thanks Trish - I am allergic to chocolate so I have developed an aversion for it, but thsi reminds me of going to my Norwegian-born grandmother's house when I was a kid and digging on the delicate fruitiness of the Euro-chocs she always had on hand.

My favorite is probably Toblerone, or Cadbury's Milk Chocolate - childhood tastes die hard:)

Having been lucky enough to travel to the UK a couple of times, I fell in love with Cadbury chocolate too. I really like to get a large box of the Roses and carry it back on the plane with me. Adds a few pounds between take-off and landing, but it's so good... ;-)

Eric, I can't imagine being allergic to chocolate. If I were, I'd go out of my mind. ;) I had a serious chocolate craving two days ago, and I made homemade truffles. Some are coated in coconut, and others are coated in Ghirardelli bittersweet cocoa. They are almost gone. I'm not surprised. We finished off the chocolate mousse I made a few days before. My son begged me last night to make more.

You can order Valrhona from Amazon. I tried to include a number for it, but because it's a product and not a book or DVD, it wouldn't go through. I think Chocosphere is the best bet, though.

Toblerone is great, albeit a bit too sweet for me. I like bittersweet 75% cocoa chocolate. I like it dark. I know what you mean about childhood tastes dying hard. I am still a sucker for Milk Duds and Malty Balls. I can't get enough of them.

One I'm going to try is Guittard. It's American chocolate. I found it at a nice bulk price so I'm going to buy some to make my chocolates with. I make X-rated chocolate lollies, and I sell them. I even have a contest going on my blog. Remember those Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts with the sexist slogans some bloggers got all bent out of shape about? I decided to host a contest, and ask people to come up with better, funnier slogans. The winner gets two of my X-rated chocolates. Here's the link if you wanted to enter your own slogans. I'm leaving it up for a few more days because MSGOP, Wonkette, and Protein Wisdom (!!! LOL) found it, and I'm getting a staggering number of hits.

Lots of people get a big kick out of those chocolates. ;)

X-rated chocolates - if there's a raid you can eat the evidence

Aaman -- I loooooove Toblerone. Oh, wow.

I'ma have to check out these x-rated chocolates, though....

I have an unbelievably filthy mind (not bragging here, but) and I am not sure I can even conjure what an X-Rated Chocolate might be. When I am on my home computer I am going to have to follow the link to find out...

I just started making X-rated chocolates to sell. I call them Porno Pops. LOL I'm ordering some new molds this week or next week. They're really cool looking. People in various... er... positions. ;) Flea at the blog "One Good Thing" runs a sex toys shop, and she's going to carry my chocolates. I never thought I'd get in the business of selling Porno Pops. I also sold about a half dozen erotic short stories to some erotic magazines. I'm a feminist who also writes a lot about family issues, but the erotica stuff is fun. The feminists can't figure me out. LOL

Eric, if I was ever raided, I'd offer the officers some chocolates. I think they'd get a kick out of them. ;)

Now I'm craving Toblerone. See what y'all did? ;D

I'm glad today's feminists get to be a lot more multi-dimensional

I hadn't realized until I found out more about gourmet chocolate that chocolate freaks can be as snobbish as wine snobs. Valhrona and Amedei are expensive, but eating expensive chocolate is like drinking a good wine. And they go together so well. I hang out with food bloggers, who also recommended drinking a good port with chocolate.

Eric, there are a lot of sex-positive feminists out there. I'm one of them. We just don't get as much exposure as the stereotype of feminists being ugly, hairy-legged harpies who hate sex. I don't know any feminists who fit that description. I tell ya though, us sex-positive feminists are lots of fun. ;)

My mother used to take the lot of us to Ghirardelli Square in SF at x-mas time to shop, listen to the carrolers (sp?), and drool on the sidewalk outside the window that looked in on the chocolate vats. Complex machinery that stirred and folded wave after wave of melted chocolate...

That was worth the trip by itself!

Great post Trish!

Oh, Bennett, I envy you. If I had to stand in front of Ghirardelli with my face pressed up against the glass I would have gone crazy.

I live two blocks from the beach, and there are several local chocolate shoppes. One of them has an old-fashioned mechanical taffy pull that the company puts into use every summer for the tourists. It was even featured in the movie "The Love Letter" (by Stephen Spielberg, written for his wife Kate Capshaw). I've been to all the local sites in the movie, and I thought that was cool.

I buy chocolate from those shoppes all the time. My dream is to eventually create my own chocolate blend from beans from South America. I'd love to win an award for the Best Chocolate In The World. Even being a runner-up would make me happy.

Do it, Trish. A step a week will get you there.

btw, I loved reading the t-shirt slogans on your blogsite! I'm a notorious enjoyer of the female shape, but I never get obvious about it.

Hey, Bennett, post a slogan in my comments. There is a lot of competition, but you could win some of my X-rated chocolates. I'm seeing a lot of great, funny slogans. It's going to be hard to pick just one.

There you go. Three, in fact.

