Event: Seattle Craft Chocolate Week

Craft Chocolate Week is a new series of events coordinated around the huge presence of artisan chocolate makers in Seattle during the Northwest Chocolate Festival. There are five limited attendance events to provide a more intimate and interactive experience than the crowded activities of a typical chocolate festival. Barbie Van Horn of Finding Fine Chocolate has generously given us four promo codes to share with you for discounts at these events.

• Tue, Sep. 29: Wine and Chocolate Pairing with Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor at Chocolat Vitale. Taste a flight of three French wines from H Wines paired with three bean to bar chocolates. Talk with Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor of Dick Taylor Chocolate. $20 after $10 off promo code vitale.
• Wed, Sep. 30: New Cacao Origin with David Menkes and Tesla Test Rides at Seattle Tesla. Taste a new origin of cacao and converse with David Menkes of LetterPress. Meet the farm manager who grows this rare cacao. Take a test ride in a Tesla. $25 after $15 off promo code tesla.
• Mon, Oct 5: Craft Beer and Chocolate Pairing with Clay Gordon at Kakao. Learn how to pair beer and chocolate using the concept of simultaneous contrast with Clay Gordon of The Chocolate Life. $25 after $25 off promo code kakao.
• Fri, Oct 9: Coffee and Chocolate Pairing with Aaron Barthel of Intrigue Chocolate. Taste pairings of chocolate and coffee, and enjoy Aaron Barthel's French style truffles. $25 after $5 off promo code intrigue.
• Sat, Oct 10: Understanding Craft Chocolate with Rob Anderson at Chocolat Vitale. Experience chocolate at different stages of production to learn about the steps of chocolate-making with Rob Anderson of Fresco. Taste how origin, roasting, and recipes affect the flavors of chocolate. $25.

You can purchase tickets for each of these events on the Craft Chocolate Week website until they are sold out.

Northwest Chocolate Festival Living Social Deal

An amazing deal on tickets to the Northwest Chocolate Festival (NWCF) is now available on Living Social. This year the festival runs October 3rd through 5th and has moved to the Bell Harbor conference center on the Seattle waterfront (Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121).

Advance one day passes are regularly $25, but you can get them with this living social deal for only $15. Even better is that promocode 5off15 will bring the price down to $10!

$10 is almost certainly the lowest price you'll find to buy one-day tickets. The living social 5off15 discount code is valid through Sunday, August 24th. Regular advance price ($5 off "day of" price) full weekend and VIP passes are available on NWCF's site.

I haven't yet written about this year's event, but here's info about last year and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday. Saturday tends to be more crowded. Unfortunately, the schedule of talks and workshops has not yet been posted to help you choose the day that most interests you.

Here's a direct link to the living social deal.

Northwest Chocolate Festival Groupon

Even though it's still two months away, you can score a one-day pass to my favorite event of the year, the Northwest Chocolate Festival (NWCF), at a 40% discount. This year the festival runs October 3rd through 5th and has moved to the Bell Harbor conference center on the Seattle waterfront (Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121).

As a result of the larger venue, ticket prices have dropped from last year. Advance one day passes are regularly $25, but you can get them with this groupon deal for only $15. Regular price advance ($5 off "day of" price) full weekend and VIP passes are available on NWCF's site.

I haven't yet written about this year's event, but here's info about last year and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a $15 one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday. Saturday tends to be more crowded. Unfortunately, the schedule of talks and workshops has not yet been posted to help you choose the day that most interests you.

Here's a direct link to the Groupon.

UPDATE: Use coupon code LOCAL10 through August 12th for an additional 10% off.

Event: Chocolopolis Sixth Anniversary

Every July Chocolopolis celebrates their anniversary with a month of wonderful chocolate events. Of particular note is the chance to win a free bar of chocolate every week for one year by finding one of three golden tickets placed in bars during the month. That experience initially inspired this blog.

If you're new to the Seattle area, visiting during the month, or just haven't made it there yet, attending an event that interests you is another reason to go. Chocolopolis also has free Thursday evening (happy hour, 5 to 9 p.m.) themed chocolate tastings nearly every week throughout the year.

