It is a running joke in my family that if you want to make me very happy at Christmas time, birthday time or really anytime, you give me food. Specifically, you give me treats and/or olives. Like most running family jokes, it's funny because it's true. The older of my two younger brothers, Sean, really took that to heart this year. On Christmas morning, I unwrapped a stack four bars deep of European chocolate he had brought back from Italy. Naturally, I was thrilled.
The first of these bars is Amedei Cioccolato al Latte Bianco con Pistacchi or, for those of us who don't speak Italiano, simply white chocolate with pistachios. Amedei is a Tuscan brand of chocolate. Fun fact: the founder of Amedei, Cecilia Tessieri, is the only woman in the world to have the title of Chocolatier. Very inspirational. Although Italian chocolate is regulated differently from American chocolate, Amedei is considered a bean-to-bar brand, meaning that they oversee the entire production process, from growing the cacao bean to making the actual bars.
What I most appreciate about this bar is its presentation. The look of this bar is exquisite, screams quality and looks inviting in its combination of simplicity and careful attention to detail. The creamy white and sage green packaging perfectly contrasts with a watercolor image of a pistachio plant and its red-tipped buds. The front of the packaging is tucked into the back via a flap, and the whole thing opens up like an envelope to reveal a thick, pale yellow wrapper embossed with a pattern of the company logo. The bar is tightly sealed inside the foil-lined wrapper to preserve freshness; it took me several tries to open it. The chocolate itself has a marvelous pale green hue and a light speckle to it from the nuts.
It's a very unexpected combination, white chocolate and pistachios, but after trying this bar, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. White chocolate is a more creamy, less potent variety of chocolate, and the mellow taste of the pistachios paired with it well. This is a very subtle chocolate bar with a flavor that unfolds gradually, the kind of chocolate that you never chew, that you let melt in your mouth. It's definitely a less sweet chocolate, though it's certainly not bitter. I would almost describe it as savory. The pistachios lend a warm aroma and are finely ground throughout the bar, allowing for a relatively smooth texture with just the right amount of nibbling required. It's a delicious albeit more formal, more reserved chocolate experience.
I was lucky enough to get this bar direct from Italia, but if you're interested in trying it, the only exclusively Amedei store in the world just opened up on East 18th Street.
The first of these bars is Amedei Cioccolato al Latte Bianco con Pistacchi or, for those of us who don't speak Italiano, simply white chocolate with pistachios. Amedei is a Tuscan brand of chocolate. Fun fact: the founder of Amedei, Cecilia Tessieri, is the only woman in the world to have the title of Chocolatier. Very inspirational. Although Italian chocolate is regulated differently from American chocolate, Amedei is considered a bean-to-bar brand, meaning that they oversee the entire production process, from growing the cacao bean to making the actual bars.
What I most appreciate about this bar is its presentation. The look of this bar is exquisite, screams quality and looks inviting in its combination of simplicity and careful attention to detail. The creamy white and sage green packaging perfectly contrasts with a watercolor image of a pistachio plant and its red-tipped buds. The front of the packaging is tucked into the back via a flap, and the whole thing opens up like an envelope to reveal a thick, pale yellow wrapper embossed with a pattern of the company logo. The bar is tightly sealed inside the foil-lined wrapper to preserve freshness; it took me several tries to open it. The chocolate itself has a marvelous pale green hue and a light speckle to it from the nuts.
It's a very unexpected combination, white chocolate and pistachios, but after trying this bar, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. White chocolate is a more creamy, less potent variety of chocolate, and the mellow taste of the pistachios paired with it well. This is a very subtle chocolate bar with a flavor that unfolds gradually, the kind of chocolate that you never chew, that you let melt in your mouth. It's definitely a less sweet chocolate, though it's certainly not bitter. I would almost describe it as savory. The pistachios lend a warm aroma and are finely ground throughout the bar, allowing for a relatively smooth texture with just the right amount of nibbling required. It's a delicious albeit more formal, more reserved chocolate experience.
I was lucky enough to get this bar direct from Italia, but if you're interested in trying it, the only exclusively Amedei store in the world just opened up on East 18th Street.