Bespoke Toffee
I'm not one to be impressed by the whole celebrity name drop thing so I'll spare you the details about whose favorite variety of classic English toffee I'm presently munching on. It's rumored that everyone from a famous makeup maven to a poet laureate, a governor, and even a basketball legend are crazy about this stuff. And after indulging in Miss Nicky's Gourmet English Toffee in coconut chocolate macaroon, cashew, and whole nut almond with chocolate, I'm totally sold. The indulgently buttery, handmade perfection is made fresh to order in small batches. You can even request it sugar-free which aside from a slight Splenda aftertaste is indistinguishable. So if you love traditional style toffee Miss Nicky delivers--literally and figuratively.

Pixel Magic
Design geeks can really dig their teeth into Tithi Kutchamuch's chocolate bar concept which attempts to make a statement about the Super Size culture we presently live in. The bar's pixelated structure allows him to subtract portions leaving in their absence a graphic design. He's trying to make the statement that less is more but I'm not quite sure if he succeeds. What I do know is that I don't mind paying for less chocolate and more art. Found on Yanko Design.

Chalk It Up!
Shawn Askinosie went from criminal defense lawyer to defending righteous chocolate. Askinosie Chocolate's branding is so cool, it should be against the law. I applaud the clever chalk board packaging on his box of single origins which comes complete with chalk for easy personalization. The free-trade chocolate sans artificial sweeteners, additives or even vanilla is perfect for the percentage obsessed purist who thrives off of the nuances of origin chocolate. The rugged, almost vintage packaging replete with maps of the regions of origin leads me to believe that this might be the chocolate of choice for Indiana Jones.

Sucré Bleu!
Fellow foodie Blake Killian of Blakes Makes just wowed me with this sophisticated offering from his friends at New Orleans based Sucré. The bright, clean packaging really set the stage for a wonderful experience, and once I opened it, I was not disappointed. The jewel-like bon bons really do taste as sublime as they look! With flavors inspired by the culturally rich Big Easy, each offering is as diverse and sumptuous as the next. Among my favorites are: Magnolia-pecan ganache infused with praline liqueuer, Blangè- white chocolate ganache finished with banana and a hint of rum, and Avery-caramel and milk chocolate enhanced with salt from the Avery mines. The ganache is as smooth as it gets and they totally melt in your mouth. Definitely high up on my list, better than much of what I've tasted recently including the limited edition neuhaus truffles shipped directly from Belgium.

Curry In a Hurry
I'm a huge fan of curry and excited by the fact that I can enjoy it in a clutch sized candy bar. Fair Trade Certified is also important, so I decided to give Theo Chocolate's milk chocolate Coconut Curry bar a try. Love the illustration on the package and intrigued by the fact that there's enough curry in it to actually stain the inside wrapper yellow. Their complex formula includes red pepper, cloves, fenugreek and cardamom and has a strong peppery kick. I think I'd prefer this particular mixture of spices over a bowl of rice. That being said, I continue to believe that curry in moderation is an excellent compliment to chocolate. Vosges' Naga is still my favorite.

Tea Ceremony
I was remiss to talk about my Chinese New Year gift although I've been nibbling on it ever since. The limited edition box from neuhaus celebrates the lunar new year of the Earth Rat with imported belgium tea pralines infused with jasmin, litchi and yunnan Imperial tea. The ganache is incredibly creamy and rich with tiny bits of tea leaves. I'm digging the one-piece box, there's no lid, instead it folds open origami style like the ones from the MoMA store.

Eat Your Words
I'm not big on Scrabble yet I'd be easily lured with Mary & Matt's version. I know a fare share with formidable vocabs so I'm usually the one with the made up words who's left holding more than a few unplayed letters--not such a tragedy if I get to eat them.

Breakfast In Bed
Pardon the digression. I just received an email from the Honey Bunches of Oats With Real Chocolate Clusters crew alerting me that a Valentine's music video was dedicated to yours truly. The hip-hop interlude is nothing short of hilarious. All I can say is wow! As part of the V day campaign for the new chocolate cereal, you too can dedicate the painful experience to a friend. And yes, wig clad casanovas in faux silk pajamas will spell out lucky said friend's name in roses. Have fun!

