Forum Activity for @Chocoflyer

Review of the Oregon Chocolate Festival from an attendee

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

If anyone else reading attended this festival, please leave your comments/ impressions too! Thanx!

Review of the Oregon Chocolate Festival from an attendee

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

The 4th Annual Oregon Chocolate Festival was Mar 7-9 in charming Ashland, OR. A fantastic event, it featured chocolatiers from all over the state in a wonderful historic setting, the Ashland Springs Hotel. This adorable town is best known for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is located about an hour flight from Portland, at the very south end of the state in the Rogue River Valley. PICS COMING SOON.Here is a list of chocolate vendors featured - there were also wineries, coffee roasters, and some other food vendors. Also a mini orchestra and outdoor wine/beer garden- really an elegant affair! We got lucky with clear blue skies, spectacular weather. As a native Oregonian I was VERY proud of how our state came together for this, plan to return every year if I can (all the way from Florida now) Highly recommended to everyone!LILLIBELLE FARMS- choc covered Oregon berries/ decadent modern ganache/ trufflesBRANSONS CHOC- to die for Amaretto TrufflesEUPHORIA CHOC- going on 20+ years- woo hoo!BROWNIE SHOTZ- bite size choc covered browniesCARY'S- wonderful soft crunch toffee now avail in Whole Foods Markets nationwideDAGOBA ORGANIC- born and raised right here in Ashland- unique flavor barsTHE CHOCOLATE BEAGLE- truffles and custom cakesKEKAU CHOC- gorgeous chocs with very modern twist of flavorsLULUS RAW CHOC ALCHEMY- gourmet raw chocolate delights, nothing artificialCHERRY COUNTRY- choc covered dried organic Royal Ann cherries and nutsMAJESTIC CHOC- full spectrum of hand made chocsSILLY RABBIT CHOCOLATE CO.-cute bunnys hopping all over with trays of chocs!TWO BROTHERS FOOD CO. - decadent choc sauce (wouldnt know by the name)WILLHITE CHOC- hand made ganche filled trufflesSOS PEAR STATION- famous Oregon pears covered in choc saucePUDDIN RIVER CHOC- full spectrum of hand made choc treatsPETE'S GOURMET CONFECTIONS- choc dipped homemade marshmallowsPENNINGTON FARMS- choc chip cookies, brownies, jamsOn top of all the FREE choc samples, everyone had choc for sale at special festival discounts, and you are given a nice bag at the check in to collect all your treasures. The Fest tix are good for 2 days ($20 at door) If you decide to go, there are plenty of hotels and most offer a Choc Fest package with event tix and also half price to theatre at the famous Shakespeare Festival.There were also a full slate of chocolate seminars, a Gallery Choc Art Walk, lectures, kids activities, prize drawings,specialty gourmet dinner packages with local chefs, and plenty of local artisan chocolatiers to talk with one on one- everyone is very approachable, no pretentious ppl here....just GREAT chocolatiers celebrating what we all love!For the official festival website go to www.ashlandspringshotel.com
updated by @Chocoflyer: 05/09/15 03:05:11

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Hi Brady,My cocoa butter, when I use it, is also pressed here at the Patric Chocolate facility, and from the same beans as the cacao used in my chocolate. Also, my roasting, so far, would probably be best classified as being on the low side of medium, but my intention is not to define myself with a certain style of roasting. I would rather focus on bringing the best flavor out of the cacao, and this leaves room for different roasting profiles in the future, depending upon the cacao.Best,AlanP.S. Nice seeing you at the Fancy Food Show yesterday.

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brady,Your disclaimer is well noted. Maybe for some makers it's too much to make generalizations about a trademark style. It does seem to me, though, that at least some makers have a characteristic style. To me Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, Hachez, and Amedei have each had a certain style for all of the chocolate I've tasted from them. (The first 3 I don't care for, but I love everything from Amedei that I've tasted.)

