Chocolate…

I love chocolate. I eat it almost everyday. I don’t actually eat a lot of it, but I do savour and enjoy the pieces I choose to munch on each day.

Sometimes the hardest part of my day is choosing which bite of chocolate to eat. I eat chocolate from all over the world, but here I want to highlight and share the chocolate that Canada is putting out into the world.

There are so many amazing chocolatiers and chocolate makers in our huge country, and their numbers keep growing. There are new chocolate artists and creators all the time.

So, to get started let’s start at the beginning on bean to bar chocolate in Canada. Bean to bar is when a chocolate maker starts with the cacao bean and works through a long process of making that cacao bean into a bar of chocolate. The chocolate maker does this in their factory/kitchen/shop.  Each chocolate maker adds uniqueness to their product in the choices they make throughout the production of their chocolate bar.

Soma Chocolatemaker in Toronto was one of the very first bean to bar creators in North America around 2003. Today Soma is still making bean to bar chocolate as well as many other chocolate products including bonbons and ice cream/gelato. They have a few stores in Toronto and it’s always a pleasure to visit the shops, though the decision making is hard!  So many chocolatey choices. I’m pretty sure Soma doesn’t pop into your brain as soon as I say chocolate, as bean to bar chocolate, craft chocolate, artisan chocolate, is still a small thing in Canada, but it’s getting bigger and is becoming more common. Most major cities have someone making bean to bar chocolate.

Now chocolatiers are creators of bonbons, confections, sometimes desserts and baked goods. Chocolatiers generally make these things with chocolate – chocolate someone else has made. So they take an already made chocolate and use it to create something special and unique. If you’re a Canadian you are most likely familiar with Laura Secord Chocolate and Purdys Chocolates as they have stores coast to coast and have been making and selling chocolates and bonbons for ages. There are so many small, unique and amazing chocolatiers out there now creating delicious treats all across Canada.

Exploring chocolate is fun.  My advice is to take the time to actually taste it.  Bite into that bonbon and let it melt on your tongue, giving yourself the chance to taste the many flavours that make it unique.  If you are eating bean to bar chocolate see how many different flavours pop out when you savour it.

Bean to bar chocolate makers and chocolatiers are doing amazing things with chocolate all across this country and I hope to explore and share with you what chocolate offerings Canada has, one bite at a time.

Be sure to check me out on Instagram to see what chocolate I bite into each day as well as many Canadian chocolate products.