Here are some of the special events this year:

• Wednesday, July 2nd, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: truffle-making demonstration from Sebastian and Dominica Falcon of Chocolopolis.
• Tuesday, July 8th, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: meet Nat Bletter of Madre Chocolate and taste chocolate made from cacao grown in Hawaii.
• Thursday, July 10th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: meet Jacques Dahan of Michel Cluizel and taste some French chocolate.
• Saturday, July 12th, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: taste iced drinking chocolate, and check out Queen Anne Days Sidewalk Sale until 5 p.m. There will also be two guided chocolate tasting sessions for children: one at 11 a.m. and one at 11:30 a.m.
• Tuesday, July 15th, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: get advice from Lauren Adler of Chocolopolis about how to host a great chocolate tasting party.
• Thursday, July 17th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: be one of the first to taste three new single-origin Chocolopolis chocolate bars at this launch happy hour.
• Tuesday, July 22nd, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.: learn about cacao in Belize as Lauren Adler of Chocolopolis shares photos and stories about traditional Mayan cacao farming and the local Fair Trade cooperative.
• Thursday, July 24th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: compare U.S. crafted chocolate, with a East vs. West (of the Mississippi) tasting.
• Tuesday, July 29th, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Chocolopolis chocolatiers give suggestions about how to avoid chocolate baking and cooking mistakes. Some bulk chocolate will be on sale.
• Thursday, July 31st, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: taste some favorite chocolate bars of the Chocolopolis team.

You can read more about their anniversary and other events at Chocolopolis (including chocolate tasting classes and their frequent bar club) on their website.

Giveaway results: Northwest Chocolate Festival tickets

Congratulations to Melissa King, who won two free passes to the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival in our giveaway.

If you haven't yet purchased your tickets for NWCF, now is the time to do so. Buying them in advance should save you time getting in (and a little money). This fabulous chocolate event is this weekend, and you don't want to miss it. For more information, see my posting about it or the event website, nwchocolate.com.

You can purchase tickets directly at http://nwchocolate.strangertickets.com.

Giveaway: FREE Tickets to the Northwest Chocolate Festival!

The Northwest Chocolate Festival has generously provided us with two tickets to give away to this year's event. The free passes are for Saturday, September 21st, and allow you and a friend to experience a full day of the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival. The event is held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. For more information, please see my posting about it or the event website.

To enter this giveaway, send us an email at onegoldenticket@outlook.com with "NWCF Tickets" as the subject line and in the text of the message include your full name.

Entry email must be received by midnight PT, Monday, September 16, 2012. One entry per person. Winner will be selected at random. Tickets are valid for admission to the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival on Saturday, September 21st.

Good luck!

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival

The transition to autumn is my favorite time of year, and with it comes my favorite chocolate event: The Northwest Chocolate Festival!

NWCF will be held in Seattle over the weekend of September 20th through 22nd at the Washington State Convention Center (800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA 98101). The main festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, there will be a separate VIP Awards party from 7 to 11 p.m.

Here's a list of chocolate makers currently participating in the festival, most of which will have a booth at which to taste and purchase chocolate bars: Caribeans, Chocolate Conspiracy, Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Divine, Fearless, French Broad, Fresco, Grenada, Kallari, Lillie Belle Farms, Lonohana, Madre, Olive and Sinclair, Organic Fair, Pacari, Raaka, Rogue, Scharffen Berger, Taza, Theo, and Zotter. More than two dozen chocolatiers and chefs will also be present.

In addition to meeting the people who make your chocolate and tasting their wonderful creations, you'll have the opportunity to attend some of the more than 40 workshops and classes. While I love trying new chocolate (which varies with every harvest and formulation), I highly recommend attending several classes. They are a wonderful introduction to many aspects of chocolate: cacao farming, trade equity, sustainability, genetics, origins, history, crafting, evaluating, etc. You can read more about the entire weekend on their website: http://www.nwchocolate.com/.

This year, there is also a separate new professional series (that includes admission to the festival), with three full days of classes. Friday is training on how to evaluate cacao. Saturday's classes are about crafting bean to bar chocolate. Sunday is for chocolatiers and tasters.

If you can only attend one day, don't worry -- you will still get nearly the full experience. The classes are all different, so you may want to choose which day based on the classes you'd like to attend. Saturday will be more crowded, and by Sunday afternoon there may be some chocolate that is no longer available.

You can purchase any of the following tickets in advance and print or pick up your non-transferable ticket at Will Call with photo identification:

• $62.22 full weekend pass [$65 at the door]
• $34.35 one day pass (age 13+) [$35 at the door]
• $73.37 one day family pass (2 people 13+ plus 2 children 5-12) [$75 at the door]
• $73.37 Friday Awards party [$75 at the door]
• $140.28 VIP full weekend pass (includes Friday party, Aphrodisiac Room tastings, priority workshop seating) [$145 at the door]
• $279.67 Pro-Series pass

As you've probably already read on this blog, there have been some roughly 50% discount offers on Groupon and LivingSocial. Unfortunately, the Groupon deals have expired, but the LivingSocial deal is still available! UPDATE: The LivingSocial deal has expired as well.

