New stuff!

Bear with me for the next couple of months as some changes are coming! New packaging, a new website and some new single origin bars are in the works! As the website will be under construction (likely for the whole summer), your best source of information is to email me directly takeafancy@gmail.com or stop by and see me in person at the farmers market (schedule on the side bar of this blog). Important updates will be featured here and as usual "chocolate of the week" features will be listed on the side bar as well. This week, I am super excited to release the Limited Edition Mastatal Bar ~ made with beans I picked up from a small farm in Costa Rica this month. If you haven't had a chance yet, you can read about the trip in the last few blog posts here!
***please note that the Kitsilano Farmers Market has been temporarily relocated to Riley Park (Clever you! No, that's not in fact in Kitsilano - I'm just as confused as you are!). We expect to move back to the original location June 14th. In the meantime, please find us at Riley Park on Sundays from 10-2!

Mastatal - La Iguana

Our final stop - La Iguana Chocolate in Mastatal! 

Setting off from Quepos, we had breathtaking drive up and down a bumpy gravel road with spectacular views. A few hours later, we pulled up to the chocolate shop/garden/house and we knew we were in paradise.

                                          

Before unloading our bags, Lidia sat us down to a cup of cacao tea and chocolate/nib cookies. The 2 day chocolate marathon had begun! Cacao grower and chocolatier Jorge joined us to talk about the history of growing cacao in Mastatal and we happily chatted about chocolate (and ate chocolate) into the evening. 

The next morning we set off early to head to the cacao orchard. They normally harvest on a Tuesday (only once a week, due to the 45 min walk to get there), but on account of our visit they decided to harvest a day early. In the slightly cooler hours of the morning we felt felt energetic and keen to help with the harvest! 

We criss crossed the orchard looking for ripe pods. Because they only come up here once a week, they need to make sure they collect pods that are getting close to fully ripe as well, otherwise the next week they may find the squirrels have helped themselves to the harvest. Ripe and nearly ripe pods we cut down and put in our sacks. 

Jorge stopped from time to time to tell us about various plants and soil management.

We talked about the importance of orchard maintenance for controlling moniliasis. Any infected pods we came across needed to be buried in the soil so that they could decompose and not spread the spores to other pods.

When our sacks were full we returned to the lower part of the orchard. Jorge went back to collect more pods and check on the rest of the trees. He left us to cut open the pods and separate the seeds. 

It was great, gooey fun! 

After we had finished up all the pods, the sacks were loaded up on "Blue-Blue" and we started the journey back to the house...

Our morning eagerness waned in the afternoon heat, but we did our best to keep up with Jorge and Juan Luis. 

Once back at the house, we put the beans in the fermenting box. 

Then Lidia gave us some juice to rehydrate ourselves! 

After a restorative lunch, we were lucky to have a tropical downpour, which lasted over an hour and gave us an excuse to rest and regain our energy.

                 Motivation was further boosted by an abundant consumption of chocolate! 

        We spent the rest of the day in the kitchen making, eating and chatting chocolate and           wondering why we would ever want to leave...

                               

Muchas gracias to Jorge, Vicki, Lidia and Juan Luis for sharing 

their beautiful home and amazing chocolate with us! 

I'm happy to say, that they also shared with me some of their incredible cacao beans. Coming soon...limited edition "Costa Rica - Mastatal" bars! 

Quepos Farmers Market & Organic Vanilla

We started our morning early and headed to the Quepos Farmers Market...

                             

...all stocked up on papayas, guanabana and passion fruit, we drove out on the gravel road to the Villa Vanilla plantation. There they grow organic and biodynamic vanilla and other spices and even some rather impressive cacao beans. Henry, the owner greeted us. Knowing my keen interest in cacao, he showed us first a small batch of beans they had fermenting in a box.

After chatting chocolate for a bit, we were introduced to Roy, a highschool student who does tours at Villa Vanilla as his "summer job". Roy gave us an overview of vanilla growing, harvesting and fermenting and then showed us how they harvest ceylon cinnamon...

We tasted some of the fresh cinnamon bark - delicious! 

