Timing, they seem to say, is everything. And so it was yesterday, when I arrived at the wonderful Monde Chocolat at the exact moment they were bringing the Amedei chocolate into the store.

Amedei, God love it, is considered among the finest chocolate in the world, and the Chuao from Venezuela the best of the best. It is a deeply satisfying bar–full of red fruits and aromatic roundness. No other chocolate I have eaten, including Amadei’s Toscano Black, compares.

Monde Chocolate has a full range of Amedei products including the Toscano Black, Porcellana, Tavoletti ‘9′, and Chocolat Au Lait.

Monde Chocolat
2391 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC
604-733-2462

I will write more about this marvelous chocolate and the wonderful Monde Chocolat, which sources amazing chocolate from all over, soon.

And now, back to my carpal tunnel holiday. See you in October!

The Forastero cocoa bean, native to the Amazon, is considered the equivalent of the robusta coffee bean–cheap, plentiful, and harsh–and is normally eschewed by fine chocolatiers. Not so the house of Pralus, who took on the challenge of transforming Forastero beans into Bresil, one of Pralus’ single origin chocolate bars.

Pralus is recognized for darkly roasted, perfectly creamy chocolate, and this orange-hued bar traded off a bit of snap for softness. It had an honest nose that was neither overwhelming nor seductive and flavours that were a perfect blend masculine and feminine. Grassy notes were quickly replaced with lychee and raspberry, then leather, then a stong, but not particularly long smoky coffee finish.

A very well rounded, good eating chocolate, though at $12.00 for a 100-gram bar from Whole Foods, perhaps not for every day.

Those who care will know that Mr. V. and I are in the middle of a minor but increaingly complex renovation project. One of the advantages of all the stress is that, along with a nicer house, I get to become the petulant princess I always knew I was meant to be.

Mr. V is not so lucky. He gets to placate and soothe. He often tries chocolate. It is one of those necessary, though not sufficient remedies, but it generally helps.

Which is how I began my distant acquaintance with Vancouver’s mysterious Zazubean chocolate company. It started with their Nakid bar, which was nestled at the bottom of a large bag of placatory treats Mr. V. had brought me from Whole Foods one Saturday afternoon after what had been a particularly trying week.

The Nakid bar was, from my perspective, very close to perfect. Cocoa nibs, finely ground and perfectly proportioned in 72% chocolate. A bit of licorice on the nose, a not overly refined gloss, well proportioned, perhaps a touch too soft on the snap. A citrus topnote that was soon put to the task by darker, earthier flavours, and that marvelous cocoa nib crunch that contrasted with very smooth, nicely milled chocolate.

I loved this Nakid chocolate so much I emailed the Zazubean folks to tell them, and to ask for more information. So far I haven’t heard from them; perhaps they are off on a cocoa buying jaunt.

A couple of weeks later I decided to try another version of Zazubean chocolate, and picked up the oddly aptly named Ego bar from Capers in Kitsilano. The Ego bar is 70% chocolate, topped up with the antioxidants du jour–matcha and goji berries (aka wolf berries). The matcha was undetectable other than making the chocolate a bit powdery, though the goji berries did have a stick-to-your teeth quality that also didn’t add much to the chocolate eating experience. I’m already a regular consumer of matcha, and, when I’m being particularly health conscious, I get my wolfberry fix here.

Still and all, the Ego bar was okay tasting, with a sharper aroma and still softer snap than the Nakid bar. I might try it again some time, but not if I had to choose between it and the Nakid bar, and definitely not as a source of anti-oxidants.

From the mysterioius Zazubean website:

“Zazubean is committed to excellence in our chocolate by using only finest organic fair-trade cocoa beans that are choc-full of things good for you, good for the farmer and good for the earth.”

Talamanca chocolate is from the jungles near the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, where the Bri-bri tribe have rehabilitated cacao plantations, increased productivity, and protected biodiversity. Among the chocolatiers who use Talamanca chocolate, Newman’s Own Organics may be the most well known.

