Forum Activity for @Kristina

Need help with an idea.

Posted in: Opinion

Cardamon and orange (blossoms) are rather Egyptian. Well, maybe arabic in general.

Or safron. Or cumin (suprisingly great with chocolate). Or kind of Ras el hanout - a mixture of hot and fragrant spices including cardamon, chili, cloves etc. Marzipan is also arabic enough... Roses - as well!

Great chocolate spots in Munich and Strasbourg?

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

"My connections" in Strasbourg gave me these addresses:

Thierry Mulhaupt (rue du Vieux March aux Poissons 18) and "Epice et chocolat" (5 rue du Temple Neuf),

Jeff de Bruges (19 rue des Orfevres and 118 Grand Rue),

Christian (10 rue Mercire),

Riss chocolatier (35 Rue 22 Novembre).

And, of course, Muse "Les Secrets du Chocolat"
rue du Pont du Page F-67118 Geispolsheim.

Great chocolate spots in Munich and Strasbourg?

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

A bit search before asking - et voil:

Laporte
Confiserie
Heiliggeiststrae 1 (Viktualienmarkt) 089-2916 2112

Great chocolate spots in Munich and Strasbourg?

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi Sunita,

my chocolate impressions from Munich might be not quite fresh, but my list should be still vallid.

http://www.goetterspeise-muenchen.de/

worldwide chocolates and confections

http://www.chocolate-and-more.de/

all the famous manufacturers

http://www.ellyseidl.com/

confections

http://www.cafe-luitpold.de/

confections

https://www.lauensteiner.de/

considered as the best German confections...

http://www.stolberg-muenchen.de/

officially the best German "sweet" shop

Ant there was at least one chocolaterie close to Viktualienmarkt - the famous market in Munich, with French name... I'll ask my friend in Munich.

Is there such a thing as GREAT Fair Trade chocolate?

Posted in: Opinion

Clay,even if it probably won't be a big help for you - Zotter works with FLO cerfified beans. They make lots of filled bars selling them in organic supermarkets, but their Loboko bars (Panama, Nicaragua for instance) are not mass-market.Just an idea...

Chocolate Travel Question

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Suprisingly, I could recall my tripp to Brugge - Marie de Bruges, Walplein 16-18

Chocolate Travel Question

Posted in: News & New Product Press

Lauenstein (pralines) in Munich http://www.lauensteiner.de You also should get Schell there ( http://www.schell-schokoladen.de ).Coppeneur in Germany, if you don't know them.Zotter in Vienna (you can get it also in Germany).Filled bars are fun, Labooko are fine.I've broght some bars by K.u.K. Hofzuckerbcker L. Heiner from Vienna to try.Tiroler Edler (Austria) works with Domori couvertuere - it might be interesting to try. For instance, their sugarfree composition.The greatest choice in Vienna - www.xocolat.at

Unsweetened (or stevia sweetened) milk chocolate?

Posted in: Classifieds F/S or Wanted

I don't think there is aniything except lactose in Tiroler Edle 70% purissima maxima (an Austrian company, in cooperation with domori).
They claim, there is 70% cacao and 30 % milk - cacao mass, whole milk powder and cacao butter.

I was very positively surprised by the taste - expresively chocolaty and with the caramel note, typical for good milk chocolates, and - this is most important thing - not too sweet.

upcoming trip to Zurich/suggestions for chocolate-related places to visit

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Well, Zrich isn't a "chocolaty" place in this sence - "we are known for the best factory made chocolate in the world". Sprngli seems to be enough .... And every Merkur presents truffes and chocolates by Lderach.But check this one - I was going to but it wasn't right thing relying on the address and not taking it.:Vollenweider Chocolatier ConfiseurTheaterstrasse 18001 ZrichAnd at Baur au Lac - http://www.bauraulac.ch/en - at least one really great artisan chocolatier started his carier.

upcoming trip to Zurich/suggestions for chocolate-related places to visit

Posted in: Travels & Adventures

Hi Andrea,Lindt still has a great factory shop in Kilchberg. Speaking about manufacturers there aren;t many in Switzerland, and the famous Sprngli (Bahnofstrae/Paradenplatz) seems to work with chocolate produced by Felchlin, like most chocolatiers there. However there some shops/boutiques for artisan chocolates, besides the chains Mercury, where you can find most of Swiss factory made chocolate brands, and Teuscher, Right now I remember only Truffe in Schlsselgasse, where I was just last Friday and got the last bar of Porcelana by Idillio.Let me know, if you would like to get some addresses.Kristina

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Matt,I see, I should update my profile . Lindt is something what I can get easily, let say - in emergence case, not for savouring or delight, that's it. It was my first step discovering chocolate and I am not about to compare it with fine chocolates.I was really looking forward to experience Chuao by Pralus after the excitement about Amedei.... well, it might be not at all rational but a disappointment just impact ones perception. And it didn't encourage to spend your money on another try.The company/export agent admitted - "Yes definetely, something went wrong with the chocolate." Since the surface was just perfectly shiny, I assume the damage wasn't caused by wrong storage temperatures. C'est la vie - I just wasn't lucky enough to get a proper bar. And, I've already mentioned, chocolate is very much about emotions .

Pralus Chuao - a stylistic discussion

Posted in: Tasting Notes

I am sorry to say I was pretty disappointed - most likely something went wrong in the production for the break of my bar was not at all clean, the melt was pretty strange kind of spotted, and even with bare eye one could see tiny cocoa butter drops. Since chocolate is very much about emotions, the taste afterwards was just destroyed... Big expectations can turn out in a long lasting trauma - I just couldn't dare to purchase another Chuao bar by Pralus even having the possibility.

