Michael Mischer

It is a rainy Tuesday afternoon the week between Christmas and New Years. I am on break from work strolling Oakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood. I am doing errands - post office and Trader Joes. I am in no hurry. I stop at the local book store and survey the titles. I decide it is the perfect day for hot chocolate. I am drawn to the end of the street, to Michael Mischer’s chocolate store. My husband and I frequent it after dinner in the neighborhood. We love the gelato. My husband likes the fruit flavors and I go for anything with chocolate. I had noticed a sign in there for hot chocolate, but had never tried it. Today is the day.

The chocolate smell immediately surrounds me as I walk into the shop. It is a luscious aroma that swirls around me. There are assorted filled chocolates on one side of the store and designer chocolate bars on the other. They must be making the chocolate in the back because the wonderful smell is pulling me in like a magnet. I order the hot chocolate. The girl working behind the counter explains to me how it is made. Tiny pieces of chocolate pellets are melted and mixed with steamed milk. According to Michael Mischer’s website, he uses only the highest quality chocolate. As I wait for my sweet creation, I read some of the articles posted on the walls about Mr. Mischer. He was born in Northern Germany and migrated to California in 1984. He has a passion for chocolate and uses only the finest ingredients.

The hot chocolate arrives. It is exquisite. It wraps around me like a warm blanket. It is not too sweet and the chocolate flavor isn’t too overwhelming. It is just right. It cost more than a Starbucks hot chocolate, but then it is a lot more than a squirt of chocolate syrup. I sip it while sitting at one of the three tables at the front of the shop. It is the perfect place to relax, people watch and daydream. I chase it down with a Lavender & Honey filled chocolate. I crunch into the hard dark chocolate outer shell to a soft lovely filling. The lavender and honey flavors are a party in my mouth.

The staff has always been extremely friendly. When we went in for gelato, the young man working introduced me to one of Mr. Mischer’s newer flavors – BBQ Truffle. It is an unusual combination, but delicious. I love the chocolate/bacon combination, so BBQ/chocolate seems the perfect creative combination. As I leave the shop on my chocolate high, I contemplate what is next on my list to try - the Cayenne Spiced Mango Bar.

Michael Mischer’s is definitely a place to stop on your chocolate journey.

Bittersweet

San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area are loaded with specialty chocolate shops. They pop up as I am innocently strolling through a neighborhood when chocolate the last thing on my mind. Not really, chocolate is always on my mind. My first stop on my chocolate journey is one of my favorites - Bittersweet. They did have several locations in the Bay Area and learned sadly today they now have only one location in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. I first discovered Bittersweet when I was strolling along Fillmore Street in San Francisco. I stopped in for a hot chocolate and have been a fan ever since. When I was dating my husband, we would frequent Rockridge for dinner and discovering a Bittersweet in the neighborhood definitely helped in my decision to move to the East Bay. They have a spicy hot chocolate brownie that I crave. We love stopping by here after dinner for my much needed chocolate fix. It has the atmosphere of a local coffee shop with rustic wooden floors and chunky wooden tables and chairs. The difference is the smell when you enter. It has a wonderful chocolate smell that wraps around you like a favorite warm blanket. Their website states their mission is “to bring the best the world of chocolate has to offer home to you”. They not only have hot chocolate, but SEVEN types on their regular menu and several specialty hot chocolate drinks for the holidays. They also have coffee and many other delicious pastries. There is a wall of chocolate with chocolates from around the world with exotic flavor combinations. Yes, I am extra bitter that I can't have this everyday.

My Dark Love's Beginning

You have to know where you have been to know where you are going. I love chocolate but I don’t know much about it. I wanted to learn it all - where it came from, secret chocolate making techniques, meet people who share my passion and learn how it took over the world. This blog is about learning everything I can about my dark love. My favorite dark love is my Jamaican husband and chocolate is a close second. He happens to be allergic to chocolate, which is a huge bonus for me. Meaning, I don’t have to share. He supports me in my quest and I love him for it. Prior to starting my journey through the chocolate wonderland of the Bay Area, I began researching the history of chocolate. It has been said to originate 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. The cacao beans were grown in the rainforests of the Americas. The Maya and Aztec people mixed the ground cacao seeds with spices to make a spicy, frothy drink. Interesting, hot chocolate was where it all began. Christopher Columbus encountered the beans on his journeys to the Americas and dismissed the beans. He didn’t realize the value they held in the society, often being used as currency, at least the beans were safe from his pillaging. Oceans were crossed, wars were fought and slaves were traded over the luscious bean. The Spanish conquistadors did recognize the value of the cacao bean and brought them back to Spain. The popularity of the drink spread through Europe. Eventually, the chocolate flavor was developed and spread throughout the world becoming one of the most craved sweets worldwide.