In my mind, there are two holidays that got my mother particularly excited when my sister and I were growing up. The Fourth of July & Valentine’s Day. Daughter of a US Colonel that my mom is, the Fourth of July enthusiasm continues strong to this day; not a year has gone by that I haven’t been awoken by a phone call where I answer and hear extremely loud and extremely garbled John Philip Sousa, my mother holding the telephone against one of our home’s sound system speakers. When I was living in Austin, the day would continue with conspicuous red, white & blue attire, traditional American fare, splashing in the swimming pool, watermelon gluttony, sparklers (with requisite paranoia and hysteria regarding safety), and fireworks observed from a very safe distance.

Valentine’s was celebrated with equal enthusiasm, but a good deal more charm and sweetness. My mom would orchestrate a little family brunch in the formal dining room. She’d dress the table in a rich red tablecloth, overlaid with a white lacey one. Some red roses and shiny Hershey kisses for a centerpiece. Perhaps some Texas French Bread pastries. Sparkling apple juice in champagne flutes and big, red strawberries with copious amounts of powdered sugar for dipping. After indulging in pastry and strawberries till our lips were stained with juice, my mother would present us each with a box of fancy chocolates. We’d pour over these chocolates for the next week or two, delighted when we bit into a favorite, horrified when we hit a chocolate we had been trying to avoid. Once we emptied our boxes, it’d be another year before we were graced with such fancy delights!

Regardless of how you may feel about Valentine’s Day, I would like to think that it is a perfect excuse for anyone to treat his or herself, a friend, or a loved one to a little something sweet. That being said, I’ve picked out some of my favorite treats and hope
that you’ll stop by for one or more of them!

Yours in Chocolate,

Truffles!

Valentine’s is another holiday where I am allowed to let the truffle case go wild and over the next several days it will only continue to burst at the seams with old favorites and guest appearances from beloved truffles that we don’t have year-round. Here’s the tiniest glimpse of our offerings to get you thinking about your perfect box of chocolates!

• Sweet Gem’s Champagne Hearts: This is a terribly special confection showcasing a sparkling wine from France, Campalou Vouvrey; the ganace is then finished with a touch of Courvoisier Cognac and as always features local Calder Dairy cream.
• Grocer’s Daughter’s Ginger Pear Caramel: Truffles generally aren’t something I dream about, but the juiciness of the pear paired with the nice bite of ginger in lush caramel got me good. And hey, it’s vegan!
• Chocolate in Chelsea’s Lavender: Cathy Selin snuck a sample of this confection in one of my December orders and after a grueling day at work, it was a perfect antidote. Cathy is queen of velvety ganaches and restraint in her flavor combinations. Perfect balance!
• Chocolat Moderne’s Amarena Mon Amour: Joan Coukos elevates chocolate-
  covered cherries to new heights; tart Italian cherries suspended in vodka syrup, neatly packaged in jewel-like, iridescent dark chocolate shells. These have even the toughest critics swooning. Available by the piece or in lovely coral 12-piece gift
  boxes.
• Fran’s Salt Caramels: Buttery caramels, enrobed in either milk or dark chocolate, topped with the perfect amount of salt. These caramels have been inspiring love better than Cupid’s arrows since the mid-1980s. Available by the piece, in 7-piece sleeves, and in 20-piece gift boxes.

Speaking of salt caramels, don’t miss former Deli Zingernaut, Kathleen, who will be visiting from Seattle where she is currently employed with Fran’s Chocolates. She’ll have tasty treats in tow, ready to regale you with Fran’s trivia. Don’t miss the Hazelnut Diamonds!

FREE Fran’s Chocolates Demo!
Saturday, February 26th, 11am – 1pm
Zingerman’s Next Door

Pralus’ Diabolical Bar

One bite and you’ll understand; this is true love. Hazelnut & almond cream, dotted with whole Piedmont hazelnuts tucked inside a milk chocolate shell.

Hot chocolates!

What better way to enhance cozying up on the couch with your loved one? We’ve got Vosges Couture Cocoas, Mexican Drinking Chocolate, and delicious cocoa powders (requiring a bit of sugar and a touch of TLC) from Askinosie and (just-down-the-road-in-Dexter) Mindo Chocolate Makers!

El Rustico

Crunchy, stone-ground Soconosco and hand-chopped vanilla bean pair together for an aromatic & texturally unique chocolate. Get it while you still can! Soconosco & Vanilla Bean are star-crossed lovers; Askinosie has processed its final bags of this Mexican origin cacao, which will soon send El Rustico back to the drawing board.

