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Chocolate Facial Masks

 

I have been reading about how healthy dark chocolate is for your body, but now I am seeing an awful lot on how good it is for your skin as a facial mask. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and caffeine for brightening, so it makes sense to use them as a mask.

Originally I had intended to do a post about a cheap little chocolate mud mask that I frequently use myself from a UK company called Montagne Jeunesse. I found them in CVS and gave them a shot because they were super cheap. I bought a few different kinds of their mud masks and all seem to work really well. The Chocolate Masque however, seems to work the best. Boasting in the ingredients that it uses Theobroma cacao seed butter and shell powder (cocoa butter) and Shea butter, along with Dead Sea salt and Mediterranean clay, it really does do wonders for my skin. It's only $1.99 too! It seems too good to be true but it really does work nicely. Follow this mask with one of their pore tightening peel mask Passion Peel Off. A peel mask with passion fruit extracts. Smells awesome and really tightens the skin.

They now offer a White Chocolate Masque, a Fudge Sauna Masque, and a special Dark Chocolate Mud Masque.

They also have a huge range of other products like sugar crystal scrubs, and fruit smoothie masks. If you live in the UK, I imagine you can find this stuff every where. They have their products here in the US as well, but I am only finding it for now at CVS. Also, the ranges are very limited. The Chocolate Masque seems to me, to be the most available. It sells out very quickly too. At least at my CVS. I know I am personally part of the problem. I buy about 20 at a time. Someone else, you know who you are, seems to be buying up all the Passion Peels.

As an added bonus this stuff feels like you are smathering chocolate frosting all over your face. Come on think about it. How many times have you want to mash your own face in a big cake? This is what that feels like. The only drawback is that you can't lick this "frosting" off your face or fingers.

 

Looking up online, there does seem to be a trend with chocolate body scrubs and expensive jars of chocolate masks. Some as high as $69. If you are like me and have a serious chocolate addiction, you are probably left with scraps of chocolate bars all over the house like I am. I used to divvy the leftover out to friends. It make me look like a drug dealer slipping them plastic baggies of chocolate saying things like "This one is very rare. Comes from Venezuela. You really can't go wrong." Or "This is from Madagascar. It's all the rage these days." What makes this even more funny, is that I usually pass them out while at some beer event or gathering at a popular beer bar. Those who aren't "in-the-know" are probably scoffing at the audacity to openly "conduct business" in such a public display.

Back to those leftovers. I sample a lot of chocolate and have tons left over. I can't eat whole bars of chocolate at a time. I hoard the really good ones selfishly for myself to nosh on later, but the rest go into baggies and either get made into exquisite batches of chocolate mousse. Or it gets melted down in scaled cups of hot almond milk for hot chocolates.

Now I have a new way to deal with those samples and that is making your own homemade chocolate masks. The internet is chock full'o'recipes to explore and play with.

 

I found this rather simple recipe for a chocolate, yogurt, oatmeal mask.

¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted
¼ cup honey
¼ cup natural yoghurt – not flavoured
¼ cup oats, finely chopped

Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth paste.

Let it stand for 5 minutes to thicken slightly.

Apply the chocolate face mask generously to your clean and dry face and neck areas.

Lightly massage in avoiding the eye and lip areas. Leave on for 15 minutes then rinse with warm water. Pat dry and apply a moisturiser.

You may find that as this chocolate mask is so good at cleansing your skin it will absorb your moisturiser easily and you may need a second application.

It goes without saying that if you feel any irritation on your skin to wash the chocolate mask off immediately.

Although you can not eat this recipe this site is filled with delicious chocolate recipes of mine that you can indulge in. This slide show is just a taste of what you will find.

 

Chocolate bar mask by Natasha Levitan

You will need:

• 1 bar dark chocolate
• 3 tbsp salt
• 1 cup milk

Mix the Milk and Salt

Into a small bowl, pour in your cup of milk. Add in three tablespoons of salt and mix everything together so the salt dissolves.

Melt the Chocolate

Set up double boiler. Fill the saucepan quarter full and place a small bowl on top so it doesn't touch the water. Set the heat to medium. Break chocolate into pieces so the chocolate melts faster and place it into the bowl. Stir it with a whisk so it melts more evenly. When it is completely melted, take it off the heat

Mix the Face Mask Ingredients

Add milk-salt mixture to the melted chocolate and stir it together so everything combines. Cool the mixture until the room temperature.

