Favorite Things: Barometer Chocolate

I first learned about Barometer Chocolate through an email from United Way of Northern NJ because they were hosting a virtual chocolate tasting fundraiser. At first, I was a little disappointed by the small quantity of chocolate and I had to remind myself this was for a fundraiser. By the end of the evening, I was so glad I signed up for this tasting experience because Nadine Kerstan, Barometer's founder and a chocolate sommelier, shared so much about chocolate that I never knew before, such as the difference between fine flavor vs. commodity cacao beans, and then I learned how to fully appreciate the chocolate - "snap" the chocolate in half and listen to the sound, smell the chocolate, taste the chocolate and look for "notes" like fruit and nuts. This chocolate is not like grocery store chocolate, and it only has two or three ingredients, i.e. Fruition 77% Dominican Los Bejucos - cocoa beans and cane sugar, and Letterpress Tranquilidad 70% - cacao beans, unrefined cane sugar and cocoa butter. Delicious and highly recommended.