Yesterday was a particularly rainy day (like Vancouver rainy, except warm!), so they had to move their sun drying cinnamon bark and cacao bean indoors on the drying racks. 

Afterwards, Roy took us to see the growing in action. Here they grow all kinds of plants in biodiverse harmony including cinnamon, allspice, cloves, peppercorn, cacao, basil, turmeric, ginger, oregano, starfruit and of course their main crop...

....vanilla beans! 

Hmmm...gooey pecans with Costa Rican vanilla on the menu soon methinks! 

Bri Bri Cacao, Wild Caimans and Wild Cacao

We left Turrialba and headed southwest to the Caribbean coast, close to Panama. Thoughts were to travel into the Talamanca mountains to talk chocolate with indigenous growers. Unfortunately, we ran out of time to make the trip there and back by boat...perhaps on a return trip? We visted instead a Bri Bri family near to Cahuita, to see their cacao traditions and how they make chocolate. They are unable to grow their own cacao now, because their farm is infected with moniliasis (see my last post). They buy some beans from other farmers, so we were able to sample some beans with them and chat a bit about the local growers. 

Our next stop, up the coast was Tortuguero! There are no cacao growers in Tortuguero, we just came for the monkey business. A couple of days to canoe and spot as many sloths, monkeys and crocodiles as possible! But much to my delight, right after we saw this guy...

...a wild caiman! We spotted these guys....

...wild cacao! We left the cacao to the monkeys and are headed next to the Pacific coast. 

Visit to The Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE)

We had the pleasure today of meeting with Dr Wilbert Phillips-Mora, head of the cacao improvement program at CATIE. CATIE established an international cocoa collection over 70 years ago. At present they have over 1000 varieties of cacao at the centre in Turrialba.
Dr Phillips-Mora guided us through the important work they are doing in breeding new cacao varieties in order to  improve growing stability for farmers.
Have you ever heard of frosty pod rot? I hear “rot” and get an ominous feeling.  Frosty pod rot, otherwise known as moniliasis began destroying cacao trees in Costa Rica in 1978. As an airborne fungus, it spreads easily from farm to farm and has resulted in many growers in the region abandoning cacao for more reliable crops. Moniliasis has had a devastating affect on cacao crops in many countries including: Mexico, Peru, Belize, Columbia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela.  Certainly, if this disease ever reached west Africa (where most of the world’s cacao is grown) it would have catastrophic consequences for chocolate consumers worldwide.
Frosty pod rot, along with black pod (which is found worldwide) have been the main concern of cacao researchers at CATIE for the past 30 years.  Through decades  of  careful and frequent evaluation of disease resistance and yield potential CATIE have now released 6 new varieties in Central America. The hope is that farmers will gain confidence in growing this crop and cacao will flourish once again in this region.
Hmmm….
Disease control and yield, but what about quality and flavour? I feel a sudden panic, thinking of the grocery store rows of bland fruits and vegetables, brought to us by agriculture improvement research. Is this the future of mesoamerican cacao? Will we forever only know cocoa as an ingredient in a sugary candy bar, and confine the exquisite “food of the gods” to a page in history?
Thankfully, I’m assured that quality has been an integral part of the breeding research. Dr Phillips-Mora believes in the importance of promoting the exceptional quality of Central American cacao. So, only varieties with fine flavour potential were considered. In fact, 2 of the 6 varieties selected were ranked among the 10 best varieties at the 2009 Salon du Chocolat competition in Paris.
At CATIE the research continues and better varieties will be released as time goes on. The superior quality of CATIE’s developed varieties coupled with the influence of unique terroir characteristics are hoped to provide chocolate makers with an impressive variety of cacao  and in turn improve the earning potential for producing families.

Thanks to Dr Wilbert Phillips-Mora and the cacao team at CATIE for taking the time to meet with this small chocolate maker from Canada. Muchas gracias!

Hola Costa Rica!

Chadwick and I are heading to Costa Rica for the next two weeks! Wifi pending, I will be posting updates of our cacao adventures here, so you can be a stowaway in our virtual suitcase 😉
Alas, I do hope you have stocked up on your favourite bean-to-bar chocolate, because the online store will be closed until we return. If you are feeling a bit peckish however, you can always stop by Greenhorn Espresso Bar in the west end for a gooey pecan or fleur de del caramel. 
Next market day for us will be May 9th - I'll be at Trout Lake and Chad will run the show at Stone Soup. Onwards to sunshine and happy adventures! 

