Intrigue Blog & Chocolate Shop!

This past week we received a rare treat – an invitation to share our chocolates with the audience of a Capitol Steps show performed at the Kirkland Performance Center (where we sampled our chocolate nearly two months ago for the first time). The show, dripping with political satire, was a big hit. Most of the people we talked with had attended a Capitol Steps performance before, so there was a loyal following in the audience to really cheer on the performers.

(Not the Seattle show. This was just the best image of them I could find!)

Plus, we were invited to stand in the back and watch! Lucky us! We all laughed heartily, enjoyed the wines provided by Precept, chatted with the performers in the lobby and tasted chocolate. The Italian Sea Salt truffle was still the most surprising flavor for people, but it was the Jamaican HOT Chocolate and Roza Red that really stole the show… at least, at the tasting table.

As of today, Intrigue Chocolates has over 64 unique chocolate truffle flavors to offer, ranging from the favorites of Saint Basil, Orchid (vanilla bean), Jamaican HOT Chocolate, and Lemon to the more exotic flavors like Tequila-Lime, R. Valentino (rose petal), Italian Sea Salt, and Hibiscus. Unfortunately, we are only able to feature six different flavors that change every month. We call these “seasonal flavors”, and they are offered to our customers in gift box options of set sizes (6pc, 12pc, and 24pc). If the flavor is not a seasonal flavor, it is still available in order quantities of four dozen for each flavor.

Lately we have received a number of requests for flavors we have not offered in a while, and we want to share them with you! In an effort to do so, we have come up with the idea to start the Truffle of the Month Club.

The idea is similar to other monthly club memberships. When you sign up, we will send you featured chocolate truffles at the beginning of every month. With enough people involved in the club we will be able to make those out-of-season flavors in addition to the seasonal flavors, and ship them to you to enjoy.

Before we start offering this club membership we need your help to work out the details! Your feedback will help us design the right subscription package to meet your needs. Please take a few minutes to fill out the Truffle-of-the-Month-Club membership survey.

Thank you for your continued support!

Over this past Labor Day weekend, Aaron and I had the opportunity to table at Silver Lake Winery’s tasting room in Zillah for our second year during their annual Harvest Festival - Return to Vinoritaville. Click here to read the introduction to the event.

We definitely could not have asked for better weather. It was blue skies and high 70’s all day long. The band played for most of the day while people lingered on the lawns. Silver Lake has also just completed the first stage of a major remodel, so there is a fancy new waterfall backed by a large sign that you can see from up the road.

Then there were the events: the limbo and the grape stomping.

Earlier in the day, the competition was a race where the contestants tried to squash as many grapes as fast as possible. The winner was the one who could squeeze the most juice out in a minute. Later in the day there was a group stomp in a large barrel, and the winner was the one who could stay the cleanest. This last minute wrinkle in the rules took many people by surprise and a few bailed out to save themselves from the sticky mess. BE WARNED FOR NEXT YEAR!

Wine maker Bill Ammons cooked up a kalua pig that was served for lunch, along with salads and small desert cakes. Great work with the pig, Bill!

That’s Aaron and I in the picture above. You can see we were able to find just enough shade for the chocolate to keep it from melting! The big flavors for us this weekend were the Roza Red truffle (made with Silver Lake’s Roza Red wine) and the new Italian Sea Salt truffle. Most people were surprised by the way the intense minerality of salt brought forward the natural fruit character of the chocolate, and quickly went back for a second sample. Unfortunately, we did not identify an outstanding wine paring, but it was fun trying to find one anyway.

Big thanks to the Taynea, Meridith, Vinny, and Sal for making our experience there in Zillah an enjoyable one! Also, a big thanks to Louis Strutton for providing the photos for this blog. Your camera rocks!