As if the discovery of ground vanilla bean weren’t enough, I also found Chocolate Covered Cocoa Nibs at the Old Town Spice Merchants in Temecula. I don’t remember when I first heard about Cocoa Nibs, it seems like a relatively new phenomenon, but then again I’m generally late to the party as far as hearings about Things. (So probably them being Chocolate Covered is old news too.) Anyway, despite being a Thing, nibs are still a little hard to find. And somewhat expensive. And actually kinda bitter. Yes, I know, juvenile American taste, but I hear chocolate and think sweet. Anyway, the nibs can provide a nice, crunchy counterpoint or contrast in a recipe, but I didn’t really take to them as a snacky sorta thing.
Cover them with a little chocolate though, and all bets are off. Yum tasty tasty! Quite nice on their own, also good sprinkled on ice cream, and I bet they’d be good in recipes like the package mentions.
The store also has a larger variety of cocoas than I’ve probably ever seen anywhere. (Powders) Some were different types/origins and then some were cocoas plus, with some additional flavor or flavors added. Fun stuff!
2m2t 