A Dream Come True + April Chocolate Tasting

Photo credit: Ruth Kennison, The Chocolate Project

Ever since I started my chocolate journey, I dreamed of connecting a loyal community of chocolate lovers with cacao, aka the source of our favorite food. Through a series of serendipitous encounters and good old-fashioned teamwork, that dream came true this month. 

On March 13, Melanie told us about how her team in Guatemala processes cacao beans into chocolate at Diego’s Chocolate. She went all out for us, cutting a fresh cacao pod, grinding cacao beans, and answering our many questions about their chocolate-process. Nico, the US distributor of Diego’s Chocolate, translated her explanations to non-Spanish makers like me. It was an amazing experience and the awe on every attendee’s faces made this tasting one for the books. 

If you missed Diego’s Chocolate tasting, don’t worry, you’ll have an opportunity to connect with another chocolate-maker on April 10.

Upcoming Online Tasting

A pioneer of the bean-to-bar movement, Amano Chocolate has been turning carefully sourced cacao beans into instant chocolate classics for 15 years. If you’ve had the company’s Dos Rios Bar, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If not, sign up to my next tasting to find out!

On Saturday, April 10, at 2 PM ET // 11 AM PT, you’ll sample three (vegan!) bars by Amano Chocolate and share your impressions with the group. Art Pollard, co-founder of Amano Chocolate, and his son Aaron Pollard, vice president and chocolate-maker, will share the stories behind each bar and answer your questions on their chocolate. I’m planning to bring a twist to the tasting, but I can’t say too much now 🙂 Tickets are $52/household and include three chocolate bars shipped to a US-based address. I saved a few spots to international attendees, please email me at estelle(at)37chocolates.com to arrange shipping.

On a side note, you can watch a 20-minute interview of Denise Castronovo by Seth Godin here. You’ll be hearing the story behind the Castronovo Chocolate 80% Arhuacos dark chocolate so many of you love. 

I hope to see you soon! If you’d like to schedule a private tasting for your family or team, please fill out the following form. 

If you’d like to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings, please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter.

Estelle Tracy1 Comment

Cocoa Nib Recipes + February/MArch Chocolate Tastings

February in Pennsylvania is a lot more exciting than it seems. Between Groundhog Day, snow storms, and (online) chocolate tastings, we’re barely thinking about summer; we’re too busy shoveling our sidewalks.

No matter where you live, I hope you are healthy and hopeful about the weeks ahead. If “eating more chocolate,” is one of your 2021 resolutions, I hope you’ll try your hands at making drinking chocolate from cocoa nibs and attend an upcoming 37 Chocolates tasting. Scroll down to learn more!

Cocoa Nibs: Recipes Outside of the (Granola) Box

There are so many ways to use cocoa (or cacao) nibs beside sprinkling them on oatmeal or adding them to smoothies. I like brewing them to make cacao tea, use them instead of nuts in brownies, and even turn them into a cup of hot chocolate. Find out how in my latest piece for Edible Delmarva’s website.

Upcoming Zoom Chocolate Tastings

On Sunday, February 28 at 2 PM ET, you’ll have a chance to follow me on a virtual trip to Colombia. This tasting was inspired by a trip I took to Colombia with chocolate-maker Denise Castronovo in 2019. During this 90-minute tasting, you’ll be discovering quirky facts about life on cacao plantations and taste through three single origin chocolate bars by Castronovo Chocolate.

Tickets are $67/household and include three full size bars shipped to your home. Curious on what to expect? Listen to food writer Joy Manning’s experience with a previous Colombian-themed tasting on the Local Mouthful podcast. 

Ever since I launched 37 Chocolates, my goal has been to build a community to explore the world of chocolate at large and connect with incredible makers in the US and beyond. In fall of last year, I fell head over heels with Diego’s Chocolate in Guatemala and I want YOU to discover the company’s story and chocolates, too. You’ll understand why after watching this video.

On Saturday, March 13 at 7 PM ET, we’ll thus be tasting Diego’s Chocolate Mayan chocolate rolls. Founder Diego Cumes developed his signature chocolate based on his grandmother’s drinking chocolate recipe. Every roll is 100% handcrafted in Guatemala, from the roasting and winnowing of the cocoa beans to the dyeing of the wrapper.

