Our New Look!

Our Bittersweet Origins Bars have a swanky new look! No need to look for the inconspicuous brown paper wrapper anymore. We are colorful now and each bar has artwork from the stores as well as artwork from the region the cacao comes from.

Come in and check out the beautiful new wrapping and if you haven't tried the bars that we make in house, this will give you the chance. And while you're here you can pick up a few for your friends. They make a great gift, especially since they are totally organic and vegan.

Chocolate Bar Pick o' the Month

This month I am going out of my normal realm of dark chocolate and picking a milk chocolate bar. There are just a handful of milk bars that I like and one of them is on the dark side.

This month I am picking the Chocolat Bonnat Java 65% Milk Chocolate Bar. This bar is darker than your average 33% milk, by far, and is so creamy with this caramel tone that is so nice. It is easy to savor and yet not so milky that you feel it coats your mouth. The strongest of Bonnat's strong milks-this bar offers a delightful blend of the Java white smokiness with the sweet cream of the milk. A great introduction to darker chocolates for milk chocolate lovers (or vise versa)!

Bonnat is out of Voiron, France and make a number of the bars that we carry. They have a long history in the chocolate business, established in 1884, that dates back to the drinking chocolate of early Europe.

It can also be found in our shop online, but if you have the chance please come into the store and try it for yourself.

New Askinosie 77% Davao Dark Chocolate Bar

Askinosie is one of our most popular chocolate bars. It is fair trade and organic and just plain yummy. We are proud at Bittersweet to carry one of their newest dark chocolate bars, the Davao 77% Dark Chocolate Bar, a single origin from the Philippines.

"The first cacao brought to Asia in 1600 was grown in the Philippines and we are the first chocolate maker to export Filipino cocoa beans in nearly twenty-five years. The beans used to make this tantalizing bar are very exclusive, making the Davao, Philippines chocolate bar uniquely exotic. There has never before been a single origin bar from the Philippines. "
- Askinosie website

It really is a nice and rich dark chocolate that is gently intense with a long earthy finish and falls in line with the quality of the other Askinosie bars. Stop by today to check out our newest family member, Askinosie Davao 77% Dark.

New Amano Montanya Bar

Many of you know about Amano and their amazing chocolate. Their Occumare Bar was voted "Best Bar in America" by NPR and their Madagascar Bar was voted "Best Bar" of the Chocolate Salon 2007 in San Francisco. Well, now they have a new bar out and we have it.

"The Montanya 70% Dark Chocolate Bar has been released as a "Limited Edition" due to the rarity of the cocoa beans used to produce it. The rare cacoa is grown in the mountains, most all cocoa is grown in secluded valley's or in flat areas. This chocolate is made from cocoa beans that break that mold. They come from deep within the mountains of Venezuela. the only way to reach these secluded farms is either to hike or by horseback. Similarly, the cocoa beans are brought out after the farmers have carefully harvested, fermented, and dried the beans to bring out their most beautiful flavor. These rare cacoa beans produce a chocolate like no other with a complex deep and rich flavor that is sure to make chocolate lovers swoon."*

"The flavor is enchantingly complex and it will create a passionate lover of this beautiful chocolate out of each person who tries it."*

I must say that I agree, it is another hit for Amano Chocolate. It is a limited edition, so supply is short. Some in to Bittersweet today to try it for yourself.


*Information provided by Art Pollard, Amano Founder, Head Chocolate Maker.

My Choice for A Great Bar This Month!

People are always coming in and asking, "What is your favorite Bar?" That, for me is a really hard question. I have a few that are my favorites and it depends on my mood as to which one I would like to have at any given moment.

My choice this month is the Theo 84% Ghana Dark Bar. It is really about the darkest of the bars that I enjoy the most. I find this bar to be creamy and bold, without being bitter. The Theo Ghana Bar does take a little longer to melt on the tongue, but it has some nice floral notes that round out the complexity of flavors, with a hint of sweetness. It isn't astringent or too dry, just classic in it's flavors.

If you are not timid about going to dark, but want to try something new, I suggest the Theo Ghana 84% Dark Bar. I think it is a high percentage dark bar that is approachable and enjoyable.

New Arrival!

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Bittersweet Danville now carries chocolate bars from Patric Chocolate in Columbia, MO, in 67%, 70%, and 75% varietals. These AMAZING bars have no emulsifiers or vanilla in their recipes-- only cocoa beans, sugar, and cocoa butter-- which means there is nothing hindering your full chocolate experience. Every single nuance, aroma, flavor profile, and characteristic of these bars comes straight from the bean itself; a result of the careful fermentation and fastidious craftsmanship of Alan McClure, the mastermind behind this spectacular company.