Hog Heaven
NOTCOT just tipped me off to Fat Pig chocolate designed by The Brooklyn Brothers. Their website, like the witty packaging is lots of fun. I'm not sure if the chocolate is actually for sale, but if I succeed in getting my hands on it, I'll be happy to let you know if it's worth a pig out.

Update: The Brooklyn Brothers just sent some over and I literally am stuffing my face as I type. Nice chocolate! It's super creamy, quality milk chocolate and organic too. The bars are more substantial than I thought-- a weighty 3. oz each. Great job for a creative studio who just happened to try their hand at chocolate. Word is, it goes on sale this week here for $5.95 per bar in time for Valentine's--though I'd be cautious and gift to self-assured lady friends only!  

Ice Cream Social
I could just eat these delicious ice cream pops from chocolate-log right up! but I'll spare myself the mouth full of felt. They should get along great with the donut plushies I stood in line for back in 06. I know, I can be such a nerd:(

Loco for ficoco
It's been a pretty busy first few weeks of the new year and things are finally winding down enough to catch my breath. I had a pretty sweet holiday season and want to say thanks for all the good wishes and chocolate stocking stuffers. I've already downed a tin or two of Almond Roca, two boxes of Crummy Brother's Original's, not to mention a huge bag of Baci-all thanks to Grandma! And shout out to Mom who slipped in a box of Bellagio Sipping Chocolate which I haven't yet had an opportunity to enjoy--gotta space these things out--So far, this Ficoco spread is one of the more sensible acquistions-it tastes awesome on muffins, sits pretty in your cupboard, is fat free and full of basic good stuff--figs, sugar, cocoa, so I've been spreading liberally! Back to work! Wishing you all a happy, creative, and productive 2008!...

A Tree of Truffles
I look forward to December 25th all year and patience doesn't happen to be one of my virtues. Helping me to cope is this brilliant Calendar by Starbucks. Starting today and counting down to the 24th, I open a drawer each day to enjoy a tasty milk or dark chocolate truffle that's all wrapped up like a little gift. When you put the empty drawers in backwards, another portion of a festive illustration is revealed. With this type of distraction, before I know it, it'll be Xmas!

Bosco Botticelli
Of all the over the top gifts being touted in this year's Neiman's Christmas Book, this one really raised a brow. For only $110,000.00 you can give your loved ones a 60"x 40" one of a kind portrait of the two of you custom painted out of Bosco chocolate syrup by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Worth its weight in syrup? Muniz is donating his proceeds to Centro Espacial Rio de Janeiro, the charity he created to bring social and art projects to life for underprivileged young people in Brazil, give/give. Nice.

Keith Haring Chocolates
I'm really excited about these Keith Haring Christmas Chocolates that I found at Colette. If any one knows where to find them stateside, please let me know as I'd much rather spend $40 than 40 Euro.

Gold Coast Conscious
100% of the proceeds from this box of limited edition 60.4 % single origin dark chocolate bars sourced from Ghana go to amend.org, a non profit dedicated to preventing traffic injury among Ghana's children. Great cause, handsomely packaged, makes an awesome socially conscious gift for the aesthetically conscious chocofile in your life.

Nestle's Delicious New Digs

Architect Michel Rojkind was asked to redesign the space inside Nestle's Mexican Chocolate Factory, instead he proposed a brand new design. The resulting structure is amazing. Check it out courtesy of Wallpaper*. Are we going to see this new found respect for design trickle down into their product lines and packaging? I hope so.

Pushing the Envelope
When one thinks of envelopes, usually the plain white affair which accompanies bills, junk mail and bizarre chain letters come to mind. However in the case of Dolfin, a smart, attractive envelope serves as the packaging of choice for their exquisitely simple 32% Belgian milk chocolate bar and boy does it deliver.