Nico Silverman, the company’s US distributor, will join the event to answer your questions and tell us how his previous job at Etsy led him to meet Diego and his team. I can’t wait for you to meet him. Tickets are $67/household and include four chocolate rolls shipped to your home.

Please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings. For corporate and private tastings, please fill out this form and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

Estelle Tracy2 Comments

Happy New Year + January & Valentine’s Day Chocolate Tastings

In March of 2020, my chocolate business brought in a revenue of exactly $0. For days, I spent hours refunding tickets of cancelled live events. I was heartbroken. Was this the end of the business I’d spent five years building?

Sad as I was, I still cared a lot about chocolate and quickly committed to post bi-weekly live chocolate reviews on Facebook. To my surprise, several of you showed up to watch every. single. video. Interacting with you became the highlight of my week. You motivated me to keep going and a couple of months later, you became the first paid customers for my Zoom chocolate tastings.

It’s been six months since I hosted that first event. I now have customers I’d never dreamed of having and am booking tastings weeks in advance with the loveliest people.

2020 brought the previous iteration of my business to a halt and March was the month I came the closest with failure. I spent days dancing with it, looking at it from each angle and that intimacy made me lose my fear from it. After all, here I was, still standing, still smiling, and still going. A lightheartedness has emerged from my encounter with failure, which makes running a business so much more fun.

As 2021 brings new promises, I’m looking forward to getting to know you even better and excited for the new relationships ahead. Stay safe, healthy, lighthearted, and remember to eat lots of chocolate!

Upcoming Zoom Chocolate Tastings

The Acalli Chocolate tasting on January 16 sold out weeks ago, so I added an online event the next day day to welcome people on the waitlist.

For this one-hour tasting, I selected three bars to accommodate the tastes of a birthday lady. There’ll be a sweet, 64% dark chocolate and two dark milk chocolate, including the fabulous sweet potato milk chocolate bar by Hogarth Chocolate.

Tickets are $58/household and should be purchased by Monday, January 11, 2021. There are 10 total spots available.

Tickets for this event are no longer available.

Boho Chocolate likes their chocolate dark and spicy – think 87% dark chocolate and warming chai spices – so the New-England-based company was a natural fit for Valentine’s Day’s chocolate tasting on Sunday, February 14.

During this 2-hour event, you’ll sample four (4) bars by Boho Chocolate and share your impressions with both the group and Charlie Burke, founder of Boho Chocolate.

Your ticket includes the following vegan (dairy-free) 3-oz bars shipped to your home with USPS Priority Mail or UPS Ground:

  • 87% Dark Chocolate
  • 70% Belize Single Origin Dark Chocolate
  • 70% Dark Chocolate + Spicy Chai
  • 62% Dark Lemongrass and Ginger

Tickets are $67 vs. $72 per household with the code “37CHOCOLATES”.

I’ve truly been grateful for your trust, loyalty, and support in 2020, and I hope to see you again soon as part of another Zoom chocolate tasting. Please leave a comment if you’d like to be part of a specific tasting or meet a particular maker. I love hearing back from you!

Please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings. For corporate and private tastings, please fill out this form and I’ll get back to you within 48 hours.

Estelle TracyLeave a comment

Holiday Gift Guide + January 2021 Online Chocolate Tasting Schedule

This post contains affiliate links.

In an ideal world, I’d publish a gift guide on the blog the day after Thanksgiving, complete with photos and product descriptions. However this is the real world so I’ll simply recommend my top 5 books for new chocolate enthusiasts, this fabulous book by Natalie Nixon on creativity, these drinking chocolate cups by Cocoa Nouveau, this chocolate pairing guide by Projet Chocolat, and a couple of jars of Soom’s delectable chocolate tahini (use code 37chocolates10 for 10% off your order.) Also, check out Map Chocolate’s cool gift guide on Instagram.

If you’re in the mood for chocolate bars, head out to the 37 Chocolates e-shop and maybe you’ll grab the last Bourbon-aged chocolate by Violet Sky or this milk chocolate with buttered toast with sea salt by Hogarth Chocolate. A seat to a chocolate tasting also makes for a great gift, scroll down to learn more about January’s Zoom event.

