers 6 different bars, which he designed for different occasions, such as his Spicy Chai: \u201cIt\u2019s great in the morning; I melt it into a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the flavors I tried, I liked the Coconut best, which was smoother and sweeter than the other flavors. Jonas explained that it was because of the added coconut, which adds lots of fat and sweetness without added sugar. This bar isn\u2019t widely available yet.<\/p>\n

The other bars we sampled were too bitter for me (my sweet spot: 55-75% cacao). And in general, we thought the bars would be better with more cocoa butter and some added vanilla. The Maca, which Jonas described as a superfood that he recommends eating when you\u2019re going to be active and that has a malted flavor was interesting, but I bet it would be better combined with the coconut bar. Good thing he\u2019s contemplating a whole line of coconut bars.<\/p>\n

Firefly bars are available at\u00a0The Scarlet Sage Herb Co.<\/a> in SF, some select stores, and online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Landing on her feet<\/h2>\n

Next to Firefly at the Salon was the recently uprooted flying noir<\/a>, <\/strong>who lost their kitchen this year when Coco D\u00e9lice closed<\/a>, where they had been renting space.<\/p>\n

Chocolatier Karen Urbanek told us that while things were a bit chaotic these days, they had found a place to land: \u201cWe\u2019re moving to Oakland near the airport [how appropriate!]. We will share a commercial kitchen with Nuttyness. They are building out a space. They also rented from Coco D\u00e9lice, but they moved out in January. The space is close to finished, and we should be moved in in December.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"flying
Some boozy bling in a box, courtesy of flying noir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She\u2019s looking at the forced move in a positive light: \u201cAt the new space, I will have a table I can call my own 24-7.\u201d<\/p>\n

While all of that has been going on in the background, Karen has continued to make her hand-decorated-with-natural-colors\/ingredients chocolates, experimenting with new flavors and textures, a line of boozy chocolates, and a drinking chocolate flavored with tropical fruits. \u201cEveryone gets excited when I mention booze,\u201d Karen explained when describing her new line of chocolates flavored with unusual spirits.<\/p>\n

Of the ones I sampled, I liked The Few the best. It\u2019s a dark chocolate ganache flavored with Few-brand bourbon and encrusted with a textured shell of sugar & salt. It\u2019s a sweet, crunchy, then boozy treat (Karen said it\u2019s about 15% booze, and she recommends eating this line of chocolates quickly because she\u2019s not sure how long it will be before the taste fades). I also liked the Brasilao, which had a nice burst of lime in a milk chocolate ganache mixed with cacha\u00e7a, a spirit distilled from sugarcane.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can buy flying noir chocolates online<\/a> or at Bi-Rite Market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Painted pillows<\/h2>\n
\"CocoTutti
CocoTutti proves that both the front and the back of a bar can be beautiful.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another very artistic chocolatier at the Salon was Elyce Zahn of CocoTutti<\/a><\/strong> \"4-cup<\/a>, <\/strong>who had 5 different flavors of her bonbon\/bar hybrids (CoCoQuintets) at the Salon. The bars are basically 5 attached bonbons, which she developed for people who think a box of chocolates is a gift for someone else, while a bar is a treat you can buy for yourself. She has been putting her most popular flavors into bars for about a year now, and while she still has some kinks to work out, the bars themselves seem to be accomplishing her goal. I know I treated myself to a couple of bars.<\/p>\n

Like her individual chocolates, Elyce hand-decorates the bars which is proving challenging due to the small spaces between the flavor-pillows and those little pillows themselves. She\u2019s experimenting with application methods, such as airbrushing through cheesecloth or stamping colors on with tiny sponges.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s also interesting visually is that the backside of her bars are often interesting too because that\u2019s where she applies the textured bits to the bars, such as the peanuts in the Thai chili\/ginger\/peanut bar or the freeze-dried,\u00a0ground raspberries on the raspberry bar.<\/p>\n

We tried the raspberry, Pink Pigeon Rum, and peanut butter bars. We loved the raspberry (but we always have<\/a>), with its bright raspberry balancing the chocolate. If you like fruit and chocolate, we think this is the perfect after-dinner treat. We also liked the rum bar, which mixes the rum into a creamy chocolate caramel, which made for a flavor experience that started with chocolate and ended with a nice lingering rum aftertaste. The peanut butter was a nice, straightforward classic combo of milk chocolate and homemade peanut butter, but I\u2019d really like to try that in a dark chocolate sometime.<\/p>\n

In addition to the bars, CocoTutti also had a seasonal dark chocolate bark flavored with a housemade 5-spice mixture and sprinkled with roasted pecans and dried cranberries, which was so tasty we came dangerously close to just inhaling it.<\/p>\n