Happy Halloween!
Godiva's new Pumpkin Patch Truffles may look scary, but they taste pretty swell. A delicious pumpkin spice ganache is enrobed in milk chocolate and finished with a pleasant dusting of cinnamon. Hopefully this helps to further distance their brand from the likes of Russell Stover.

A Head of the Game
Chocolate with philanthropic tie-in is always cool. NOTCOT, one of my favorite design blogs, brought these to my attention. The box of endangered species- Mountain Gorilla, Pygmy Hippo and Koala Bear- as trophy mounts was designed by Kathleen Walsh and Anita Mothersbaugh for Walteria Living and produce proceeds for WSPA.

Zuckersuess!
I found Bergl, Austrian based Josef Zotter's Organic Fair-Trade Rose and Basil bar in the Food Emporium beneath the 59th Street Bridge. The market's vaulted ceiling, international selection and spacious ambiance makes shopping for groceries a rather grand experience. Aside from the striking wrapper designed by Berlin based artist andreas h. gratze, I was immediately drawn to the bar's unusual menagerie of ingredients from rose water and basil oil to almonds, apple brandy, rasberry, strawberry, lemon, cherry juice and chili. What a combination. A decadent taste experience, the rose is the most dominent flavor while the basil hits you as a delicate aftertaste. I expected milk chocolate, that's what the wrapper says, but I'd say it tastes more like dark.

and everything nice...
What gorgeous handcrafted bars from our friends at Byrne&Carlson out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I'd expect no less from one of my favorite New England towns.

Something's Fishy
This bento box isn't sushi and sashimi at all. The ladies at Suedy's Koo-ki Sushi are iron chef's at whipping up dark chocolate seaweed, white chocolate sashimi, lemon merengue tamago and apricot flavored gummi roe.

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Treasure Map
Whether hunting for goodies in your own backyard, or searching for chocolate jems in say Dubai, Chocomap is quite a handy companion. It locates and reviews chocolatiers world wide and it seems to be pretty thorough, although I don't see any arrows for the Vosges that just opened on 83rd or the MarieBelle that landed on 65th, but in all fairness, MarieBelle hasn't quite opened her doors just yet and Vosges is brand spanking new. I know, I'm so excited! It'll save me a few bucks on cabfare to Soho.

Rock Stars
I couldn't resist splurging on these adorable little blingy baubles from Teuscher in Rockefeller Center. Real bits of banana (gold), blueberry (blue), and amaretto (silver) go down quite luxuriously in yummy swiss dark chocolate ganache. And at $7.50 a pop they don't break the bank quite like Cartier, which is why chocolate is this girl's best friend!

Bring Home The Bacon
Chef Katrina Markoff has outdone herself this time and while I am a fan of smoky hints in my chocolate, I'm hardly a bacon girl, so you'll have to check out what our brave friend at Chocolate Obsession had to say about Vosges brand new Bacon Bar. That's about as close as I dare get to this one!

Cookie Jones
If you find yourself burning the midnight oil, then you'll enjoy insomnia cookies. Dedicated to sating late night munchies, they'll deliver fresh cookies, brownies and milk! to your door until 2am. And they just came to Manhattan.

Sunday Munch
I found a great way to sneak chocolate into my favorite meal of the week with Dancing Deer's Double Chocolate Chip Pancake and Waffle Mix. This mix delivers foolproof buttermilk chocolate chip waffles everytime. I'm a longtime fan of the company's use of better ingredients like unbleached wheat flour and Guittard chocolate chips--which somehow makes the pile of whipped cream and syrup topped goodness less kiddie, more sexy. The Pumpkin mix also rocks.

Are you a Chocoiste?
The Godiva street team was deployed in Flatiron yesterday handing out free clutch sized candy bars and related Chocoiste campaign paraphernalia to people leaving their 9-5s. I've never been much of a fan but I can't deny that their bitter sweet dark chocolate candy bar fillled with creamy chocolate ganache ain't half bad for a freebie.

Give Me Guava
Post Tropical stress disorder may have crept in had it not been for Cafe Britt's Guayabitas. Just one dose of the sweet guava jelly drops rolled in sunkissed Costa Rican dark chocolate was enough to make sunning in Long Beach more palatable.

