Our Chocolate Challenge

In a recent hush-hush operation I was asked to serve on a panel of judges for TasteTV to judge a slew of local chocolatiers and their products, some of which were really incredible. From about July 3 through July 12 (so as not to get total chocolate overload) we tasted different chocolates every day then submitted our ballot with the results of our choices.


There were some very creative designs and flavor combinations. The William Dean PB&J was one of our favorites. Then there was The Chocolate Truffle's oreo, peanut butter and chocolate. Another favorite was the William Dean key lime chocolate which tasted exactly like a tiny piece of key lime pie with a bit of chocolate aftertaste.


I know. It was not exactly one of my toughest assignments. The panel's results will be released in early August and I am pretty sure that my favorites will be among the top picks. These taste panels happened all over the country. The San Francisco results are already out and posted on the site so stay tuned Boston!

While on the subject (and I do hope I have put you in the mood for chocolate), our local chocolate factory, Taza Chocolates, needs your help. I have written about them before here. Not only do they provide a superior, organic product but they are also really good people and great neighbors. They have gone out of their way to create a local company with real values, fully supporting free trade, paying employees and suppliers a living wage (some of them for the first time in their lives) and fostering community efforts toward sustainable food. The recent flash floods in Somerville all but destroyed their brand new facility. If you haven't tried their products I urge you to do so and support them as they have supported our community. Visit them at your local Farmer's Market or order through their website: Taza. I promise you that you will be reaching out to lift some very good people up who need a helping hand.