As we’ve mentioned, Richard and I spent MLK Jr. weekend in LA. During our trip, we had the opportunity to explore Guelaguetza and to visit our friends, Corey and David of  Letterpress Chocolate.

We could smell that amazing brownie-like scent as we walked up the stairs to their apartment and as soon as they opened the door, the whirling of multiple Premier Wonder Grinders  provided a pleasant white noise background. As usual, they were in the middle of making chocolate!

Read more here... http://rootchocolate.com/2015/01/26/visiting-letterpress-chocolate/

Last weekend, Richard and I took a wonderful trip down to LA. And like we usually do, we incorporated chocolate into the trip in a variety of ways. First of all, we brought chocolate to share with our friends and family. (Everyone’s favorite was the Venezuela from John Nanci’s beans !)

One of the other ways we incorporated chocolate into our trip was by visiting local phenomenon, Guelaguetza Restaurante. This is the most authentically Oaxacan spot I’ve experienced since spending a summer in Oaxaca, Mexico itself. They serve tlayudas, mole, and mezcal, among other southern Mexican delicacies.

Learn more here: http://rootchocolate.com/2015/01/22/guelaguetza-in-la/

This weekend we took our cocoa bean roasting to the next level: we christened our newest tool, the Behmor 1600 Plus ! And already, were very happy with the investment. Thanks Dave Huston & John Nanci for recommending it!

This is the most technologically advanced piece of equipment we own for chocolate. And it comes with TWO instruction manuals, both of which Ive read cover to cover multiple times and referred to throughout our first roast.

Learn more about how it's done here:

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/15/roasting-with-the-behmor-1600-plus/

Last weekend, we were thankful to have Richards parents in town to celebrate Thanksgiving. For the occasion, we hosted a true blind chocolate tasting adventure. We pulled out Eagranie Yuhs The Chocolate Tasting Kit (Tasting Kits) ,Richard conducted a dramatic reading of the instructions, and we handed out pads of paper and pens.I noted the order of the chocolates and cut the bars into small pieces, then tried to forget which was which as I passed them around. The other 5 tasters were completely blind.

We tasted 13 chocolate bars (avoiding any flavored chocolate) and surprisingly, there were no truly clear winners. We are amazed by the variation of tastes and preferences among us!

Learn more about our verdicts here:

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/11/thanksgiving_chocolate_tasting/

Occasionally, while I sit at a Vietnameserestaurant, cautiously eating my standard Pho, I cant help giggle to myself as Richard sweats and guzzles water to counteract the powerful sensations coming from hisinevitably extra spicy dish. Similarly, I pass on the japapeosin Mexicancuisine and the Sriracha at Thai places. A coworkers kid only eats food that is white and my cousins, while growing up, ate solely Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, with hot dogs.

Youmay laugh and say that people who refrain from eating delicacies like spicy Pho, caviar, or kimchi have unsophisticated palettes. Wemust not know or understand the intricacies of such delicious foods.Richard maysay thatmy Vietnamese food is bland and that Im not gaining the full experience of these cuisines.

I would respond that I like what I like. My taste buds have their own preferences and theres not too much I can do about that. Im not being stubborn on purpose; Im sure you can identify withme in having a particular taste for something that may be considered unpopular.

So, what does this have to do with chocolate?

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/07/marketing-or-education/

To cocoa butter or not to cocoa butter?

That is the question...

We did an experiment to provide an answer to thistime old question (ok, sure, were borrowing from Shakespeare). For this experiment, we used our favorite Madagascar beans. I think were now about halfway done with the giant bucket!

Lets post some hypotheses about the two batches...

Read more here:

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/06/cocoa_butter_question/

Last month, we visited John Nanci, the Chocolate Alchemist in Oregon . It was a lot of fun and we learned a ton about his process, ingredients, and recommendations!

One of our favorite parts of the visit was roasting a batch of cocoa beans with him. Check out our previous postson roasting here . We picked out thebeans after sticking our heads in all of his big barrels of beans and smelling the wonderful scent of raw beans over and over again. I wish I could share smell through this post, because its incredible how different (and delicious) each barrel smells. We decided on the Venezuelan Carupano Corona, 2014 harvest, which has a savory, almost spicy scent...

Learn how we tried to match the roast!

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/04/matching_the_roast/

What is the absolute first step in making chocolate? Sorting! See if I made sorting more exciting than it seems!

This step in making chocolate does not usually get a lot of attention. Perhaps thats because its such a tedious, manual process in most cases. Perhaps its because until recently, it seemed uncontroversial.

Well, let me try to make this topic as exciting as possible for our readers. I promise itll involve threat of violence, betrayed trust, and the potential for incredible flavor variety Here we go!

http://rootchocolate.com/2014/12/01/sorting_chocolate_beans/