Cover Story:Sensations & temptations?
Exquisite, delicious, and just right for the holidays: A Taste of Chocolate!
By George Heidekat
If Tom Allen comes across as a sweet-tempered guy, he has good reason. Presiding over a showcase banked with chocolate truffles, he’s a man immersed in something he loves.
When he pronounces “chocolate,” it’s clear that he’s savoring the word itself as well as the contents of his new Collier Township store. He calls it A Taste of Chocolate and it’s a cozy little environment that gratifies all five senses.
First of all, smell. Stepping into the shop, visitors are enveloped in the fragrance of dark, milk, and white chocolates, with hints of fruits, nuts, and other goodies.
Then, sight. Curvy and cocoa-toned, the interior suggests a swirling, molten-chocolate river. In one corner, a stream of liquid chocolate actually trickles from the high ceiling. At floor level, the showcases are soft around the edges, as though ready to melt into the surrounding flow. Filling those cases, and cascading onto shelves and counters, is an eye-popping flood of treats. Lavish edible artworks inspired by Belgian chocolatiers with jostle down-home treats like chocolate-covered pretzels and Mallo-Men (marshmallow pops with goofy little chocolate faces).
Stylish packaging designed by Andrea Husarova Design reinforces the visual appeal: cocoa-bronze cartons and die-cut metallic labels add lavish presentation value. No gift-wrap required.
There’s More to It than Meets the Tongue
Just tasting chocolate is so pleasurable that most of us might ask, “What more could you want?” But scientists, less easily distracted, keep uncovering new reasons to appreciate it.
For starters, the impulse to sweeten your mood with chocolate when a love affair goes sour turns out to be medically sound. Chocolate consumption appears to have a positive effect on your brain’s use of serotonin, a chemical associated with feelings of pleasure, happiness, and hope.
Studies also show that dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. The cocoa it contains is about twice as rich in anti-cancer compounds as red wine, and three times as effective as green tea. And recent research suggests that eating dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure, too. It all adds up to reassurance, at last, that something that tastes good can be good for you, too.
Sweet Partnership
Tanya Lehman, Miss Pennsylvania USA 2006, will be featured this winter in advertising and promotional materials for A Taste of Chocolate.
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The shop’s soundtrack is subdued — a comfortable mix of contemporary ballads. More striking to the ear are the euphoric whoops, groans, and laughter of customers sampling peanut butter meltaways or chocolate-dipped fresh strawberries.
For the sense of touch, there are payoffs all over the shop, thanks to Tom’s signature chocolate blend. “Really good, well tempered chocolate has that consistency — it will snap when you break it — and that shine,” he says. “And yet, when it touches your skin, it melts.
“That’s the first thing to notice. If you hold chocolate in your hand for more than 10 seconds, and it’s not melting, some adjustments have been made, perhaps to accommodate a distribution system that’s not so careful with handling the stuff. There’s a difference between the real, smooth cocoa butter we use and a substitute that leaves a waxy residue on your tongue.”
“Palates are so much more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago.”
And that brings us to taste. “In western Pennsylvania, for many years, milk chocolate has been the king. So, when we opened in May, 70 percent of what we offered was milk. But already more than half of our sales are dark chocolate. At the upper end of the market, people are learning quickly to appreciate the subtleties of dark chocolate.”
For the adventurous, Tom promises tasty new sensations. Standing at a stone-topped counter laden with copper pans, he explains: “We’re making gourmet cocoa drinks, too, including a hot hot chocolate, Macho Bravo Latin American Chile Pepper chocolate. Actually, we’re taking an old Spanish tradition and updating it. If you’ve never had hot, dark chocolate with chili, you’re missing something. We shave little slivers of our signature chocolate into the brew. Drink it on a cold day, and you can’t help warming up.”
Another hot item that’s coming soon, he says, is a wasabi-based truffle “designed to change the way people in this town think of chocolate forever.”
Tom compares the chocolate learning curve with earlier trends that re-introduced the concepts of local American wines and microbrews, as well as the taste for gourmet coffees. “Palates are so much more sophisticated than they were just a few years ago. Our customers want something that transcends the light-brown, sugary, mass-produced brands. They’re looking for freshness, for what I call an artisan’s touch, and for a premium, regional personality that they can’t find anywhere else.
“That’s why I love it, that’s why I’m passionate about it, and that’s why I’m convinced that this region needs A Taste of Chocolate.”
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