Apply to the Chocolate Face Mask

Cover yourself with a towel so the melted chocolate doesn't ruin your clothes. Apply to your face with a wooden stick or your hand. Make sure that the mask is not hot so it doesn't burn your face. Let it stay for about 15-20 minutes while you read, lay down, or relax. Then wash it off with a mild cleanser and water. Be thorough so you don't end up smelling like dessert for the rest of the day.

 

Chocolate chips mask recipe via Soleil Robins, Yahoo

1 package of dark chocolate chips

1 tsp vitamin E oil

1 tbls solid cocoa butter

1/4 cup of cocoa powder

2 tsp almond oil

Mix all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, Microwave for 30 seconds or until chips have melted enough to melt as mixing together and blended in. Allow mixture to cool and thicken a bit and then apply to clean face and let it sit for 20 minutes. Rinse face with warm water and moisturize face after.

 

Green tea and chocolate mask from Wise She.

1 tbls of green tea (or matcha green tea powder)

1 tbls of cocoa powder

2 tbls honey

Mix until a smooth paste. Apply to face and neck for 20 minutes and rinse with luke warm water.

 

Honeyed Wine and Chocolate Facial Mask by Crunchy Betty

• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp red wine
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 egg white
• Clean small paintbrush or makeup brush for application

Mix the red wine, honey, and egg white together well until completely blended. Add the cocoa powder and continue to whisk with a small fork until smooth. The consistency will be a little jelly-like. This is good. With your clean paintbrush or other applicator (you could use your hands, it’s just kind of messy), apply a thick layer to a clean face, avoiding the lips, so you can drink a glass of while while you let it dry for 15-20 minutes. Wash well with a warm, damp washcloth. Finish with a moisturizer.

 

All of these homemade masks can be bulked up with tropical fruits like papayas and bananas. Avocados and blueberries will also add some beneficial nutrients to the skin. Adding course sugar crystals will double these recipes as facial scrubs for exfoliation. Or you could be cheeky and just take Taza Chocolate and scrub your face with that rough and over bearing texture. God knows it's not good to eat but at least you can do something with it. And of course health stores or organic grocery stores all have skin care sections where you can buy essential oils to add to any of these recipes.

American Heritage Chocolate

 

 

 

Lovely samples of a traditional colonial chocolate recipe sent to me by the Historical Division of the Mars company. A new line, American Heritage Chocolate, featuring old 18th century traditions of chocolate making and old Pennsylvania colonial-style recipes.

Handcrafted chocolate with natural ingredients with no additives or preservatives. Historians, chefs, food historians, and their chocolate makers collaborated to use only ingredients and spices available in that era. Recipes adapted and tested from Hannah Glasse and John Nott as well as others.

The blend of spices used for this chocolate are cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, red pepper, orange, vanilla, salt, and annatto.

The hand made techniques are detailed as:

-Imported beans from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

-Cocoa beans roasted over an open flame, and shells were removed by hand.

-Mortars and Pestles ground the nibs. Often leaving behind traces of other spices and chili peppers. Grinding was also done in mills that ground ginger and mustard which would also influence some of the chocolate's taste.

-Heated stones or metate, was used to grind the nibs in to a chocolate paste.

-Then the hardened chocolate was grated into water or milk.

Watch a chocolate demonstration here: 18th Century Chocolate Making

 

 

I love the presentation of it all. From the wooden box it was sent in and the cloth bag the chocolate sticks were presented in. It's very fun.

 

Single Chocolate stick, pack of four chocolate sticks, and a block of chocolate.

 

 

 

I took one stick for one normal coffee cup and steamed *almond milk. I did take a small nibble off the end of the stick to see what the texture and chocolate tasted like on it's own. Naturally it was very spicy, but the texture was fairly waxy. One of only two issues I had overall with the chocolate.

It smelled fantastic. The spices were a good mix for the chocolate. It did however leave a bit of a cloying taste at the end though due to the spices. But I didn't care about that because it was very soothing and comforting to drink.

 

 

I do think one stick for the cup wasn't rich enough. Though I don't know how it will effect the spiciness with added sticks. After using all of my leftover chocolate scraps from reviewing chocolate and making hot chocolate out of them, I prefer a robust and bold hot chocolate. That's also from being spoiled from the richness of L.A. Burdick's insanely rich hot chocolate. I would try it with one stick for a normal coffee cup, and then gradually add more if you think it needs it.

I haven't baked with it yet, but as the holidays roll around, I will certainly find something to do with the block. For now, I am left with four sticks of the drinking chocolate. That means about 2 more cups. I will make sure I save them for an especially frigid night.