Spread It On
For when you're feeling frisky or just inspired. This Lover's Paint Box Set in dark, white and milk chocolate is quite an interesting way to get creative. Less fumes than oil, less permanent than acrylics, and you get to eat it when it's all said and done. Yum.

Chocolate Dispatch
This week The Chocolate Nerd is a bit overzealous as we just received yet another customized chocolate message! This time from Jersey based ABChocolates. I stumbled upon their website during my search for the Chocotelegram. And while I hate to break the news-- they claim their product is "the only fully customizable chocolate message product of its kind"-- the packaging, down to the slide-lid wooden box and the vintage telegram stamped label looks strikingly farmilliar. While I must say that I do prefer the white chocolate contrast in their Scrabble-inspired letters (which come in milk or dark), it makes the message really pop! and go down a tad bit sweeter.

Telegram!
I awoke this morning to quite an exciting surprise: The Chocolate Nerd had received a Chocotelegram. For those of us who weren't around during the glorious days of the telegram, yet always romantisized about receiving a very important long distance communication from a well dressed messenger announcing it's arrival, this is a very exciting moment. And while the Fedex guy declined to scream "Telegram!" I'm still siked that my first ever telegram was delivered in Belgian milk chocolate. How sweet is that?

Chocolivas
I was so excited to find these chocolate covered Spanish olives online. I remember really enjoying Chuao's rendition of the chocolate olive at a NYC Chocolate Meetup that was suprisingly yum. Turns out, these beauties from Spain based Pancracio are really just hazelnuts bathed in white and dark chocolate. That doesn't take away from the fact that they're beautifully presented. Would love to get my hands on a box, only seemingly they're just shipping to Europe. Frown.

Raising The Bar
This brilliant new line of designer chocolate from LaGrange 34 re-imagines the chocolate bar from a contemporary design approach. The line which features six different designs-the one laying flat is sculpted in the fashion of Turin's landscape- is born of an inspired collaboration between the old school Pasticceria Gertosio and the very current minds of the Jjuice Design studio. Props to those who can bring themselves to actually take a bite.

Kuchen Meister
Ironically, I found an absolutely divine rum cake in the Netherland Antillies made by Germans and flavored with Jamaican rum. Kuchen Meister's rum cake is super moist, chocolatey, melts in your mouth and is not at all too sweet. It's perfectly soaked in 3 percent Jamaican rum and is flavored with low-fat cocoa powder and delish chocolate chips. Let's just say, I've been downing it for breakfast for the past week or so. And for about $6, this cake easily trumps any of its $40 rivals. I'm so into it that I settled on it as my birthday cake, cleaned out the hotel giftshop's entire supply, and packed a few boxes for the flight home. Upon my return, I was delighted to find that they're available online and so of course I just had to stock up on a few more of these bad boys before the whole world catches on.

Girl Talk Tins
Hello Everyone, I'd like to introduce Girl Talk, a line of scented candle tins produced by Bath&Body Works along with Slatkin & Co featuring witty illustrations by yours truly. They come in delicious fragrances from Pomegranate Martini to Salty Caramel Ice Cream and are birthday, wedding and girlfriend themed. The really cool part is that the illustrations are printed on removable magnets that look fab on the fridge! Woohoo. They're currently selling out at your local Bath & Body Works so get yours soon! If you're more into journals and note cards, then you may like these. Cheers! Best, Imani

Posh Pops
I must admit, I've been intrigued by these patented pops since Adam Platt's review in NY Magazine. A whimsical invention from Chef David Burke of David Burke & Donatella, he serves the chocolate dipped cheesecake lollies with a side of bubble gum flavored whipped cream for dipping. The great news is they're available online at Neiman Marcus sans the cream of course. Aside from the fanciful array of delicious coatings, the best part about these has to be the portion friendly presentation.