Pralus Mini Pyramids

This miniature pyramid composed of tasting squares for each of Pralus’ tropical origins offers an exotic, chocolatey vacation. Taste your way from savory Sao Tome to jammy Madagascar; break each square in half and you’ve got a romantic getaway for two!

French Honey Nougat (Nougat de Montelimar)

To be classified as a Nougat de Montelimar, the product must contain lavender honey; while other producers just squeak by with the minimum necessary, Jacques Savin’s recipe is 30% honey, allowing the ingredient to shine. Soft and pliable with crunchy almonds & pistachios, this well-balanced sweet treat is sure to delight.

Zzang! Bars

Surprise a loved one with a Zzang! secretly tucked away in their coat pocket, purse, or bagged lunch. This trick is sure to warm a their heart!

Baking chocolate!

As someone who enjoys spending time in the kitchen, I’ve got a soft spot for our baking offerings. If you’ve read Ari’s Guide to Good Eating, you’re probably familiar with his emphasis on simple recipes featuring knock-out ingredients. The same goes with baking; you can take recipes up a notch with better butter, better sugar, and, of course, better chocolate. We presently offer Michel Cluizel Minigrams (chocolate chips) in a variety of percentages ranging from 60% to 99% as well as 45% Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate chips; Valrhona Baking Bars (perfect for roughly chopping into chunks!); and Mindo Chocolate Maker’s Unsweetened Baking Discs.

If you’ve got a recipe and feel like you might need a little help picking out the perfect chocolate, please email me  (mmillerzingermanscom)  ! I’d love to help.

A word about those pesky imports…

I’ll wrap up these Chocolate News & Notes with a short comment about our import orders. Those of you familiar with ourimport offerings, have surely noticed a void. We did receive our Mexican chocolate and half of our Italian imports which include D. Barbero Hazelnut Torrone, D. Barbero Torroncino Cream, Ravera Chocolate Torrone and a few other items. We’ve had less success in getting the rest of our Italian product, as well as our Spanish Drinking Chocolate. The fate of the Spanish Drinking Chocolate remains up in the air, but I hope to see the rest of the Italian imports within the next couple of weeks. What does that include? Bonajuto Bars, Almond & Hazelnut barks, Guido Gobino Gianduja Spread, and a medley of candy jar treats (pistachio triple-layer fudge! hazelnut bites!). If you’d like to know when these products hit the deli floor, please shoot me an email  (mmillerzingermanscom)   and I’ll add you to my call back log so that you don’t miss out.

Allow me to virtually toast to you with a Sweet Gem Champagne truffle! I hope everyone’s 2011 is off to a grand start. I’m terribly thrilled because after a woeful, 2010 football season, the Texas Longhorns are off to a fantastic start! We’re back at 0-0!

Now, the New Year often brings talk of resolutions, many of which center on eating more healthily and exercising. That’s great. Kudos! But it’s not going to stop me from sharing some sweet things I am excited about this month. To echo my mom, “everything in moderation!”

Yours in Chocolate,

Zzang! Bars Promo!
All month long, when you buy two Zzang! bars,
you get a third one F-R-E-E!

Why not make a resolution to try a Zzang! for the very first time or to branch out and try a different kind? Charlie over at the Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory has devised four distinct and ever-so-delicious – FRESH – candy bars. Yes, fresh! With a maximum shelf life of 60 days (although they rarely, if ever, last that long at the Deli), this is not your run of the mill, gas station candy bar. The nuts in the Ca$hew Cow and Original actually taste nutty! The nougat inside the Wowza is a sweet raspberry cloud! The muscovado brown sugar caramel in the What the Fudge? has you asking where it’s been all your life.

I can’t emphasize it enough; January is the month to stock up on Zzangs! You can hide that free third one in your desk drawer, and come late February, when your resolutions about eating fewer sweets start creeping toward the back burner how amazing will it be to find a Zzang! chummin’ around with your pens and pencils?

For more on Charlie and his candy bars, pick up one of the January/February newsletters floating around at any one of the Zingerman’s businesses.

Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory’s Freddy R. will be demoing Zzang! bars at the Deli on Monday (MLK Day) from 11am to 1pm

Askinosie & Tanzania

Askinosie Chocolate recently accomplished a remarkable feat, the evidence of which quietly snuck onto Deli and Next Door shelves during the holiday rush in December. I’d love to take the opportunity to formally introduce it to y’all!