Even with this being a product of a "Macro" chocolate company, this is fun chocolate. This cool little experiment in history and recipe searching. You can find it at historical sites for now to purchase, such as Williamsburg, Va., Mount Vernon, The Smithsonian, Monticello and the Fortress of Louisbourg in Canada. And even better for me being in Massachusetts, I can get this in Deerfield, Ma. The also have teas and coffees.

 

 

*I have recently had to give up milk. It's one of two reasons, either the amount of hormones added to milk here in the United States, or the pasteurization of milk causes a make reaction with my skin. It's been the most devastating thing to ever have to give up. But in Europe, I had raw milk and nothing happened to my skin. Adding milk to my coffee, nothing happened. I still have yet to talk to a doctor about the matter, but my findings so far are leading to me to think it's the pasteurization. When milk is pasteurized a crucial enzyme in milk that helps human bodies process it is destroyed. This could be the reason it's taking it's toll on me. However as a life long milk drinker, this is first time I have ever noticed such damaging effects.

But not all is lost. Almond milk has really come through and saved the day. Vanilla Almond Milk to be more precise. It has vanilla in it, it's sweeter, very thick and creamy. It's like going through the process of making homemade hot chocolate but cutting out all the steps. It's very tasty. And despite being made from almonds, the nuttiness doesn't interfere as much as you would think. It's there mildly, but over all it enhances the richness of the chocolate being added to it. Without Almond milk, I might have considered tossing myself off a bridge if I had to live without milk.

Halloween Chocolate 2010

 

 

What is cool and scary looking for Halloween this year? I have decided to highlight some awesome winners for this season. And not the corny stuff either. Some stuff that I like, that I think is cool.

 

Life size and realistic chocolate skulls anyone? Pictured above. There is little information about these except that they make them using Belgian chocolate. You can get them in blends to look more realistic. And they cost about $120 bucks. I hope they come in the cool case that is pictured on their website. They better for $120 bones.

Source: Chocolateskulls.com

 

 

How about some angels and demons? Chocolate icons from Alma Chocolate in Oregon. The Charming Devil or the Anatomical Heart might be right for Halloween. Or an Our Lady Gualalupe for Dia De Los Muertos. Or perhaps a Celtic Cross to fend off any other nasties?

 

 

Source: Alma Chocolate

Skeleton/Heart image via: Oregon Live

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Icons, Alma isn't the only game in town running that offer. Bond Street Chocolate in New York, also has a selection of deities to worship in chocolate form. And the offer high cocoa percentage (72%) skulls.

 

We all know Jesus wasn't really a white man, so a chocolate Jesus just might be in order. Just don't let it get too close to your prayer candles.

Source: Bond Street Chocolate

 

 

 

Let's get morbid shall we?  Chocolate artist Stephen Shanabrook with Body Parts, wounds, and incision wounds box set lovingly called "Morgue." How about a chocolate sculpture called "The Remnants of a Suicide Bomber?" Maybe some Choir boy's being water boarded? It's Halloween after all. Just because we turn the scary into cartoon-ish images, doesn't mean there isn't some real creepy stuff out there. If you are going to do gross, go big or go home!

Wonder what kind of chocolate he uses?

 

Source: Eat Me Daily

 

 

 

For something less offensive and more tasty, how about some skull and ghost truffles? Vianne Chocolat Nibs-n-skulls truffle and L.A. Burdick's Ghost truffles. Keeping in with the spirit of Halloween without getting too gross about it. Cute and tasty.

 

Source: Vianne Chocolat

Source: L.A. Burdick's

 

 

And since Halloween seems to be the time to pull out the hot spices or peppers in chocolate, why not go with this slick Mutha Fuckin' bar of chocolate right here? Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers.

Brooklyn-based, American Craft Chocolate producers, and now friends of mine, Rick and Michael Mast. Dope packaging, spicy chocolate, Dominican Republic beans. You can't go wrong.

This bar is in my own personal collection right now just waiting to be reviewed. Soon, my spicy friend. Soon you will be eaten and destroyed.

Source: Mast Brothers

Jacques Torres, DUMBO, Brooklyn

I stopped by Jacques Torres in Brooklyn while visiting over the July 4th weekend. Our friend Cathy Erway, who was showing us the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, told us we NEEDED to try the iced hot chocolate. With the weather being as hot and humid as it was, it was a life saver and unbelievably good.