:-]

The best chocolate in the world I have ever had was in Toronto a few month ago from a magical shop called Sweet Olenka's - they make everything on site and yummy chocolate treats are impossible to resist like the chili truffles and their own blend of home made chocolate chilli ice cream. Oh my god this shopd is to die for! Although I don't think they sell pornon pops, maybe you have to ask for it fvrom behind the counter in a hushed tone.lol. Although a friend of mine once maid this gigantic penis made of chocolate for a party - she used the cheap chocoalte, but it was fun. Hey if you ever get a website going for your porno pops let me know, it would be fun to give for friend's birthdays!

Mark

I was googling Sweet Olenka's and found your post, since I live downtown Toronto I went to check them out. Turns out they they were only 10 minutes away from my condo. The shop is really really tiny, but it's packed with stuff. Chilli truffles are not my thing, but the raspberry bitterweet truffles and the bittersweet chocolate ice cream was awesome. Lychee ice cream was really refreshing. I only love bittersweet chocolate, so I only got truffles and chocolate mice 72%, but you're right it is the best chocolate I have ever eaten in Canada. And the shop is really cool too.

Has anyone ever tried Thomas Haas chocolates & deserts?
If you like fresh refined European chocolate, move to the West Coast, people!
Delicious baked goods too! Available straight from the lab in North Vancouver, Canada or sold in only few places throughout the city.
You will never touch anything in a sealed package after. Unless your taste buds are irreversibly lost!

Has anybody tried the Poulain Chocolates from France?

Guilian, Belgian seashell chocolates. Mmmm.

There are dozens of speciality chocolates I like, including a dark bittersweet one named Moser-Roth, available only from Aldi supermarkets and made in Germany.

However, for those everyday cravings, nothing beats Cadbury's.

Cadbury's? CADBURY'S??

That's like the worst chocolate EVER!!!

You convict!

sweet olenka's is okay but if you are looking for top of the line chocolate in it's purest form which is organic and fair trade you should check out my new fave place for myself and gifts for family and friends ... it's called sitting around eating bonbons and it is also on lakeshore ... not sure of the exact address but i'm sure it's on their website www.sittingaroundeatingbonbons.com ... they have the most to die for lavendar and chocolate bonbons in the world ... soooo good. and no peanuts EVER so it's nice and safe for my kids.

Belgians make the best chocolate in the world. Britain comes a very respectable second, with Switzerland third.

Hershey's tastes like sugared puke.

And Chris: each to his own, but you're off-beam criticizing Stan for his love of Cadbury's based on your own experience. Cadbury's chocolate tastes totally different Down Under, due to the fact that they use sugar cane instead of sugar beet, and to the cows that produce the milk and what they're fed on.

Alas, here in America we can buy something masquerading as Cadbury's which is made in the Hershey factory, which means that it, too, tastes faintly like puke.

HAVE ANY OF YOU any idea what it's like to be a diabetic that's not allowed to eat chocolate???

If all you can get in Columbus is Hershey's, you're not missing much!

Hershey's? Who brought up Hershey's? Is the opposite of Hersheys Himhis? No wait they're Vikings...

Doc, I've never tasted Aussie Cadbury's chocolate but the English one is pants. They do have a brilliant advert on TV just now though.

Rosey: the English one is pants

Rubbish, Chris. It's the best. It's the variety and the creaminess. Mmm...

Whenever I come over, I have to bring a whole empty suitcase to stuff full of British goodies, including plenty of choccy.

Jet: Hershey's? Who brought up Hershey's?

Anyone who eats it, mate. I told you - it tastes like puke.

Doc, that's not chocolate, it's sugar and milk!

I love vochelle Dark chocolate!!!

I'm one of those pro-sex feminists too, and x-rated chocolates sound like a delight (in more ways than one)!

I thought I was allergic to chocolate for close to a year, but it turned out to be walnuts (which were found in the brownies or various chocolates that I was eating) that I was, in fact, allergic to. What a relief!

I used to live in SF, and I still make a point to hit Ghiradelli Square for a hot fudge sundae whenever I am back in town. I've tried countless handmade chocolate shops during my various travels... in Belgium, France, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Australia, and at least a dozen or so U.S. states.

I have a box of Godiva truffles and a box of See's on my bedside table at the moment.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE

Vahlrona is really good, as is Callebaut. They get lumped together in my head due to the availability at Whole Foods. I'm also a huge fan of the milk chocolate that Lake Champlain puts out. It's like a higher quality euro-Cadbury (American Cadbury is Hershey's). Ghiradelli and Lindt will tide me over when times are tough. Vosges is a personal fav for creativity.

Hershey's is chocolate flavored wax, not chocolate. I will go as far as to say it's candy. But when I hear someone craving chocolate say that it's time for a Hershey bar, it makes me want to cry.

To the diabetic, eat small quantities of super dark chocolate, an acquired taste, and you'll want some high quality stuff, but it's very good for you.

...my two cents.