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.

Review: Lake Champlain Blue Bandana Guatemala 70%

Richard's Rating: 6.5

chocolate maker Lake Champlain bar Blue Bandana 70% Guatemala region Guatemala plantation blend cacao trees unknown year unknown size 65g ~ 2.3oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle appearance smooth, scoring, imprints, uneven sheen, tiny bubbles aroma roast (smoke), earth (must, grass), dairy, fruit snap medium hard taste roast (coffee), fruit (raisin, citrus), earth, acidic, sweet (molasses), tannin melt smooth length medium finish tannin, somewhat acidic

Best Prices Online
$8.00 directly from Lake Champlain
$9.00 from Chocolopolis

Review: Ritual Belize

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Ritual bar Belize region Belize plantation blend cacao trees unknown year unknown size 43g ~ 1.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $6.75

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken appearance smooth, scoring, uneven sheen aroma roast (tobacco, cocoa), fruit (prune), earth snap medium hard taste roast (tobacco), fruit (prune, cherry), sweet (honey), earth, acidic melt more smooth length medium finish acidic, somewhat tannin, slightly bitter, slightly sour

Best Prices Online
$6.49 from Caputo's
$6.75 directly from Ritual
$7.00 from Chocolopolis
$7.00 from The Meadow

Review: Tejas Valero

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker Tejas bar Valero region Belize plantation blend cacao trees unknown year unknown size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $7.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate appearance smooth, scoring, uneven sheen, bubbles aroma roast (cocoa), spice, earth snap hard taste fruit (apricot, cherry), spice (pepper), sweet (honey), earth, roast, acidic, tannin melt smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin, slightly acidic

Best Prices Online
$7.00 directly from Tejas

Review: Dandelion Maya Mountain, Belize

Richard's Rating: 6.5

chocolate maker Dandelion bar Maya Mountain region Belize plantation blend cacao trees unknown year 2014 size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1012 Dark Brown appearance smooth, imprints, scoring, scuffing aroma earth (must), floral, roast (cocoa), sweet (honey), nut snap hard taste earth (straw), fruit (pineapple), sweet (honey), spice (cinnamon), roast (cocoa), acidic melt smooth length long finish somewhat acidic

Best Prices Online
$8.00 directly from Dandelion (sold out)
$9.00 from The Meadow

Zotter Labooko Belize Special 72%

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Zotter bar Labooko Belize Special region Belize plantation blend cacao trees unknown year unknown size 70g ~ 2.5oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients salt list price €3,50

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1012 Dark Brown appearance smooth, textured, imprints, adhered bits aroma spice (fennel), earth, roast (malt) snap hard taste licorice, roast (cocoa), earth, spice (pepper, fennel), fruit (cherry) melt more smooth length medium finish slightly bitter

Best Prices Online
€3,50 directly from Zotter
$5.95 from Zotter USA
$7.49 from NewLeaf

SOMA Black Science Bachelor's Hall Jamaica

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker SOMA bar Black Science Bachelor's Hall region Jamaica plantation Bachelor's Hall cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 25g ~ 0.9oz cocoa solids 70% added fat unknown sweetener unknown emulsifier unknown flavoring unknown other ingredients unknown list price N/A

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate appearance scoring, imprints, smooth, adhered bits, bubbles aroma earth, nut sweet, fruit snap medium hard taste sweet (honey), fruit (raspberry), nut, earth, dairy (butter) melt smooth length long finish somewhat tannin, somewhat acidic