There's chocolate, and then there's CHOCOLATE, according to Lauren Adler, a Wallingford resident who has launched a specialty candy business called Chocolopolis. She already has a Web site up and running for the business, and Adler is also planning to open up a store of the same name this summer on Upper Queen Anne Hill.
Using the same kinds of terms a connoisseur uses to describe wine, Adler said she will only sell "artisan" chocolates, a rarified kind of confection that depends as much on science as it does art to make.
An East Coast native who moved to Seattle 10 years ago after visiting a friend here, Adler speaks with an almost reverent tone about the different kinds of cacao beans used to make chocolate and where they're grown. Most of the world's cacao is grown in West Africa, but the bean is also cultivated in Indonesia, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands, she said.
Good beans are a good start, Adler said. "But it really comes down to who the (chocolate) makers are." She dismisses companies such as Hershey's as inferior to artisan chocolate makers because the chocolate giant adds more oils and sugar as a substitute for cocoa butter. "These guys are only going to use cocoa butter from cacao beans," she said of the artisans.
The beans are also fermented for several days, and they are "conched," an aeration process that decreases acidity. Hershey goes through the process for two to three hours, while the artisan standard is two to three days, Adler said.
She'd like to see her store become an educational experience offering that kind of information to customers with being intimidating, Adler added. "The store is going to tell the story of chocolate," she said, likening it to learning about wines in wine store.
The politics of chocolate are controversial, she conceded, because child labor is sometimes exploited in Africa to harvest the beans. But the artisan chocolate-makers aren't part of that world, according to Adler.
Many pay the farmers above market rate for their chocolate, and quality also ensures farmers get a fair price, she said. "Good beans are much sought after," Adler explained, "and these guys will pay to get them."
Adler read up on chocolate and took several classes about chocolate, she said, adding that she started out by making chocolate treats for friends and family. Still, she doesn't consider herself to be a chocolatier, Adler said.[[In-content Ad]]She plans to make a few chocolate sweets at the store, but Adler also plans to have 200 different kinds of artisan candy bars for sale. They'll range in price from $4 to $16 apiece, she added.
Her Web site, www.chocolopolis.com, offers a selection of products that range in price from $16 to $79. Different kinds of artisan chocolate bars are included, as are chocolate-covered coffee beans, and the selections are often packaged in mugs and bowls.
She also offers tastings for groups of customers, and there is a procedure to follow. It involves first cupping a piece of chocolate in your hands to smell it and then biting a small piece off and letting it melt and cover the tongue so all the different taste buds come into play, she said.
This reporter also sampled a few kinds of artisan chocolate, one of which was an Arriba bar by made by Midori's, an Italian company. "They say this tastes like hazelnut, banana and citrus," Adler said. "I tend to taste blueberries." This reporter picked up hints of citrus in the rich candy.
Adler plans a so-called soft opening in late June for her business at 1527 Queen Anne Ave. N. with a grand opening to follow in mid-July. She sounds confident that the business will be a success. There's a reason for that, Adler said. "Most people love chocolate."
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