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Olorin-For what it's worth (and I'm not sure it is worth much) I'm going to attach the spread sheet I had started rather than retype the entries individually. I'm very hesitant to post this but I did start this thread originally. I have some basic information I had put in a spreadsheet that maybe you or someone else could build on to attain our original goal. I've taken out a lot of information regarding flavor profiles as alot of people, and I'm tending to agree, find these generalizations inaccurate. Also, the data I have left could very well be inaccurate so be open minded. I'm finding it very difficult to connect the dots with basic information that I have. After talking to several makers individually, I have not found one to admit to any standard formula or process that they use to attain an identifiable characteristic as a maker. The answer by most is that they vary the process with each bean as needed. I imagine that is true and so I'm not sure how to further pursue this post. Going back to Hans' House Tour on thenibble, his narrative approach is alot more interesting and useful. The practices of the individual makers is quite different and interesting, I just think I've tried to simplify it too much with this spreadsheet comparison. Also, it is created in Microsoft Works Spreadsheet, so hopefully you can open it.

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

While I have to applaud the FCIA for what they are attempting to do, one reason I don't heartily endorse the organization (I am not a member and am not interested in the politics of organization) is that they consistently get basic facts either mixed up or totally wrong.The star above is just another example of getting things mixed up: it confuses chocolate makers (people and companies who make chocolate from beans) with what the French refer to as fondeurs - people or companies that buy chocolate from chocolate makers and then melt and mold that chocolate into bars and/or turn it into confections (truffles, bon bons, etc.).So I don't agree that the facets as presented are relevant to the discussion and contribute anything meaningful to a chocolate maker's trademark flavor and style unless we agree that:a) We are only talking about chocolate makers; andb) We agree that artistry and presentation do not contribute to the taste of a chocolate.For a chocolate maker, I contend that issues such as proper tempering and molding techniques fall under the Technical Expertise point and - if we're getting really technical (and we're just talking about chocolate makers) - Technical Expertise and Production Practices can be considered to be one and the same.For chocolate manufacturers we might consider reconfiguring the star thusly:1) Cacao Origin2) Post-Harvest Processing (which is usually beyond their control)3) Roasting Expertise4) Technical Understanding of, and Control over, Production Processes5) Non-Chocolate Ingredient QualityJust my $.02:: Clay

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Since it's relevant to this discussion I'll put the info for the article " Five Facets of Fine Chocolate " here too. All 5 facets contribute to the maker's trademark flavor and style.And here's the star illustration of the 5 points too.

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Theo BromaTo add to your latest list of categories I have two more: aging (a rarely mentioned process that several makers do) and equipment. As far as equipment, I'm wondering if we'd find any connection between companies who for example, all use the Universal.Company:Country:Ingredients:Roast:Conching time:Fermentation:Aging:Equipment:Characteristic taste:Characteristic style:Misc:We could place each entry individually with each post, just the way I started the discussion or we could make a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet would be easier but most people wouldn't open it. If we entered everything manually we could copy and paste things to a single list when we think we're done. I have information on several companies in my notes already but may not get time to start entering in the discussion for a few days.Brady

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brady on AmedeiAs far as the Amedei characteristic, alot of people describe it as raisin and or licorice (which is probably your Twizzler taste). I always describe it is as wine or mild rum. That's just what I get everytime, but I would assume what I call the wine/rum notes is the raisin everyone else gets. Other people describe their characteristic trait as dried fruits/figs.

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

AmedeiAll 8 of the Amedei's that I've tasted also have a distinctive characteristic. They've become my favorite maker. How would you describe their common traits?As a neophyte I feel like I can only dance around it but not nail it. I'd call it something like malt, hay, caramel. There's even something that I can only compare to the aftertaste of Twizzler's black licorice. (Is it OK to compare such a majestic chocolate to something as plebeian as Twizzler's?)

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Scharffen BergerAll of the 7 Scharffen Berger bars that I've tasted have had a very distinctive dominant taste. but I'm such a novice that I don't know how to describe it. The best I can do is "red wine" or "red fruit" like raspberry or red grape. How would you describe this taste?

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

This is a good start, but the most important item I'd like to see would be descriptions of "Characteristic taste"."Characterisitc style" would also be good to have. It could be a bit more comprehensive and could include items such as appearance of the squares, texture, mouthfeel, artistry of packaging, cost...When the field names are finalized I'll add this to my own Chocolate database and keep track of the info, as I have time.So here are the current fields I've got. (The names can be changed if there are better terms.)CompanyCountry:Ingredients:Roast:Conching time:Fermentation:Characteristic taste:Characteristic style:Misc:

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Has anyone ever invited Hans-Peter Rot to join TCL? I enjoy his reviews on seventypercent.com

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Here's the link to the first page of the series of articles on house chocolate styles Brady refers to.

