Join me this evening for the Palace Theatre’s 11th Annual Gala Benefit at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford, NH. I’ll be there with samples of all my current truffles and bonbons.

See y’all tonight!

Handpainted Chinese Masks, each unique, each exquisite.

Fruity Madagascar chocolate balanced against a ganache of fresh mango, coconut milk, and orange blossom water.

An experience to look at, an experience to taste. Chocolate as Art.

Chinese Masks are $3 per piece.

The Dancing Lion is home from Guatemala.

And what a trip it was! I’ve followed the path of Theobroma Cacao from healthy pods at Finca Los Ujuxtes–near source of its domestication some 4,000 years ago–through the fermenting and drying process, the conching and near-magical conversion to some of the world’s finest chocolate, and finally into the collaborative creation of some innovative new truffles and bonbons.		Beans drying in the sun
Jorge & I amongst the pods	Finca Los Ujuxtes is a mystical place, where the cacao is grown Maya-style scattered in the rainforest, where the stove is wood-fired, where the stone swimming pool is fed by a local spring, and where the nearest modern civilisation is  hours away. Jorge, the owner is jovial and pleasant beyond description, and Eduardo, the overseer is in his own way as quality-minded as the sharpest Malcolm Baldrige expert.
Back at Danta Chocolate in Guatemala City, we surveyed the fruits of our labours as I packed some 30 kilos of chocolate bars for the flight back. The weather was fine as I hugged my new friends and we parted for what will certainly not be the last time.
And now, here I am in New Hampshire with 30 kilos of fine Guatemala chocolate from Danta. Dark Finca Las Acacias 75%, thenew Las Acacia Milk Chocolate, the hauntingly complex Dark and Milk chocolates from Finca Los Ujuxtes, and of course, the incomparable White Chocolate with Nibs. And with the rather low shipping costs, this batch of bars is $6.00 each.		Five New Flavors

Chocolate from the origins of cacao. The real stuff. It’s good to be home.

Me with the Danta Crew

Guatemala City. Note the volcano in the distance.

Carlos and I are having a fantastic time making chocolates. I’ve now been through the complete process of turning beans into bars, or in Carlos’ case, ice cubes. (He’s found ice cube trays a cheap and effective way  to store working chocolate).  Tomorrow we’ll make the drive to Finca Los Ujuxtes to see how the cacao is grown and processed.

It occurs to me y’all might want to see some pretty pictures. Here’s Guatemala City from Carlos’ place. Lush, eh? Note active volcano Pacaya in the distance.

One of the first things we did when I reached the Danta Chocolate shop was to mold White Chocolate bars with Nibs. Here’s a shot of Angelica, one of Carlos’ three assistants, wrapping the finished product.

Angelica wrapping bars

The best fun though, was me and Carlos melding our individual styles to create some collaborative truffles and bonbons. After a run to the market we settled on five recipes.

Blackberry Truffle, a white chocolate ganache of tart Guatemala blackberries and New Hampshire apple cider syrup enrobed in Las Acacias milk chocolate and finished with a blush of lavender lustre.

Plantanos Verdes y OO, green plantains caramelized in fruity olive oil and coarsely pureed, wrapped in a swirl of Las Acacias 60% dark chocolate.

At the market

Chili-Maple, pure New Hampshire maple syrup infused with Guatemala chilis, dusted with allspice, and wrapped in squares of  dark chocolate. And finally, the queen of the batch,

Mango with Green Jalapeno and Lime, fragrant fresh mango blended with jalapeno chilis and lime juice in an orange-speckled dome of Las Acacias 60% dark chocolate.

If you’d like to buy these pieces you’ll have to stop by Danta Chocolate in Guatemala City; I’m bringing back our recipes, but not our results. (There’s no room with all the bars I’m packing!)

Time to get back to work folks. Next round I’ll post some photos of the finished pieces.

The Dancing Lion finds himself in Guatemala City visiting his friend chocolate-maker Carlos Eichenberger of Danta Chocolate.  The Lion wanted to know first-hand how those magnificently complex tasting Los Ujuxtes and Las Acacias chocolates are made. Actually, the Lion wanted to get his paws in and help turn those beans into bars.

Yesterday we molded some Danta pieces–including the killer nibby white bars–and left nibs and cocoa butter warming overnight in the oven for the 70% chocolate we’ll be conching today. On Friday we’re making the 2 1/2 hour drive north to Finca Los Ujuxtes, where some of those amazing beans are grown.

No fear, my friends;  several cases of assorted bars are already packed and waiting to come home to you. Yep, even the nibby whites.