Honey Bunnies are back!

Dark Chocolate with honey centres, dipped in dark or milk chocolate with sweet orange essence! Available only at the farmers markets until April 4th!

Summer Market Dates Are Up!

For those of you feeling inspired by all this warm weather to do some summer planning ahead - summer market dates are up! All of the markets we will be at this summer are listed on the side here. We won't be at any markets in July due to the anticipated hot weather, but you can still order on the website. As always, Metro Vancouver orders over $50 have free delivery. Don't forget to bring a cooler to the market on hot days, so your chocolate will make it home safely....um, unless you are planning on gobbling it up on the spot, which is also perfectly acceptable!

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

Free delivery in Metro Vancouver (orders over $50) Dec 22-24th. We will be closed online noon Dec 24th-Jan 2nd. We return to Nat Bailey Farmers Market January 24th. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and many happy adventures in 2015!

Maple & Maple Pecan Bars - Alternate Sugar Bar Series #1

Occasionally, I get requests for chocolate sweetened with something other than the fair trade organic cane sugar that we typically use. This is the first in a series of bars I will be making available that do not contain cane sugar, but use an alternate sugar instead. In this case, the alternate sugar is pure maple, from our fellow farmers market vendor Maples Sugar Shack. I couldn't resist making a second bar with maple glazed pecans and maple candy. The Maple Bar has a subtle maple flavour, while the Maple Pecan bar is sweeter.

Maple Bar ingredients: Fair trade organic cocoa nibs, pure maple sugar, fair trade organic cocoa butter

Maple Pecan Bar ingredients: Fair trade organic cocoa nibs, pure maple sugar, fair trade organic cocoa butter, organic pecans, fleur de sel

A second alternate sugar bar will be released in early 2015....check back soon for details...

Free Summer Delivery and the Best Society in the World!

Tomorrow we are at the Kitsilano Farmers Market, but after that we will only be at the markets sporadically until late August. But, never fear! This summer we are offering free delivery in Burnaby and Vancouver for orders over $15 (so, you live in New West? Well...email and try to convince me). There will be a weekly delivery day listed on the blog and also on the "where to buy" section of the website www.takeafancy.ca, so you can still devour gooey pecans etc. to your hearts delight!

I'd like to thank everyone for their interest in the weekly featured chocolates that have been running for the past few months. It has been fun for everyone (myself included) and will continue. I'll be sure to repeat the popular ones like the Earl Grey Fancies Lavender and the Mojito Caramels more often! We are having so much fun with this, that I have decided to offer a Chocolate of the Week Society Membership. Fancy that! You can look on the website for more info, but basically you can buy a month or 3 months subscription, so you'll be sure to get all of the weekly features, or if your feeling generous you could buy it for a friend. OR you can tell me that you're buying it for a "friend", so you can look generous, even though we both know it's really for you...cheeky!

Happy Easter!

This week only- honey bunnies! Check out our featured chocolate for more details. Happy Easter! 

The "I" and "We" of Take A Fancy (special thanks to Chocolate Chad)

I get asked these questions all the time “Do you own the business? I mean, is it just you? That seems like a lot of work making chocolate from scratch, do you do it all yourself?”

The answer is yes, and thankfully, no.

I thought it best to formally address these questions for you, lest you find yourself confused at my constant switching from “I” to “We” at Take A Fancy all the time.  It’s not a multiple personality thing, honestly. It’s more of an acknowledgment of the loads of friends and family who have been helping me all along the way.  

So, indeed, I do own the business. The “I” is me, Becks D’Angelo – sole proprietor, slave to the chocolate (grin – a rather chocolaty grin). There are no employees at this stage - it’s a one woman show. But, it’s not really just me, because there is the “we”. Take a Fancy would not be, if not for all the friends and fam who help me out at the markets, lend their volunteer taste buds, and support and encourage every day. My heartfelt gratitude to all who make up the “us” at Take A Fancy.

