Day 1 - Frankfurt - Success at Bitter Zart

The first of my European blogs from the German city of Frankfurt which has surprised me with its charm.  But as for chocolate it did start a little earlier as I scoured Doha airport for quality offerings to get me through the remainder of the long haul flight.  There were the usual suspects, Lindt, Cadbury and the omni present duty free offering - Godiva (which sadly never reaches the lofty heights of expectation it sets for itself).

I was curious with Cadbury and Lindt 'luxury' offerings we don't get in Australia, but not enough to actually fork out money.  The mind wants to believe the optimistic tag of 'luxury' but the heart knows better!  As a result I boarded my flight chocolate-less.

And so a day later I found myself strolling around Frankfurt on a sunny autumnal day when I stumble upon an innocent looking store called Bitter Zart (check out their web page if you like cute with your chocolate). 

Not at first an obvious chocolate store, but something drew me nearer and I did spy brightly coloured sugary treats that beckoned me to venture inside.  And inside I was a little overwhelmed by small bags of every conceivable treat, packed onto tables that left very little room to maneuver as I start to feel giant and awkward like.  But amongst the awkward maneuvering I do begin to discover chocolate, chocolate covered almonds, chocolate coffee beans, nougat dipped in chocolate.

Boldly venturing around the corner of the store the awkwardness dissipated as the shop opens up and I find what I was looking for - bars upon bars of quality European chocolate.  It is not an exaggeration to say my heart started to beat faster!

Beautiful, wonderful European brands; Domori, Caffarel, Bonnat, Michel Cluizel and a plethora of others I haven't heard of before.  Logic starts to flood my mind, this is the first day of many more to come and I need to tread carefully, I don't need to overload my luggage with chocolate just yet.  As such I choose a few items to experiment with:

• a small bar of Venchi 60% with (Piedmonte) mint - a successful experiment.  Very smooth, no cocoa powder like many other Venchi products and just the right balance of peppermint oil that it isn't over bearing on the chocolate.  I will be seeking this one out again in Italy.

• a box of wafer thin 70% pieces by Berlin chocolatier Erich Hamann.  Perfect for sharing with my friends after dinner given their very polite sizes - not so great for greedy eating alone!  But the chocolate is good, smooth, minimal ingredients and with a nice progression of flavours including a mid-point of coffee/biscuit flavour and ending on sultanas (although my friend Cameron claims oranges).  I will be seeking Erich out in Berlin so stay tuned...

I almost feel a fraud not buying more...

But I move on, and at a market with amazing food (is it a cliche to claim that just being in Europe the food improves) there is a stall Die Praline dedicated to Belgian chocolate.  Anyone who knows me knows the Belgian label doesn't beckon me like the true masters (the Italian and the French).  The chocolates look a little crude - not enough to tempt me into calorific overload, particularly when there may be true delights awaiting me at my next turn.  So I leave to enjoy my wee parcels from Bitter Zart.