We also tasted some truffles in the store as well. I didn't buy any to bring home, as it was just too hot to carry around. But I did enjoy the Grand Cru truffle.

Chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows. 

Chocolate bars and blocks. Word on the street is, Jacques Torres shouldn't be calling his "Jacques' Bean To Bar" a bean-to-bar chocolate bar. Word is, he sources the beans from other companies. But this is a rumor that I never asked about or contacted their company about... yet.

The label bean-to-bar is mostly irrelevant to the average fan of chocolate for the time being. But as chocolate makers grow and the demand picks up for real bean-to-bar chocolate bars, if the rumor is true, they better come correct about it.

Truffles and bark.

Chocolate covered things. Popcorn, nuts, and cornflakes.

 

After checking out the store and buying 72% hot chocolate cocoa, and Jacques Torres French Kiss cookie mix, we headed over to a small park right at the Manhattan Bridge for a a nice little break to sit by the water and people watch.

 

Meletti Ciccolato @ Craigie On Main, Cambridge, Ma.

 

I met Carrie Cole, the bar manager at one of my favorite restaurants in Cambridge, Ma. called Craigie on Main, at a charity food event a couple of months ago. We talked about Meletti Ciccolato. A new-to-me Italian chocolate liqueur that is pretty much my whole world right now by being serious chocolate lover and lover of fine cocktails.

I stopped by on Friday with my husband and some friends to try out a few cocktails made with the Meletti and got a few snacks in the process.

Silvio Meletti

The story of Meletti:

The Meletti Anisette was invented and produced for the first time in 1870 by Silvio Meletti, who perfected and improved an aniseed-based liquor produced by hand in his mother's small shop. Silvio Meletti had the idea of offering the country a product of an ever higher quality to stand up to the competion of the extremely expensive foreign anisettes, and threw himself into the study of Italian and French manuals on the distillation and production of liquors until he was able to design and supervise the production of a bain-marie still, with very slow evaporation in order to obtain an alcoholate as aromatic as possible. It was found that the very delicate taste and special aroma of the Meletti anisette came from the quality of the aniseed (Pimpinella Anisum) carefully cultivated in certain areas of clay soil around Ascoli Piceno, favoured by the very special conditions of the land and the climate.

In 1904 the distillery was built near the railway station in Ascoli Piceno. The anisette produced was aged in iron casks in the large cellars, of which there were many at the distillery. Now, more than 120 years since it was first produced, Meletti anisette is still made with the systems developed and established by our founder. The aniseed is produced in the province of Ascoli Piceno. The central aspect of the production is the distillation of alcohol in the presence of aniseed. With suitable stills the alcohol absorbs the aromatic part of the aniseed. The result is a liquor with a high alcoholic content known as "aniciato", which is the raw material for subsequent processing.
The production of anisette involves the addition of a special "aroma" which is also produced through the distillation of various spices. The resulting anisette is then transferred into special tanks of more than 10,000 lt. for the ageing process. The ageing is necessary because in this stage the anisette clears, forming a deposit on the walls of the recipient, and amalgamates the various components which give it that unmistakable flavour.

Today they offer many products Along with their classic aniseed flavored liqueurs including lemon liqueurs and the ciccolato. The also have Caffe Meletti in the Piazza del Popolo in Ascoli Piceno since 1907 which includes a cafe, a restaurant, and a pastry shop. 

[Image via Flaviakappa]

Situated in the renaissance style Piazza del Popolo heart of the city, Caffè Meletti has always been part of the piazza and vice versa. This close tie with Piazza del Popolo (which was used as a forum in roman times has always been very important for the city) has transformed the café, since its opening, in a meeting place for both the people of the city and its numerous tourists.
The building and its portico were built between 1881 and 1884 inspiring itself to the style of the 16th century piazza. Initially the building was used as the head office of the post office, then in 1903 Silvio Meletti (an Italian businessman who owned a distillery that produced a famous aniseed liquor) bought and transformed the building into a luxurious café.
The building was cleverly modified in liberty style inspired by other historical café.
The new café Meletti was opened on Saturday the 18th of May 1906. It soon became very popular, famous in all of Italy thanks to its elegance, its excellent products and its refined services. It was sold by Meletti’s heirs in March 1990, to every ones surprise the new owner closed the historical café in June of the same year.
The “Foundation of Cassa di Risparmio” bought the building in 1996.
Caffè Meletti was elegantly restored and opened to the public as it was on the 19th of December 1996. The tie between the city of Ascoli Piceno and Caffè Meletti has become more important. The Café has become a valuable meeting place not only for its excellent products but because it also allows all its clients to be spectators and protagonist of the city life.
Caffé Meletti has hosted in its years many famous people (from Vittorio Emanuele II in 1927 to Mascagni, Piovene, Sartre, Del Monaco, Gigli, Guttuso, Soldati, Licini, Gronchi, Saragat,
and the De Filippo family), it was used for film sets ( “I delfini” by Maselli in 1960 and  “Alfredo,Alfredo” with Dustin Hoffman by Germi in 1972) and also as setting for commercials and photo shoots.