Extra special thanks to my great and amazing friend Chad who has been absolutely instrumental in making this business a success. Not only is he very handy with broken machines and electrical know-how (not my area of expertise), he is also a chocolate genius! Many a recipe has been dreamt up through collaboration with my dear friend Chad. In spite of his constant prompting to add habañeros to almost everything (“a little heat would be nice”, I can hear him say), I do text him almost daily with chocolate of the week ideas and he is always obliging with suggestions and encouragement.  He assists me with the markets and even traveled with me to the Dominican Republic last year (as seen in the picture below) and helped me haul around those incredible cocoa beans for your chocolate enjoyment.  I really couldn’t do what I do without him. Thanks Chad!

So, you see, it’s not just me. Thanks for supporting “our” little bean to bar chocolate company. We delight in spreading the chocolate love to you! 

Spotlight on Vegan Chocolate and Vegan Caramel

Dark chocolate is bliss and certainly there is nothing wrong with having it straight up. An honest and true dark chocolate bar with just beans and sugar, maybe a little extra cocoa butter, is not to be argued with. I have spent many a happy day munching on an 85% solid dark chocolate and wanted for nothing more. 

But I like a little variety in life. So, every now and again I go a bit caramel crazy. Smooth oozing caramel is my favourite - maybe a little salty to balance the sweet. Sharing with friends is even better. Happy days! But, it’s a bit awkward when you’re standing around with mouths full of chocolate and delicious caramel and your vegan friends walk up. 

Guilty side ways looks. Quickly trying to munch down the evidence and casually wipe your mouth, resisting the temptation to lick your lips. Oh for shame! 

Ok, it’s probably not that dramatic. Still, I wanted my vegan friends to join in the caramel joy too!  The challenge to create a non-dairy caramel was too fun to pass up! Thanks to Chad and the eager volunteer tasters for their help! The end result was a non-dairy coconut caramel, which we now use to make non-dairy gooey pecans, non-dairy habañero caramel and other vegan caramels.  Made with coconut milk (which I do indeed make from scratch myself with real organic coconuts) it is smooth and sweet just like caramel should be, but without the dairy. 

Now, I have been slightly reluctant to advertise our vegan chocolate much because I don’t make vegan chocolate exclusively. Although we don’t put dairy in our dark chocolate or coconut caramel, we do make it in the same kitchen as our dairy versions, so it may contain dairy traces. So, if you just can’t take a chance that there might be a minute whisp of dairy somewhere in there, I get it, and I’m not offended in the least. But since I get asked about vegan chocolate all the time and because the coconut caramel has become one of our best sellers, I thought it was time to put it out there. 

Here’s a list of some of the chocolate we make that is non-dairy (may contain dairy traces):

Coconut Gooey Pecans

Coconut Habañero Caramels

Solid Dark Chocolate

Dark Chocolate dipped fruits (Pineapple, Goldenberries, Cherries)

Dark Chocolate Almonds and Hazelnuts

Dark Chocolate Coffee Beans

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Honey Hearts *some vegans do not eat honey

We believe in keeping the ingredients of our products as simple as possible. We do not use soy lecithin.

A note on cocoa butter: cocoa butter is not a dairy product, it is the oil pressed from cocoa beans.

To order vegan chocolate, visit our website www.takeafancy.ca, email me directly takeafancy@gmail.com or visit us at the farmers market.

In case you were wondering...

Everyone knows that I heart the farmers market. It’s full of love – good food and good people. On a crisp Saturday morning in winter, there’s no place I’d rather be. 

But there is a “market” word that I don’t much care for.  It gets stuck in my throat when I try to speak it.  Is it just me, or is it a lewd word? We all have words that make us uncomfortable and this one makes me cringe – “marketing”.  Now I know many of you are probably shaking your heads, wondering what my problem is. I have a business, and surely everyone knows that you cannot have a successful business without a proper marketing plan! But I bet at least some of you are nodding in agreement…mmmhmm…marketing is a dirty word. 

