what makes me happy in the morning?

Good Cappuccino!

Leonidas, the belgian chocolate store in milan

leonidas is the first flagship store of the famous Belgian chocolate maker in the small space decorated with Dilmos furniture....the first thing that caught my eyes were not the chocolate, but the furniture in the store....it looked like something you can only see in the art museum....i asked whether people can sit on the chair...the owner, Cynthia, was smiling "of course, this is meant to be sit down"...

many pralines and new products such as cakes, cookies, jams, special honeys and ice cream boxes in the store....among which manon blanc, carré orange and spéculos....some wines for chocolate too...interesting factor: Cynthia said that the pralines are so expensive in italy now so it's much cheaper importing from belgium...
this store also carry the most extensive selection of amedei product...so if you are addicted to amedei, good store to visit...

address: via moscova 27, milan

visit Venchi flagship store @ milan....

the flagship store of the famous Piedmont company established in 1878... it produces and sells over 250 products called Gli Originali (historical products made since the company was established), I Classici (historical, typical products from Piedmont), I Prestige (sophisticated developments of historical recipes), I Cuor di Cacao (Pure dark chocolate), I Sugar Free (Special line sweetened with maltitol)...the store was really small, but you get to see the most variety of venchi product here...pride of the company are the nougatine (pralines of caramelised hazelnuts and dark chocolate) a specialty still in production. i found chocolate caviar, one of the recent product line from venchi. the staff said you can eat this with cognac or coffee....i didn't get a chance to taste choco caviar, but got one from the store....can't wait to taste this when i get home in sf......

address: via mengoni near piazza duomo, milan

the PECK-this is THE GOURMET STORE!

the peck was established in 1883 by Prague born pork-butcher Francesco Peck, one of the most celebrated names of international delicatessen shops, managed since 1970 by the stoppani brothers. over 3300 square metres, on three floors, with a selection of the best foods from the world (the first floor) and a wine cellar with more than 5000 labels(the basement). so unlike any other gourmet stores in europe, the peck is huge and has a very modern look. it has more than 100 different cheese selections, incredible variety for cured meats, olive oils, salt etc. this is also the first time i have seen this many kinds of pasta.the second floor is tea salon, where they also sell gourmet coffees and own chocolate brands.if you are foodies, this is definitely one stop you should try....

address: via Spadari 9 near duomo piazza

Boutique Nespresso in Milan

Located in Galleria San Biblica, Boutique Nespresso Milan is elegant and refined space with orange and chocolate colors, where you can enjoy the pleasure of fine coffee. they also sell things from innovative coffee machines to accessories, from a selection of precious blends to exclusive services for Club members. the 12 Grand Cru Nespresso coffees can be found with their different aromas and their quality. all of them are beautifully packaged with different color. The space, designed by architect Francis Krempp, includes the “Carpe Diem” area devoted to tasting. I tasted Arpeggio, which has strong flavor and made with 100% Arabica coffee. it has a bit sweeter and chocolaty flavor, which I loved. You can also smell different kinds of roasted coffee beans. My favorite for the coffee bean was the strongest, Africa Robusta grado1.

Try out the Limited Edition coffee during the FuoriSalone of Milan. the experience in this shop is really something.....

When you have french truffle cravings in SF...

the answer is: go to north beach xox truffles.

have you had a hot chocolate with a freshly made truffle in the morning? deadly...when i stop by the store, jean-marc was making truffles, which was a fascinating process for me. he didn't have a big space for the kitchen. just behind the casher, he stands there and makes truffles all day. 200lbs or about 16,000 truffles everyday. the store has been expanding to oakland and napa (opening in this october), however, he still has a plan to make all truffles by himself. fresh everyday and good ingredients are the key for his truffles.

xox truffles have traditional flavors and some unconventional flavors as well. where does he get inspiration? from everywhere. for example, the most recent flavor, champaign, which he came up with when he had his son about a year ago. earl grey from his wife, peanut butter from one of his royal customers. however, the most important thing for flavors is that he should like it. even though a new flavor is popular among his customers, if he doesn't like it, he doesn't continue to make it..

