Tag Archives: claudio-corallo

Chocolate 201: Artisan chocolate tasting series at Xoxolat

Chocolate 201I’ve tasted a lot of chocolate. While I try to be objective, I definitely have my favourites. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the chocolate makers behind my favourite bars.

Every time I meet one of these chocolate makers, I’m simultaneously thrilled and awed. Thrilled, because it’s an honour to meet the person who creates such a great product, and awed because I think chocolate makers are a little bit crazy. You’d have to be crazy to go into a profession where you need to be comfortable with agriculture, chemistry, biology, physics, mechanics and engineering. And that isn’t even accounting for the challenges of getting an agricultural product across international borders. And at the end of all that, to come up with chocolate that doesn’t taste like dirt? And somehow manage to pay your bills? That’s nothing short of a miracle.

I have been itching to tell these stories. Each chocolate maker has a unique personality and philosophy—and while the chocolate itself is lovely, I think the underlying story is what makes it magical.

So, I’m thrilled to announce my latest collaboration with Xoxolat. Together, we’re presenting Chocolate 201, a four-part artisan chocolate tasting series.

Chocolate 201: Artisan Chocolate Tasting Series

When. Monday evenings:: April 12th, April 19th, April 26th, May 3rd
Time. 6:30–8:00 p.m.
Where. XOXOLAT, 2391 Burrard St (@ 8th Ave)
Who. Me! With guest scotch expert, Marcus von Albrecht, Von Albrecht & Association
Price. $100 (Includes four evenings of chocolate tasting & learning, with one session including a guided scotch tasting.)
Registration. Space is limited. Call 604.733.2462 to book now.

Join our introductory Chocolate 201 tasting series and hear stories of how the chocolate was transformed from tree to bean to bar. Learn about how chocolate is made and how to taste it. We’ll explore the artisan products of Patric Chocolate, Pralus, Amano Artisan Chocolate, and Claudio Corallo.

Each 90-minute evening session will include samples from each of the featured chocolates, plus engaging stories about the people and company behind the scenes. Each class will also include samples from favourites like Zotter & Xoxolat’s house line, and will close with a drinking chocolate shot. The Amano evening will be complemented with the VonAlbrecht & Association Islay series of scotches.

Space is limited. Call 604.733.2462 to book now.

Claudio Corallo tasting at Chocolopolis

In another freakish “why haven’t I written about this chocolate?” moment, Chocolopolis is doing a (free!) Claudio Corallo tasting this Thursday. If you live in Seattle and have tastebuds, you must go to this tasting.

Claudio Corallo makes exquisite chocolate, and I don’t use that term lightly. It’s nutty, incredibly complex, and has flavours that I’ve never tasted in any other chocolate. Tastebuds aside, Claudio Corallo is doing great work on Sao Tome and Principe, improving the lives of cacao farmers and bringing economic improvements to the islands.

Drop in, say hi to Lauren (of Chocolopolis) and Marie-Francoise (of Claudio Corallo) and tell them that I sent you. I’d be surprised if they didn’t give you an extra piece of chocolate for it.

DATE: Thursday, January 28th
TIME: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Chocolopolis (1527 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, WA)
COST: free!

Find out more on the Chocolopolis event page.

Chocolate vocabulary lesson

I throw a lot of terms around, like “bean-to-bar” and “confection,” and I’ve never really sat down and defined what I mean by those terms. I’ve defined three words: chocolate makers, chocolate blenders, and chocolate confectioners, to the best of my ability. I’ve also listed some of my favourites in each category. These are not exhaustive lists, and I know that I’ve forgotten (or simply don’t know about) some great stuff out there. If I’ve offended you…well, that’s just too bad.

Anyway. Here we go.

Chocolate makers

Also called bean-to-bar producers, chocolate makers actually make chocolate. They start with cacao beans and process them into the delectable thing that we know as chocolate. Typically, the chocolate comes in the form of chocolate bars, or chocolate pistoles (giant, flat chips). This chocolate is sometimes sold to consumers, while some is sold exclusively to industry folks.

Chocolate makers buy dried, fermented cocao beans from farmers, though their level of involvement in the growing, fermenting and drying process can vary. Some chocolate makers work very closely with farmers, while others deal exclusively with bean brokers and never meet the growers.

Chocolate makers are one part agricultural expert, one part production engineer, and one part artisan. They need to understand cacao (an agricultural product), be able to transform it through a series of steps (that’s the engineering part) and create something delicious, nuanced and distinctive at the end (definitely an artistic pursuit).

