Chocolate lovers may be adding a new stop to their Virginia tours when a Charlottesville woman opens her new shop off the downtown mall. From 10 to 7 October 4, she’s offering samples of surprising flavor combinations as Sandy Hausman reports.
Jennifer Mowad has loved chocolate since she was kid – keeling over once at the very sight of an Easter basket. Today, she buys it in bulk from several different chocolate makers.
"Chocolate has more flavor profiles than wine does, " she explains. "Just like wine, depending on the terroir – where it’s grown, how it’s roasted – that’s going to change the flavor profile, so one chocolate might be fruity. One might taste of mushrooms."
Her new store, called Cocoa and Spice, features a chocolate library -- not a collection of books but of bars.
"Those are craft bean to bar chocolate makers from around the U.S," she says.
To her chocolate she adds the unexpected. Take the coconut curry cluster for example.
"I take a Caribbean curry, add it to a dark chocolate and unsweetened toasted coconut, and then my Cajun bark is really fun. That’s a creole seasoning that I found on a trip to New Orleans, and I add that to white chocolate and Macademia nuts," says Mowad.
Also on the menu, drinking chocolate made with chili and cinnamon, orange and clove, lavender and sea salt. If you want a taste, tomorrow’s the day. During her grand opening, Mowad is offering free samples – and later this year she’ll teach the tricks of her trade with classes and private chocolate parties.