Chocoholics Unite!

Saturday was a beautiful day in London. The air was crisp and fresh and the sun shone brilliantly, turning the sky deep turquoise. Autumn in London is just as gorgeous as it is back on the Homeworld.

And what more perfect way could there be to celebrate Autumn in London than a tour of her most delicious chocolatieries? Frankly, I can't think of any.

I met up with the London Chocolate Group at the gates of Hyde Park and we wended our way through the shining streets (It's a posh part of town, so things tend to sparkle.) to the adorable Rococo.

Warning: Site contains scenes of a chocolaty nature and may incite thoughts of a covetous nature.

Rococo was first opened 26 years ago in London by a French lady who decided the British didn't know how to do chocolate properly. She had a point. Cadbury was king, and while Cadbury has it's own charm, it's essentially the British version of Hersheys. Comparing Cadbury (or Hersheys, for that matter) to Rococo is like comparing a rusted out, beat up, 80s era pinto to the sleek Bond-fave Aston Martin. There IS no comparison.

After a brief chat about the founding of Rococo and the making of chocolate, we were handed 'round samples of manna from Heaven. I mean chocolate.

We started off with a couple different varieties of dark chocolate followed by some milk chocolate. Then it was on to the jazzy stuff with dark chocolate infused with rosewater, milk chocolate spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and clove, dark chocolate with chili (I kid you not, and yes, it was delish!), and white chocolate with cardamom (to sooth the mouth after the chili). Then came the truffles: chocolate, walnut and fig, passion fruit and mango.

The chocolates melted over the tongue, swirling over the palate in a joyous dance. Ah, chocolate, how we love thee! I'm pretty sure heaven has a Rococo store. Only everything is free.

To walk off at least one of the truffles, we rolled ourselves out the door and headed to Kensington and Demarquette. This guy is nuts about his chocolate and sources all ingredients himself. He even has his own beehives in France and uses the honey to sweeten the chocolate in lieu of sugar.

As passionate as he was, I just didn't find his chocolates as tasty as those at Rococo. It's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I just enjoyed Rococo's more! It could be in part because his prices nearly sent me to the cardiac unit. Good chocolate costs and I'm ok with that. I am not ok with having to sell a kidney in order to afford said chocolate.

On to Harrod's Chocolate Bar! It's tight and cramped and overflowing with tourists. It does, however, have some seriously deadly hot chocolate. I had mine infused with rosewater (I've a thing for the flowers.). Divine! Though Beth and I decided we'd have to come back for the chocolate fondue sometime...

All in all it was a lovely day out. I met some great people, had a nice stroll about London, and let's face it, I ate some darn good chocolate. And that, my peeps, is really what's important. ;-)