What’s hot in chocolate

By Jann Malone
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

The scene in a candy store the day before Valentine’s Day is as crazy as, well, the scene on Valentine’s Day.

Last-minute shoppers — we’re not naming names here, but if you’re a guy, we’re talking to you, buddy — rush in and grab the heart-shaped box closest to the door.

“The 13th and 14th — those are the two busiest days of the year,” says James Kinard, owner of For the Love of Chocolate in Carytown. “You’re really talking about men: last minute, desperate.”

Wait a minute. That’s next week’s scene.

You’ve got time to, um, shop like a woman: Go now, take your time, look around, ask questions.

With Kinard as your tour guide, here’s a look at what’s hot — in some cases, literally — in chocolate.

By the way, he’ll pack whatever you want in one of those heart-shaped boxes.

Contact Jann Malone at (804) 649-6820 or .

If it’s tradition. Stick with the heart-shaped box, but choose one with interesting flavor combinations. A sea-salt caramel is part of the truffle assortment in Joseph Schmidt’s red-velvet box. $34.95 for the 12-piece box; $1.95 per piece from the display case.

Hot and spicy. Vosges’ Red Fire bar — dark chocolate, cinnamon, Mexican ancho and chipotle chilies — has a mild kick. $6.99. The Aztec Elixir Couture Cocoa — think espresso, not the kind you’d top with marshmallows — is loaded with dark-chocolate shavings, ancho and chipotle chilies, Ceylon cinnamon and Madagascar vanilla bean. $3.99 for a 4-ounce serving.

Sea salt. If you’ve ever had chocolate-covered pretzels, you know the salty sweet combination is addictive. Consider Fran’s chocolate-covered caramels sprinkled with smoked or gray sea salt ($9.95 for 6), Béquet’s sea-salt caramels, $8.95 for an 8-ounce bag, or Scharffen Berger’s milk chocolate with sea-salted almonds. $4.99.

Just a taste. These little squares are meant for a chocolate tasting at home. Lake Champlain’s Chocolate Journeys gives you a variety of flavors for $6.99. The romantic in us sees plenty of possibilities here.

Origins. “People want to know where everything comes from,” Kinard says. He sells chocolate from 28 countries. Dolfin’s lavender comes from Provence; its pink peppercorns from Brazil. Its squares — flavored with Earl Grey tea, cumin, ginger, anise or cardamom — are meant for at-home tastings. $1.99 for a bar; $8.95 for the assortment.

Healthy. We’re not talking just about antioxidants in the chocolate. Belgium’s Nirvana bars also contain pomegranate or blueberries and acai fruit. $4.99 each.

Want bacon with that? You get it — Alderwood smoked — with Mo’s Bacon Bar from Vosges. Tasters, who encountered crunchy bacon bits embedded in milk chocolate, pronounced this one very good, puzzling or downright weird. $6.99.

How about another flavor? Flavored chocolate is trendy, but you don’t have to get the bacon bar. Lake Champlain packs raspberry pink peppercorn, Aztec (red pepper and cinnamon) and spiced Sumatran flavors in its 6-pack for $12.95. A heart-shaped box, with Aztec chocolate, is $34.95.

We like the name. Dagoba’s apothecary line features Eros, “an elixir of cacao and botanicals to awaken the heart.” Concentrated liquid chocolate meant for tastings — it’s an acquired taste — and three drops on the hand are all you get. Eros’ most unusual ingredient: horny goat weed. $12.95 for the bottle, or, if you prefer Eros in a bar, $5.99.

No chocolate? If chocolate’s not an option, say, because of Lent, consider red hots, heart-shaped lollipops or cupid corn.

Cupid corn? You bet your sweet tooth. That’s candy corn dressed in valentine colors.

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