Norman Love Chocolates #7: Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle

This next confection was the Dark Chocolate Cream Truffle, which contains "49% dark Venezuelan Chocolate made from Criollo beans and blended with cream and butter". I did a little internet research and found out some interesting facts about the Criollo bean: Apparently there are three different cocoa beans, and the most popular is the Forastero bean (used in 95% of chocolate). The Criollo bean apparently has the best quality chocolate but is less disease-resistant and has a lower yield. Most interesting is the Trinitario bean, a hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero beans that produces higher-quality chocolate than the Forastero and is more disease-resistant and has higher yields than the Criollo.

The inside was dark and rich, and it tasted wonderful. I'm not sure if I can tell the difference between Forastero and Criollo beans, but I know what I like and I really liked this. I remember when I first started eating good chocolate and someone told me that in order to properly enjoy it, I needed to let it melt on my tongue instead of just chewing it up quickly. Of course, I remembered this while I was absent-mindedly chewing up this truffle, so I stopped immediately and let the flavor linger in my mouth. What was left did not melt away for at least a minute. It tasted as rich as it looked, with just the right amount of bitterness.

Even though I do prefer dark chocolate over milk, I don't really like dark chocolates with more than 60% chocolate--I feel like they have a bitterness akin to black tea that has had a tea bag steeping it in for more than 10 minutes. But this chocolate was perfect. And don't forget--don't just chomp up a good chocolate like you would with old chocolate bar from Halloween. Savor it slowly and let the flavor bloom in your mouth.

On a different note, we just got hit with a blizzard up here in New England, and here is the view from our second floor porch:

I grew up in an area that didn't get much snow, so it was always a treat for me. However, since I've lived up here, it's lost a bit of it's beauty except for one case: when I don't have to go to work (canceled for today fortunately) and when it has just finished snowing, because the roads haven't turned the snow into slushy muck yet so it's still white. Of course, it also helps that my husband does all the shoveling. I like to appreciate these things from inside my apartment with my heater on.