Pure and Perfect

Striking up a conversation with Emily, the daughter of a big wig with a company called the Gigunda Group, at The Tin Lizzie the other week, it wasn’t long before The Perfect Pair made its way into the conversation. Well lucky for me, Emily just got through opening a chocolate shop in Greenwich Village called Pure Dark™, and thought that featuring the chocolate here would be a great idea.

Saving the chocolate for a couple of weeks, I wanted to wait until now, Valentine’s week to tell you about this one of a kind chocolate shop.

About Pure Dark™

Now everyone knows about Hershey’s, Lindt, and Ghirardelli, and yes, while I am not going to turn down a Hershey’s Kiss or a Lindor Truffle, there is nothing like the taste of pure chocolate. That’s what Pure Dark™ is all about—”the purity of the pod”.

Now some of you probably already know that chocolate comes from cacao [kah KOW] beans, and cacao beans come from cacao pods that grow on cacao trees. Watching Alton Brown the other day I learned that cacao beans were originally ground and mixed with herbs and spices and drank by ancient cultures like the Mayan and Aztecs. As time progressed the drink was brought to Spain, gained popularity in Europe and finally in 1828, was turned into the chocolate we are used to seeing and eating today.

Started in 2008, Pure Dark™ set out to use only premium beans that contain intense flavor profiles, an homage to early chocolate makers. Instead of being massed produced in factories, Pure Dark™ handcrafts their chocolate in small batches, controlling the quality of the chocolate being produced.

Slabs

Slabs are just that, large sheets of chocolate that are cut in store. These slabs are made of dark chocolate and are served plain, with caramelized nibs and coarse sugar, or with roasted and caramelized nibs.

Barks

Barks are sheets of dark chocolate that are then combined with dried fruits, nuts, or nibs. Like peppermint bark, but darker, purer, and tastier. You can choose from Classic, topped with sour cherries, almonds, and caramelized nibs, Fusion, topped with crystallized ginger, roasted pecans, and caramelized nibs, or Island, topped with tropical mango, macadamia nuts, and caramelized nibs.

Fruits & Nuts

Fruits and Nuts combine sweet, salty, sour and bitter, by taking dried fruit, salted nuts, and chocolate covered cocoa nibs. Sounds like an explosion of flavor for your palate.

Rounds

Rounds are dark chocolate discs that are then dusted with spices. You can choose from Cardamom allspice, Chipotle cinnamon, and Raspberry Acai. Like Vogues Chocolate, these take the sweet and bitterness of dark chocolate and combine it with the exotic.

Nibs

Finally we have the nibs, which are roasted, crushed cocoa beans. With a flavor reminiscent of chocolate covered espresso beans, you can expect there to be a little grit, but a lot of flavor. They come in three varieties: Caramelized nibs, Dark chocolate covered nibs, and Roasted, caramelized and dark chocolate covered nibs.

Not going to New York any time soon? All the above listed items are available for purchase online at www.puredark.com

My samples

I received two generous samples of the Serious Dark Slab with caramelized nibs and coarse sugar and the Cardamom Allspice Rounds.

With an evocative and deep dark chocolate aroma, the Serious Slab, met my nose with a subtle smokiness and intense cocoa aroma. Crunching into bits of cocoa nib, and coarse sugar, the flavor began with dark chocolate before being over taken with the caramelized earthiness of the nibs, and the sweet pockets of raw sugar. Finishing with a bitter sweet and slightly smoky flavor, It’s hard not to take another bite right away. I would pair this with a smoky Malbec with aromas of tobacco and dark fruit. The wine would enhance the smokiness of the nibs while highlighting the sweetness of the sugar.

For a Valentine’s Day inspired meal, tonight I will be making an infusion of the Pure Dark™ chocolate round and Pork Tenderloin. I don’t want to give everything away, but paired with a bottle of 2007 Eos Estate French Connection, it will be a perfect recipe to woo your sweetheart with this Sunday. I can’t wait, its bound to be a perfect pair.