Gabe and I had the privilege of touring the newest chocolate factory in the country… Theo, located in Seattle, WA.

It was a perfect day to tour a chocolate factory, gray and chilly (let’s be honest… when is a day ever not perfect for a tour of a chocolate factory?) The building, which is right in Fremont, used to be the old Red Hook Brewery. The interior still has a factory/warehouse feel with an artistic upgrade.

The tour itself was very indepth and was led by a very friendly guide. The equipment was impecably clean and was color coated to correspond to the action taking place throughout the chocolate making process.

Overall I was very impressed with the care they take to ensure that the essence of the cacao be preserved in every step of the way. They are very meticulous about the process. The only additions that are ever added to their Theo bars are organic beet sugar and sometimes a bit of extra cocoa butter. No vanilla or soy lechitin is ever added to their chocolate (with the exception of the 3400 Phinney Vanilla bar).

I purchased each one of their bars they produce and brought them home for a more extensive review. Currently they carry a 65% Madagascar, 75% Ghana, Panama and Ecuador, 84% Ghana, 75% Ivory Coast, and 91% Venezuela (this one is limited edition).

First off, the only one I don’t really care for is the 65% Madagascar. Although I will say that the others with whom I was tasting this with did enjoy this bar. I found it far to fruity for my liking. I tend to gravitate towards the very dark, deep and super intense tasting chocolate. Therefore my favorite was the 91% from Venezuela. For being such a high percentage of cacao is was incredibly smooth and palatable. During this tasting I also tried Michel Cluizel’s (who produces my favorite chocolate) 99% bar which is extremely bitter and far too harsh – but really it’s 99% what do you expect?

I really enjoyed the flavor and I greatly appreciate their efforts towards preserving the true essence of the cacao and not adulterating that with other “fillers”. I value their approach to using organic ingredients and their efforts to provide fair wages for their cacao farmers.

All that being said I am in the process of acquiring a wholesale account with the hopes of using some of their chocolates for my confections.

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Making Artisan Chocolates by Andrew Garrison Shotts

Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Light and Dark by Mort Rosenblum

Essence of Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger

In what little time I do have to sit down and enjoy a good read I pick up one (or all) of these new additions to my ever growing library.

Do you notice a theme?

I haven’t made this yet but I think it looks so delicious.

One-Pot Sour Cream Cake

Contributed by Stephanie Hersh

1/2 cup water

2 tbl. cocoa powder

8 tbl. butter (unsalted, cut into cubes)

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 large egg

1/4 cup sour cream

whipped cream and chocolate curls to finish

Heat oven to 350* Butter and flour a cupcake pan. This recipe will make 9 cupcakes.

Combine water, cocoa powder and butter in a sauce pan. Gently heat until butter is melted. Whisk to combine then add the sugar. Take pan off of the heat and continue to whisk until smooth. Whisk in flour and baking soda. Add the egg and sour cream – continue to whisk until batter is uniform in color.

Bake 25 – 30 min until cake springs back when gently pressed. Let completely cool. Garnish with whipped cream and curls.

This comes from Essence of Chocolate which is a gorgeous book with an indepth knowledge of chocolate and the interesting story of how Scharffenberger came to be. The photography in this book leaves your mouth watering and the recipes seem simple by nature which leaves the true flavor of the chocolate to emmerge.

I will be able to give a more indepth review when I find the time to really devour these books.

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