Love Chocolate? "Like" The Story of Chocolate

If chocolate is part of your daily menu, you’ll want to “like” The Story of Chocolate on Facebook so you can stay up-to-date on chocolate news and facts and connect with other chocolate lovers. The page links to thestoryofchocolate.com, a vast resource with facts, recipes, news and stories about chocolate. It’s here that you can dive into the nitty gritty of your favorite sweet, such as what a cacao tree looks like, how the beans are transformed into chocolate, who still uses chocolate for medicine and rituals, tips for tasting and how the cacao percentage affects the taste.

Reading all about your favorite food group might spark some cravings, so here are some award-winning chocolates that you’ll want to try.

Askinosie Chocolate White Chocolate Bar

One of the only small-batch chocolate factories in the U.S., Askinosie makes white chocolate directly from the cocoa bean. Try its single-origin White Chocolate Bar from Davao, Philippines, made with 34 percent hand-pressed cocoa butter, organic sugar, and goat’s milk powder.
$10.50/3 oz.; askinosie.com

John Kelly Chocolates Truffle Fudge Bites

If you can’t resist the combo of salt and sweet, this will be your go-to bar. Truffle Fudge Bites in Dark Chocolate with French Grey Sea Salt combines award-winning smooth, creamy fudge with 86 percent cacao dark chocolate. With the texture of ganache, this bar is enrobed in semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with French gray sea salt.
$9.25/2 truffles, $15.50/4 truffles; johnkellychocolates.com

Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Such an improvement over conventional peanut butter cups, these delights are made with Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter mixed with excellent organic, fair-trade chocolate. The Dark Chocolate variety stakes its claim as the world’s first vegan peanut butter cup. Also available in creamy Milk Chocolate.
$1.79/1.4 oz., $6.27/3-pack; justinsnutbutter.com

Olive & Sinclair’s Salt & Pepper Chocolate Bar

Upping the ante from the ever-present salted chocolate, this bar pairs kosher salt and fresh milled peppercorn with slow-roasted, stone-ground, single-origin beans and pure brown sugar. Part of the company’s exquisite Southern Artisan Chocolate line, which also includes simple Sea Salt, Coffee and MexicanStyle Cinn-Chili.
$5.50/2.75 oz.; oliveandsinclair.com

Poco Dolce Sesame Toffee Tiles

Tiles of bittersweet chocolate are filled with crisp toffee infused with toasted sesame seed, and finished with gray sea salt from the coast of Brittany. The all-natural chocolates are presented in beautiful packaging.
$18/8 pieces; pocodolce.com

Theo Chocolate Ghost Chile Caramels

If you like a bit of heat with your sweet, these chocolate-dipped caramels are for you. Known as the world’s hottest chile, these organically grown ghost peppers are tempered by the buttery caramel-filled chocolate pieces (made with fair-trade chocolate), which are topped with a dusting of Hawaiian red sea salt.
$8.80/4-piece box; theochocolate.com

--Denise Shoukas

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