Of course, Newman’s organic chocolate, from the company operated by Paul Newman’s daughter, Nell, is not available in Vancouver. And with all due respect, I wasn’t that taken with the Newman chocolate which I sampled a few months ago in Portland.

I must admit, when I first laid eyes on the Talamanca bar by Organic Fair Inc. from Cobble Hill, B.C., I wasn’t thinking about sustainable, organic farmers at all.

I was in a bit of a confused state thanks to the crowds at Granville Island, so the first thing that popped into my semi-operative mind was the psychic sleuths, known as the Talamasca, that hang out with the vampires in Anne Rice novels.

Otherwise, I might not have picked up the sedately packaged Talmanca bar from the display at the Edible BC store. But I’m really glad I did.

Organic Fair’s Talamanca Bar contains an excellent, dark, rich, 70% organic, fair trade chocolate, dressed up with pineapple, coconut, banana, and lime essence, making for a very exotic treat. I’m keen to buy this bar again, and to try some other Organic Fair chocolate bars, when I’m next at Granville Island.

Organic Fair bars are also available on the web from the Edible BC store, $5.25 for a 72 gram bar.

More information on the Talamanca cocoa endeavours is available here.

On Valentines Day, Mr. V gave me some Bad Girl Chocolates. I’m not sure what he had in mind, but, unlike the little lady on the package, I own neither chaps nor cowgirl hat.

Chocolate with such a suggestive name as Bad Girl has every right to be dark, luscious, and sexy, but these “girls” aren’t quite there yet.

The couverture was definitely of the dark variety, and had a nice gloss and a decent snap, but it was waxy from too much lecithin. The fillings, a combination of caramels and creams, were either too bland (the creams) or too hard (the caramels). They certainly weren’t awful—I’d rate them about on par with Purdy’s.

This local chocolatier needs a bit of work to live up to its suggestive name. And Mr. V. needs to try harder if he wants to put ideas in my head.

Vancouver chocolatiers, Domonique and Cindy Duby, are serious about chocolate, and even more serious about molecular gastronomy–deconstructing recipes and using laboratory techniques to present unusual textures and flavours. Their mission is to add surprise and excitement to the experience of eating chocolate, the greatest of all “comfort” foods.

But the Dubys are not just about chocolate. They are also considered among Canada’s most notable pastry chefs. They’ve developed a scientific “tasting” kit, and annual limited-release chocolate collections. They work with food scientists to create new tastes, textures, and complex, multi-sensory food experiences. Some of their pairings include parsnip and pear, rhubarb and stilton, and black truffles and cocoa nibs.

So far, my own DC Duby experiences have been a wee bit more pedestrian. I decided to give some of their truffles as Christmas gifts this year, and “accidentally” ordered a couple of boxes too many, namely the “Spiced” and the “Roasted” series from the “Treat” section on their website.

Overall, the quality and richness of these chocolates was outstanding, though with the exception of the Maple in the Roasted series, I found I preferred the Spiced series, particularly the Indian, Sichuan, and Star Anise.

Both of these series come eight to a box. For my first sampling, I tried a Maple. It was so perfectly delicious I immediately had to try the Coffee. It wasn’t that the second one was bad, it was just a bit too much rich sweet truffle perfection for one go. After that I found I could manage one at a time, but not everyday, at least not if I wanted to enjoy a few other chocolate treats. And it being Christmas, of course I did.

Duby Chocolates are made with extremely fresh ingredients. This means take the “best before” date on the bottom of the box seriously. If you get a box of these, eat them right away. It’s not that they’ll taste bad a couple of weeks out, but they will have lost a little something and will be merely very good instead of excellent. Duby’s Wild Sweets are meant to be shared, not hoarded.

Available on their website and at Edible BC, Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks, and occasionally at Whole Foods in West Vancouver.

