Cuckoo for cacao: Taste’s world-class chocolate is crazy delicious
Items purchased at Taste in Provo are photographed at the Daily Herald on Wednesday.
Products are displayed at Taste in Provo on in this file photo from 2014.
While chocolate is the main focus, Taste also sells special chocolate, olive oil and vinegar from around the world.
While chocolate is the main focus, Taste also sells special olive oils and vinegars from around the world.
Not many are privy to the fact a chocolate factory is coming to life in downtown Provo. You also might not be aware the chocolate factory (Coleman & Davis Artisan Chocolate) and adjacent storefront (Taste) plan to make the best chocolate in the world.
That’s right. In. The. World.
That’s no exaggeration — those are the owners’ outright words and plans. Those lofty goals don’t seem completely far-fetched as you walk into Taste along University Avenue and 100 North.
The storefront, the factory, the co-owner Phil Davis, it all feels oddly and sweetly like a classier, real-life Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory experience that has decided to make Provo the home of all its mystery and glamor. Instead of chocolate wrapped in gold, some of Taste’s selections might as well be made with it — because the flavors (and prices) are not something you find just anywhere in America.
For local foodies, those aspiring to be, or couples and friends looking for date activities, there’s something definitely unique and exhilarating about Coleman & Davis’ “Tastings” held typically on Thursday and Friday evenings.
What’s a tasting? It’s essentially a group class instructed in the art of sampling fine chocolate, olive oils and sipping vinegars. Don’t let my dry description deter you, though. Despite the $20-per-person cost to take part in this experience, the experience was as rich as the chocolate we were served.
I’m no chocolate girl. When birthdays and excuses for dessert come around, everyone knows I’d gladly take something fruity or plain sugar-filled over chocolate. Every time.
What I now realize is … subconsciously I just didn’t enjoy bad chocolate (which really is a lot of chocolate in America, *cough* Hershey lovers). Now I know. Now, I’m converted — because as I write this all I can think about is what a great afternoon treat the Pump Street Bakery Chocolate bar sitting on the far edge of my desk would be. I’m dreaming and salivating over the fact this delicious chocolate bar somehow has managed to include tastes of fresh baked rye bread, milk and sea salt in every piece that melts in your mouth. This Suffolk company’s chocolate awards could fill a page, and it’s not even the top chocolate offered or sampled during one of these tastings.
During our group’s tasting, we sampled nine different chocolates. According to Davis, “If you don’t have chocolate on the end of your nose by the end of the evening, you’re doing it wrong.” Visitors learn the art of tasting chocolate in order to completely sense the different flavors and influences of each bar. The store’s stock and samples in the tasting are made from across the world: England, Italy, France, Hungary, Denmark.
Crowd favorites seemed to settle on chocolate from Domori (both the Puertomar and Puertofino), as well as the Francois Pralus Djakarta and chocolate from Pump Street Bakery.
Davis said Francois Pralus is a master of French dark roast and has perfected the line between dark roast and becoming ash. To him, eating their Djakarta chocolate will make you feel like you’re dining at a Parisian cafe looking down the way at the Eiffel Tower. While a chocolate tasting-novice, I thoroughly enjoyed this chocolate’s nutty and buttery taste.
Beyond the chocolate, the tasting includes rounds of other carefully curated olive oils and sipping vinegars. Though I’m no stranger to delectable olive oils and balsamic vinegar (the Villa Manodori Dark Cherry balsamic is worth committing a crime for), the sipping vinegars were a new concept. We were pleasantly surprised by flavors like Pok Pok’s fresh Strawberry and Ginger or a local Utah company’s strong Honey Apple — all of which can be sipped by the spoonful or added to mineral water for a little extra flavor, according to Davis.
If making a reservation for a tasting is too daunting at first, visitors also stop in for a handful of Taste’s menu items that include a Mini Tasting for $6, Croissants, Iced Chocolate and dishes of vanilla bean ice cream topped with Infused Olive Oil, Balsamic and Strawberries.
If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll get to witness a little behind the scenes. Davis’ explanation and tour of the chocolate manufacturing is as enchanting as the spell of his words — which pull you into the world of chocolate making with his booming voice, passion and fairy tale-like descriptions of cacao from seemingly other worlds.
TASTE
Where: 117 N. University Ave., Provo
Hours: Monday-Tuesday 1-9 p.m., Wednesday-Thursday noon-9 p.m., Friday noon-10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Prices: Food and inventory ranges from $2-$49-plus
Info: (801) 900-4061, Havetaste.com