Northwest Chocolate Festival Living Social Deal

Living Social now has a deal running for passes to the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival on September 21 and 22. I haven't yet written a posting about this year's event, but here's info about the 2012 event and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

With this deal for more than 50% off, you can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday for only $17 (vs. $35), a weekend pass for $32 (vs. $65), or a family pass for two adults and two children for one day for $36 (vs. $75).

Note that a similar deal on Groupon is still available as well. UPDATE: the Groupon deal is no longer available.

Northwest Chocolate Festival Groupon

There's another Groupon running with some of the same terrific one-day deals to the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival on September 21 and 22. I haven't yet written a posting about this year's event, but here's info about the 2012 event and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday for only $18 (vs. $35) or a one day pass for two people for only $34 (vs. $70). Unfortunately, the full weekend passes sold out in the prior Groupon. This is my favorite chocolate event of the year, and this offer is likely to be the best price you'll find to the event.

Here's a direct link to the Groupon. It is scheduled to run through Sunday, August 18th, but may end sooner.

Half off Northwest Chocolate Festival

Groupon has some terrific deals for a one day or weekend pass to the 2013 Northwest Chocolate Festival on September 21 and 22. I haven't yet written a posting about this year's event, but here's info about the 2012 event and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday for only $18 (vs. $35) or a full weekend pass for only $30 (vs. $65). They also have some additional options for multi-person passes. This is my favorite chocolate event of the year, and this offer is likely to be the best price you'll find to the event. I'm going to try to get some free tickets to give away again this year, but no guarantees.

UPDATE: This Groupon is no longer available, but they have a replacement Groupon with with the same deals for one-day passes.

Event: Chocolopolis Fifth Anniversary and Golden Tickets

During their anniversary celebration in July, Chocolopolis places golden tickets in three bars of chocolate in their store. Buying one of the bars with a golden ticket inside wins the buyer one free chocolate bar of their choice each week during the subsequent year! As you know if you're a regular reader, winning one of those golden tickets is what inspired me to begin my exploration of artisan chocolate and this blog. They'll be staggering the release of the three bars containing golden tickets over the month, with the first one being put out on shelves on July 6th, the second on July 13th, and the third on July 20th.

So, if you live in the Seattle area and haven't yet been to Chocolopolis, then this is the month to go and buy some great chocolate (and maybe find a golden ticket). If you can't make it this month, remember that Chocolopolis has weekly Thursday evening (5 to 9 p.m.) free themed happy hour chocolate tastings that occur year-round.

During this fifth anniversary celebration, they also have many special events:

• Tuesday, July 2nd, all day: 50% off drinking chocolate.
• Saturday, July 6th, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: meet chocolate maker Rob Anderson of Fresco and taste his chocolate for free, including some prototypes in development. First golden ticket bar is on the shelves today!
• Wednesday, July 10th, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.: truffle-making demonstration, Kickstarter campaign kickoff, and free samples.
• Thursday, July 11th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: meet Alex Espiritu of Valrhona and taste free samples of their single origin chocolate.
• Saturday, July 13th, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: try free samples of iced drinking chocolate at Chocolopolis table during Queen Anne Days festival. Second golden ticket bar is out!
• Sunday, July 14th, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Bastille Day, so free samples of French chocolate bars from Bonnat, Michel Cluizel, Francois Pralus, and Valrhona, plus videos about their chocolate making techniques.
• Wednesday, July 17th, all day: 50% off truffles made by Chocolopolis.
• Thurday, July 18th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: drinking chocolate demonstration, meet Chocolopolis chocolatiers, and free samples of Chocolopolis products.
• Friday, July 19th: By invitation and reservation only, a tasting of fresh cacao pulp and selected bars. I hope you're an active Chocolopolis Frequent Bar Club member so you're invited to attend this.
• Saturday, July 20th: Third golden ticket bar is on the shelves.
• Monday, July 22nd, all day: 50% off chocolate bars made by Chocolopolis.
• Tuesday, July 23rd: Another by invitation and reservation only event: a guided tasting by Alex Espiritu of Valrhona nibs, cocoa mass, and chocolates.
• Thursday, July 25th, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: meet chocolatier Christopher Elbow and try free samples of his creations.
• Saturday, July 27th, at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 5 p.m.: guided chocolate tastings for children.

You can read more about their anniversary and other events at Chocolopolis (and their Frequent Bar Club) on their website.