Meletti is located in Italy in the Marche region on the Adriatic sea. Located at the very bottom of the region in a town called Ascoli Piceno.

[Image via: Angelo Recchi]

Vintage artwork featuring Meletti Anisetta:

Meletti Ciccolato:

The Meletti family, through skillful blending, has created a delicious cocoa based liqueur. Meletti Cioccolato was created by Silvio Meletti as a winter drink, intended to be served warm. However, fans of Meletti cordials soon discovered its versatility. It can be used in a variety of drink and food recipes and is delicious cold as well as warm. As with all Meletti products, only the best ingredients are used and personal attention is afforded to every phase of production.

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Meletti has been described as "adult fun", "chocolate pudding," "uncooked brownie mix," or as I describe it, "like a super rich chocolate syrup with alcohol," or simply "pure awesomeness."

The best thing about it is the price. It's fairly cheap at around $19 to $25 a bottle. That means there should be no excuse to run out and get a bottle right now and keep for your collections or begin mixing up your own cocktails with it right now.

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The first drink I asked for at Craigie was a Brandy Alexander made with the Meletti Ciccolato instead of dark creme de cacao. It was very rich and thick, but not cloyingly sweet as one might think thanks to a nice brandy the drink was made with. Nice and rich and boozy. Just the way I like it. And the classic spicy kick of nutmeg sprinkled on top.

This next drink was something Carrie created using the ciccolato, bitters, and bourbon. I liked this drink quite a bit, but it was fairly stiff, and not too sweet. I think most people wouldn't expect this drink to be as dry and robust as it is.

Unfortunately I didn't catch that this picture was a bit blurry until the next day. However, it was the best drinks of the night. Made with Meletti Ciccolato, Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur, Luxardo, and Rum. Smooth, nutty, and creamy. And once again not as sweet as it might seem with the ciccolato.

 

I also asked for a little tasting glass for the Meletti so that others at my table might try it on it's own. It's something that has to be seen and tasted on it's own to be fully appreciated. Most people who have probably had Meletti have had it in a cocktail of some sort. Most likely a chocolate martini. While, it's certainly ideal for a chocolate martini, it should be tasted as it is first.

I think the viscosity of this drink is gorgeous. It makes you want to lick the glass.

As for the food, well we ordered a few fun things from the bar menu to be shared around the table and it was all fantastic. Craigie on Main is hands down one of the best restaurants in the Boston/Cambridge area.

Chef Tony Maws has incredible culinary skills. I still marvel to this day about the time I had dinner there and tried one of their tasting menus. One of the courses had squid pasta. Not squid ink, but actual squid in the pasta. So flavorful and unbelievably good. 

Crispy Potato Galette with salmon roe, bacon bits, and horseradish cream sauce.

Oysters on the Half Shell.

"Les Cochanailles" Many tastings of Pork.

Assiette of house-made charcuterie: Duck rillettes, Pate de Campagne, Foie Gras au Torchon.

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Valrhona Chocolate Soup with ancho chili and cardamom.

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We were treated to a selection of cheeses and were serves these little chocolate and nut treats with the check. They look a little bit like Preacher Cookies.

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We managed to make an entire evening out of chocolate at Craigie. If you are going to go all out on rich and fabulous foods and drinks I can't imagine a better place than Craigie on Main. I am so grateful that this place is only a two minute walk from my door to their door.

Thank you Carrie, for having me in and testing cocktail creations with me. I will gladly be your guinea pig any day.

Fine & Raw ~ Bonbon Bar

Oh yes! A bar of chocolate made with all natural ingredients and filled with a truffle center.  The Bonbon bar. Word to your moms!

This bar was given to me by my friend Emily Shartin, the chocolate buyer of Formaggio Kitchen. She wanted me to try a very flavorful bar of chocolate from a solid chocolate maker in Brooklyn, NY.

