Have you ever really experience chocolate?  Do you know anyone who has?  That is why chocolate makes such a great gift come holidays, birthdays, etc.  Experience: Chocolate has come up with some great ways for you to give chocolate as a gift to other or even to yourself (I have to admit I like that last one).  They have something called Tasting Experiences.  What they do is you get a variety of gourmet chocolate tasting squares.  The collections consider the origin of the cocoa beans, cocoa content and manufacturing process and are designed to satisfy the desire of an experienced gourmet or pique the interest of a casual taster.  Here are a few you can try out:

Chocolate for the Vine™ – Our tasters’ pairing guide will help you marry these fine chocolates with your favorite wine.

Sweet Serenity™ – Milk chocolate from around the world with a focus on taste and smoothness.

Pure Rapture™ – Varietal, single-origin or estate-grown chocolate from the world’s foremost growing regions.

Euphoric Indulgence™ – Featuring some of the world’s best semi-sweet and bittersweet dark chocolate bars.

Now, if you live in the Boston MA area, you can even have your own Chocolate Tasting!  At these shows, you will learn how to taste the difference between three varieties of cocoa beans.

They even have gift baskets!  This is one gift basket any chocolate lover would like. These baskets include your choice of our Sweet Serenity™ milk chocolate Tasting Experience™ box, Euphoric Indulgence™ dark chocolate Tasting Experience™ box, or Chocolate for the Vine™ Tasting Experience™ box, plus chocolate covered cocoa nibs, Mexican drinking chocolate, and other goodies.

The prices for the chocolate collections start at $24.99 and vary according to the collection. The gift basket is on sale for $49.95.  I have been lucky enough to try out four of the flavors of chocolate that they have:  neuhaus, Valrhona Jivara, Michel Cluizel Chocolatier Paris, and Amedei Tuscany Toscano Brown.  This is some of the best chocolate you will have.  However, my favorite has to be the neuhaus.  It is milk chocolate that just melts in your mouth.  It has a smooth taste with my aftertaste.  Milk chocolate has and always will be my first love.

If you are needed a Christmas gift for a chocolate lover, definitely check out Experience: Chocolate.  Its is your one stop shop for some the of the chocolate in the world!

You know you are about to eat some good chocolate when you see the following warnings:

• This chocolate has plenty of texture. It is not slippery smooth like processed chocolate.
• This chocolate is full of complex flavors that explode in your mouth. The flavor profile has not been muted by a commercial process.
• This chocolate has a natural look, of course. It is not shiny.
• Sorry, but our experience is that after indulging in some of our chocolates, you might never be able to fully enjoy a traditional candy bar again.

What chocolate am I talking about? IgnaFire Chocolates are some of the best chocolate you will ever eat.  If you are craving chocolate, one piece of this will solve your craving, because it is that good.  IgnaFire chocolates are made straight from the cacao bean.  There is no commercial processing and no added cacao butter.  They don’t use the extensive heating and industrial processing that a lot of other chocolate placs do.  This keeps all the healthful flavanols and antioxidants that occur naturally in the bean along with all its natural flavor.  I am not kidding when I say one on these pieces of chocolate will curve any sugar you have.  Since I am lactose intolerant, my favorite part of this chocolate is that no dairy products are added!  This also works well for vegans too!  When you first bite into a piece of this chocolate, it does have a different texture.  However, the chocolate really does seem to melt in your mouth.

Besides having awesome chocolates, the company that makes IgnaFire Chocolates is concerned about the environment.  What better gift than one that is environmentally friendly to the planet?  The packaging is completely compostable.  The boxes the chocolate comes in are handmade paper with no glue.  This allows the boxes to be used over and over again.  The boxes also are compostable.  The printed information that is included with your chocolate is printed on dissolvable potato paper.  That literally just washes down your kitchen sink.  Lastly, the cellulose bag that the chocolate is in will compost in 45-60 days.  I have never seen a company so carrying about the environment.

Ignafire Chocolates will be some of the best chocolates you will ever eat.  I highly recommend picking up box for yourself (if not others) and enjoy!  Great chocolate, saving the environment, how can you go wrong?

Image via Flickr

The term “Dutch process” on a cocoa package means it has been treated with an alkaline solution.  This cocoa has a darker color and more mellow taste, but can be used interchangeably with regular powdered cocoa unless the recipe directs otherwise.