Teas, coffee, and a little something to put in it. We love to have you join us at the workshop and out at events for truffle and beverage pairings. It’s one of our most enjoyable things to do, share with all of you about how our truffle flavors match up with other flavors. This month we have a number of flavors that put the beverages right into the truffle for extra-easy access to pairings!

NEW! Moroccan Mint Truffle – Moroccan Mint tea, or “atai” is a special drink of hospitality in the region, and embodies the essence of cultural art form. The leaves are steeped for just the right length to avoid bitterness, then sugar is added and the drink is boiled to give the distinctive flavor by hydrolyzing the sugar. Fresh mint leaves then add a touch of freshness, and the drink is poured from a height to give a froth. Imagine all that ritual preparation and care as you enjoy this special tea flavor in chocolate.

Vrai Chai Truffle – In Hindi “chai” simply means “tea”, and can be a myriad combination of spices all around a base of black tea, often with milk and honey included. Recipes for chai, as we know it, vary between families and are passed down through generations. Aaron starts with a complex chai blend with a list of warm spices as long as his arm, then tweaks it to just where he wants it by adding more spices. Be amazed as the many flavors emerge from this truffle as the chocolate melts.

Jasmine Green Truffle – This particular Jasmine tea bears the weighty name of “Dragon Phoenix Pearl”, using very young green leaves that are rolled into a pearl shape. Throughout the drying process the the tender tea leaves are infused with the scent of fresh jasmine flowers. All wrapped up in a truffle, these delicate flavors re-emerge like a dream.

Mucha Mocha Truffle – Freshly ground, organic, free-trade coffee beans in this truffle give the chocolate a boost that gets your attention right away. We like to think of coffee as health-food, and science supports us. Packed with antioxidants, coffee may give some cardiovascular protection. Recent research indicates that coffee drinkers may have half the risk for some cancers. We say, hedge your bets, and enjoy a delicious treat.

NEW! Cassis Truffle – Cassis is a liquer made with black currants. Although there is a limited supply of black currants on the West Coast, we found a distillery in Oregon using fruit from a small grower in the region. Shipped while still on the stem, the result is a sweet and tart clear fruit brandy with huge flavor. Stirring it into dark chocolate seemed like the natural thing to do.

Orchid Truffle – Exotic food in your pantry? You probably have vanilla extract on hand, and that’s plenty exotic. Considered a rare plant, bearing an orchid as its flower, and one of the most labor intensive foods you will find in the world. Laborers who are quick with their hands, usually women and children, pollinate around 1,500 vanilla orchid flowers a day. Cultivation, pollination and harvesting is done completely without machines, fertilizers or pesticides. We use the whole vanilla bean to infuse this truffle with one of the best of aromas.

Jamaican HOT! Chocolate Truffle – Dark rum, nutmeg, honey, vanilla and habenero peppers influence this favorite truffle. The character of rum can vary profoundly depending on how it is aged. Barrel aging and burnt sugar give this drink its characteristic natural brown color. Habanero peppers can be unpredictable, but they are all hot. The familiar orange tropical fruit originated in the Yucatan pennisula, but habaneros come out of the Caribbean, too. Rum and habaneros are old island mates, finally found together again in this exciting truffle.

Saint Basil Truffle – The “King of Herbs”, fresh, organic basil will surprise you with how wonderful it tastes in dark chocolate. One of the most popular herbs throughout history, our Saint Basil Truffle remains on the top of the popularity list with our customers. Rich in phyto-nutrients and iron, basil has many health benefits.

Three teas, coffee, a black currant liquer and rum. Some fine additions to dark chocolate truffles that will give you an idea of what happens when you begin to sample beverages with chocolate. (You want more!)

Easter may be later than usual this year, but Spring is bustin’ out at the seams! We’ve had reports from all over the country of brave, green shoots wending their way to the sun, and rumors of some citizens with a little extra spring in their step lately!

NEW! Pink Peppercorn Truffle – Well, they’re red, not pink. And they’re not actually pepper, but rather “drupes” (meaning they are the fruit of a particular bush with a small pit or seed inside). But pink peppercorn does have a peppery flavor and is similar to regular peppercorn size. Found in ancient South American medicine, alcohol, and food, this plant has found its way to popularity in French cuisine.

NEW! Molasses Truffle – Made with blackstrap molasses (organic and unsulphured). Blackstrap is the third go-around in the process of separating sugar from sugar cane. A by-product by definition, but we think of it as one of nature’s yummiest sweeteners. Not to mention the nutrients it offers (iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium). Tons of character in this bittersweet and robust fella’. Bet you always wanted to know what “unsulphured” meant. You know the “un” variety is good for you, but did you know that sulfur dioxide is often added to natural products to make them look nice and extend their shelf life? It’s also what’s in acid rain! That can’t be good for you or the planet.

NEW! Goji Berry Truffle – Dried goji berries (or wolfberries) look a great deal like red raisins. In the 17th century, Chinese herbalist Li Ching-Yuen promoted goji berries as a critical element in a longevity diet. We can’t prove it, but the revered master was said to live to be well over 100 years old. Harvested for traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, the berries of the goji bush are both tangy and slightly sweet. We love the yin-yang of this little berry bush. They are packed with antioxidants, and very popular in alternative health circles. We don’t know if they are really a diet miracle or cure-all, but they sure taste delicious in dark chocolate.

