Summer Break
It’s been quiet on here for a couple of months. We’ll call it a Summer Break.
The Texas heat defeated this amateur chocolate maker. Tempering became a nightmare. Roughly 5 out of the 30+ bars I made tempered correctly. The rest looked like a complete nightmare, no matter how many times I re-melted them. Don’t ask me how that math works, I truly do not know.
Some highlights from my summer batches:
Tumaco, Colombia beans rose to my top four favorites. The flavor notes on these puppies are whiskey, caramel and molasses. I went with a 72% dark recipe, so that I could enjoy the sweetness while still tasting the notes. The color was a dark, deep brown. Simple, but delicious.
I gave Gianduja a go for the first time! — For those who are undoubtedly saying, “Gian-what now?” Think chocolate and hazelnuts. — Melanger Annie took on quite the task, grinding cacao beans, sugar AND a whole lot of hazelnuts for 48 hours. Her longest grind time yet. It turned out delicious in taste, but utterly unmanageable in form. If it spent more than 5 seconds outside of the fridge, it melted like a snowman in summer. Clearly, I still have much to learn. But, it was fun and I’m ready to try it again.
While taking a break from making, I took on tasting! There are so many amazing bean-to-bar chocolate makers out there in the world, and I want to support as many as I can. That’s the beautiful thing about the craft chocolate community, it’s an all-around win. In making my own, I get to connect with farmers, create and experiment. In buying and trying other chocolate makers’ products, I get to know their story, try delicious masterpieces, and support sustainable industry practices. What’s not to love?!
Here are a few highlights from my tasting adventures thus far:
This coming week, I’m taking a little road trip to rest and visit some chocolate-makers I’ve admired from afar (aka Instagram): Askinosie and Markham + Fitz. I’m looking forward to some real fall weather and delicious chocolate. Can hardly wait to report back to you!
If you have any favorites you think I should try, pop over to the “Contact” page and shoot me a message OR head over to my social media accounts and drop a comment there.