You may remember way back in July, I mentioned, in passing, what Shawn was up to. He was just about to embark on a voyage to Tenende, Tanzania with about a dozen high school students who, since the Fall of 2009 via Chocolate University’s “Cocoa Honors Program,” had been under his tutelage as he guided them through the process of selecting and sourcing cacao. Everyone made it back to Springfield, Missouri with a pretty remarkable experience under their belt. (Check out the Chocolate University website for photographs, more information, and fantastic first-hand accounts from students!) In addition to sourcing a new single-origin cacao, the project, through the fundraising efforts of its participants, also financed a deep water well to provide the residents of Tenede with clean water. Previously, the village had relied on either a contaminated well within village-limits or trekked hours to a neighboring well (which, cruelly, was often contaminated as well).

Please stop in an ask for a taste of the new bar – 72% Tanzania; it’s unquestionably my favorite Askinosie bar on the shelf. I recorded the following tasting notes in my journal: ‘Espresso, dried cherry, touch of smoke. Great balance of acidity and astringency with a very pleasant, slightly creamy mouthfeel.’ While nibbling on some the other day, mushrooms sautéed in sherry came to mind – yum!

In addition to the Tanzania bar, we’re also stocking Tanazanian nibs. Nibs are fermented, roasted, and crushed cacao beans. Roasty and nutty in flavor, nibs prove extremely versatile. While great on their own (perhaps you saw Ari sitting at his table in the Deli with a whole pound of them in a Ziploc bag?), they make a great addition to baked goods (Dorie Greenspan’s World Peace cookies; cornbread muffins; pecan pies…), grilling (grind ‘em up and use them in a spice rub), and on top of salads and gelato. Nibs are also the recent darling of the microbrewery world; I geeked out when I sat down to dine and noticed that Jolly Pumpkin’s Tortuga Ale Company Chocolate Stout is brewed with Patric Chocolates’ nibs from Madagascar. Similarly, brewers are jumping at the opportunity to use cacao husks/shells as well as cocoa powder to ramp up flavor in their chocolatey beers. Corner Brewery in Ypsi has been brewing their Mackinac Island Fudge with Mindo Chocolate Makers’ cocoa powder. Dreamy!

Last, but not least, I want to close my Chocolate News & Notes with a reminder that the Chocolate Gelato Tasting is fast approaching! Josh Miner, Don of Gelato at Zingerman’s Creamery, will be joining Em Hiber, beloved barista & Deli Gelato Maiden, to take us through the chocolatey goodness that will overtake the gelato case in February. Don’t miss out!

Chocolate Gelato Tasting with a real live gelato maker – Josh Miner from Zingerman’s Creamery

Tuesday, January 25th, 2010, 7-9 PM
There are few things in the world as delicious as Zingerman’s chocolate gelato! We wait with anticipation all year for the best month fo the year: Chocolate gelato month! Join our expert gelatier, Josh Miner and Deli Gelato Maiden Emily Hiber for a preview of this year’s selection. You’ll taste no-less-than seven different chocolate gelati, including dark chocolate, straberry balsamic, rocky ride and chocolate heat.
$25 reg. price / Save $5 by paying 2 days in advance, Call 734-663-3400 to save a seat!

Did you make it this far? That’s so sweet of you!
Here’s a special treat! I’ve got a wee surplus of Valrhona’s Ampamakia single-plantation chocolate. I can’t purchase any of the new 2010 harvest till my 2009 stock is gone. Allow me to help you help me. I’ve already put the bar on special, knocking $2 off the price. Bring in the coupon below for an additional $1 off! Tough to beat!

My Ampamakia tasting notes: ‘spicy aroma with a touch of fruit; creamy, round/full mouthfeel; cocoa powder, savory, vanilla really pops, dark roast, dried fruit (raisins?) in the finish.’

Happy Holidays dear readers!

December is here and I am super excited to start living in the present again! Since as early as September, I had been calculating usage and placing pre-orders for this gift-giving and cheer-filled month. Without a calendar in front of me, I’d often believe we were several weeks further into the future than we actually were. Now, however, I get to slow down, step back, and take it all in. Last Friday, I quietly sat by myself in the Next Door basement tying bows and tags on our Hammond’s candy canes. It wasn’t long before I had an insuppressible smile creeping across my face. I was transported back to my parent’s bedroom floor where I spent countless December evenings chomping on candy canes and wrapping gifts (For the record, this was a task not taken lightly in our household; I had been trained at young age by my mom who had spent some of her teenage years as a gift wrapper in a large Texas department store. Perfect creases, tight folds, well-placed bows).

