My Inspiration

One evening, my older sister Teddi called with an exciting story. She had attended a unique chocolate-tasting event with a few women from her church. One of the members is a professional chocolate taster, and she had hosted an unforgettable experience. After hearing all the details, we knew we had to try it as a family—this sounded like too much fun to miss!

Here’s how it went: Teddi brought out several types of fancy chocolate, each broken into small pieces, along with a big bowl of torn-up bread and water for each person. Teddi would read off fun facts about each chocolate bar, then instruct us to take a piece, smell it, rub it between our fingers, and suck on it—no quick bites like you would with a Hershey's! It was all about savoring the experience.

Teddi explained the different tiers of cocoa beans and how each one impacts the quality of chocolate. The tasting started with a classic Hershey’s bar and gradually moved to milk chocolates and darker varieties. We cleansed our palates with bread and water between each one to keep our taste buds fresh. After each sample, the group would discuss the tasting notes. At first, it was tough to distinguish flavors—especially when comparing them to the familiar sweetness of a Hershey’s bar—but as the night progressed, our palates began to awaken. We started picking up on flavors that were nutty, fruity, and even “woody,” despite there being no actual ingredients to confirm those flavors.

Every time we finish our Chocolate party, we place them all on a table and take a picture of them so we can remember some of the ones we have tried.

By the end of the evening, we had all become self-proclaimed chocolate snobs, with a deeper love and appreciation for fine chocolate. Since then, we’ve hosted countless “chocolate parties” (as we like to call them) and have probably spent more money on chocolate than we’d care to admit. Among all the chocolates we’ve tried over the years—both from that first night and from our many parties—some of our absolute favorites include Pralus Melissa, Original Beans Esmeraldas, and Monoa Pa'akai Sea Salt.

This is a LOW quality pic of some high-quality bars that I love. My mom sent me some while I was serving a church mission in Tennessee. She knows me too well!