Possibly the best things that have been on my tongue recently have been chocolates from EHChocolatier. They’re as good as anything I’ve had in my life anywhere (and I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate, in a lot of places). I can be a sourpuss at times – I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but reliable people have said so – but I give EHC an unreserved hurrah!
To specifics:
a) Their cardamom is studded with tiny caramelized, crunchy bits of cardamom. I know that cardamom can be a spice that’s easy to overuse – and its power can dominate everything else to the point of destruction. But they’ve found the perfect balance of chocolate and cardamom at EHC.
b) All their caramels are wonderful.
c) Their citrus flavors are all perfectly balanced with clear, distinctive flavors. They have a lunar new year yuzu special (a couple, actually) that’s terrific. Run.
What’s wonderful about their chocolates is they way the tastes are layered – you get the taste of the rich chocolate covering, then the taste (and sometimes texture) of the filling, then the mingled taste of chocolate and filling. The chocolates are small, but I recommend taking each in four very small bites, closing your eyes and really savoring each bite.
Have had more of their chocolates. Some observations:
While I’ve enjoyed most of their chocolates in nibbles (4 tiny ones per small chocolate), savoring every layer of complex taste, their cherry needs to be popped in whole. There’s a single cherry in the center and you run the risk of getting all cherry, or none, if you nibble. Whole, there’s a perfect proportion of cherry to chocolate, otherwise not.
All of their three caramels I’ve tried (salted, bourbon and honey), much more than once each, are great, but I particularly like the honey. But you really can’t go even marginally wrong with any.
There is some time-to-time variation, as might be expected from a small operation. You cannot always count on getting those tiny, caramelized cardamom seeds in every cardamom chocolate, for example.
I’ve been meaning to check this out, but haven’t gotten to it. Dare I ask what they cost? P.S. I expect the answer to be “expensive”, given the locale and the seeming care taken in their creation. Just wondering about the ballpark figure.
$2.75 is not bad, looks like they use Valrhona, which is higher end. (I looked at their instagram) A woman near me charges $4 each for molded bonbons, which I think is freaking ridiculous, and that’s coming from someone who knows how much work they are! (I charge $2.25-2.50)
On a totally side note, I’ve a history with individual chocolatiers and their wares. OK, all, non-chocolate story follows, so do not read if you are too young or too sensitive:
Once upon a time there was a young chocalatier called Brendan Gannon who sold his chocolates, dba La Tene at Formaggio Kitchen. I very much liked La Tene chocolates, and I was intrigued also by their gold and silver leaf decorations, decorations common in Indian sweets. What follows is a gross oversimplification, but is broadly true:
Fast backward to 3000ish years ago when the earliest Parsi New Year celebration was held in Iran/Persia. Fast forward back to 2008, and fast westward to Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in California. They are preparing their annual Parsi New Year dinner at the restaurant under the guidance of the cookbook author Niloufer King (“My Bombay Kitchen”), who, through no fault of mine, I have gotten to know online. I’m making a parallel dinner in Cambridge for friends, in touch with the kitchen at Chez P, but I need silver leaf to perfect my meal. I contact Brendan who blessedly delivers silver leaf to my home. The evening was a success. They sent me the menu from Chez Panisse for that night, and it hangs in my kitchen.
Still, where in Seattle? It’s the modern world, I’m told, and it’s possible that I might fly there one day, if only I can figure out how to use these dang wings that someone gave me.
I had a cup of their hot chocolate a few days back. I place it about on par with Burdick’s, which is high praise. (My new favorite is the ridiculously indulgent version at gâté comme des filles in Bow Market, which won me over with its dollop of whipped cream which sometimes has rose water in it.)
I’ve only had the spoon stand up in cooled Burdicks, and the EHCholatier hot chocolate is only available in a demi-tasse. No way was there any leftover…
