Message: | Scharffen Berger is great stuff! I like the 70% bittersweet variety... the 9.7 oz. bar goes a long way. Very rich complex flavor. I used to keep it in my desk at work and people would come from other floors in the building when I put a plate of pieces out for sampling. Makes an awesome flourless chocolate cake!
It's available locally a number of places -- I buy it at Surfas Restaurant Supply in Culver City, on National Bl. east of Venice 310-559-4770. Surfas carries all kinds of great provisions -- well worth a trip.
A little company info... one of the reasons I first bought it was the story [after I tasted, I was sold] Surfas carried their line when it was first available around 5 years ago.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker was founded in 1996 by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg with one simple goal: to make the richest, most flavorful chocolate from the purest and best cacao that can be found.
The only American chocolate company founded in the last fifty years, Scharffen Berger has returned to the basics of chocolate making, using restored vintage machinery imported from Europe. The beans we use are carefully selected from small plantations found near the equator. They include the rare Venezuelan Criollos as well as varieties from Madagascar, Trinidad, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea. After each variety is roasted to taste in small batches, the cocoa beans are ground with large-crystal cane sugar and whole bean Tahitian and Bourbon vanillas before being conched into lush liquid chocolate. By carefully blending beans from many origins, we produce a chocolate with a dense concentration of flavors that are naturally present in cacao. A complex fruitiness and long rich finish bring the best of the world of chocolate into every bite.
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