chocolat

Yesterday, as I strolled around Amsterdam central station during a rare moment of solitude (you may wonder what I mean if you've ever been to Amsterdam central station in the middle of the peak hour commuting times but solitude for me means no kids and nowhere to be or rush to)...enjoying looking at the new stores and developments since I was there last quite a few months ago (including a Starbucks no less and one of my favourites, a HEMA), I noticed a couple of tiny stores nestled in a little annex of the station. On further investigation, I discovered one was a tea / coffee store and another, a chocolate shop. For some reason, I didn't head straight for the chocolate chain (luxury chocolates at a luxury price) and instead wandered into the other shop first. Some pretty colours at the front had drawn me in like a moth to a flame. Once I got closer, I realised that in fact, they were tiny chocolate packages (I'm usually a bit blind without my glasses on...though I tend to do this on purpose as it makes the world a better place, most of the time! Reminds me of my mother, who refuses to wear her hearing aids because they just make the world too loud and noisy! Ah, they do say we all turn into our mothers eventually, but that's a much longer story than the one I wanted to tell here.) What this is about is my discovery of some lovely little chocolates.

Affordable luxury at just over a euro for amazing taste sensations. Just like chocolate should be. If you ever see them in a store - do try them. I very much enjoyed:

Noir lavande de Haute-Provence (dark chocolate with lavender)
and
Au Lait Thé Vert & Jasmin du Maroc (milk chocolate with green tea and moroccan jasmin).

Yum. At only 30g a flavour packed block, you won't be breaking your diet either (if you can stick to just one block that is!).

Apart from their deliciousness, it's also nice to see that they consider the environment and are a carbon neutral company.

Dolfin - The Art of Blending

So I mentioned this to Nat today and well, of course, she came up with a counter: Dagoba Organic Chocolate

You gotta love their slogan "You can deprive the body, but the soul needs chocolate."

Perhaps we need to have a taste off?

Nat's favourites: Lavender Essence with Wild Blueberries or the Chilli Choc - Aztec style

And well, full circle sustainability. Tasty AND responsible. Can't go wrong with that.

Hugs from the kitchen,

txo