used to be a chef in france and st. francis hotel in SF, he started this store about 10 years ago. why? because he got a heart attack in his honeymoon. stress as a chef was a big reason. so he decided to open a truffle store because he was a chocoholic. doing something he loves about. (isn't that simple? if you don't want to get a heart attack, do something you love about =) his wife is doing marketing and sales, he was able to focus on just making good truffles. i found him as a real french craftsman. wasn't distracted to other things, just focus on one thing, really good at making good truffles and happy with that....he only expands stores in every 3 years and doesn't have a plan to expand too big. he loves small production with the best quality. isn't it wonderful? sometime when you go to a famous chocolatier, you are overwhelmed by their impeccable stores and luxurious packages. however, in xox, it feels like a small neighborhood cafe in small town in france...

xoxtruffles north beach store: on columbus between filbert and greenwich..
available flavors: amaretto, black and white ball, cognac, creme de framboise/raspberry, creme de menthe, a la kahlua, liquer de noisette, rum coco, rum raisin, sebastien's champaign, triple sec, vin rouge, caramel, casimira's favourite, citron/lemon, coconut, dark chocolate, earl grey, framboise/rapsberry, french roast, noisette, a l'orange, peanut butter.

charles chocolate: chocolate with attitude.......

"what is your attitude for chocolate?" it was my question because i started talking about spiced chocolates and chuck said he didn't like those flavors...his answer was "immediate pleasure".

he started charles chocolate 2004 october, since then this company has grown remarkably; the first year, in 50 stores. in 2006, in more than 300 stores....what was the success factor? chuck said "quality, and natural, fresh ingredients." charles chocolate is known for its peanut butterflies, which fill with caramelized sugar and crushed roasted peanut (it's not peanut butter!). another interesting flavor was mojito heart, which he got inspiration from the mojito drinks one day...

charles chocolate was not the first company he started. he started the first chocolate company, attivo, when he was 25 years old...he was neither a chocolate confectioner nor a pastry chef..he just really loved making chocolate and found out people around him loved his chocolate. that's how he started....since then he taught himself and getting inspiration everywhere for different flavors...i think this is why he became so successful in the chocolate industry....working on something he loves.....

the retail store in emeryville has not been complete....he showed me the blue print of the complete stores and cafe, which will be open this april...the space for the chocolate cafe was huge..the cafe will include seating, kitchen and some part of chocolate manufacturing process place...so once it is done, customers can watch the kitchen. most fun part, they can watch how the charles chocolate is made....in some restaurants, you can watch how the food is prepared, which is fun to watch...however, i haven't seen anyone tried this in chocolate cafe....so it will be interesting to see what's the experience like...i'm sure it will be a lot of fun!

the reason why he wants to open this chocolate kitchen to public is because he wants to *demystifying* chocolate..he added that the open cafe will contribute to people's knowledge of chocolate. they can understand better and will appreciate more....can't wait to see this open!!

Christopher Elbow Hot chocolate event.....

Some of you have probably seen Christopher elbow's artisan chocolate from cocoa bella stores. last wednesday night, there was a hot chocolate taste event @ cocoa bella union st. store. this is a sort of new product line introduction event from Christopher elbow.

at the event he introduced 5 flavors: coconut curry, passion fruit, cacao noir, citrus, venezuelan spice. cacao noir tastes mostly pure dark chocolate (it comes from 73% dark chocolate bars), however, it has more sweeter side than pure dark chocolate bars...passion fruit has fruity, but more strong dark chocolate taste...coconut curry was the most interesting one. it really has savory, curry taste....my favorite was the venezuelan spice! christopher said this flavor is probably the very similar the way mayan culture drinked hot chocolates....it blended with 2 chillies and 6 spices together...fabulous! i didn't have a chance to taste citrus, however, i am sure that it would be wonderful considering citrus is one of flavors present in cacao fruit.....

i asked him how he comes up with new flavors...he said he tries out a lot of different flavors and spices...especially he loves trying out spices with chocolate....no wonder he introduced coconut curry and venezuelan spice...

christopher said he has a plan to introduce about 15 new hot chocolate flavors. currently there are 2 flavors available at the stores, cacao noir and chocolate spiced, which is venezuelan spice...he also said he will open hot chocolate drinking cafe around this summer in SF..good news for chocolate lovers....it will be the most delicious summer =)

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Factory Tour

If you've never been to this tour, i would recommend. it was a fun and tasty tour! You will sit in a room for about an hour and listen the history of the company and founders and mostly learn about chocolate. The rooms was filled with rich chocolate aroma from the factory. how rich was it? oh gosh, i feel like i was soaked in cacao bed, almost you feel like you are drinking wine....feel tipsy from the smell....