You can find CocoTutti chocolates online<\/a> and at a lot of chocolate\/food-oriented events. They will next be at the KPFA Winter Crafts Fair, 12\/19 &12\/20, at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. A perfect chance to get some special holidays gifts (including for yourself).
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Real food wrapped in chocolate<\/h2>\n

Another local artisan chocolatier we saw at the Salon who will also be at the KPFA Winter Crafts Fair is\u00a0Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s Artisan Chocolates<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Autumn
Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s Autumn Brittle will make you forget\u00a0traditional brittles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We talked with David Whittingham, Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s co-chocolatier\/owner with his wife Joanna, and he told us that in addition to selling online<\/a> and at the Walnut Creek Farmers Market, they are doing more shows: \u201cWe just came from the NorthWest Chocolate Festival in Seattle.\u201d<\/p>\n

They had a range of their truffles at the show, from the ever-popular Limocello and extra-hot Naga Chili to the seasonal Pumpkin Pie,\u00a0Gingerbread\u00a0and Mint\u00a0Frost, plus the enigmatic purple-swirled\u00a0Willow, which David revealed is made with blueberry & elderberry balsamic plus\u00a0chartreuse.\u00a0It makes for a very blueberry experience.<\/p>\n

One of the things that Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s does to make their truffles stand out is that they often incorporate ingredients that give texture, not just flavor to their ganaches. For example, the Gingerbread truffle has real\u00a0gingerbread inside and the\u00a0Pumpkin Pie\u00a0truffle contains \u201cactual pumpkin puree, which gives it a nice texture,\u201d David explained.<\/p>\n

We agree. So many things nowadays are pumpkin-pie-spice flavored (often with artificial flavors) that it\u2019s nice to have something not just flavored but actually closer to the real thing. The puree texture is different than a typical smooth ganache and does make the truffle seem more akin to an actual piece of pie (but with chocolate, so it\u2019s even better).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not chocolate, but we love it<\/h3>\n

But what we are really excited about from Fera\u2019wyn\u2019s isn\u2019t a chocolate item at all: Their\u00a0Autumn Brittle\u00a0is\u00a0a pumpkin\/sesame seed brittle that we fell in love with. It is crunchy, but not dangerous to your teeth, and it has a nice spice mix with the seeds giving a more subtle flavor than the typical peanut brittle we grew up with.<\/p>\n

Its also visually appealing with a cute stamped design on the pieces, and it\u2019s packaged in a pretty wrapper. This is brittle adults can appreciate. Among the people who tried our sample, everyone like it \u2014 even those who don\u2019t usually eat brittle. It\u2019s worth seeking out for gift-giving or for yourself.<\/p>\n

\"Heavenly
Matt Elkins and his line of heavenly toffee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Local candy<\/h2>\n

This leads us into the not-strictly-chocolate portion of the event. There were several more-candy-oriented local vendors at the show, and we tried them all.<\/p>\n

Grandma started it all<\/h3>\n

Matt Elkins, the owner\/candymaker of\u00a0Heavenly Taste Toffee,<\/strong> told us he\u00a0started his business a year ago using a \u201cthird-generation recipe that Grandma invented, and Mom has made it for the holidays for 35 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use Guittard chocolate, real butter, real sugar\u00a0\u2014\u00a0none of the fake stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

He currently offers 8 flavors\u00a0with plans for more. He told us his\u00a0favorite is the white cherry pistachio, but the\u00a0most popular is the dark almond toffee.\u00a0The one we liked best was the espresso toffee with biscotti, which had homemade\u00a0almond biscotti ground and spread on top of the dark toffee.<\/p>\n

You can buy Heavenly Taste Toffee at several local farmers markets and retail outlets or order it\u00a0online.<\/p>\n

Family tradition<\/h3>\n

We also met caramel maker,\u00a0Kindred Cooks<\/a>\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0founder Jeri Vasquez, who started the business 2 years ago and currently offers 8 kinds of caramels from the traditional to the bacon-flavored.<\/p>\n

Jeri explained that she started the business using a \u201cTraditional recipe handed down to me: it\u2019s generations old.\u00a0I always made it for the holidays, but the list kept getting longer and people begging, \u2018Don\u2019t drop me from the list.\u2019\u00a0It became \u2018If not now, then when?\u2019 so I jumped in. And now, the caramels sell themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u00a0tried her caramels that were flavored with chocolate:\u00a0Bacon with Chocolate and\u00a0Sea Salt with Chocolate.\u00a0They both have a very soft texture, but still chewy. Of the 2, we liked the more classic sea salt best, which makes sense since she told us her regular caramel with sea salt is her best seller.<\/p>\n