Upcoming Zoom Chocolate Tasting

This month’s tasting with Acalli Chocolate filled out quickly, so I added a date on Saturday, January 16 for another chance to meet Carol Morse, founder of Acalli Chocolate in New Orleans. Her company was on Melissa Clarks’ list of top 13 chocolate-makers for the New York Times last February  but it’s been on mine for years! Five years ago, the 65% Milk & Nibs bar blew my taste buds away with its bold, tart fruit notes and, to this day, it remains one of my desert island chocolate. 

During the two-hour tasting, you’ll get to sample the three bars pictured above + a mystery dark chocolate. This tasting is for you if you love bold flavors. Tickets are $58 per US household.

I wish you a beautiful and safe holiday season, filled with good health and chocolate. If you’re struggling to juggle remote-schooling duties with work, please know you are not alone. I recently shared the challenges of parenting while running a business in a pandemic in this Instagram video — I hope it will give you some comfort.

As always, feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. You can also fill out this form to book a private or corporate tasting for your team. 

If you’d like to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings, please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter. Happy holidays!

Estelle TracyLeave a comment

October 2020 Online Chocolate Tastings with Qantu Chocolate

2020 has been full of surprises. Some weren’t good, others much better. On one hand, it wasn’t easy to kiss goodbye to my beloved wine and chocolate pairing events. On the other, I’m now excited to reach an audience way beyond my one-mile-square town. Since I started hosting chocolate tastings on Zoom this spring, I’ve met chocolate-lovers in Philadelphia and Seattle, New York City and Puerto Rico. What’s more, I can now invite special guests to my events, such as my favorite chocolate-makers, so my attendees can feel more connected to their food. Can you imagine if talking to a restaurant chef for an hour after a special meal? That’s how it feels to be part of a 37 Chocolates event.

As we ease into fall, I’d like to virtually cross the Canadian border and introduce you to one of my all-time favorite makers: Qantu Chocolate in Montreal, Canada. We currently have two tastings scheduled: one for US-based guests on Wednesday, October 14 at 6 PM ET, and one for Canadian residents on Sunday, October 18, at 2 PM ET. You can sign up for the US event right below. Head to Qantu Chocolate’s website to be part of the Canadian party.

Qantu Chocolate makes some of the finest chocolate around and trust me, I’ve had hundreds! Their bars are the little black dress of my chocolate stash: classic, elegant, and beautiful in many settings. I’m particularly fond of their 70% Gran Blanco, which will be part of both events. It’s very mild, with beautiful citrus aromatics. It seems to pair with almost any light to medium body wines (both white and red), it’s stellar with orange liqueur, and delightful with tea. Did I mention I’m a fan?

You’ll receive three full size bars with your ticket: the 70% Gran Blanco, the 70% Chuncho aka Golden Bean Award and Gold Medal at the Academy of Chocolate Awards 2018, and the Silk Road, a beautiful bar inspired by the fragrant spices of the Silk Road. You’ll be joined by company founders Elfi Maldonado and Maxime Simard who will answer your questions, both in French or English. You’ll also receive a list of pairing wine, tea, and fruit recommendations prior to the tasting, so you can try my favorite pairings at home. 

Elfi’s on my right and Maxime’s on my left

This event is online, but I promise the feeling of connection is there. Here’s what a previous guest said about my previous, Colombia-inspired event.

“I had such a wonderful time at your chocolate tasting this evening—thank you for an event that was as delicious as it was fascinating! Such an incredible group of participants, too! I loved hearing about the single origin … chocolate bars, and they are some of the best chocolate I’ve had. It reminded me of a family trip to Ecuador a few years back, where we visited a cacao plantation and got to see their whole growing, roasting and chocolate-making operation. 
I’m so glad I got to participate, and I look forward to future events.”
– T., California 

So, will I see you then? Remember you can email me at estelle(at)37chocolates.com to schedule a private (online) tasting chocolate or corporate (online) event… Holidays are coming soon!

If you’d like to be notified of blog updates and upcoming online chocolate tastings, please sign up 37 Chocolates newsletter.

Estelle TracyLeave a comment