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brady:All of these are very good concerns. I do not plan to implement OpenRecord exactly as it is; in fact I probably won't use the software at all. What I will do is use it as a template to create something that does what we need it to do. For example, I would want the software to integrate with the NingID sign-on, so that you would not have to use another password and I could give interested ChocolateLife members administrative privileges to that application.I also want to make it prettier to look at (make it seem to be like a natural part of TheChocolateLife and not something completely alien) and I have no intention of putting Google ads anywhere. (In fact, I plan to remove the Google ads from this site when it starts generating revenue through book and chocolate sales.)Search is high on my list as is a "suggestion" facility. A forum could easily be created by creating another "page" within the application (like the "suggestions" in the demo for the book club only a little more sophisticated.In fact, if I could figure out a way to import all of the content from this site, I could probably do a complete social network using a tool like this with the correct pages and plug-ins.:: Clay

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Clay:I viewed the openrecord demo. I trust your judgement on this since I'm not familiar with other software. I think it would work and seems simple enough to use for everyone. It's not all that attractive but I think it would do well to serve the main purpose of organizing data and possibly linking it to other databases (such as Sera's Chocolate Slotting Mapping). I have a feeling the dead space will be filled with google ads. I find that distracting. And on a page that is all white and set up more like a spreadsheet, it might even be uninviting enough that people wouldn't participate. Just a thought. I realize it's free software. With The Chocolate Life site itself, you have color, photos and a background. Would this be implemented to make it more appealing for use and would you still feel like you are working within The Chocolate Life site? I hope I'm not out weighing visual appearance over functionality. Also, how much can people overwrite and change the original format? Can the database essentially be hijacked and transformed into something different than the original database? A couple of functions I'd ideally like to see, but not sure if it's worth the effort at this point. 1. A "search" feature. 2. A forum attached or linked so that people could make requests and discuss content.Brady

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Brady:I ran across the following piece of software that looks like it might be a perfect way to implement this. Please take a look at the following screencast to see if it looks like that to you. http://openrecord.org/screencast.html If you think it might work, I will do what I can to download it and install it as a sub-domain of TheChocolateLife.com (e.g., chocolatemakers.thechocolatelife.com AND chocolatiers.thechocolatelife.com) and we can figure out how to structure the content before making it available to everyone.:: Clay

Comparing the styles of Chocolate Makers

Posted in: Tasting Notes

For a chocolate connoisseur or an aspiring one, I think a study of the styles of individual chocolate companies is very useful. A few years ago, a website called The Nibble, provided a tour by Peter Rot, called 'The World's Great Gourmet Chocolate Producers'. It was a comparison of how each differed in style. I was very impressed with this 2 part tour (written in 2005 and 2006).I'm hoping Chocolate Life members would like to create a database of the styles or characteristics of bean to bar chocolate producers. A similar database would be useful for those who produce bon bons and truffles but I'd prefer to keep the database's in separate discussions.I'll start with a couple that I have on my list as an example of what I have in mind. Any corrections to my listings are welcome as well as improvements in how to document the styles.BonnatCountry: FranceIngredients: no lecithin, no vanilla, extra cocoa butterRoast: darkConching time:Fermentation:Misc:DomoriCountry: ItalyIngredients: no lecithin, no vanillaRoast: darkConching time: shortFermentation:Misc:GuittardCountry: USAIngredients: less cocoa butterRoast:Conching time: shortFermentation:Misc:
updated by @Brady: 04/10/15 03:25:22

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Thank you all!Tonight is "Guys Night" where a local brewer is bringing 3 of his better ales, porters and stouts to pair with a few select flavors. Should be fun and if it ends up like last night's "Ladies Night" - a wine and chocolate event we did where at one point there were 200 wild women on wine and chocolate in my store at one time- its should prove be quite the night. I doubt I will get as many lascivious propositions from the guys......... but you never know....