Chocolate to sniff?

Posted in: Opinion

Today, I came across this invention:

http://www.lewhif.com/

Quite ambivalent feelings.
Fascinating enough, for there is proper sicence behind it, however I am sure, it's something (not only) I don't need.
There is a saying in my native language - "like licking bacon through glas".




updated by @Kristina: 06/10/15 17:20:30

Simple Chocolate Love

Posted in: Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Hi Dee,it's actually not about quantity of cacao in your chocolate, it's about quality of your chocolate. Milk powder increases the caramel taste in chocolate, for instance. Besides, there are quite strong cacaos so you almost have to "delute" them by milk in order to let the taste develope fully and not to be owerpoeering. Neither percentage nore colour can actually tell you how good or bad or enjoyable your chocolate will be. And this discovering is a fascinating journey! There is not only sweetness or bitterness in a chocolate - in a good chocalte you can wxplore plenty of tastes and their synergy. This is the great thing about chocolate for me. It's kind of mini medidation - when you are absolutely open to your senses.

Best Chocolate Book | Best Chocolate Authors

Posted in: Opinion

I can only agree - this book is written just great.If you are looking for a beautiful AND informative book, I would recommend The Book of Chocolate, piblished be Flammation. Suits for coffeetable and also as reference (history, different cultures etc.), one even cannot immagine pictures better then in this book.

Is Chocolate Healthy? II

Posted in: Opinion

Thanks Samantha!When reading your blog post some time earlier my attention was rather captured by oither connections (very comprehensible!) and I must have overread milk proteins...

Is Chocolate Healthy? II

Posted in: Opinion

I've confronted this quite complex topic when writing for a womens weekly etc. and managed to stay away for statements like chocolate is THE healthy food.Now I am in a different role as translator. I do understand what the author is saying but being quite a science minded person I simply would like to know if this is really convincing.This is from the chapter about anticancer foods:Mixing dairy products with chocolate cancels the beneficial effects of the molecules of cocoa. Avoid milk chocolate.Neither the author nor the publisher seems to be aware, this statement raises a question why. Well, maybe reading analytically what I am translating I am particularly critical about this chapter, maybe this is only a statement to fill a couple of linesAs beneficial molecules are mentioned a number of antioxidants, proanthocyanidins and many polyphenoles.Surprisingly, processing is not even mentioned when addressing chocolate while speaking about tea there is a note: the black tea is fermented, a process that destroys a large proportion of its polyphenols, so only green tea is recommended.A translator is allowed to have her doubts, isnt she?

Hawaiian Chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

Being somewhat contaminated with the idea of tasting Hawaiian chocolate I even could get it. The mentioned Waialua Estate, with the Dole logo, extra dark.The taste was great, also the melt, but I am somehow confused by its texture I cant help asking myself why was it like this. Usually, the bite of chocolate remains stabile/hard in your mouth, only the surface melts. However my Hawaiian became something like toffee or chewing gum... flexible when surface melting.In my conscious chocolate consume Ive never tasted texture like this. Well, maybe in sweets, but not in a genuine chocolate. One also cannot blame the shipping there were, for example, also Dagoba squares in the same box, and they had just usual chocolate texture.I guess, something with technology should have gone wrong... And I do agree, a good chocolate requires also a good manufacturer.

Weird Flavors and Inclusions in Chocolate

Posted in: Tasting Notes

The owner of a small chocolate shop in Zrich made a big mistake giwing me some truffs with olive ganache as a bonus to my purchase. I would had bought quite a fiew when gived the opportunit to try - what a great harmony with chocolate.Our local chocolate company was experimenting at the beginning - I was pleasantly suprised by garlic fillig. They still offer truffels with cheese (seemingly blue), but I guess they don't care about matching a lot and "just ecotic" might be interesting just one time. Beer fillig wasn't bad, though, but probably it was too much or too little exotic...I am quite curious to try sprikled chocolates by Bachhalm (Austria). He uses rose, hepatica and lilac petals etc (as well as ginger and haselnuts or grapa infused grapes) pairing them with a chocolate cuvee . Maybe not really weird but quite promissing.Maroon filling for truffels isn't very common as well - and it makes a great taste!

Quotable Quotes

Posted in: Opinion

Schokolade ist fassbar, greifbar und vor allem essbar gewordenes Glcksgefhl.(my attempt to translate)Chocolate is a feeling of happiness, which has become tangible, concrete and, uppermost, edible.Wim WendersGerman film director

Quotable Quotes

Posted in: Opinion

I've just revised my archive:------------------------Las cosas clarasy el chocolate espressoIdeas should be clearand chocolate thickSpanish proverb-----------------------Twill make old women young and fresh,Create new motions of the flesh.And cause them long for you know what,If they but taste of chocolate.James Wadworth (1768-1844);A History of the Nature and Quality of Chocolate----------------------------Stress wouldnt be so hard to take if it were chocolate covered.----------------------------Anyone who knows chocolate and yet prefers to smokeis either mentally disabled or a chimney!----------------------------The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and by Shakespeare.Neither knew chocolate.The Swiss are known for nonviolence. They are also known for superb chocolate.---------------------------Chocolate doesn't make the world go around, but it sure does make the trip worthwhile---------------------------In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good.Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better