then you will have a chance to taste their signature dark chocolates, 70%, 60% and 41% milk. wait about 6--8 sec until the chocolate is melt in your mouth to taste full flavors. most of people will notice pepper, cherry, berry, wine, sometimes citrus....their milk chocolate has caramel and scotch flavors, which makes their milk chocolate was unique....

interesting factor for chocolate from this tour i learned was about its impact on brain, neuron cells. chocolate is known for energy food because it stimulates brain, however it's not from caffeine, it's from anandamide, which acts like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana....

because of many health benefits in chocolate, FDA changed chocolate to functional food category from the snack food 2 years ago. so now chocolate doesn't have sales tax!

if you are a chocolate lover, this place is really worth of stopping by....at the end of tour, you can also stop by cafe cacao where you can see many interesting menu....

chocolate causes migraine?

in my case yes...i have to admit that i have allergy to chocolate. i know it's really sad that i have a food allergy to something i like....i found out this when i had half block of 82% dark chocolate. I suffered from migraine for 2 days. it was really aweful....since then, if i overdose chocolate, i always have migraine......it's not new, there is some controversy whether chocolate causes migraine directly.....some researches say no, some say yes....in my case, yes. direct cause...from the medical research----Phenylethylamine, theobromine and caffeine are chemical triggers present in chocolate. They may cause a headache by altering the cerebral blood flow......yeah...it's sad.....i cannot eat more than 2 pieces of chocolate a day, otherwise i suffer.....

cacao nibs with goat cheese

Cacao nibs are roasted cacao beans. They have a crunchy texture with a scent of chocolate flavor. Since this is no sugar added pure cacao, you will have full advantage of enjoying health benefits from cacao.
I tried an interesting recipe lately with cacao nibs. goat cheese with cacao nibs: mix crush cacao nibs with goat cheese. use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of nibs for every ounce of goat chees. for a hint of sweetness, add 1/4 teaspoon of honey, graulated sugar or ginger preserves for every ounce of cheese. combine all ingredients, cover and refregerate for at least an hour or overnight. before serving, spoon into a small bowl and dust them lightly with cocoa powder...tangy goat cheese flavor goes well with cacao scent from nibs....

Tasting Domori red line.......

I found this italian chocolate brand yesterday, called domori...it has extremly intense flavors, almost you feel like you are drinking wine....it also has very nutty fruity taste, especially has strong cherry flavors....i would recommend this with your favorite wine....

Perfect marriage: dark chocolate and scotch....

a curious, almost magical thing occurs when dark chocolate is tasted with an aged scotch....to try this, choose a well-aged single-malt scotch. take a bite of the chocolate and wait until the final flavor note has peaked in your mouth. then sip the scotch. a burst of flavor. its because chocolate has more than four hundred flavor components. the chemical components in chocolate are directly related to the complexity of a chocolate's flavor. similar components in scotch have an additive effect. vanilla, an ingredient of fine chocolate, is also a flavor scotch acquires as a result of aging in oak barrels. the caramel notes that are common in scotch can also appear in chocolate......try this with a variety of chocolates and your favorite single-malt scotch......

Is white chocolate a chocolate?

the owner of scharffen berger, john scharffenberger, says, technically, white chocolate is not chocolate at all. true chocolate must contain both cocoa butter and cacao particles. the nibs inside a cacao bean are made up of approximitely 50% fat-cocoa butter and 50% solid particles of cacao. these particles give chocolate its flavor and dark color. white chocolate contains no cacao solids, which is why it lacks chocolate flavor as well as color. the best white chocolate is made using cocoa butter as its only fat. cheaper white chocolates substitute vegetable oils for some or all of the cocoa butter......

Coffee and Dark Chocolate......

i like enjoying coffee as pure taste....don't like adding any cream, milk or sugar....since i drink more than 4 cups of coffee a day, sometimes i feel too much and have a piece of dark chocolate with my coffee....the best!

for coffee, i just got illy today....wow, amazingly good! rich texture, flavors....and smooth at the same time.....yeah..it's Italian...

Did you know?

Champagne and sparkling wines do not pair well with milk or dark chocolate because of their acidity, which reacts with chocolate, causing a tart taste to occur. Instead, try white chocolate with champagne and red wines with dark chocolate.