“The Story of Chocolate”, an upcoming exhibit at Vancouver’s Science World will guide visitors through an exploration of the history of the cocoa plant, and the culture of chocolate.

This exhibit opens February 9 and runs through to May 6. It is sponsored by Purdy’s, venerable Vancouver chocolatier and member of the World Cocoa Foundation, in celebration of its 100th birthday.

For Mr. Vancouverist and me, no trip to Victoria is complete without a stop at Ottavio’s in Oak Bay, where we generally enjoy a coffee and pastry before picking out a few goodies to take home. Ottavio has a very nice selection of cheeses, and on a recent visit we bought a six-year-old Quebec cheddar and a Beemster Gouda from Holland.

We also got some Mrs. McGarrigle’s Canadian Maple Mustard, which won third prize in the World Wide Mustard Competition. This mustard has its good points. It contains lots of crunchy almost-whole mustard seeds. But, being a maple fanatic, I’d like this mustard better with more maple, and will likely add some from the stash I keep on hand

Chocolate was on the shopping list, of course, and Mr. V. blanched when I picked up a 100 gram Amedei Toscano Black 70% bar that was priced at $18. I nearly blanched, too. Had it come to this? Was my search for more and better chocolate about to set us on the path to bankruptcy? Not just yet. Being a good girl at heart, I relented, substituting a small box that contained 5 squares of the Toscano Black that were about 2 grams each.

Amedeiis a relatively new chocolatier, and is attracting a lot of interest and gaining many fans who believe this may be the finest chocolate in the world. Amedei is a brother and sister firm—Alessio and Cecillia Tessiere—who work in Tuscany and who decided to learn how to make chocolate from raw beans, rather than from cocoa mass.

Alessio originally approached Tain l’Hermitage-based Valhrona and proposed that Amadei work with some of Valhrona’s single plantation beans. But Valhrona didn’t believe that serious, quality chocolate could come out of Tuscany, and they sent Alessio packing. Instead of getting mad, Alessio got even. By tripling Valhrona’s price, and paying off the farmers’ debts, he gained exclusive rights to beans from the Venezuelan Chuao plantation.

This year, the Academy of Chocolateawarded Amedei top honours for its Chuao, Porcelana, and Toscano Black 70% bars in the “bean to bar” category.

I’ve only had the good fortune to sample the Toscano Black so far, and found it light and fruity in comparison to most 70% bars. Very tasty and well made, but not memorable. I might feel different if I had a decent amount of the stuff to try, but I haven’t yet found any in Vancouver. Amadei will definitely be a more serious indulgence during my next trip to Victoria and Ottavio. Hopefully Mr. V. will be checking out the cheese and olives while I slip a few bars into our basket.

Theo Ghana 84% Cacao
Theo Chocolate is the first bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the US. They roast, mill, blend, and conch all their beans in their Fremont District factory in Seattle. Theo has an uncompromising commitment to high quality, fairly traded, multi-origin, organic chocolate.

The Ghana 84% bar is from Theo’s “Origins” line. It is packaged in 3-ounce (80-gram) bars, priced at $6.00. The pure, clean chocolate aroma of this bar is very striking. While the bar has a slightly uneven look, the chocolate has a nice matte finish that works with the unevenness to give a hand-made, small batch feel to the bar. Its snap is a bit on the fuzzy side, but this is not a serious detraction.

The Ghana flavour starts out bitter, but softens and rounds out a bit, though the bitterness sticks around with just the right note of dryness through the length. With the softening comes hints of fruit, then a distinct nuttiness, and a flowery top note, perhaps violets, and finally, a rich coffee finish.

This is sophisticated chocolate, though perhaps more suited for cooking than for everyday nibbling.

Theo 3400 Phinney Chocolate Factory Bread and Chocolate Bar
I have written about this bar before. I continue to love it. It continues to be earthy, dark, and delicious. It’s a brilliant concoction of 65% cacao, organic French bread crumbs, organic butter, sea salt, and sugar.