For those of you who are tsk tsking and clucking your tongues, let me let you into my head for a sec - I apologize if you have nightmares afterwards (grin) . It’s like this - I see marketing as cartoon characters on sugary cereal  boxes and stick-insect-white-skinned sex icons selling noxious perfumes. They are powerful images and they work, but what do they have to do with the product they are selling? Even the “green” image that markets to environmentally conscious buyers is a manufactured concept. I once saw a “reusable” shopping bag, packaged in “throw away” plastic packaging! Do they think we are idiots? But then again, I must shamefully admit to wearing mc hammer poop catchers when they were all the rage – some clever marketing department was clearly having a laugh at my folly. 

So, what to do, when you own a business and you can’t stomach the unmentionable word?  I want people to buy Take A Fancy Chocolate because, well, they fancy the chocolate! Is dark chocolate good for you? Yes! But it just feels sleazy for me to try to convince you that you should buy my chocolate because it will extend your lifespan.  Should I package a small amount of chocolate in a ginormous box, so that you will feel you are getting more?  I think not! 

Well, it’s out there now. My fear is on the table, dear blog reader.  So, here’s what I intend to do about this whole dilema. I commit to marketing  with honesty.  I’m not here to push something on you, but I understand that you want to know about Take A Fancy and be able to make an informed decision on your purchase.  You will hear more from me on this blog and I will endeavour to bring relevant info to your attention and let you, the intelligent customer, make your own mind up. Perhaps, marketing isn’t creepy if it’s intentions are sincere and striving for integrity. That sounds like a good starting place. 

Thanks for supporting Take A Fancy Bean to Bar Artisan Chocolate – created by Becks D’Angelo. You can email me directly with any questions at takeafancy@gmail.com

Happy Holidays!

Take a Fancy Chocolate wishes you joy and peace this holiday season and all the best for the coming new year! 

 

The chocolate "factory" will be closed from Dec 24th until Jan 13th. The online store will be open after the 13th. We will see you at Nat Bailey Market on Jan 25th.

Beer & Chocolate!

Two of my much loved luxuries in life coming together! Your very own Take A Fancy Chocolate and some of our favourite beers from Central City.  
It was pure pleasure developing the pairings for the upcoming Parkinson Society Fundraiser and we can't wait to share the experience with you! Just when you thought the Gooey Pecan couldn't get any better - guess what we've paired it with?
Join Master Beer Judge Julian Zelazny on November 23rd for an afternoon of chocolate and beer at Central City Brew Pub. You can get your tickets at https://chocolatebeer.eventbrite.ca 
Participants will receive a 10% discount on orders before Christmas and an additional 10% on those orders will be donated to the Parkinson Society BC.

We had a great time in the Dominican Republic and we were so thankful to have such wonderful hosts in El Seibo and Hato Mayor. Thanks must be mentioned to Carolina, Hector Romero, Papo, Reynold and Alanna for their abundant assistance in our travels. Extra special thanks to Las Mujeres de Amor y Paz for sharing the amazing community of Los Botados with us and treating us to the incredible cuisine of the Dominican Republic! I also must give a very grateful shout out to Juan de la Rosa, whose helpful assistance with the Agriculture Office allowed me to get those beans home for us all to enjoy!
The first batch of chocolate from these beans is nearly ready! It will be available at the market this weekend. It's simply delicious!
As you can see from the photo here, there is a Chocolate Tour available in this community. You can take the tour and learn about the growing and processing of cacao. You can also stay overnight in the community of Los Botados if you wish and the local women's group will cook for you some amazing food! Please check back on my website soon for a link to the chocolate tour available through Grupo Conacado. If you are traveling to the Dominican Republic and would like more info on the tour, you can email me at takeafancy@gmail.com

Visiting Cocoa Plantations

The chocolate "shop" will be closed from March 18th-28th while we are away visiting cocoa plantations in the Dominican Republic.  Check back for updates and photos of our trip. I'll see you back at the Nat Bailey Market on the Easter weekend!

Spreading the love of chocolate

The Vancouver Farmers Market is hosting a "Meet your Maker" chocolate tour this Saturday at Nat Bailey Stadium, featuring Take a Fancy Chocolate and two other chocolate vendors from the market. To get your tickets visit http://meetyourmakerchocolate.eventbrite.ca