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Congratulations Jeff! Much success and fulfillment of dreams to you!

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Jeff:Congratulations on the opening and the success you deserve through all of the hard work and dedication to vision and craft you've displayed over the years. I remember when you first got in touch and sent me the first samples to taste. How long ago was that? 5 years? You are right. WOW. What a trip.I also want to applaud you for reaching out into the community and finding a way to use people's love for chocolate in a positive and beautifully constructive way. It speaks well to who you, Belle, and Lillie are as people and to the values you want LillieBelle Farms to represent.

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

WOW! What a trip!The food drive that is a core part of our opening has been wonderful! The community really got behind the "bring a can-get a chocolate" concept and the food bank hauled away to 55gallon drums yesterdat filled to the brim with non-perishable food stuffs. Well over 800lbs so far and we have all weekend to go!Check out my daughter and I.... www.access-inc.org

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Congratulations! We can't wait to stop by next time we're in town. Have a wonderful weekend, and much continued success to you.Stan and Valerie

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

To fellow chocophiles:I know we are all pinching pennies now in this economy, but if you have any to spare and are craving EXCELLENT chocolates, ck out Lillie Belles website and mailorder some- you will really be pleasantly rewarded!

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Congrats! I wish I lived in the area so I could go!

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

Congrats Jeff and to your team- i was just at the Oregon Chocolate Festival (so fun- talked to you about the new NYC choc show space) and then we had a little time before my flight sunday so we went to your shop in Central Point (is that the one shop you are having the opening for? or somewhere else too?) I have great pics I can send along and REALLY loved the shop- yes very open windows to the kitchen and lovely staff and just AWESOME chocs- i swear yours were the best of the whole festival (although Bransons Amaretto Truffles were also incredible).Im so impressed with your flavors and beauty of the chocs- I will be ordering more too i promise! For me and gifts-Best of luck, and all i can recommend is a bigger sign on the building and maybe some grass instead of pavement out front....I know these things take time....Keep on Chocin On

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

thanks gwen. you may be waiting a long time for the washington crowd to figure out anything, whatsoever....

Its Grand Opening time!!!!

Posted in: News & New Products Press

We are finally doing it! Actually having a Grand Opening of our new retail/factory space. It has been a wild ride. 6 years of constant struggle, nightmare hours, money bleeding, and pure angst.Sounds like fun eh?Well it is an entire week of events complete with a dual chamber "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony", Senior discount day, ladies night with a wine pairing, Guys Night with a beer pairing, "Wear your favorite tie-dye day", and a super secret stealth private party for 500 people. We are also paired up the local food bank and everyone who brings a non-perishable food item for the barrel gets a free chocolate from the case.I am really thrilled with our new location. The exhibition kitchen is very open and people LOVE being able to watch us make stuff. Its a huge bonus for our county as it brings tourists and, hopefully, $$$ to us.Anyway;....the festivities start on April 5th. call us or go our website for details. www.lilliebellefarms.com
updated by @Jeff: 03/11/26 06:20:34

Where to Buy Cookbooks and Reference Books

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

There's The Cook's Library in LA - walls & walls of cookbooks, with a travel book shop right next door. Near 3rd Street & La Cienega. www.cookslibrary.com Regarding the above post, thanks for the mid-west sneakret Gwen! Might take you up on it!

Where to Buy Cookbooks and Reference Books

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

The store on West 10th Street is called Bonnie Slotnik.

Where to Buy Cookbooks and Reference Books

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

Buying cookbooks online has it's own benefits, mainly that it can be a lot cheaper.However, there is nothing like going to a bookstore and browsing at a large selection, looking through the books and then either buying or purchasing it online.A bookstore I enjoy going to is Kitchen and Letters on the Upper East Side.There is also a tiny bookshop on West 10th Street devoted to cookbooks of all kinds.

Where to Buy Cookbooks and Reference Books

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

I found a great site for buying cookboks, Jessica's Biscuit, "ecookbooks.com". The prices are very good (20 to 75% off) and selection is outstanding. They have over 150 books on Chocolate alone. One of the last books I bought was " Brownies to die for " by Bev Shaffer. I've tried two recipes so far, one cake like and the other fudgey, both great. My joy of baking and love of great chocolate keeps smiles on my friends and familys faces.

