Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and soon convenience stores, large supermarkets, cafes, chocolate specialty stores, etc. will gradually become busy with the movement of people preparing for Valentine’s Day. The streets are increasingly filled with images of lovers carrying chocolate and sweet things in their hands. It’s the chocolate company’s specification! Even if you shout, there’s no denying the fact that chocolate sales increase rapidly around that time.
American Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated annually on February 14th in the United States, as well as in many other countries around the world. It is a day to celebrate romantic love and is often marked by the exchange of cards, flowers, chocolates, and other gifts between romantic partners. Some people also celebrate the holiday with family and friends, or as a day to express gratitude or affection for those they care about.
If you’re looking for chocolate gift recommendations for Valentine’s Day in the US, here are some options to consider:
- Godiva Chocolates:
This iconic brand offers a wide range of chocolate boxes and gift sets that are perfect for Valentine’s Day. - Lindt Chocolates:
Lindt offers a variety of chocolate truffles and boxes of assorted chocolates that make great gifts. - Ferrero Rocher:
These hazelnut-filled chocolates come packaged in a gold foil wrapper, making them an elegant and indulgent gift. - Ghirardelli Chocolates:
Known for their rich and creamy chocolate, Ghirardelli offers a range of Valentine’s Day gift sets that include chocolates, truffles, and hot cocoa mixes. - See’s Candies:
This California-based company offers a range of chocolate boxes and Valentine’s Day-themed gifts, including heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and customizable assortments. - Vosges Haut-Chocolat:
This luxury chocolate brand offers unique flavors and combinations, such as their bacon and chocolate collection or their exotic truffle collection.
Did you know that there are actually many different types of chocolate we eat? There are various types of chocolate that we are unaware of, from those with different places of origin, depending on how they are processed. Since a few years ago, people’s interest in chocolate coming in through fair trade called “good chocolate†has been increasing, and information about child labor exploitation, the use of genetically modified foods, and the destruction of rainforests by the three major chocolate companies, which account for 35% of the world’s chocolate production, was reported.
If so, for those who are wondering what kind of products are good chocolate, where they can buy good chocolate, and what is Vintuba chocolate with a strange name! Today, Shikishin gave a summary of how to buy chocolate. This year, let’s prepare a special gift with delicious, high-quality chocolate.
Bintuba chocolate (bean to bar)
Most of the chocolates we can buy on a regular basis are chocolates produced using processes that currently have problems. Behind the sweetness, there is a very bitter aspect. If so, what kind of chocolate is “ethically goodâ€? If it says that it came in through fair trade or that it was grown organically, of course, it’s worth considering at least once. However, the most obvious point is whether chocolate was produced through direct distribution. If it’s a “bean to bar (bean to bar)†chocolate with the name of the manufacturer written on it through a minimal distribution process. That’s for sure.
Bean to bar chocolate refers to chocolate made by directly involved in all processes from selecting “cacao beans,†which are the raw material for chocolate, to the production of “chocolate bars.†Most chocolate companies make chocolate that only has a different shape using processed coverture, starting with cacao beans produced as a group. It is for this reason that most chocolate produced in Korea has a similar flavor. However, chocolate is actually just as sensitive and luxurious as coffee, whose flavor changes depending on the beans, and comes in a surprisingly diverse range of flavors depending on how the process is processed.
The advantage of Vintuba is that in addition to being able to enjoy various flavors of chocolate that you didn’t know before, the producer selects cacao beans directly, so you can consider the working environment of people working on the farm and reduce the distribution process. Furthermore, it is possible to make chocolate by taste and type according to cacao fruit, processing method, and formulation, so it is possible to approach people’s tastes more carefully. Today, I’m going to introduce some attractive Vintuba chocolate stores that go beyond good chocolate and make real chocolate by directly involved in everything from cacao bean selection to processing.
Made by roasting and mashing cacao yourself,
Kakao Dada in Mangwon-dong
Go to Kakao Dada store information
“Kakao Dada†is a chocolate factory in Mangwon-dong where chocolate makers make chocolate by processing cacao themselves. This is a place where they make bintuba chocolate, where they roast and mash their own cacao. They sell processed cacao products and solid chocolate, taking advantage of the different flavors of cacao in different production areas.
At Kakao Dada, you can find a variety of products using bintuba chocolate, and the popular menu is the “raw chocolate cake,†which does not contain flour and allows you to enjoy the soft, rich flavor of chocolate, and the chewy brownie, which has a different flavor every time using a different cacao bean. “Drinking cacao,†a 100% cacao chocolate drink, is also one of the popular dishes for its rich flavor and refreshing aftertaste.
In addition, you can also find various processed chocolate products such as cacao nibs, cacao caviar, solid chocolate, almond eggs, chocolate caramels, and omparupa cookies. The products prepared each day vary slightly, so it’s a good idea to check the official Instagram. There is a regular holiday every Sunday, a complete day off on Monday, which is the making day, and only products excluding beverages are sold on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you want to try all the drink and dessert menus, I recommend visiting on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
[Tip from Shikigami]
â–²Opening hours: 12:00-21:00 every day, Sunday. Closed on Mondays
â–²Price: Drinking cacao 5,000 won, tucok brownie 5,000 won, fresh chocolate cake 6,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Shikigami Eun Saeming ♥): The day I saw many ways of chocolate that I hadn’t seen before ~~ It’s not just chocolate, there are many amazing cacao products!!!!!! If you love chocolate, this is a place you should stop by at least once!
No, there’s a place like this in Chuncheon!
Chuncheon ‘Public Chocolatory’
Go to ‘Public Chocolatory’ store information â–¶
*Source: Public Chocolatory’s official Instagram (Public Chocolatory)
“Pichoco†was opened in Seongsu-dong by Kakao Hunter John & Dan, who were born and raised in Venezuela. It is a space created together with Amy Chocolatier of ‘Amy Chocolate’ by proposing a healthy chocolate culture. Chocolate is made using El Rey (El Rey) Single Origin Covercher, which is rated as the highest among Venezuelan cacao beans. (El Rey Chocolate is the oldest chocolate brand created in Venezuela in 1929 and has a long history.)
Since the store is mainly used as a workshop, the opening hours of the day are set from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The store displays cacao berries, cacao beans, and packaged cover chocolate, and can also be purchased. The chocolate bar “Barra,†which was reinterpreted in Chocolatier Amy’s style, is the representative chocolate of Pichoco. In addition to basic flavors such as white, milk, and dark, there are also slightly unique flavors such as earl gray, salt, pepper, and aroma. Also, look forward to “Today’s Chocolate,†which showcases events like matcha chocolate sticks. Note that Pichoco often hosts chocolate seminars, and you can apply through Pichoco’s official blog or Instagram.
Pichoco’s sister brand, “Trituba†in Namyangju, opened its doors in November last year as a chocolate factory and store. “Tritubaâ€, which means the entire process from the fruit of the cacao tree to chocolate, aims to be a chocolate specialty platform that aims to import, produce, and sell everything related to cacao. Treetuba also offers cacao beer, granola, and cacao soup, so if you’re planning to visit, ask on their official Instagram.
[Shikigami’s Tip]
â–²Business hours: 12:00-15:00 every day, closed on Mondays
â–²Price: Today’s chocolate 2,000 won, Barra chocolate 12,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Kimderella Shikigin): I was hesitant at first because of the price, but I couldn’t forget the taste I tasted. When I went home and unpacked the package, there was an introduction to chocolate, and I was happy to see the chocolate wrapped nicely in a gold package ^^ Of course the taste was great ♡