Fine & Raw is a chocolate company out of Brooklyn using natural ingredients and green methods of sustainability.

FINE & RAW is a fresh new company that believes the future is beautiful. To help bring this thought to life we strive to be green and sustainable where ever possible.

We'll be the first to admit we're not perfect. From the big issues, like fairtrade and carbon foot prints, down to using energy efficient light bulbs, we're learning to be greener all the time.

Our cacao is fairtrade and comes from a small cacao farmers co-op that practices sustainable farming. Cacao is a shade grown plant requiring a foliage canopy to grow. Our cacao farmers maintain the rainforests which provide natural symbiotic canopies for the plant. The farmers also grow an heirloom variety of cacao, which promotes bio-diversity of plant species within the rainforest ecosystem.

All our ingredients are organic, which means no unnecessary toxins, chemicals or pollutants are pumped into the environment. Our packaging is recycled and the inks we use are non-toxic and vegetable based.

We want the planet to be strong so it can grow more chocolate.

I have only had one previous experience with Fine & Raw. I reviewed their Mesquite bar. A strange bar that one was. Funky flavors mixed with chocolate. Bizarre yet fun. It's one of those bars that you have to try at least once and you might not enjoy it just as a bar. I found it kind of odd but then I started to think about melting it down and making variants of Mole sauces with it. It was only after thinking about what could be done with it that I fully began to appreciate it. 

I am not going to lie though. I was mostly excited for the Mesquite bar because of the wrapper. A vintage cowgirl with a lasso. It's pretty bad ass. 

Type: Filled bar.

Bean Varietal: Unknown, beans from Ecuador.

Ingredients: Raw cacao paste, cacao butter, blue agave, virgin coconut oil, cacao powder, himalayan sea salt.

Sample Size: 2oz or 54g

Description:

Dark raw chocolate bar with a thin line of bonbon truffle running down the inside center (2oz).

Appearance: Very damaged. This could come from a number of reasons, but it had a very oily and greasy feel to the bar. The oils in this bar began to separate from the cocoa. The foil wrapper was completely saturated with oils. It has a soft truffle center but the shell of the filled bar was very soft. This gave way to a poor snap character. I doubt there would have been a viable snap character anyway with the soft truffle center. But there would have been a small sound with a crisp chocolate shell. I don't know if this bar is always supposed to be this soft or if some how there was an issue along the way with heat exposure or any other reasons. 

I have had a similar experience with a set of truffles that came to me from Patric. They were Elbow truffles made with Patric chocolate. They tasted so fantastic, but they got damaged along the way some how. They had a matted appearance and a bit of a sunken in effect from super soft truffle centers. It's a hard call when things like this happen. They might look messed up, but still they tasted like heaven. This bar was no exception.

Because of this I am not reviewing this chocolate like a standard bar. I am going to talk about the taste, texture, and aroma. I will give it one overall score.

Aroma: Huge coconuts, almonds, and rich roasted cocoa. Once again, a bar of chocolate that smells like a deeply rich Almond Joy. Obviously the coconut oils impact the aroma. I was hoping that the coconut was a natural aroma based on other chocolates I have reviewed with a robust coconut and almond aroma. But none the less, this aroma is unbelievably good. The bar was so fragrant that my entire living room smelled like rich coconut and almonds.

Taste: Coconuts, lovely hits of sea salt, rich roasted cocoa, nice bitter notes blended with sweet cocoa notes, and slight bit of astringency on the first taste.

Balanced flavors with the sea salt, richly roasted cocoa, and coconut make for a fantastic tasting bar. It's delicious and robust. It has a good balance of sweet salty, and bitter cocoa.

Texture: Soft chocolate shell, a bit oily on the surface, smooth soft center, creamy, melts fast.

The taste, creamy texture, and aroma completely save the day for this bar. I just wanted to eat more and more of it. The sea salt gave this bar a perfect balance. Rich cocoa notes big coconut taste and aroma, bittersweet and sweet cocoa tastes where rounded out by the contrasting sea salt taste. Excellent flavors and tastes.

It may not be totally fair to not score this bar based on appearance and snap, but this is an unusual bar of chocolate as it's filled with a truffle center. I am not sure where the issue happened with it's appearance, but it deserves a solid letter grade based on how good it smells and tastes. It's quite a fantastic bar of chocolate overall.

score
A

Vosges ~ Bacon & Eggs

 

Vosges


Easter sales are always a good idea. What people don't get is that chocolate has a very long shelf life. So whenever Easter or any good holiday for chocolate comes around, remember the day-after sales. Believe me, with all the hard work these chocolate makers go through for certain holidays, reward them with buying their efforts and then helping them to get rid of it after the fact. Let nothing go to waste.

