Cocoabella Chocolates - San Jose

Cocoabella chocolates is less than a year into it's residency at Valley Fair Mall and fits perfectly as Hugo Boss' neighbor on the edge of the more upscale side of the mall. Cocoabella curates chocolates from specialty gourmet chocolatiers around the world. Their customers can then curate their own selection from Cocoabella by choosing a variety of pieces or purchasing a box of samples.

From Cocoabella's invitation, I had the pleasure of attending a special complimentary tasting hosted by Guido Gobino, one of the Italian brands featured at the store. Guido Gobino had a representative in house to walk our intimate group through their selections.

Established since 1946, Guido Gobino remains a family run operation to this day. They specialize in chocolates with Piedmont hazelnut that grows in Torino, Italy, their hometown. The hazelnuts have a special shape with three sections. We sampled a few roasted hazelnuts that were delicious in its raw form before we sampled them as creams mixed with chocolate.

Our small group felt very special after seeing the tasting display Cocoabella put up for us.

The tasting started off with this liqueur with a cacao(?) base. Probably the best I've had in terms of specialty alcohol not made from grapes. Sweet, bitter, sour, in that order, with a slight hint of alcohol.

We followed with a few more pieces, including the roasted Piedmont hazelnuts and a piece of chocolate and hazelnut mix (bottom right). Then came the brand's signature 29% hazelnut Giandujotto. Then a 32% hazelnut Giandujottino Tourinot which is a smaller bar. The second one with more hazelnut was sweeter.

This is a piece of the Cremino al Sale made with Liguria Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Integral Sea Salt from Central Italy. It won Best Praline of the World from the London Academy of Chocolate and I can absolutely see why. I've never had olive oil in chocolate before, only sea salt. The combination was wonderful. It's savory and creamy and not too sweet. You get tiny crunchy surprises of salt in each nibble.

 As for the classic chocolates, I liked this Cremino Fondente the most. Dark chocolate sandwiched between the classic soft Gianduja chocolate.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Normally, I wouldn't think to walk into a fancy chocolate shop but Cocoabella changed my mind. What I loved about the store was the small size of their chocolate pieces and their exotic origins from around the world. Even the most ardent chocolate lovers admit to not being able to finish an entire bar. Cocoabella allows you to choose a selection of smaller pieces so that you may enjoy a variety without committing to the volume. 

Guido Gobino chocolates in particular were very interesting for their hazelnut mix. It was sweet and creamy and reminiscent of a hard form of Nutella. My absolute favorite was the olive oil and sea salt piece. Olive oil mixed in with chocolate is a first for me. What a rarity. The hazelnut liquer was also one of my favorites.

Pre-made bozes go for 4 piece box for $10, a 12 piece for $25, or 19 piece for $35. You could also customize your own box or purchase loose pieces. It's not a whole lot of chocolate for the price but these are meant to be nibbled and shared with friends. A box of Cocoabella chocolates would make a nice gift. I imagine it's good to give to your boss, or to bring to a housewarming along with wine. 

Cocoabella on Yelp

Sustainable SCU Tour - Smitten Ice Cream - Dandelion Chocolate - Hidden Villa Farm

During my time at Santa Clara University as a grad student working on my MBA, I had never heard about the Food and Agribusiness Institute until I competed for them in Atlanta. Had I known, I would have surely studied this discipline since it's so interesting. The FAI program plans food field trips for its students and I was able to attend one such event even though I'm an alumni.

The point of this field trip was to learn about local food start ups and about sustainability practices used by Bay Area food businesses. We started in San Francisco, at Smitten Ice Cream.

Smitten gained popularity for it's ice cream made from liquid nitrogen. Founder Robyn Sue Fisher originally wheeled her liquid nitrogen tank and ice cream around on a red Radio Flyer cart. Now Smitten has grown to two popular locations, one in San Francisco and another in Los Altos. The San Francisco location we visited is run out of a repurposed shipping container. Extra sustainability points!

I had the sour, slightly tart and tasty rhubarb crisp flavor. Smitten chooses only local and organic ingredients that make the most business sense for their products. This means they choose organic ingredients if it tastes the best in their ice cream. They do blind taste tests on ingredients from several local food purveyors before including one into their ice cream. 

Our next stop was San Francisco favorite small batch chocolatiers, Dandelion Chocolates.

Our guide demonstrated how the staff at Dandelion checks the quality of their bean shipments by hand, removing impurities from the batch before processing. He even showed how a batch of beans are cut to reveal the cacao nibs inside that eventually become chocolate.

Dandelion makes all their chocolate in house in barrels like these. With such dedication like sending their employees to visit their suppliers' farms once a month, and painstakingly sorting beans by hand, it's no wonder Dandelion produces quality small batch chocolates. You can stop by for a tour any time or enjoy chocolates and drinks in their cafe.

The last stop was my favorite because who doesn't love being outdoors on a beautiful day? We toured Hidden Villa farm in Los Altos Hills. Hidden Villa teaches sustainability and social justice through various programs at the farm including tours, a Cow Wow milking demonstration, and summer camps.

This is not just any pile of dirt, it's where compost is made.

These adorable pigs are fed with food scraps from the farm and from local restaurants to help make use of food waste.

We were given free range in the garden where I picked edible flowers to make this garden burrito. I also pulled a white carrot out of the ground, washed it and ate it with the top still on. I call that farm-to-stomach, the latest improvement on sustainability.

Mustard flowers are in season. These are edible also but they mostly make a great backdrop for photos.

Thanks to Santa Clara University's Food and Agribusiness Institute for hosting this trip. I had a great time and learned about 3 very different local businesses/organizations.

Smitten Ice Cream on Yelp

Dandelion Chocolate on Yelp

Hidden Villa website