Haute Hamper
Move over gift basket, for Mother's Day I've had my eyes on this ultra chic Laduree Couture Hamper from Harrods. Not only does it come with three fabulous chocolate bars designed by Sonia Rykiel, but along with a selection of delectable macaroons from the famed Parisian bakery Laduree. It's been awhile, but if I remember correctly, they're nothing like anything you've ever tasted before. They're light and sticky, chewy and merenguey in all the right ways.

Luxe Candy Bars
It's as if Coco-Luxe foraged the dry snack bins at Whole Foods in search of chocolate enhancing treats: Birkenstock and sock donning health nuts may appreciate Happy Trails-- a dark chocolate, pumpkin seed and (salty?) goji berry bar. While Banana lovers may like Monkeying Around's milk chocolate and crunchy banana chips--it tastes sort of like chocolately banana bread and that's a good thing, although it's also a bit heavy on the salt? Overall, I prefer the Good Fortune--milk chocolate with crystallized ginger and bits of crunchy fortune cookie. It somehow reminds me of a gingery Twix. I would definitely eat this one again and would love it even more if there were more cookie bits involved...

County Fare
These milk chocolate cayenne candied nuts are Sausalito based Coco Luxes' take on the county fair peanut. In addition to the chocolate, these peanuty snacks assault your tongue (and your messy fingers) with a trifecta of flavors including salt, cocoa powder and of course pepper. More gourmet than not, I hardly doubt this snack belongs aside caramel apples and funnel cake unless of course the county fair is in Sausalito.

Chocolate Kicks
Shout out to Josh Spear for bringing these to our attention. The perfect accessory to go with your chocolate PDA.

Croc Box
This solid Italian gianduia bar, chocked with toasted hazelnuts by Condorelli comes in a brown faux crocodile box. So handsome, it'd be a fitting addition to any discerning humidor. At 5.29 ounces, it's probably best not to try and down it in one sitting. I broke mine up into serving size pieces with a handy steak knife.

Geek Goodness
We here at chocolate nerd don't consider ourselves real nerds, but if you're walking around with something like this in your pocket , then you're probably the real deal.

Chocolate Lovers Unite!
Dear chocolate lover:
I recently learned of an FDA proposal that is calling for a change to the standard of identity for chocolate. What does this mean? In a nutshell, the proposed change would allow 100% of the cocoa butter in chocolate to be replaced by vegetable fat substitutes (yes, that includes trans fats) as well as the ability to use milk substitutes in place of nutritonally-superior milk. And yet, large manufacturers could still label this inferior product chocolate. Why should you care? These changes will have adverse effects on the eating, physical and nutritional quality of your chocolate. The FDA needs to hear from consumers. You can preserve the quality of chocolate by visiting the following page and sending a comment to the FDA against the proposed changes. The deadline for comments is April 25th.

Sincerely,
Karalee LaRochelle
Pastry Chef + Chocolate Artisan
Cocoa Locoa Fine Chocolate
info@cocoalocoa.com

Quaint Quail Eggs
Connecticut based Knipschildt Chocolatier's chocolate interpretation of the quail egg lives up to the real deal's status as delicacy. Made by hand, the creamy hazelnut ganache centers are surrounded by a delish white and dark chocolate shell. Check out their site, Knipschildt has a ton of really beautiful artisan chocolate items and they recently opened a cafe in Norwalk, CT called Chocopologie. Sounds like a day trip!

Sweet Jesus
Controversy aside, this chocolate sculpture titled "My Sweet Lord" rendered by artist Cosimo Cavallaro has artistic integrity and what better medium to exalt the divine than in a confection known to induce sudden states of rapture?

Discover Chocolate in Belize
This winter, Clay Gordon, author of Discover Chocolate (Gotham Books, October 2007) is leading a chocolate adventure in Belize. So far, the week long itinerary includes hands on activities such as harvesting cocoa, splitting pods and roasting and cleaning cocoa beans. There's also some snorkeling, a visit to Mayan ruins and a few parties. You'll stay at the Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-friendly jungle resort which is co-owned by a New York Metro Discover Chocolate Meetup member. For more info click here.