Chocolate Party

So this September (yes it is almost November and I have not written about this) I had a chocolate party.

What, pray tell, is a chocolate party? You might ask.

I give chocolate parties to fight the evil Hershey's empire! Well really, it's to introduce people to the fascinating variety of chocolate there is in the world and to give them a taste of the history of chocolate. I usually end up getting a ton of chocolate and having tons of leftovers. Which is fine by me. I try to get a variety, milk, dark different textures and flavors just to give people an idea of what kind of stuff they might like to try again in the future.

Anything is fair game. This time around we had chocolate beer. We also got to taste Vosges' bacon and chocolate bars. These were the hit of the last party I had, and most people thought they were "interesting." Even for me that one is an acquired taste.

Other things we do
-I use a Pierre Marcolini origin's box to throw a tasting. The idea behind the tasting is to show people that the only real difference in the flavor of chocolate comes from where the beans come from. Marcolini makes his truffles exactly the same way but uses different beans from different countries. There is a clear palatable difference between the truffles and I try to draw attention to that. This time I actually sat people down and walked them through how to taste the chocolate. Like a fine wine, there's an art to tasting chocolate.

-Play chocolate smarts. This trivia game has a lot about the history of chocolate. I like to pull this one out because it contains a lot of information about chocolate and can be a fun ice breaker. The only disadvantage is that now that I've had this party four times a lot of people already know the answers :)

-drink wine and eat some snacks and enjoy each other's company. This is the most important part of the chocolate party for me. I get to have friends meet friends, and share my love of chocolate with them.

I suggest trying to throw a party of your own. Just take a few of your favorites and share them with someone you love. Chances are they'll thank you for it later.