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Hi, Just moved from Denver to Spokane and can't find a chocolate supplier.

In Denver I purchased blocks at Restaurant Depot - Callebaut823NV / about $35.00

I'm shocked at Internet prices plus shipping.

Is anyone familiar with my new area? Can you suggest online sources?

Thanks

I definitely like and love chocolates.

And I find this quote chocolicious:

There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.

and more here - http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/50-quotes-about-chocolate.html

"Chocolate is a divine, celestial drink, the sweat of the stars, the vital seed, divine nectar, the drink of the gods, panacea and universal medicine." - Geronimo Piperni, quoted by Antonio Lavedn, Spanish army surgeon,1796.

I just felt this itch to blog about chocolate. Lately I have been collecting/curating or pinning images of chocolates and even those products of Filipino cholatiers here are the links:

Pinoy Chocophile
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/pinoy-chocophile/

Tsokolate
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/tsokolate/

Bliss Luxury Choclates
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/bliss-luxury-chocolates/

Machiavelli Chocolatier
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/machiavelli-chocolatier/

Maitre Chocolatier
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/maitre-chocolatier/

Risa Chocolates
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/risa-chocolates/

Tablea Chocolate Cafe
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/tablea-chocolate-cafe/

Marti Chocolatt
http://pinterest.com/rahonpete/marti-chocolatt/

So what this blog is all about?

A Filipino blog about his search for the divine chocolate. It will deal with the history, culture and tradition of chocolate in the Philippines. It features stories on chocolate, recipes, chocolatier, etc. Also, highlights anything and everything chocolate.

I came to know about this site - http://www.thechocolatelife.com they have some basic questions which I answered like this:

Most memorable chocolate experience: sensual, orgasmic and bliss...

My favorite chocolate is: I am still searching for that divine chocolate... I believe I will create it myself...

So, I am dreaming of becoming a chocolatier in the near future, yummy-licious....

So Mabuhay and welcome to this pinoy chocophile's blog...

- - -- -

updated 7 April 2012

CHOCOPHILE
by The Chocolate Dictionary
http://thechocolatedictionary.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/chocophile/

Someone with a great love for, or an inordinate attraction to, chocolates. Chocophiles dont just buy chocolates, they worship them at the altars of Theobroma; they dont just unwrap chocolates, they undress them; they dont just eat chocolates, they have passionate encounters with them; and they dont just digest chocolates, they allow them to metamorphose irrevocably into poetry.

That chocolate is complex and mysterious is well known to chocophiles, and yet the substance is so simple it can be enjoyed plain. That is, if ever there is such thing as plain chocolate its expressive potential is perhaps too great to fit into a simple classification. In categories that include the auditory, visual, olfactory, tactile, thermal, and gustatory, the sheer variety of sensory stimuli means that in terms of sophistication chocolate can easily be compared with fine wine.

Its soft textures can be smooth, silky, velvety or moussey, yet it can also be brittle, and the characteristic snap as it breaks on the fingers or teeth is one of the great pleasures of eating chocolate. It can be cooked and it can be frozen. It can be chewed, it can be drunk and it can be licked. It likes to be combined with other flavours, being noticeably more partial to some than others, yet it releases its own rainbow of impressions, memories and sensations as it melts slowly on the palate.

Chocolate can be made into desserts as well as main courses. It can be spread, piped, shaped, molded, sculpted, painted with, printed onto, and even worn as clothing. But most of all it enjoyed as confectionery. From highly sweetened milk chocolate, to filled bonbons such as truffles, ganaches, crmes and pralines, to premier cru, single-estate, high cocoa content bars, the formulations in which chocolate confectionery are found seem limited only by the creativity of the makers.

Although chocolate is appreciated all over the world much of its profile is still mysterious and unknown. Indeed, it is said that chocolate is Mother Natures best kept secret. So numerous are its properties that despite decades of research food chemists are still unable to synthesize it. The appeal of chocolate crosses national, cultural and age barriers, yet its roots are deeply South American, where it has long been used in medicine and ritual. So versatile are the healing properties of chocolate that it is now used in therapy, recreation and massage.

For many consumers, chocolate is such stuff as dreams are made of. It is such stuff as ecstasy and perfection. It is a Holy Grail. It is a weaver of fantasies. The more one gets to know chocolate the more one realises it has its own character and personality: it talks and it listens; it comforts and it calms; it lifts spirits and it boosts energy levels; it brings joy and it stimulates desire.

That chocolate is so open to interpretation is a quality fully exploited by manufacturers and advertisers, especially in their adoption of the so-called Milk Tray Approach. Some say chocolate is feminine: that it is an Aphrodite, a Cleopatra, a Juliet or a Josephine Baker. Others say that it is masculine: that it is a Mark Antony, a Romeo, a Casanova or a Byron. Chocolate is neither and yet it is both. Because of its versatile, contradictory nature we think of it as human, and some are even apt to fall in love with it, but as the botanical name for the cocoa tree means food of the gods, perhaps it is divine.