No airs, no graces, just a lovely balance of bittersweet salty goodness. If you like dark chocolate, or pain au chocolat, try this bar next time you’re in Seattle. You may end up hoarding it just like I do. Bread and Chocolate is sold in 2-ounce (56-gram) bars for $4.00.

Bernard Castelain Chocolat Noir Intense 77%
Mr. Castelain makes his chocolate in Provence, more exactly in Châteauneuf du Pape, near Avignon. There is very little English on his wrapper, and as far as I could make out with my sketchy French and a bit of help from Google, this chocolate is a blend of American and African cacao that allows the blooming of a touch of bitterness, which is ideal for eating. Or something like that.

I bought a 30-gram bar for $1.75 from Sur la Table in Portland. Castelain’s chocolate isn’t cheap, but it’s not overly expensive.

It had good mouth feel, good melt, and a touch of blooming bitterness, just like most chocolates in this quality and price range. Neither outstanding, nor disappointing. I did detect a subtle hint of cinnamon, which was a bit unusual, but pleasant.

A decent eating chocolate save, perhaps, one small thing. There is very little web presence for Bernard Castelain, so there’s no telling how, or by whom, those African beans were harvested. For the time being, even if this chocolate is available in Vancouver, I’ll give this brand a pass.

Dagoba Lavender
The main purpose of our vacation was to get to Ashland, which coincidentally is the home of Dagoba Chocolate. Dagoba is widely available in Vancouver, though I hadn’t bought much. The first Dagoba bar I tried was a bit astringent and waxy. Soon after, there was bad news that some Dagoba bars had been contaminated with lead, and so I didn’t buy any more.

To be fair, the lead contamination was an isolated incident, and was caused by a supplier, and not by Dagoba’s own error. Dagoba is a conscious and ethical company; the suspect product was recalled immediately. Dagoba communicated openly with both the authorities and their customers as soon as it learned of the lead problem. And they no longer deal with the supplier in question.

I decided our trip to Ashland, Dagoba’s home, would be a good time to try this chocolate again. Surprisingly, there was no sign of Dagoba products in any of the Ashland shops and coffee places we visited.

I even asked about Dagoba in a couple of Ashland stores, but got wide-eyed looks of mystification when I told them there was a chocolate company in town. All rather odd, and in the end I bought the Dagoba Lavender bar in Whole Foods in Portland on our way back to Vancouver.

Dagoba, according to their website, is Sanskrit for temple. While Dagoba is not affiliated with any religious group, the company likes the cosmological idea of a temple stupa as the source of formless creative waters, and describes their founder as a “chocolate alchemist” partially in reference to their practice of infusing flavours into chocolate. This seems more archetypal hyperbole than marketing bumpf–sincere if somewhat hard to comprehend. Maybe they mean they want to be chocolate makers for the Jung at heart.

I love lavender, but usually on my body and not in my food, though I was game to try the alchemy of lavender, blueberries, and chocolate. The blueberry flavour added the right touch, cutting off the top notes of the lavender, which would have been too cloying as a single accompaniment. Together, the lavender and blueberry emulsion complemented, and didn’t overpower, the chocolate.

I really liked this bar. It was extremely creamy, with an incredible melt and a lovely deep chocolate flavour, despite its only having 59% cacao content. It was very silky, with no hint of graininess.

The only false notes were the solid bits. The dried blueberries were sparse, and had a bit of a soapy taste when chewed. Likewise, the occasional lavender buds were dry and unwelcome. If Dagoba were to stick to the flavour and forget about the chewy bits, this bar would be nearly perfect.

Dagoba was the first U.S. chocolate maker to achieve organic certification. They are an ethical company that is focused on pleasing their customers. Since Dagoba is available in Vancouver, I intend to be one of them. And next time I’m in Ashland, I’ll plan my vacation a little better so I can budget time to drop by their factory store.