Trends In Chocolate

It's never too early to start planning for The Chocolate Show! For those of you who are still unfamiliar with this annual event, it's the chocoholic's equivalent of the Super Bowl. I am particularly excited about the "New Taste Trends in Chocolate" lecture which will be given by Chocophile.com editor Clay Gordon on Nov. 13th at 5 p.m.

Recently, I've done my own informal research into chocolate, and I've noticed two opposing trends: the trend towards purity and the trend towards exotic innovation. In the first category is the single-bean phenomenon; chocolatiers from Valrhona to Guittard are marketing chocolates produced with cacao beans from specific locations. The descriptions of these chocolates often read like travel brochures, making me want to fly to "Western Venezuela, South of Lake Maracaibo" for a Sur Del Lago bar (Guittard) or Ghana for some Omanhene chocolate. The International Chocolate Company offers Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Ivorian single-bean bars.

Chocolate is also being paired with more exotic flavors for truly unique tasting experiences. Former pastry chef Eric Gererd has created a whole line of truffles with flavors like wasabi and curry. He has even pioneered a new assortment of chocolates for Brooklyn's own Bierkraft (a shop with 900 varieties of imported beers). These chocolates include flavors such as Abita Purple Haze, Remsten Winter Wheat, and Sierra Nevada Porter.

Some other delicious taste innovations are the Naga bar (sweet Indian curry powder, coconut flakes and Belgian milk chocolate) from Vosges and the Peruvian chocolates with caramel and prunes from Helena's Chocolatier (special thanks to California chocoholic Dana Colligan for this last recommendation).

I look forward to doing more research of this nature!