Robert Linxe, founder of La Maison du Chocolat and magician of the ganache recognizes this perhaps more than anyone. He has defined over two hundred sensory impressions one can derive from chocolate, yet admits the real total is probably much more. For Linxe, chocolate is more than just confectionery it is a complete sensory entity. Professor Chantal Favre-Bismut, a Nutritionist at the University of Paris, went further, describing chocolate as one of the most delicious and noble factors of our whole existence. Few, if any, chocophiles would disagree.

Original link source - http://pinoychocophile.blogspot.com/2012/04/pinoy-chocophile.html#.UCJ79PbiapE

I selected this post to be featured on Food Blogs. Please visit the site and vote for my blog!

For those who are wondering how on earth one could write three entries in a blog about Belgium and not go into detail on chocolate Heres what youve been waiting for!

Actually, Belgium rarely gets full credit for some of its best features. Take chocolate for example. Arent the Swiss claiming to be the best chocolate makers in the world? Or the French even? But what have they got to show for compared to the Belgians?

True, there are some wellknown Swiss brands, like Suchard and Lindt . And the Swiss invented some machinery for chocolate making.

But Belgium has done so much more with raw cocoa. We own a whole series of globally renowned trade names to start with, such as Cte dOr , Chocolade Jacques , Callebaut , Godiva , Neuhaus , Leonidas and Guylian .

Whats more: the Belgians came up with the concept of the praline (not to be mistaken for pralin , which is a chocolate filling made with hazelnuts), an individual chocolate bonbon with a filling. As well as its traditional packaging, under the patented name ballotin , which is a rather simple, heavy duty paper box.

My personal n1! Many have tried to copy it, but Leonidas make the one and only Manon!

Suzanne by Neuhaus, with raspberry ganache

Guylian, renowned for its seashell chocolates

Signature Lait Caf by Godiva

Apart from the bigger manufacturers, Belgium boasts hundreds of chocolate artisans. Nearly every self respecting town has its own chocolatier. One of them is Bruges supertalent Dominique Persoone who owns two exclusive chocolate boutiques (Bruges and Antwerp). The Chocolate Line is one of only three chocolate shops featured in the prestigious Guide Michelin . He is a member of Heston Blumenthals The Fat Duck think tank and works closely with other top chefs such as Ferran Adri (chef of former 3 Michelin star restaurant El Bulli)

Persoones creativity reaches sky high. He created a gimmicky chocolate sniffing device called the Chocolate Shooter for Rolling Stones Ron Wood and Charlie Watts birthday party.

Watch the video here (his accent is pretty awful, but who cares, the guy makes great chocolates!):

Dominique Persoone demonstrating his Chocolate Shooter

His first book CACAO de chocoladeroute (in English: CACAO the roots of chocolate ) was internationally welcomed as best book about chocolate in 2009.

The second one, Shock-o-latier , has a much more extravagant feel to it, featuring somewhat controversial photos and being judged too edgy by US and Canadian publishers.

Persoone is a chocolatier and a rock star in his own right. However, he is also a man who takes his business very seriously. He draws on scientific research to look for new flavor combinations and uses only top quality ingredients. Most of us wouldnt dream of mixing chocolate with bacon, curry or cauliflower. But Persoones strange combos work and are a hit among foodies everywhere.

My personal favorite from the Chocolate Line is Marrakech , a praline filled with white chocolate ganache and fresh mint leaves.

Marrakech by Dominique Persoone

Here are some more Belgian chocolate makers worth checking out on your next visit (or I could also bring some of these goodies on my next overseas trip of course): Chocol@ , Pierre Marcolini , Daskalids

HOT TIP: try googling chocolatier and Belgi/Belgique and you will find literally one in every city or town!

More on all the best things Belgium has to offer: Three Kisses From Belgium blog

A volcano by the Lake receives an eastern breeze, creating a special micro climate. In there, an endogenous breed of cacao has grown since ancient times.

By these lines, I wish to draw attention to the "Salon des Chocolatiers et du Chocolat" that is going to be held between October 27-28, 2012 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Hard to believe, but until last year no chocolate show was ever held in Switzerland, home country of the chocolate. In October 2011 we organised for the very first time the "Salon des Chocolatiers et du Chocolat" in Geneva, a show dedicated to master chocolate makers with 28 exhibitors and about 6'000 visitors over the two days of the event.

Due to the Salon's great succes, this year the show will be held during 3 days, and everyone shold make plans to attend this particularly attractive exhibition. The link to the Salon's site is:

http://www.salondeschocolatiers.com/accueil/

Our "Association des Mordus de Chocolat" ("Association of Chocolate Fans") extends a warm welcome to all those who are interested in sharing this great chocolate experience.

