Today we went to Marsatta Chocolate, a previously undiscovered chocolatier in Torrance, California. They are one of the first original bean-to-bar chocolatiers in L.A. It was a long drive, and it was also raining. we ate breakfast at a diner across the street and then went in. It was a very tiny shop, but the substance made up for the size.
I inquired about some of the bars and was given a couple samples. I remember in particular a bar that was flavored with peppermint and had pieces of candy cane in it. I was fascinated by this combo, because the chocolate itself had a slightly orangish note. There was a table in the room, which I had never seen before, (all the others had either outdoor seating or none) on which was a plastic cacao pod. There was also a half of a pod filled with actual beans, probably used for demonstrations. On the wall was a bunch of boxes, which had signs indicating the chocolate stored inside. Some of them were lemon merengue, triple chocolate, and sea salt caramel.
On the other wall were five empty bar wrappers, to indicate what kind of chocolate they were. One of them I tried, which was goats' milk, with 45% cacao. I was informed that all the beans were from Belize. There was a poster on the wall that led you through all the steps of making their chocolate. Apparently, they take a different approach to fermenting than most other chocolatiers. They ferment for six months, rather than the usual week or so. I got two bars, the goats' milk and the peppermint one, and another chocoventure ended.
Here I am at the front door of the shop. you can see that they are, in fact the first bean-to-bar chocolatier in L.A. also, at the bottom, they age their chocolate for six whole months, which I still struggle to understand.
Me in front of the four posters marking the process. Behind me are the five bars, one of which I am blocking.
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