NEW! Tamarind Truffle – Tamarind fruit was originally native to tropical Africa, but has long grown in India and South America. So much so, that it is fully incorporated into local cuisine and culture in many places throughout the world. It is a a custom of Malaya to place a mixture of tamarind and coconut milk in a newborn infant’s mouth. And a mixture of tamarind bark and fruit is fed to working elephants to encourage wisdom. High in vitamin B and calcium, this tree’s fruit has a pleasant sweet and sour flavor.

Cardamom Truffle – Cardamom is an ancient spice with many world-wide associated traditions. Civilizations prized it as a flavoring and for other benefits. It is documented that Egyptians used it to clean their teeth and freshen their breath by chewing the seeds. The scent of cardamom became a Grecian perfume, and later was attributed aphrodisiac qualities in Arabian cultures. Melded with rich chocolate it becomes divine.

Saint Basil Truffle – Fresh, sweet basil is highly fragrant, and loses none of its allure when added to this truffle. The name “basil” comes from the Greek “basilikohn”, meaning “royal”. Revered in many traditions, basil is cherished as a noble and sacred herbal influence. There are more than 60 kinds of basil, and their camphor-containing oil is known to have significant antibacterial qualities.

Lemon Truffle – The anatomy of a lemon dictates that only the outer rind, containing the oils and perfumes, be used for fresh lemon zest. Just beneath, the white pith is unpleasantly bitter. Zest, or citrus peel, is prepared by carefully scraping away the “flavedo” to the proper depth. Adding big bang for the buck, zest adds big flavor to foods (making them “zesty”!). Known by the 16th-century Portuguese sailors to be a cure for scurvy, during sea voyages they would stop and plant lemon and orange seeds on many a distant shore.

Aaron, Intrigue’s Chocolatier and creative genius, is busting loose all kinds of wild and awesome new flavors to get the juices flowing for the turn of the seasons. Join us in celebrating a new beginning the best way we know how. With chocolate!

Do you know about tapping maple trees for maple syrup? Back in Aaron’s home state of Minnesota the wildly fluctuating temperatures of March are ideal for this ancient and traditional activity. Very labor intensive, the season lasts weeks and requires many gallons of sap to boil down to a few quarts of syrup. The Anishinabe people of the region still work ancestral “sugar bush” locations. Now get your juices flowing for Spring with some awesome Intrigue truffles.

NEW! Maple Truffle – 100% pure organic maple sugar is added to make this truffle a special Spring treat. Maple sugar is a Native American tradition, where syrup is carefully, and slowly (to avoid burning and ruining the flavor) simmered to a state of dehydration. Much better for traveling than its liquid form!

NEW! Lemongrass Truffle – In its natural state Lemongrass is a stalky plant that carries a zesty lemon flavor and scent. Called an aromatic herb, lemongrass is described by some as tasting of citrus flavor with a trace of ginger. Used in ancient customs, such as Ayurvedic medicine, to aid in digestion, modern science has found the component, citral, to have an anti-cancer affect.

NEW! Agave Nectar Truffle – Another traditional Native syrup, this one further South! Called “aquamiel” (honey-water) in Mexico, agave syrup comes from cooking down the sap and can also be made into candy. Held sacred and cultivated by the Aztecs, agave is a spikey plant that resembles a cactus or yucca. This large succulent is the essential ingredient for tequila, but from archeological evidence, its role in the lives of meso-americans was huge! Short list; fiber, clothing, storage, construction, fuel, food (shoots, flowers and sap). A light sweetness added to this truffle.

NEW! Earl Grey Truffle – The story goes that Earl Grey tea is named for Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, Prime Minister of the UK in the 1830′s. He apparently had a preference for black tea blended with bergamot oil. Bergamot being a citrus fruit native to Italy, and about the size of an orange. Flavor somewhere in the range of lemony-grapefruity-bitter orange. Earl Gray tea is commonly used in cooking in other parts of the world, so we are just adding this fine truffle to a great tradition!

Stout Truffle – Dark beer and dark chocolate. It may sound strange, but it makes for a beautiful flavor combo. Not the same as chocolate stout (made from malt roasted to a dark, chocolate color), stout-flavored chocolate is awesomeness in the shape of a truffle.

Irish Coffee Truffle – Jameson Irish whiskey and coffee (fresh-ground, organic, free-trade). Need we say more? Well, you know we will anyway. Whether you have a “drop” of Irish blood, or were born amidst the foggy, green hills… everybody is Irish on St. Paddy’s Day, right? We honor our Irish roots with a drop of the world’s best whiskey in this boozy-mocha truffle.

Fresh Mint Truffle – This time of year we start to crave green. Green for shamrock day, new green things growing, and green flavors. The fresh, organic mint leaves in this truffle will give you a wonderful sense of green-ness just when you need it most. Think you’ve had mint-chocolate before? This is completely original mint-chocolate like you’ve never experienced.

Saint Basil Truffle – Fresh basil leaves sort of defy description by the written word when they are wrapped up in this truffle. But, oh, baby, we like. Familiar and exotic all at once.

The Anishinabe have many names for times of the year, usually based on natural occurrences or seasonal activities. A “moon” refers roughly to a month, spanning the time that it takes the moon to pass through all its phases. The month of March is called Ziinsibaakwadooke-giizis in Ojibwe (the language of the Anishinabe), roughly translated to “Sugar-Making-Moon”. We are so on-board with that!