I totally took advantage. I bought a complete bacon collection from Vosges.  Bacon Caramel Toffee, Mo's Chocolate Chip Bacon Pancake mix, two Mo's Bacon Chocolate Bars in milk and dark chocolate, and the Bacon & eggs.

I had been taunted for months by the people behind the Vosges Twitter page. Taunts of posts about their Bacon Pancake mix. Finally, I gave in. I had previously reviewed the Mo's Bacon Bar with Milk Chocolate before. The bar was so delicious, I had to get more products from them.

So, I took advantage of the post-Easter sale and bought their Bacon & Eggs.



 


Five flat bottomed eggs with intricate moldings. The inspiration for these eggs:

 

"I was drawn to the different textures on these egg molds and love their antique-feel. I have been thinking about soft caramel fillings for years and these presented the perfect opportunity to introduce some of the first. The Wink of the Rabbit and the Bacon Caramels are the first of more soft caramel fillings to come." -Katrina

 

 

 

This one was a bit damaged on top with a slight cracked and sunken in top. I ate that one first.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), organic cream, wheat glucose syrup, sugar, butter, uncured bacon (pork, sea salt, raw sugar, white pepper, dry juniper berries, celery juice, lactic acid starter culture), water, salt, and natural hickory smoke flavoring.

Dark chocolate (55%) contains 30% cocoa solids minimum.

 

These were one ounce eggs, and were a little bit smaller than I had anticipated. They are expensive for a pack of 5 originally priced at $22. The sale price was $18.

I didn't find them to be as good as the Mo's Bacon bar with milk chocolate. The bar had more bacon and salty contrast to the sweet milk chocolate. There wasn't as much of a balance or a contrast as I had hoped for with these eggs.

The caramel was dark and sweet, but not as buttery as I had hoped. I think it needed to be sea salt caramel with nice, course salt mixed in. The bacon bits were too small. This was on opportunity to have had bigger chunks of bacon it to give it more of a hickory taste and add more of a salty contrast since the caramel was regular caramel.

The first egg had very little bacon in it. The second one was more loaded with bacon and had a better smokey flavor. The chocolate is sweet and rich. It's more like a dark milk chocolate than actual dark or semisweet chocolate.

Now having said all that, these were good. I ate two of them back to back and if I weren't in great control of my gluttonous ways, I could have easily plowed through this package. The price however, stops me from devouring these completely. I need to take my time with these to ensure the value. 

Still, this is a fun a holiday gift and with the bacon in it, it's perfect for an Easter gift. 

The Bacon Revolution continues.

Sugar Heaven ~ Boston

I was invited to come to the opening of Sugar Heaven's new store opening in the Back Bay of Boston. Sugar Heaven started in Montreal but has since branched out with five locations and one on the way in Las Vegas.

I was very excited to check this place out because their website has a small clip of Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me when the website opens up.

Sugar Heaven

They are a full service candy shop with all the classics, and some new favorites. From adult candy toys, to gift baskets, candy cocktails, and event planning like weddings and corporate events to birthday party events held right in their store.

They have an ice cream shop coming soon to their downstairs area. It was set up with food and a second bar for the opening so I didn't get to see what it would look like set up for ice cream. And word on the street is they will have a chocolate conveyor belt of some kind set up in the shop.

I do have one minor disappointment with the shop though. It was still in the process of being set up, but despite how colorful the candy was, it was a lot of mass produced candy. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I wouldn't be caught dead eating it. Of course I love candy in all forms. There were some candy classics in this place from Nerds, Fun Dip, even old school candy bars like Charleston Chews and classics like Haribo's gummy coke bottles. I guess I am being a bit of a snob when it comes to how the place looked.

I have this dream of seeing a candy shop opening up that is either a child's dream of a candy shop. Big, bright, bold, gaudy and just a total playground. I don't know exactly how one would achieve that. I willfully admit I am sitting in judgment from afar. But I want to see someone open up a either a huge gaudy European-style candy shop that is laden with gold wrappers, chocolate over flowing from every corner and candy galore. Or a massive fun house of candy. I would like to see a real life version of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

I am not saying this shop isn't great by any means, but in my own head I have a dream of a glorious candy shop, one that would put them all to shame. This is not what I had in mind, but it's still fun.