Over the 2 years she\u2019s been in business, she\u2019s expanded her line of caramels: \u201cWe now have spicy hot, vanilla chai, and bacon.\u00a0The next flavor will be\u00a0espresso, and I\u00a0plan to rotate flavors because people always ask for what\u2019s new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"R&J
Understated packaging shows off R & J Toffees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kindred Cooks caramels are available in specialty stores and online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Toffee to die for<\/h2>\n

The candy discovery of the event for us was\u00a0R & J Toffees<\/a><\/strong> of San Jose. Although they have been at other food events\u00a0(and were featured in a KRON4 piece on a previous salon<\/a> along with Elyce Zahn of CocoTutti) and been in business for almost 9 years in San Jose, this was our first time trying this toffee. We are so glad we didn\u2019t wait any longer.<\/p>\n

R&J makes one product only: their Premium Almond Toffee. It is so good, I can see why they don\u2019t bother with anything else. It is a delicious traditional-looking toffee (although more almond-encrusted), full of chocolate and almond flavor with a long buttery aftertaste.<\/p>\n

Better with age<\/h3>\n

We asked Sarah Mardaraswala of R&J why their toffee is different from others we\u2019ve tried: \u201cWe age our toffee before we sell it for 8-9 months to give it a strong toffee, buttery taste.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am used to vendors at the Salon urging me to eat my purchases quickly because they use no preservatives. Sarah advises the opposite for their toffee because aging it further will deepen\u00a0the buttery toffee flavor: \u201cYou\u00a0can freeze for up to a year, and it keeps in the fridge for 8-9 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

R & J Toffees was a big winner with everyone we shared samples with. Everyone loved the buttery aftertaste, and a lot of people were surprised that such an unassuming-looking product could be so addicting. The only way anyone suggested it could be improved would be if they did a salted version.<\/p>\n

Not only did everybody enjoy\u00a0it, they wanted to know where they could get it themselves. Sarah told us that they\u00a0do salons and festivals frequently, and it\u2019s also available online<\/a>, in local Whole Foods and the Ritz Hotel in Half Moon Bay. Visit their website<\/a> to find other locations.<\/p>\n

We can highly recommend R & J Toffees as a treat for yourself, and \u2014 with its long shelf life \u2014 as a gift you know will be enjoyed and appreciated.<\/p>\n

\"NeoCocoa
NeoCocoa Marshmallows are irresistible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Neo
Neo Cocoa\u2019s Toffee Nib Brittle is a nice twist on tradition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Neo\u00a0candies<\/h2>\n

Combining toffee and brittle into one addictive treat is\u00a0NeoCocoa<\/a>\u2019s <\/strong>Toffee Nib Brittle. Maybe it\u2019s the addition of nibs, but we really enjoy this variation \u2014 it\u2019s got a satisfying\u00a0crunch that\u2019s\u00a0not as hard as brittle, and the nibs are a great substitute for nuts (especially if you love chocolate). If you don\u2019t like\u00a0nuts, try this toffee treat instead. Christine Doerr, Neo Cocoa\u2019s founder\/chocolatier told us her toffee is a\u00a0Good Food finalist.\u00a0Winners will be announced in January. We wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see this win.<\/p>\n

Neo Cocoa has a line of chocolate bars. Christine debuted a gingerbread bar at the show. \u201cI make gingerbread, crumble it up & mix it into milk chocolate. It\u2019s a take on cookies & milk,\u201d she explained. \u201cI decided on milk because dark chocolate overpowered the gingerbread.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our crew agreed that milk was a good choice for this bar that had a nice crunchy texture that reminded us of rice crispies. We also liked the balance of spices with the milk chocolate; it did have a very\u00a0gingerbread-y taste.<\/p>\n

Christine also makes marshmallow confections. Her seasonal choice at the Salon was a Marshmallow Cranberry Orange truffle, which featured an orange-flavored marshmallow sandwiched between 2 slabs of\u00a0cranberry ganache and doused with cocoa powder (Neo Cocoa truffles aren\u2019t encased in chocolate). This was a good reminder of the season with\u00a0so much flavor from the tart cranberry and orange fruit.<\/p>\n

But our favorite Neo Cocoa marshmallow treat are the big chocolate-covered marshmallows. The chocolate is a delicious dark chocolate that makes\u00a0the perfect thickness shell over the soft pillows of marshmallows. Christine told us, she likes them so much,\u00a0she eats them like apples. One of our\u00a0CBTB chocolateers described them\u00a0as \u201cportable chocolate mousse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neo Cocoa chocolate is available online<\/a>, and at local chocolate hotspots like Bi-Rite Market<\/a>, La Cocina\u2019s kiosk<\/a>, Star Grocery<\/a>, Chocolate Covered<\/a>, and more.<\/p>\n