Northwest Chocolate Festival Notes

I spent nearly the entire weekend at the Northwest Chocolate Festival, visited with chocolate makers and people in the field that I already knew, met some others for the first time, attended half a dozen classes, and picked up several bars that we've not yet reviewed.

The new bars to review over the next several months include some from Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Fresco, Kallari, Lillie Belle Farms, Nova Monda, Raaka, and the two recent award-winning bars from Pacari.

One of the people I met this year was a new bean to bar chocolate maker from Los Angeles, Nicole Trutanich. She anticipates launching her first four single origin bars next year under the name Bar Au Chocolat. Watch for them on her website.

Lindy joined me Saturday morning and took a few pictures to share with you.

maker Rob Anderson of Fresco
teaching a class
Dandelion chocolate bars
as displayed at their booth

some of the confections for sale
from Chocolopolis
maker Mott Green of Grenada
staffing their booth

Giveaway: FREE tickets to Northwest Chocolate Festival

The Northwest Chocolate Festival generously provided us with two tickets to give away to this year's event. The two free passes are for Sunday, September 30th, and allow you to experience a full day of the 2012 Northwest Chocolate Festival being held at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle. For more information about the event, please see my posting about it or the event website.

To enter this giveaway, just send us an email at onegoldenticket@outlook.com with "NWCF Tickets" as the subject line and in the text of the message include your full name.

Entry email must be received by midnight PT, Tuesday, September 25, 2012. One entry per person. Winner will be selected at random. Tickets are valid for admission to the 2012 Northwest Chocolate Festival on Sunday, September 30th. The winner will be able to pick up their tickets at Will Call with photo identification.

Good luck!

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival September 29-30 in Seattle

The Northwest Chocolate Festival (NWCF) will be held in Seattle from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day during the weekend of September 29th and 30th at the Washington State Convention Center (800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA 98101). The theme of the weekend is Taste, Learn, and Celebrate.

Tasting includes not only an amazing selection of chocolate (from at least 14 chocolate makers, including: Amano, Caribeans, Dandelion, Dick Taylor, Fresco, Grenada, Kallari, Lillie Belle Farms, Madécasse, Madre, Olive and Sinclair, Stirs the Soul, Taza, Theo), but also chocolate desserts and even drink pairings.

Learning includes a huge variety of more than 60 classes to choose from about single origin chocolate, crafting chocolate, farming cacao, trade equity, evaluating chocolate, tempering chocolate, pairing chocolate, health benefits, chocolate foods, etc.

For an additional $10 and attending classes, NWCF is offering their Chocolate Academy "Masters in Chocolate Level 1" certificate, which also includes Chocolate Academy membership. Membership benefits include a quarterly newsletter, discounts on tickets to future festivals, and invitations to special chocolate events at partner businesses.

You can read more about the entire weekend on their website: http://www.nwchocolate.com/ and the class schedule.

In addition to these activities open to everyone, VIP tickets are being sold that include full weekend passes, an exclusive "Meet the Maker" opening night reception, additional pre-festival VIP tasting events in Seattle, a complimentary tasting flight in the Beer and Wine Garden during the festival, Chocolate Academy certificate described above, and more.

You can purchase any of the following tickets in advance and pick up your non-transferable ticket at Will Call with photo identification:

• $53.95+tax full weekend pass [$60 at the door]
• $27.40+tax one day pass (age 13+) [$30 at the door]
• $11.47+tax one day youth pass (12 and under)
• $122.98+tax VIP full weekend pass and more

Tickets are also available in advance at a few retail locations such as Chocolopolis without the online service fees (thus, $50, $25, $10, and $115, respectively).

Prices have increased since last year, but with so many bean-to-bar chocolate makers and great classes, the fourth annual Northwest Chocolate Festival might be the best chocolate event in the U.S. this year. If you will be in the Seattle area, you do not want to miss it. Lindy and I are attending, and we hope you'll be able to get there, too!

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival on SALE

Living Social has a terrific deal on now for a one day pass to the 2012 Northwest Chocolate Festival on September 29 and 30. I haven't yet written a posting about this year's event, but here's my posting about the 2011 event and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday for only $15 (vs. $25 at Chocolopolis, $28.77 online, or $30 at the door). NWCF is my favorite chocolate event of the year, and this offer is likely the best price you'll find to this year's event. Groupon had a similar deal a few weeks ago. The deal is scheduled to run for two days, but may sell out before then. Here's a direct link.

