It is no secret that one of my favorite chocolate makers is Askinosie Chocolate, located in Springfield, Missouri.  Not only is their chocolate incredibly delicious and complex, but the company is very focused on the cacao farmers and also on helping their own community with programs such as Cocoa Honors and Chocolate University.   They have a wonderful program going on right now with 13 high school students and farmers in Liberia and in Tanzania.    

This week, Askinosie Chocolate will auction a set of five of the first single origin chocolate bars made with cocoa beans from Liberia as a fundraiser to send the high school students of Cocoa Honors to Africa in the Summer of 2010. 

The auction will be hosted on eBay and will begin on Sunday April 3 at 8 PM CST and end on Sunday April 11 at 9 PM CST. These five chocolate bars are not only the first single origin chocolate bars made with Liberian beans, but they are also the first and only chocolate bars that Askinosie Chocolate has made from those beans. This nano-batch was crafted from a one-kilo bean sample received from Lofa County,Liberia. The Liberian bar is bursting with notes of red berries and jasmine, hints of  roasted cocoa and coffee, with a long lingering earthy finish. 

All of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Cocoa Honors program, comprised of 13 students from Central High School, to travel to either Liberia or Tanzania in the Summer of 2010 with Shawn Askinosie, founder of Askinosie Chocolate. While there, the students, who have been working with Askinosie for several months on sourcing the beans and creating his next chocolate bar, will meet with their selected farmer group and perform a service project for the community.

A second auction will be held for their first chocolate bars made with cocoa beans from Tanzania.

Cocoa Honors is a program of Chocolate University. It is a neighborhood outreach of Askinosie Chocolate, consisting of a select group of students from Central High School in Springfield, Missouri USA. With the guidance of Drury University students, they seek to understand the cocoa industry within the context of the history, culture, and economy of Africa. Over 18 months the students will have a complete “bean to bar” experience by sourcing the next origin of cocoa beans with Askinosie.

Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch chocolate manufacturer sourcing 100% of their beans directly from the farmers. Shawn Askinosie travels to regions of Mexico, Ecuador, and the Philippines to work directly with the farmers and source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled Authentic Single Origin Chocolate. It also enables Askinosie Chocolate to profit share with the farmers, giving them a Stake In the Outcome™.

The Askinosie Chocolate mission is to serve their farmers, their neighborhood, their customers and each other; sharing the Askinosie Chocolate Experience by leaving the world a “better place than they found it”.

Perhaps the BEST chocolate in the world is being made by Shawn Askinosie in Springfield, Missouri.  Seriously.  It has become my absolute favorite, and I taste a LOT of chocolate.  

When starting up Askinosie Chocolate, Shawn decided to cut out the middle man and work directly with cacao growers.  This meant getting very hands-on in the bean-selection process – measuring the moisture level of the dried beans, monitoring the temperature of the fermenting beans and tasting and smelling the beans before importing them.  Working directly with the farmers allows Askinosie to pay higher than fair trade wages to the growers.  In addition, Askinosie shares 10% of his profits with the farmers. 

My favorite Askinosie chocolate is the San Jose Del Tambo with cacao nibs.  This chocolate is made with the Arriba National bean from Ecuador.  It has 70% cacao level.  This chocolate is smooth on the tongue and has a wonderful fruitiness on the palette.  I eat three squares each day and use it for taste comparisons.   I use the San Jose Del Tambo without cacao nibs for baking and have never been disappointed.  It is moist and rich and perfect for recipes that call for 70% (bittersweet) chocolate.  In addition to the smaller bars, you can buy it by the kilo – it is less expensive that way. 

Askinosie also makes chocolate from cacao beans grown in Mexico.  They have just added a new product from beans that were grown in The Philippines.  This chocolate is smooth and delicious, as well, but my preference for taste is still the San Jose Del Tambo bar.

You can find Askinosie chocolate in the Bay Area at Bittersweet in San Francisco.  I typically order mine online from the Askinosie website.  It is packaged to remain cool and arrives within a few days.

Askinosie Chocolate
514 E. Commercial Street
Springfield, Missouri  65803
417-862-9900
www.askinosie.com/

TCHO Chocolate is a new chocolate producer in San Francisco.  Today I stopped by their factory store and found that their version 1.0 chocolate had just been released.   It is now available to the public in the form of four different types of chocolate – TCHO 1.0 ”Nutty” Peru 65% cacao, TCHO 1.0 “Citrus” Madagascar 67% cacao, TCHO 1.0 “Fruity” Peru 68% cacao and TCHO 1.0 “Chocolatey” 70% cacao.  Note that these chocolates are not flavored with “fruit” or “citrus”.  These flavors occur as a result of the type of beans used, the conditions under which the beans were grown, and the roasting, fermentation and other processes involved in making the chocolate. 

TCHO  founders, Timothy Childs and Karl Bittong, came from the technology world.  They approached the chocolate-making process quite differently than do traditional chocolatiers.  They decided to get input from their target audience along the way.  They spent a year making various beta samples and having their ”users” test them and provide feedback.    In fact, this chocolate went through more than 1000 iterations over the past year before the 1.0 product was released! 

I have very strong opinions about chocolate and I couldn’t wait to get home to do a “taste test”.  The result – I really love the TCHO chocolates!  All four are different and delicious.  They all have a smooth texture and complex flavors.  My favorites are the “Citrus” and the “Fruity” but I would not turn down any of the four that I tried!   I also brought home a tin of their dark chocolate-coated dried mango – delicious!

Check out TCHO online or stop by their factory store in San Francisco. 

TCHO Chocolate
Website:  tcho.com/
Factory store:  Pier 17, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA

Robert Lambert makes unbelievably delicious chocolate sauces.  I first discovered these sauces at the Marin farmers market in San Rafael, California, on a Sunday morning.  I am very particular about chocolate (and other foods, as well) and I was skeptical about “yet another chocolate product” until I had a taste of the Coconut Dark Chocolate Sauce that Robert makes.  First of all, it had a deep, rich chocolate taste and texture.  Second, it had a deep, rich, natural coconut flavor.  Third, it was incredibly delicious!  I bought a jar, took it home and served it for dessert that night with a French baguette.  What a hit! 

I have since tried some of the other products that he makes – Extreme Vanilla Bean chocolate sauce, Deep Dark chocolate sauce, Four Orange chocolate sauce.   ALL delicious! 

Robert also makes exceptional marmalades, fruit preserves and fruit cakes (seriously!), utilizing recipes and memories from his Wisconsin childhood and his grandmother. 

You can see Robert in person at the Oakland farmers market on Saturdays and at the Marin farmers market on Sundays.  You can also order directly from his online store:  http://www.robertlambert.com/store/index.html .