Well Fed On the Town

The Fancy Food Show is a city of food. A state of food. A continent. A planet. Entering this wonderland of food at Moscone Center is overwhelming, to say the least. If you’re going as a wholesaler, retailer, or producer, you might pretty well know what you’re looking for. If you’re going as a journalist or blogger, the first thing you need to do is narrow your scope. I decided to look for high quality foods made in relatively small batches. In particular, I looked for foods that stand out.

One of the foods I discovered was Jade Chocolates. Based in San Francisco, Jade Chocolates blends Asian spices and flavors with a variety of high quality chocolates to create unique bars and confections. The Dragon’s Breath bar has sesame seeds, “notes of smoked tea” and red chili while the Orient Espresso blends bittersweet and milk chocolates with “oak roasted espresso perfumed with the warmth and floral scent of cardamom.” Each bar is wrapped in handmade lokta paper–a traditional, environmentally friendly paper made by a family business in Nepal. Jade Chocolates is a small operation as well, owner Mindy Fong uses the kitchen at the Jewish Community Center to formulate, test and produce her chocolates.

A former architectural designer, Ms. Fong decided on a new career path with the birth of her daughter. When asked why she focused on chocolate in particular, Fong replied that the chocolate business is “recession proof.” True, but Fong’s experience in design gives her a nuanced perspective on flavor and balance:

One aspect of architecture is that the designer should create habitable spaces that flow well. The transition between a living room, the adjacent kitchen and dining room has a great impact for its users. A great flow between spaces means that you have a well thought out floor plan. And a great recipe for chocolate means that there is an ease of flow between flavors.

An easy flow of flavors is an apt description of Jade chocolate bars. The spices in a Jade bar blend easily with the flavor of the chocolate itself. The oaky notes of the Orient Espresso bar deepen the flavor of the chocolate itself while cardamom offers a sweet, spicy lift.

The Dragon’s Breath bar is both earthy and spicy. Roasted sesame seeds and lapsang souchang tea warm the palate with their floral, woodsy smokiness, segueing into a pleasant sting of red chili. Rather than obscuring the flavor of the chocolate itself with too much heat, the chili punctuates the bar with subtle spice.

Genmai is a grown-up version of a Nestlé Crunch bar, with crispy brown rice, jasmine and green teas enrobed in milk chocolate.

Jade Chocolates also produces “chocolate fans” and “mango orchids,” or fan-shapped chocolates on a whole wheat crust topped with nuts and spices, and chocolate-dipped dried mango “petals” on a bamboo “stem,” respectively.

Jade Chocolates can be found in a number of shops throughout the Bay Area and California, as well as locations in Georgia, Maine, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Jade Chocolates also operates an online store (though no international shipping is offered yet).

Jade Chocolates
3200 California St
San Francisco,  CA  94118