Chocosphere

The first shipment of chocolate to Europe came from Oaxaca, Mexico in 1502. Five centuries later, you can find the best European chocolates at Chocosphere, a small company in Portland, Oregon. They carry my favorites: Michel Cluizel, Callebaut, and Valrhona. Michel Cluizel has the distinction of creating the milk chocolate bar with the highest cocoa content: 50%. (Most milk chocolate bars contain around 33%.)

I must admit, I am anxiously counting the days until November 15, when The Chocolate Show returns to New York! Last year I wandered from vendor to vendor in a chocolate-addled stupor, munching on warm Valrhona orange-chocolate brownies and Cemoi truffles and sipping Jacques Torres spicy cocoa and Vermeer Dutch Chocolate liqueur. But until November, I will be satisfied with Chocosphere.