Some of my favourite small-batch producers: Amano Artisan Chocolate, Soma Chocolatemaker, Claudio Corallo, Theo Chocolate, and Askinosie Chocolate. I’ll also admit that I’m partial to working with Valrhona chocolate, thought they’re far from small-batch.

Chocolate blenders

Chocolate blenders don’t make chocolate, but they buy chocolate and blend it. This is less lame than it sounds. It’s not quite bean-to-bar, but there’s still a fine art to blending a chocolate mixture that is delicious and distinct. Think about an artist’s palette; while the colours come in a tube, the right mixture of colours can express something that stock colours can’t.

I don’t taste as much blended chocolate as I do bean-to-bar chocolate, but I was impressed with Chocolove’s 73% organic dark chocolate bar. You can read about it here.

Chocolate confectioners

Chocolate confectioners are what most people think of when you say chocolatier: someone who takes chocolate and creates bonbons, pralines and truffles. Way back when, the term chocolatier meant someone who took chocolate from bean to confection, but not anymore.

Chocolatiers don’t typically make their own chocolate. It’s partly economic, and partly because the two tasks are so very different. The equipment required is completely different, and it really doesn’t make sense to have the equipment to process chocolate and turn it into bonbons. (Two exceptions: Soma Chocolatemaker and Theo Chocolates are both bean-to-bar producers and chocolatiers.)

Quality confectioners work with quality ingredients: chocolate, but also with cream, sugar, spices, fruits, nuts, and liquor. Beware of fondant, corn syrup, or – to quote Michael Pollan – “anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize.” The lack of preservatives in quality confections means that these treats have a limited shelf life: 3 weeks, at most.

There are a lot of folks out there masquerading as top-end chocolatiers. Some of them are pretty good – say, an 8 out of 10. And then, there are some whose attention to detail, flavour profiles and execution are all there. If you want to impress me, bring me something from Thomas Haas, Christopher Elbow, Norman Love, Kee’s Chocolates, Vosges, or La Maison du Chocolat.

P.S. Thomas Haas is opening a new location in Vancouver, next to Lumiere. Boss-man says that it’ll be open in mid-October. Wheee!

Strategy and stamina

I attended the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon last weekend. In principle, it sounds like heaven on earth. A room stuffed to the brim with chocolate bars, chocolate confections, and even chocolate spa products? Good heavens to Betsy, I say.

If you stop to think about it, it’s actually a really challenging situation. There was no way I was going to taste everything, so first I had to figure out which ones were interesting enough to taste. That narrowed it down from 27 exhibitors to about 10.

Still, ten is a lot. Especially considering that most tables were sampling anywhere from 5-15 items.

I started with the bean-to-bar producers, and there were some pretty impressive chocolates in the room. I look forward to the next time that I’m in the same room with Amano Artisan Chocolate, Theo Chocolate and Claudio Corallo Chocolate. Each company has a slightly different approach, and it makes for really interesting conversation – and incredibly delicious chocolate.

Next up, the confections. There were a lot to sample, so I had to be pretty brutal. If I didn’t like one sample, I’d try one more. And if I didn’t like that one, then that was it.

I definitely lingered at the Chocolopolis table, working my way through their guided tasting of five single-origin chocolate ganaches made with chocolate from  different producers. It still surprises me how this seemingly simple thing – cacao, cocoa butter, chocolate – can taste so different, and the tasting definitely drove this point home.

I enjoyed the Saint Basil truffle from Intrigue Chocolates, though some of the other flavours were less remarkable. I’ll keep an eye on them, because I think they’re doing some interesting things.

William Dean Chocolates were showing off their cuckoo creation: a bleu cheese ganache on top of a pecan marzipan, dipped in dark chocolate. I appreciate the effort – and the pecan marzipan was a wise choice – but in the end, I’m not a fan of bleu cheese and chocolate. (For the record, I’m also not a fan of curry and chocolate.)

I also sampled their pate de fruits in raspberry and pear flavours. The flavours are nice, but the textures are a bit firmer than traditional pate de fruits. I mentioned this, and it turns out that it’s intentional. The firmer texture is meant to appeal to the company’s clientele in Tampa Bay. Sigh. At least it’s a case of someone knowing what the real deal is, and then consciously working around it – and not just a mistake.

In total, it took me five hours to navigate the room. Mind you, I wasn’t eating the entire time. I spent a lot of time talking to people, some time in seminars, and some time walking around aimlessly in an attempt to digest faster.

And listen to me, griping on about having to eat too much chocolate. What’s that I hear? Oh, don’t worry. It’s just the world’s smallest violin, whining away in the distance.