One way this candy shop knows how to appeal to adults was to offer up candy cocktails. These were wicked sweet drinks, but I did like the Jolly Rancher Margarita. It's cool to see a garnish tray of candy for a change. Sour apple ropes and jelly beans. The Jolly Rancher Margarita had a candy watermelon slice in it.






I kind of like that the first thing you see when you walk in is a make-shift bar right at the front and adult candy items like candy necklace nipple tassels and candy cigarettes. We also got a pack of candy cigarettes in our take home gift bags. I thought they stopped making those. They were the best as kids. Puffing away, blowing out powdered sugar like you were really smoking. I know how terrible that is considered today, but I don't give a shit! I loved them.







Random candy shots from around the store. M&M's candy bars, and bins of candy.






Rock Candy.

Lollipop tree.

My husband Todd, models his hand to indicate how big the giant lollipops are.

Chocolate covered everything.







Bins upon bins of candy.










Sugary drinks anyone?

Gift baskets.

This was my favorite part. Chap sticks in cake frostings, brownies, pancakes, and sugar cookie flavors. Even in classic cereal flavors. 

And there you have it. Cocktails, candy nipple tassels, candy bins, and flavored chap sticks. I dug it.

Le Whif ~ Le No Thanks

 

Ever feel like you could satisfy a strong chocolate craving with a chocolate inhaler instead of the real deal? Yeah, me neither.

Le Whif is a new breathable chocolate using an inhaler and organic cocoa powder. They come in three flavors, Pure Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate. They have also created a coffee inhaler with the caffeine contents of a very light espresso.

From the website:

Invented by Harvard Professor David Edwards in collaboration with students, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs working in Edwards' ArtScience Labs centered around Le Laboratoire, in Paris, Le Whif contains hundreds of Milligrams of tiny food Particles.

The lipstick size inhaler is made biodegradable poly-lactic acid making it safe to easily dispose of, and is designed to be spill proof.


The launch for this new chocolate inhaler took place last night at a restaurant in Harvard Sq. called Tory Row. Le Whif is gearing to to release their product in Paris as well as Tokyo and London. Le Whif is being sold at Cardullo's in Havard Sq. for $2 or via Le Whif's website.

While scientifically this is cool, this is a pretentious, and stupid device that takes away the joy of eating real chocolate. Why? Because we can't get over stupid body image issues and calorie counting and someone will always be there to exploit that. Le Whif is being promoted as "The taste of chocolate without the calories."

I shake my head because there is nothing better in the world than eating a fantastic piece of chocolate. Getting your fingers messy with chocolate is also part of the fun. Tasting the differences in cocoa percentages, letting it melt in your mouth, discovering new regions and flavors in origin chocolate, truffles, hot chocolate, chocolate sauces, bars, infused chocolates... It's a never ending journey. Not to mention it's mood enhancing, and dark chocolate is healthy for you.

Le nom de ce produit est très stupide. They really could have come up with a much better name for this silly novelty.

This product takes all the fun out of actually eating chocolate. It might taste good, I will still give it a try and fully review it when I can score one of these things, but I am not going to support it and tout it as good alternative to chocolate. Nothing will ever be better than the real thing.

Eat what you like, embrace real chocolate!

 

Here is a lightening review of Le Whif from Mark Wilson of Gizmodo.

The Verdict: The size of a container of Chapstick, you pull the telescoping Le Whif out to coat your entire tongue and mouth with a tiny amount of chocolate. The "essence" of chocolate, as it was described to me.

Words cannot capture the humiliation of inhaling a chocolate/raspberry Le Whif, then coughing the sugar out of my lungs, like a first time cigar smoker but even more pansy. (Supposedly the 80 to 300 micron chocolate pieces are too big to enter the lungs, so it's possible that I just sucked down a nasty coat of chocolate into my trachea.)

My second and third puffs, however, were more successful. The sensation is akin to sucking a tiny bit of cocoa powder through a straw. And while not necessarily enjoyable in any way, it was admittedly a lot of chocolate flavor for only .8 calories a stick.

A spokesman explained to me that just as Man had evolved from eating one meal a day, He's gone on to eat 2, 3 and then even a recommended 5. And under this logic, Man would eventually breathe food at all times. So Le Whif is working with a variety of French chefs to capture the essence of their dishes. If and when Le Whif releases inhalable foie gras, I might try again. Until then, I'll stick to good old fashioned overeating.