The Next Door shelves are absolutely bursting at the seams with goodies begging to be wrapped up and gifted to friends and loved ones. Please stop in, look around, and taste a thing or two (or more!). Let us help make your holiday season a little sweeter.

Below are some items I am most excited about this holiday season – but, of course, only the tip of the iceberg! If you believe I can help you in any way to find the perfect gifts, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email (mmillerzingermanscom  (mmillerzingermanscom)  ). I always love hearing from y’all.

Yours in Chocolate,

Pralus Organic Pyramid
This attractive stack of organic chocolate bars from Francois Pralus in Roanne, France is sure to please the chocolate fanatic and/or eco-conscious person on your shopping list. It is a fantastic way to showcase the variety of flavors and aromas offered by the wide world of chocolate. Because each bar is a consistent 75% cacao, the collection illustrates how bean variety and origin, not just the ratio of cacao to sugar, play a big role in our experience of chocolate. Taste your way from Ecuador (espresso! toast!) to Madagascar (red berries! jam!).

Hammond’s All-Natural Candy Canes
Nothing says holiday cheer quite like colorful, hand-pulled candy canes! Our canes come from Hammond’s Candies in Colorado, which has been making them since 1920. Founder Carl Hammond stressed the importance of high-quality ingredients and the Depression only reinforced this guiding principle. If people found the money to buy candy, he wanted it to be the best they could buy. Ninety years later, these candy canes continue to be the perfect addition to holiday stockings everywhere!

Askinosie Peppermint Bark
Design geeks and sweet lovers alike can cheer for this holiday treat. Great packaging meets great food. A birch wood box, branded with a jaunty reindeer, encases full-flavored, handcrafted peppermint bark: a foundation of single origin dark chocolate is layered with Askinosie’s buttery, not-too-sweet white chocolate and then topped off with a slew of festive, crushed natural peppermint. This may be the gift you buy for someone else, but end up keeping to yourself. Don’t worry – I won’t tell.

D. Barbero Crema Torroncino
I absolutely could not resist the charming illustration of a small boy sneaking a taste of Crema Torroncino when I saw it over the summer at the Fancy Food Show. One taste and I knew why this little boy would risk getting caught with his fingers in the jar! D. Barbero in Asti, Italy has produced heavenly artisanal, hard torrone for five generations and this is the latest form through which to enjoy their handiwork. Simply put, imagine tossing hard torrone in a food processor: a couple of WHRRRR-WHRRRS and you’ve got Crema Torroncino. Piedmont hazelnuts, acacia honey, sugar and egg white in spreadable form. Forget visions of sugar plums – I’m dreaming of this stuff on toast, between layers of puff pastry, ribboned through gelato, and shamelessly eaten by the spoonful.

Poco Dolce Toffee Square Tins
If you’ve been keeping up with my recent Chocolate News & Notes, you’ll know I’m pretty gaga for these chocolate-covered toffee tiles from San Francisco. Don’t let the unassuming round metal tins fool you. Inside is a whopping half-pound (!!!) of buttery toffee enrobed in bittersweet chocolate. ‘Double Shot’ features toffee infused with housemade espresso while ‘Popcorn’ is just that – freshly popped popcorn folded right into the sea salt toffee.

Flora Pate de Fruit
When it comes to confections, a perfectionist is just who you want in the kitchen – and Flora Lazar of Flora Confections in Chicago fits the bill. Enamored with French pastry and confection since she was a young teen, Flora is a veritable force in the kitchen. Her pate de fruit sources fruit from Chicago’s Green City Market and the soft, almost-melt-in-your-mouth pieces burst with flavor. We sell her pate de fruit by the piece in our truffle case, as well as in clear 7-piece and 17-piece sleeves, which are a particularly stunning way to showcase the pate de fruit’s lovely jewel tones.