Pierre Borsodi

President of the Association

A BROTHER/SISTER bond is the most blessed relationship!

They are special. They are our best friends.
They laugh at jokes that no one else really understands.
They share memories of smiles and tears. They share the same parents, pets, and silliness. They share the holidays.

They walk together through life, through death, through common bonds and sad farewells. They become aunts/uncles and great aunts/uncles to each others children and grandchildren. They watch each other grow older, struggle, and succeed.

There is no other relationship in the world quite like the one shared by siblings.

Often they go too long without telling those they love what they mean to them. Time flies, it seems too mushy, or they just forget. They find their own lives cluttered with more 'important' issues, they move away, or they work too hard and become too tired.

Raksha Bandhan, a festival that reminds of such wonderful memories that all have shared with their siblings.

This season dont forget to remind them how wonderful, caring and loving they have been. And that you will always be there for them in good times, great times, sad times, and devastating times.

Rakhi is one of the most imporatant festival of the year and when it comes to gifts, people always want something new, something unique. This year GoGappa introduced luxury rakhi gifts hampers like La Grande Chocolate Gift Tower that spread sweetness of sisterly love, premium goodie bag like ' Royal Nawabi Chocolate Bar Library ' and many others.

Celebrate this most beautiful festival by sending rakhi gifts to brothers & sisters with unique rakhi gift ideas from GoGappa.com.

Hello Chocolate friends,

Need your help spereading the word about the importaqnce of Fairtrade chocolate and the truth behind the chocolates we love. Spoke at TED Talks Amsterdam and now have the chance to speak at Long Beach TED Talks 2013.

HOw you can help?

1. Watch the following link

2. Share via twitter/facebook/email

3. Comment on the link as to why I should have the chance to speak at TED 2013

Many thanks XXXX

http://talentsearch.ted.com/video/Linda-Monique-The-truth-behind;TEDAmsterdam

A friend of mine who's a foodie and a USC Graduate wrote this for "The Chocolate Life"on behalf of [Editor: Link to site deleted - obvious shilling for traffic to a non-chocolate site].

By virtue of being a chocolate lover, I already know you're a disciple of decadence. Some prefer over-the-top indulgences like bright red convertibles, while others seek out physical ones like aromatherapy massages, but if you're an Epicurean (like myself), there is no indulgence sweeter than a single chocolate truffle with an unexpected filling and a shell adorned as if for royalty.

So how do you deck out your homemade chocolate truffles in pure princess fashion? While a miniature Kate Middleton-inspired hat might be an original touch, edible gold flakes provide the regality, without so much of the kitsch.

Before you start melting your old gold jewelry in a saucepan, know that edible gold leaf, just like all gourmet ingredients, requires proper handling and safety precautions. So for all you aspiring kitchen Midases, below are some answers to your frequently asked gold leaf questions.

Wait a minute is it really gold?

You may have some mental barriers preventing you from ingesting gold, but rest assured, there are no biological barriers stopping you. Yes, edible gold flakes are made from real gold, yes, gold is biologically inert and thus absorbable by the human digestive tract, but no, that does not mean your kids should be licking grandmas old watch. It is recommended to stick to the purest possible gold, between 22 and 24 carats, as impurities come with health risks. Fortunately, most packaged edible gold falls into the 22-24 carat category.

Where do I buy edible gold leaf?

Edible gold leaf can be purchased from specialty baking stores. You can often find gold leaf at specialty art stores; just make sure the gold is edible-grade before cooking with it. Edible gold leaf can also be found online, through Amazon.com or any number of specialty gold retailers.

Edible gold leaf is packaged either as flakes or sheets. Flakes can be sprinkled on homemade chocolate truffles and other baked goods for decorative finishing touches. While edible gold sheets are very delicate and require a bit of patience, they can be used for covering entire surfaces or specific detailing.

How do I decorate my homemade truffles with gold leaf sheets?

Before we go into the detailing, you should know a few things about gold leaf. Gold leaf is very, VERY delicate. Slight wind, most surfaces, even your fingers can damage these paper thin sheets. It is recommended to wear cotton gloves while dealing with gold leaf sheets and to work with them directly from the packaging. Turn off any kitchen fans and keep windows closed to prevent wind-induced wrinkling.

For applying the gold leaf, you will need a sharp paring knife or a clean razor and a dry paintbrush. Use the paint brush to steady the sheet you are cutting and prevent from tears. Run the knife along the shape you are crafting and pick up the section using the tip of your blade (to prevent from sticking).

The brush will help you press the gold leaf from the blade onto your homemade truffle. Once the desired section of gold leaf is anchored, paint it in place with your brush. You can repeat this process for additional gold details or smooth a sheet over the entire surface of your truffle for a bold gold statement.

Just because the delicate decorating process is complete, don't be careless with your precious gold creations. These candies should be stored and presented gently to avoid scratches or tears.

Bon appetit everyone!