Each bar is made from the same beans grown in the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. This line of bars makes for a great tasting; come on in and try them side-by-side to experience how this extraordinary chocolate maker can develop varying flavors from the same bean!

(image courtesy of Patric Chocolate)

Chocolate Bar Pick of the Month!

I am going to go a little lighter for my chocolate bar pick for this month. Another of my favorites is from the French Chocolatier, Michel Cluizel, and his plantation Vila Gracinda bar from the island of Sao Tome in central Africa.

This 65% single origin dark bar is as smooth as you can get. Like most of Cluizel's chocolates, it is conched (ground) to a very fine nib that just melts in your mouth. This one lingers with hints of licorice, wood, and ripe tropical fruit, especially banana. This really is a great bar to savor and let sit on your tongue while you experience all the flavors.

If you are looking for chocolate to bake with all of the cluizel bars are a good choice. They can handle the heat a little more than some of the others, before burning and the quality is there to make your desserts special.

Come in and taste the Michel Cluizel "Vila Gracinda" 65% dar bar. I know you'll enjoy the experience.

New Vosges Organics!

Welcome to another gorgeous week in Rockridge. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and spring is in the air. Speaking of Spring with the newness all around, we have a couple of new chocolate bars from Vosges Haut Chocolat.

Habana - a 45% deep Organic Milk Chocolate bar with Ecuadorian Plantain Chips. Delicious... reminds me of potato chips dipped in chocolate, but so much better and more flavorful.

Peanut Butter Bonbon- a 45% deep Organic Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter and Salt. A very tasty bar it just melts in your mouth. It is based on their very popular Peanut Butter Bon Bons. Careful you might eat it all in one sitting.

So stop on by while your out enjoying the beautiful weather.

Our Newest Arrival!

No, nobody here had a baby; but I am proud to announce that we are now carrying the 70% "Sambirano" chocolate bar by Rogue Chocolatier!
These chocolate bars are hand made in small batches in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Colin Gasko, who is fast becoming the "talk of the town" in the chocolate making industry. At only 23 years old, he sources and cleans, roasts, grinds, refines, conches, tempers, molds, and packages his chocolate by himself!

The "Sambirano" chocolate bar is single-origin, using a bean from the now famous Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. Citrus and raisin flavor notes abound in this chocolate, and has a complex yet very clean feel on the palate.

I am extremely happy to have this chocolate in our store and I encourage all of you to stop by and grab a bar to take home and enjoy!

(image source, Rogue Chocolatier)

Amano Chocolate

Those of you who may have watched Food Network this recently may have caught the "Unwrapped" episode where the chocolate manufacturer "Amano" was featured. If you were curious about this wonderful, American-made chocolate, we carry their Ocumare and their Madagascar bars for you to take home and enjoy!

Just a little tidbit-- the Amano Ocumare bar was voted "Best bar in America" by NPR and the Madagascar bar was voted "Best" of the Chocolate Salon 2007 in San Francisco.

Try something new! Askinosie White Chocolate Nibble Bar

This month I am choosing the Askinosie White Chocolate Nibble Bar to discuss.

Normally I am not a white chocolate eater. For me it tends to be too sweet, but this bar is a whole different animal. First, Askinosie is the first small-batch chocolate maker in the U.S. to make white chocolate from the bean and not only that it is the only single origin 34% white chocolate that I know of. It is made from the Soconusco Bean, which they also make a 75% dark bar from that we carry (I highly recommend this bar as well).

Among some of the other interesting facts are the dairy used is from goats milk, instead of the usual cow's milk and it has the cacao nib in the bar for a nice crunch. The goats milk adds a totally different and complex flavor and the cacoa nib also helps to cut some of the sweetness of the white chocolate and adds more complexity.

I tried a tasting of the Askinosie Soconusco White Chocolate Nibby Bar and the Askinosie Soconusco 75% Dark Bar, just to see and compare. You can definitely tell that they come from the same bean, but that is about all that compares. They really are different. The white chocolate is nice and creamy and the dark is one of my favorites, but they really can't be compared.

This bar, like all of the other Askinosie Bars, is free-trade and organic.

Try something new. The Askinosie White Chocolate Nibby Bar is a lot of fun and enjoyable, not as sweet as a regular white chocolate bar and has a nice crunch.