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival ON SALE

Groupon has a terrific deal on now for a one day or weekend ticket to the 2012 Northwest Chocolate Festival on September 29 and 30. I haven't yet written a posting about this year's event, but here's my posting about the 2011 event and you can read about this year on the Northwest Chocolate Festival website.

You can purchase a one-day pass for either Saturday or Sunday for only $15 (vs. $28.77 online or $30 at the door) or a full weekend pass for only $30 (vs. $56.65 online or $60 at the door). This is my favorite chocolate event of the year, and this offer is likely the best price you'll find to this year's event.

The deal runs through Wednesday, but there are a limited quantity available, and it may sell out before then. Here's a direct link to the deal.

Chocolopolis Fourth Anniversary and Golden Tickets

During their anniversary celebration in July, Chocolopolis places golden tickets in three bars of chocolate in their store. Buying one of the bars with a golden ticket inside wins the buyer one free chocolate bar of their choice each week during the subsequent year! As you know if you're a regular reader, winning one of those golden tickets is what inspired me to begin my exploration of artisan chocolate and this blog. They'll be staggering the release of the three bars containing golden tickets over the month, with the first one being put out on shelves on July 7th, the second on July 14th, and the third on July 21st.

So, if you live in the Seattle area and haven't yet been to Chocolopolis, then this is the month to go and buy some great chocolate (and maybe find a golden ticket). Throughout the month, Chocolopolis will have single origin mini chocolate tastings every Tuesday and Saturday at 3 p.m. They will also continue their weekly Thursday evening (5 to 9 p.m.) free themed happy hour chocolate tastings that occur year-round.

During this fourth anniversary, they also have many other special events:

• Saturday, July 7th, 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.: Japanese Tea Ceremony and tasting tea paired with chocolate.
• Monday, July 9th, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Serious Chocolate Talk: Kristy Leissle (a.k.a. Dr. Chocolate) explains fair trade, direct trade, and free trade.
• Wednesday, July 11th by private invitation: Chocolopolis Frequent Bar Club members taste raw cacao from the pod, as well as Chuao and Porcelana chocolate.
• Saturday, July 14th, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Bastille Day celebration with samples from French chocolate makers Bonnat, Michel Cluizel, Francois Pralus, and Valrhona.
• Saturday, July 14th, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Chocolopolis chocolatiers Dominica and Sebastian Falcon demonstrate how to make truffles. Samples afterwards.
• Tuesday, July 17th, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Serious Chocolate Talk: Kate Selting explains the cultural significance of cacao to indigenous cultures based on her Peace Corps experience with cacao farmers.
• Saturday, July 21st, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.: Chocolopolis chocolatiers Dominica and Sebastian Falcon demonstrate how to temper chocolate. Samples afterwards.
• Saturday, July 28th, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.: Rob Anderson, founder of local Washington chocolate maker Fresco answers questions about his chocolate making process and shares samples of his chocolate.

You can read more about anniversary and other events at Chocolopolis on their website.

Event: Seattle Chocolate Salon on Sunday

The fifth annual Seattle Chocolate Salon will take place this Sunday, May 6th, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Pier 66 (2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121).

While this event lacks the educational opportunities and variety of chocolate makers of the Northwest Chocolate Festival, it is still a good way to sample lots of quality chocolate. Some of the makers who will be present include Amano, Pacari, Taza, and Theo.

Here's a link to additional information and a schedule of the six presentations.

Tickets may be purchased online in advance for $21.39 ($11.19 for children 6 to 12), or at the door for $25.00.

Event: Chocolate for Choice in Seattle, March 15th

Although Chocolate for Choice is not something I'd typically write about on this blog due to it not being about pure unflavored dark chocolate, I thought I would mention it because I'll be one of the judges this year. Chocolate for Choice is an evening of tasting chocolate desserts contributed by over 40 Seattle chocolatiers. The proceeds from admission and additional donations go to support NARAL Pro-Choice Washington.

The event will be held next Thursday, March 15th, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the First Base Terrace Club of Safeco Field (1250 1st Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98134). You can purchase online tickets in advance (starting at $40; for higher prices, you can also fill a box to take home with you with the desserts you like best). Tickets are also available at the door. I've attended several times in the past, and there are always some wonderful chocolate desserts to be eaten. Hope to see you there!

Event: New York Chocolate Show UPDATE

The 2011 New York Chocolate Show (November 10-13) has updated information on their website. There are now 50 exhibitors, and schedules have been posted for:

• cooking demonstrations
• book signings
• activites for kids

Use the above schedules to choose which day to attend. For more information, you can read our original posting about the event.

Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite, and don't forget to enter our giveaway for two free tickets before it ends tomorrow!