Big-business chocolate<\/h2>\n

Finally, at the Salon\u00a0were 3 local-but-large companies with their chocolate wares: TCHO, Alter Eco, and The Tea Room Chocolate Company. We didn\u2019t try the Tea Room bars\u00a0this time, but they had their entire range of tea-infused bars at the Salon. We did sample\u00a0TCHO and Alter Eco bars.<\/p>\n

Bigtime bean-to-bar<\/h3>\n

TCHO<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a big wheel in the local bean-to-bar industry. They have done a lot nationally to raise awareness of single-source chocolate making, but at the Salon, we found we actually liked\u00a0their blended milk chocolates best.<\/p>\n

\"tcho\"
TCHO has expanded from simple bean-to-bars to \u201cfuturistic, fun\u201d bars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They offered a tasting range starting at 99%, which they sourced from Ecuador & Peru:\u00a0Yuck. If you survive that, you\u00a0proceed down the chocolate range from 70% to 46%.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until we hit the 53% Cacao, a mix of beans from Peru & Ecuador\u00a0that we found something memorable.\u00a0It\u2019s a\u00a0lush, fudgy, dark milk chocolate. Their best-selling\u00a0Mokaccino\u00a0is also a good milk chocolate, same mix of sources, that\u00a0uses local Blue Bottle Coffee for the mocha taste.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s new with TCHO is flavored bars, which they\u2019ve offered for about 1 year. At the Salon, they had Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, which includes crunchy pieces of pie crust in milk chocolate;\u00a0TCHunky TCHOtella\u00a0with\u00a0hazelnut, sea salt, and hazelnut butter; and\u00a0Galactic Gelato, which adds\u00a0mint astronaut gelato (anyone remember astronaut ice cream? Same thing) to\u00a0dark chocolate.<\/p>\n

We tried the Galactic Gelato because it seemed like the most unusual and found it a cool mint chocolate with\u00a0chewy\/crunchy bits\u00a0of freeze-dried gelato. They told us that next year they will be expanding the line of futuristic chocolate\u00a0in\u00a0fun flavors, so look for them.<\/p>\n

100% organic, down to the wrapper<\/h3>\n

OK, maybe\u00a0100% is\u00a0a stretch, but the fact that\u00a0Alter Eco<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>packages their truffles in compostable wrappers made of eucalytus and birch that\u00a0decompose in 60 days was a definite talking point at the Salon to differentiate their product. Because the fact that they are also\u00a0organic, fair trade, non-GMO, gluten free, and soy free is not so unique anymore, I guess.<\/p>\n

Alter Eco doesn\u2019t manufacture their chocolates in SFBA \u2014 they are Swiss-made chocolates \u2014 but they are attuned to Bay Area sensibilities. In addition to the aforementioned attributes, Cat Gieser, Alter Eco Marketing Coordinator, explained to us that their truffle ganache is made with the trendy superfood coconut oil and most\u00a0of their bars are vegan.<\/p>\n

They had their full line of bars at the show, including the newest Brown Butter and Burnt Caramel bars (definitely not vegan). And they probably had the best deal at the show: 4 full-size bars for $10 total. We like Alter Eco bars. They don\u2019t make us swoon, but they are a solid choice if you\u2019re concerned about sustainability but also wants something that tastes good and is reasonably priced.<\/p>\n

\"alter
Alter Eco had quite the show deal: 4 bars for $10.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can find TCHO, Alter Eco, and\u00a0The Tea Room Chocolate Company products in places too numerous to mention, across the country and beyond.<\/p>\n

Chocolate history lesson<\/h2>\n

In addition to meeting all the local chocolate vendors at the Salon, we also got to hear an entertaining presentation by Jessica Ferraro of Bar Cacao<\/a><\/strong> on craft chocolate (think bean-to-bar), which \u2014 while the scope was international\u00a0\u2014\u00a0did mention some local makers, including Dandelion<\/a> and the still-missed trail-blazer Scharffenberger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jessica gave a short history lesson on the recent boom in craft chocolate and handed out samples of some of the chocolate to reinforce her points. She gives these talks around town, sometimes including\u00a0a tour of local chocolate makers. She\u2019s an entertaining speaker and worth checking out.<\/p>\n

Latest tours\u00a0of local chocolate scene<\/h2>\n

We also gave a\u00a0presentation at the show, DIY Chocolate Tours of the Bay Area<\/a>. This was an updated version of the presentation we did at last year\u2019s International Chocolate Salon featuring new and updated tour stops from our DIY tour\u00a0suggestions.<\/p>\n

We have been asked to give this presentation again at next year\u2019s\u00a0International Chocolate Salon<\/a>, March 5, 2016, but if you can\u2019t wait, you can plan your own local chocolate tours<\/a> using our DIY tour suggestions.<\/p>\n

Local chocolatiers\u2019 Fall Luxury Salon awards:<\/h2>\n