Another month of “New This Month” and you’ll love what I’ve curated for you today! Some treats are perfect for Valentine’s Day – but I think every month should be filled with love, rose petals, and kisses; don’t limit yourself! Below you’ll discover two small batch chocolate makers- one in California and the other in Vermont both doing outstanding things with chocolate; you’ll realize that chips come in cookie form as well and made with pure ingredients; oh and one of my favorites, you’ll crave a special syrup made from organic apple cider! Hope you enjoy reading about the companies below as I did curating and tasting them for you. Be sure to click on their links and grab a taste of their products for yourself!
Teamotions Tea: Black Tea with Rose Petals
Perfect for the month of love (shouldn’t all months be love-oriented?), this tea is a delicate blend of black tea and rose petals, pressed into a heart shape. Slowly steeped into water (or even in milk!) this blend will get you in the mood for some relaxing time with your honey. Not only do I love the teas coming out of the Teamotions company, but their story is heartfelt and stirs the soul, just like the tea will. They only use whole leaf tea, whole herbs and botanicals, and only organic flavorings. Blended in small batches, you can sense the love put into each tea.
Champlain Orchards Vermont Apple Cider Syrup
At times, I dream about living in Vermont while working on an apple farm. And after that Super Bowl commercial of “God Made A Farmer”, even more respect to the people that work the land! This is where owners Bill Suhr & Andrea Scott come in with Champlain Orchards. Growing and harvesting over 50 varieties of organic and ecologically grown apples as well as blueberries, peaches, and more – Bill and Andrea also make small batch by-products from the apples such as this Apple Cider Syrup. Grab a spoonful and the intense flavor of fresh apples burst in your mouth! Made by simply boiling down their sweet apple cider, this product is bound to appear drizzle over everything from waffles and pancakes; stir into hot chocolate for added flavor or shake into your favorite boozy cocktails.
Black Flower Chocolate’s Rose hips & Cardamom Bar
This bar from Black Flower Chocolate contained two new-to-me ingredients: rose hips and Turkish mulberries. Blended into this bar is organic cardamom with a base of 70% cacao. This is a lusciously deep flavored chocolate bar that’s refreshing at the same time due to the cardamom, which I loved. The mulberries and rose hips where sprinkled and encrusted in the bar itself and lent some great texture differences to it. Made in small batches in Vermont by Cheryl Robbins-Dooley, the bars will automatically transport you to an exotic destination. This cardamom and rose hip studded one had me day dreaming about Middle Eastern travel destinations! They’re packaged beautifully in large paper envelopes and the bars are wrapped in clear wax paper – they look like the perfect gifts without the extra need of wrapping them!
Hannah Max Baking’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips
Just as addictive and easy to eat as chip, these cookies are for those of us who prefer the sweet side of life while snacking. I’m not kidding when I say that you won’t be able to stop at one – they’re THAT good. Dipped in your afternoon espresso or crumbled over ice cream, these cookie chips will make your day! Dare to slather some Nutella on it and you’re going over the edge, in the good sense of the phrase. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips were my favorite, but they also have a Cinnamon Sugar, a Salted Peanut Butter, and the Original. And the great thing about these is that you can honestly feel good about eating 25 of them (I did!): they’re made with creamery butter, real eggs, pure bourbon vanilla and have NO artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or GMOs.
BLiS Small Batch Barrel Aged Fish Sauce
This barrel-aged condiment will change the way you think about fish sauce. Before, while cooking with fish sauce, we’d have to open the windows and turn on the oven vents. The smell was intoxicating in the worse possible way, but we stuck by it knowing the end result would be delicious. Open a bottle of this BLis Small Batch Barrel Aged Fish Sauce and you’ll smell smoke, spice, and caramel notes. Made with Red Boat 40n and aged for seven months, this fish sauce is unlike any other you’ve tasted. It sure is great in Asian dishes, but make a quick vinaigrette with this or drizzle over rice and you’ll skyrocket the flavor!
Cocoa Planet’s Vanilla Espresso Bar
Based in Sonoma, California – Cocoa Planet is unlike any other chocolate due to its patent pending technology that suspends flavor pearls in the chocolate. Instead of having an extremely sugary filling with low-grade quality enrobing chocolate, you now have tiny orbs of flavor in great quality 64% cacao. Our favorite was the Vanilla Espresso: bitter but smoky coffee blended with some of the best vanilla beans in the world. Drop a wafer (each one less than 100 calories) into steaming milk or coffee for a decadent drink!
You gotta try the Blis Maple Syrup. So yummy.