Howdy!
I must be having a ridiculous amount of fun because the month of October has flown right by!
I’ve relished in the turning leaves, the crisp air, apple picking (and subsequent buttery apple muffins & apple-ginger jam!), and hot drinks in the Next Door. My beloved Texas Longhorns aren’t looking quite up to spec this football season, but I suppose I can’t win ‘em all. October marks my one-year anniversary with the Deli. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was reciting sandwich names and weaving in between guests with bountiful trays of food. With that said, I want to send a heartfelt thanks to co-workers past & present and all you lovely guests who have made my inaugural year more fun that I could have ever dreamed.
So what have I been up to this October? Last fall, Chocolate Lady Emeritus Duff likened herself to a nervous squirrel and I now understand the sentiment completely. I’m deep in preparations for the holiday season, ordering boxes and boxes of yummy products to squirrel away and feed us throughout the winter season. Soon adding to the excitement are the beginning stages of the Deli Build-Out; storage spaces will probably get a little tight, but rest-assured, I’ll build a candy & chocolate fortress around my desk if that means getting the necessary inventory to satisfy your cravings!
I’ll keep the rest of this newsletter short and sweet by bringing your attention to a few goodies I’m particularly excited about which have recently arrived or are due in the next week or so. As always, I love hearing from you – so drop me a line at mmiller
zingermans
com (mmillerzingermanscom) with your sweet requests, questions, or comments!
For the Twitterers out there, follow me on Twitter! Get the immediate scoop on product arrivals, chocolate trivia, answers to your chocolate questions, tasting notes, and more!
Patric Chocolate
Alan McClure, the guy behind Patric Chocolate, visited the Deli on the last day in September, co-hosting a tasting with me in which he unveiled, not one, not two, but THREE new chocolate bars. If guests’ reactions at the tasting are any indication, you’d do well to get yourself here soon and jump on the Patric bandwagon.
The new bars which will be joining our lineup are a 70% Signature Blend, a 70% Dark Milk (Come taste this, milk chocolate naysayers! It’s a whole different animal!), and the PBJ OMG! – Alan’s Malagasy chocolate, full of notes of red berries and jam, mixed with peanut butter and molded into a dangerously delicious bar. I’ve placed my official first order for the new bars and am hoping to have them on the shelves by the first week in November, if not sooner.
Poco Dolce Toffee Tiles
I mentioned this company back in August in my Fancy Food Show recap. The time has come to bring their delicious chocolate-covered toffee tiles to the Deli! I unveiled one of the two all-natural flavors already: Double Shot – toffee infused with housemade espresso. The other? Popcorn! Buttery, sea-salt toffee with freshly popped popcorn folded right.
Dos Cafeteras Café au Lait Candies
The relationship between Dos Cafeteras and the Deli precedes not only my Chocolate Lady appointment, but at least another year before I was even living in the state of Michigan! The history of Dos Cafeteras goes back even further – to 1886! In Pamplona, Spain, a man by the name of Don Claudio Lozano carefully attended to a mixture of milk, sugar, glucose, and coffee, slowly cooking over a low flame. Can you imagine the aroma? The neighbors couldn’t keep away! As with so many artisan food companies, the results of a weekend hobby are shared with friends who remark that the creator would be crazy not to sell their goods – and so, in 1912, Don Claudio did just that. Dos Cafeteras (“the Two Coffeepots”) was officially born.
The company has remained true to the original recipe – keeping away from artificial colors and flavors – and relies on the slow cooking time to develop complexity of flavor. After cooking the candy, the sweets are stored away in a humidity and temperature controlled cellar – much like a fine wine – where they age for three months in order to finalize the desired flavor and unique texture.
Now, I’ll be completely honest. I was a little skeptical of these candies at first. There’s no real American “reference point.” They’re not exactly hard candies and they’re certainly not a traditional chewy, soft caramel. The texture is somewhere in between. I advise allowing one to melt in your mouth like a lozenge, which allows for a slow unfolding of the caramelized sugar and the round flavor of coffee and milk. Only after I’ve enjoyed the candy this way, do I then start to chew. I know, it’s perhaps a strange way to approach a candy, but it’s simply a matter of retraining yourself – and it’s totally worth it! I’ve got an empty Dos Cafeteras box sitting on my desk to prove it. You can bet that I’ll be making the first Dos Cafeteras purchase as soon as they arrive.
The Truffle Case
The truffle case has been looking exceptionally bountiful as of late. Cooler temperatures mean less precarious shipping situations, so I’ve been bringing in a bunch of delicious (and lovely-looking!) treats. Here are some new and old friends I’ve welcomed to the case recently:
From Fran’s Chocolates in Seattle:
Coconut Gold Bars, they’re here! Rich coconut, white chocolate, and a touch of rum, topped with whole almonds and enrobed in dark chocolate. Almond Joy’s Granddaddy. In the words of Next Door Barista Em H. upon seeing them in the case, “Oh my gosh! I’ve waited seven years for their return!” I’ve got a limited supply! Come get yours today.
From Chocolat Moderne in New York City:
Hazelnut Hysterie, perfectly crunchy hazelnut praliné (ground up sugar and nuts) in a thin dark chocolate shell.
Baby, from Joan’s new milk chocolate collection, a four-year-aged bourbon from a distillery in New York perfectly paired with a creamy, not-too-sweet milk chocolate ganache. My favorite right now!
From Charles Chocolates in San Francisco:
Jasmine Tea & Fire-Roasted Oolong Tea, two truffles using exceptionally good tea from Teance in Berkeley, California to flavor rich, deep ganaches. I’m continually blown away by how clean and clear these truffles taste. There’s no muddling of flavor. The Deli’s retail staff have been particularly vocal in their adoration of them.
From Ann Arbor’s own Sweet Gem Confections:
Milk Chocolate Mint, the name really says it all; cream infused with mint – real mint, not harsh mint extracts – combined with milk chocolate in a smooth ganache, dipped in dark chocolate.
Pumpkin Hazelnut, pumpkin pureé combined with a gianduja (hazelnut & chocolate) ganache, dipped in white chocolate.
This is all the tip of the iceberg! Stay tuned next month for my holiday gift guide.
Yours in Chocolate,