Ravera Chocolate Torrone
I must confess, I don’t know terribly much about Ravera, a small Italian cioccolateria located in Cherasco (about 30 miles southeast of Turin). From what I can tell through poor Google translating and my familiarity with Spanish, a sister romance language to Italian, Ravera was founded in 1982 by pastry chef Arturo Walter Ravera and his wife, Margaret. What began as a weekend hobby to fill free time and the tummies of friends soon became a professional endeavor. What I do know more about is how delicious Arturo and Margaret’s Torrone di Cioccolato is. Cherasco sits in the Piedmont region of Italy, so it should be no surprise that the hazelnuts in this confection are the crème de la crème. They provide a wonderfully nutty and crunchy contrast to the velvety and rich chocolate nougat into which they’re folded. This handmade chocolate nougat spells absolute bliss. Google Translator tells me Arturo holds the title of “Craftsman Radiance” and there is perhaps something perfect about this almost certainly imperfect translation.

Antica Dolceria Bonajuto Pepperoncini Truffles
From the same producers that brought you the wildly addictive “pink and red bars” a.k.a. Vanilla and Cinnamon Bonajuto bars (which you can again find on our shelves after a lengthy vacation), come these equally traditional pepperoncini “truffles.” These petite treats share the stone ground texture of the Bonajuto bars – a technique the Sicilians adopted from the Aztecs – but are markedly darker & deeper. The addition of red pepper extends their long finish with a little heat to wake up your taste buds.

Patric PBJ OMG!
This was one of the three, top secret new Patric bars that were unveiled at our tasting with chocolate maker Alan McClure back in September. Alan takes his Malagasy chocolate (full of notes of red berries and jam) and peanut butter and throws it right in the melangeur (the mixer) along with some salt and sugar to form this jump-out-of-your-chair delicious bar! Just try to resist exclaiming “PBJ OMG!” after popping a bite of this in your mouth. A great gift for Grandpa, your young niece, your brother-in-law, or your Secret Santa recipient! This will be a seasonal bar for Patric. Alan plans to put it on vacation at the end of December, so get what you can while it is still in stock.

Charles Chocolates Nut Tins
As the Chocolate Lady I taste my fair share of confections sent by prospective vendors. Nuts and chocolate are a classic pairing, but all too often are woefully disappointing as a result of low-quality ingredients. Imagine my delight upon tasting triple chocolate nuts from Charles Chocolates in San Francisco! Chuck roasts his West Coast hazelnuts and almonds to highlight their delicious flavor and lend a satisfying crunch. Once cooled, they are dipped multiple times in a signature blend of milk and bittersweet chocolates and finished with a light dusting of cocoa powder. These adorable tins are sure to impress the nut lover (hi Mom!) on your list this holiday season.

The Truffle Case!
December is a terribly exciting month for the truffle case because I can really pull out all the stops. We’ve got a mesmerizing mix of truffles, each one a miniature work of art. Looks are only half of it though; these confections are mouthwateringly good! We can’t wait to pack you up a custom assortment.

• Chocolat Moderne’s Hazelnut Hysterie, this hazelnut praline (nuts & sugar) in a thin, dark chocolate shell chocolate exudes perfection.
• Chocolate in Chelsea’s Salted Burnt Caramel, Cathy Selin cranks things up a notch with the evenhanded addition of salt to her already outstanding burnt caramel. enclosed in a petite multi-faceted chocolate shell.
• Sweet Gem Confection’s Eggnog, growing up I was pretty adverse to the concept of egg nog. If only this treat had been my introduction! Nancy’s ganache features local Calder Dairy eggnog.
• Grocer’s Daughter’s Rosemary, Mimi infuses her dark chocolate ganache with fresh rosemary – savory and not too sweet!
• Michel Cluizel’s Caramel Mushrooms, always a hit! A stem of buttery caramel dipped in white chocolate, topped with a chocolate cap filled with almond praline. I could really go on and on… Chai Latte, Baby Bourbon, Spicy Mayan, Raspberry Caramels, Amarena Cherries…

My Personal Wish List
(Are you reading this Mom & Dad?)

• Dos Cafeteras Café au Lait Candies
• Agrimontana Fruit Gellies
• Flora Locavore (Pecans & Michigan Cherries) Nougat
• Vosges Marzipan Stuffed Bar
• Patric In-NIB-itable Bar
• D. Barbero Crema Torroncino
• Pralus Equateur (75% Cacao) Bar
• Cocoa Puro Kakawa (chocolate dipped cacao beans)
• Claudio Corallo Chocolate with Crystallized Orange
• Fran’s Ginger Thins

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 mmillerzingermanscom  (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!

Also, don’t forget! Tomorrow is the 5th Annual Halloween Hootenanny! For more on this fall-themed celebration for kids, see the Deli’s Events & Tastings Page.

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,