What to do on a rainy, cold, wet day in western Washington....my choice?? Go on a chocolate adventure with my girlfriend, Carolyn. Our first stop was in Marysville at Strita on State Street. The store is lovely..you can see and smell what is going on in the back but up front they have comfy places to sit and oogle the goodies. We were the only ones there at that moment so we got some great one on one attention from the owners. They were very gracious to tell us all kinds of interesting things about their chocolate....dark....very few additives..sugar and vanilla basically. You can even get 100% pure bars. I lean more to the 75% but they come in all the %s. they get their beans from their farm in the Phillipines and roast them and take them through to the finished product.
I am especially excited to try the Aztec hot chocolate blocks that I purchased with the special wooden twirlery thingy. The tin is in the photo.
We then took a break to eat lunch and do errands and then we headed to Mt. Vernon where, unbeknown to us, a famous chocolate maker lives and creates!! She is not easy to find but so well worth it! On enteriang her shop you are by beautiful displays and her many awards.....she can do it all....sugar sculptures..caramels....white chocolate....dark chocolate...photography.
Forte chocolates....to die for goodies. A person could spend many hours just sucking up all the wonderful smells coming from her back room....it is not just chocolate smells as she adds so many interesting ingredients to her creations. A big pot of caramel was bubbling away that afternoon. She does the unusal....Meyer lemon pepper truffle anyone? The chipotle caramels are amazing as well. My fave after a very nice evening of tasting at home..dark chocolate with bacon pieces...they crunch and are salty..yummy.
We got the one on one here as well and got to go back and see how all the goodies are made and...she gave us tastes and explanations of process and content. Amazing...this place is extraordinary...go there!! Even if you don't like chocolate you will have fun here!!
Our goal was to learn about chocolate and try to figure out how to go about having a wine and chocolate party for the holidays. We did learn where to buy some great chocolate..now the wine tour to research that end of it.