Where to Buy Cookbooks and Reference Books

Posted in: Classifieds ARCHIVE

This purpose of this forum thread is to create a place where members can recommend their favorite places to purchase cooking and other books about chocolate. Please keep in mind that everyone knows the obvious sources (e.g., Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc.) what we're looking for here is the specialist sources that cater to people like us who are crazy about chocolate.
updated by @Clay Gordon: 04/07/25 13:00:14

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

I noticed lots of stores missing and the random companies and offices listed in Chocomap. Good to know I wasn't the only one stumped by this.Exactly what I'm after Clay.

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Theo B:Chocomap is a start, but usability is not the greatest. Try searching by a city in the US (arranging alphabetically so that the US is at the bottom of this list is just plain wrong). Takes forever, and NY, for example is broken down by borough so that's at least 5 searches - except there are three boroughs missing (Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx) and I know that there is at least one chocolate shop in each.What Sera is asking for is the next level of this, which is to identify what chocolates are sold at those shops. This can get excruciatingly detailed with companies like Whole Foods which seems to carry a different selection for each store.I think the way to tackle this is to get the data, figure out how to put it in a usable form, and then make it pretty.

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Theo - that's a fun map. A little hard to use in big metros like LA (you have to search by Venice, and San Pedro, and Los Angeles, etc. to see everything. So many places missing (Artisan du Chocolat in Los Angeles is right next to Valerie Confections, yet not on the map). Some of the places aren't even retail establishments, just manufacturing facilities, candy kitchens or offices.Maybe I'll pop Pam a note and see if we can get it updated.

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Have y'all seen this map that will show you the chocolate stores near you? http://chocomap.com/chocolate-map.php

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Ahh, I remember you mentioning that now in the video of the Google talk you gave. What a great area of knowledge to have! I admit that the more sophisticated the applications get, the most likely I am to get confused by them since I'm always trying to "think ahead" of the programming. :PI understand the concerns you have for openrecord, and I do admit the lack of visual appeal really irks me as well. Ahh, the RISD curse, right?Sounds like your developer friend might be our best bet. I look forward to hearing how you like this new interface!

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Sera:I spent a large part of my pre-chocolate career actually trying to build applications like this so I am fairly familiar with the field. This is one of the most promising I have seen. However, it's not visually sophisticated and it's missing some really important features (especially hierarchical categories).I have worked with a really smart young developer who's got a great User Interface building tool and we are going to take the general idea of openrecord and fix its deficiencies rather than try to fix openrecord. I should know in the next week or so when it will be ready to play with. Hopefully by mid-April.

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Ooo, that looks like a good option Clay! I like how easily it is to format and edit, which is think it really important, since not only could we locate a brand of chocolate, but things like tasting notes, places to buy (also recommendations, because store x might have old or badly stored bars, etc).I think user ease is a BIG component in making this work, and openrecord.org, albeit bad visual design, has that.Is there any way to search for other applications similar to this?

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Casey:Thanks for these suggestions. Although the design is really bad, I want to encourage you to go to http://openrecord.org/screencast.html and take a look at as many chapters as you can sit through. This is the sort of flexibility in a tool that I am looking for.I am interested in everyone's comments on this.

Chocolate Slotting Mapping Idea

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

While you all are working on developing the app, here are some ideas. You might want to check out Dave's Garden, the web's largest gardening community. It has very successful user built databases of plants and plant suppliers with some very interesting features.There is the Garden Watchdog , which is the database of the actual shops. Company info and website are listed along with categories of products they carry, and user reviews of the company as a business are included. This is then cross linked with the PlantScout , the database where you search to find a specific plant and see all vendors carrying it. This is then also cross linked witht the Plant database , where all known info about the plant, in this case the chocolate, is listed, along with user reviews, user uploaded photos, etc. So this would be where the info about the chocolate's origins, percentage, and possibly user comments/reviews, etc. So it's really several databases that can interact or function on their own. And all structured so that any user may contribute to them. These databases may be searched by location, keyword, or an alphabetized list may be viewed.