The other night, three of your MetBloggers attended a preview event at a soon-to-open chocolate boutique on Upper Queen Anne. Chocolopolis is exactly what you’d think from looking at the name. A haven for those of us who enjoy (and depend on) high quality chocolate for the occasional treat. Zee and I each had our own take on the event, so I present to you, a tandem review. Zee’s comments are in italics and mine are not. More after the break.

Like many people, I grew up associating the word “chocolate” with the name “Hershey”, so it was a big surprise to me to discover that chocolate can be a lot more complex than that candy bar you grab from the impulse racks near the grocery check out. Chocolopolis founder and owner Lauren Adler understands this sentiment–she wasn’t born a chocolate expert but became one after a lot of hard work and dedication to learning all about the craft of making fine chocolate. Her passion can be seen first hand at her Queen Anne store, Chocolopolis, where she stocks fine chocolates from all over the world and offers tastings and education geared at educating the chocolate lover on how to understand and appreciate higher quality chocolates.

Here’s Lauren demonstrating that good quality chocolate should have a solid snap when you break it in half.

I’ve been a fan of high quality chocolates for several years now, ever since my husband introduced me to Theo. I’ve fallen in love with Vosages bacon and chocolate bar and I look forward to the farmers market every week so I can buy some of Trevani’s excellent truffles. I savor my chocolate, letting it melt in my mouth to get the full extent of the flavor. Tasting chocolate is a lot like tasting wine or coffee. Each person will often taste something very different.

At a tasting to celebrate the opening of the store, we were given samples of chocolate “nibs”–the roasted bits of cacao beans from which chocolate is made–and samples of various chocolates with instructions on how to fully savor the experience. It’s a lot like tasting coffee or wine–you smell the chocolate, feel it with your hands, and then place it over the tongue to fully savor the experience of its flavor. After this, we all tried a Hershey’s bar, ostensibly to discover how inferior it is to the higher quality chocolates. I have to confess that I didn’t think the Hershey’s bar was all that bad but I could taste a definite difference. My feeling is that the comparison of Hershey’s to artisan chocolate is very similar to comparing various grades of wine: while there are times I will totally go for the Two-Buck Chuck, when I want a quality experience, I will go for the good stuff.

I fully agree with Zee on this one. When I’m having a bad day at work and I don’t have a lot of time or available food, I’ll certainly head to the vending machine for a Hershey bar. I realize that sometimes I just have a basic need for chocolate and Hershey’s just fills the need. That said, when we tasted the first and last bits of chocolate (my two favorites), I was amazed at the variety of flavors in a “pure” chocolate bar. (When I say pure, I mean that the chocolate did not have flavored additives. They were both 75% cacao.) The last sample in particular was rich and fruity. When we tasted the Hershey bar by comparison, it tasted a lot like a mix of butter, bad cream, and slightly grainy suntan lotion. Note to self: Never try a Hershey bar immediately after eating the good stuff.

Chocolopolis is a store that’s all full of the good stuff. The origin of the beans used to make the chocolate makes a difference in how the chocolate tastes, so Adler has arranged her chocolates by origin, with special sections for single-origin chocolates and for multiple-origin blends. The excellent signage located throughout the store explains the differences between the varietals so that you can get a good idea of what you’re looking at and make your choices accordingly. The store carries bars, of course, and bon bons, as well as drinking chocolate and books and other chocolate-related paraphernalia.

I can personally vouch for the drinking chocolate. My husband scored me a cup of the spicy drinking chocolate and let me tell you… I guarded that cup like it was a rare gem. The chocolate was rich, dark, perfectly sweet with a strong spice that nearly made me swoon. I was told that eventually (though unfortunately probably not by their grand opening), you will be able to walk into their store, choose any chocolate you’d like, and have them make it into a cup of drinking chocolate for you.

If truffles are your thing, Chocolopolis has an incredible selection from a wide variety of chocolatiers. We tried one towards the end of the tasting, accompanied by a small glass of port. Another swoon.

Chocolopolis is celebrating its opening with a series of special events: On July 16 and 17 at 6 pm and on July 17 and 18 at 2 pm, there are ten minute tastings of three chocolates. July 18 at 6 pm and July 19 and 20 at 11 am is “A World of Chocolate” in which guests will receive a 10 minute store orientation and an introduction to cacao origins by tasting cacao nibs and two chocolates. For details of these and other events, check the website.

Even though I’m not as big a fan of chocolate as many people are, I thoroughly enjoyed the tasting and found the subject matter fascinating; I highly recommend checking the store out for all your high-quality chocolate needs.

And as a huge fan of chocolate, I heartily agree.