Words cannot describe...

Today I'd like to talk to you about a serious topic. There's been a little joking around on this blog, and that's all well and good, but it's time we quit screwing around and get personal. Now those who know me are aware that I don't open up very much, I don't share my feelings, I don't just let my emotions be seen. But I think in order to connect with my audience, I need to do just that. So, let's talk about something that is really important to me, something that's always been in my life, and something my family taught me about from a very young age. It helped me through my most harrowing moments of my life, and enabled me to see the bigger picture, to know I have a purpose. Of course, I'm talking about chocolate.

Growing up, I enjoyed chocolate quite a bit, from the chocolate in Snickers and Cookies, to plain old Hershey bars. However, going to Switzerland and tasting the real chocolate of this world was not unlike a farm boy seeing the big city lights for the first time. M&M's slogan used to be, and perhaps still is, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand." What an abomination this is to chocolate! That's like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse advertising it's Filets Mignons by saying "You'll Need a Really Sharp Knife to Cut our Meat". A simple test of a chocolate's worth is how quickly it melts in your fingers. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about dark chocolate, that's a whole different blog entry. Also, if you were to break off a piece, the chocolate bar should bend, any snapping or breaking action should not be tolerated.

Now everyone is going to be biased to their favorite chocolate, and that's fine, but this entry isn't about biases, it's about the truth, and here are the 3 most delicious chocolates in the entire world:

1. Torino Baton au chocolat au lait fourre-praline - A somewhat ostentatious name, I know, but I seriously get emotional thinking about this one. I feel as if no mortal language is worthy of describing this type of perfection. I knew a lady in Biel, Switzerland, who had been married to a member of the Bloch family, and she often provided us missionaries with our fix. I served for 6 months in that city during winter, perhaps seeing the sun twice during my stay. It was sooooo worth it. I'd commit to solitary confinement for the rest of my life with the promise of this chocolate.

2. Favarger Aveline - When you grow up near Milpitas, CA, as well as the Bay itself, you can often catch a whiff of something putridly pungent when outside. So, as I walked the streets of Versoix, Switzerland at the commencement of my mission, the smell from the Favarger Chocolate factory was such an extreme opposite, my knees would literally buckle. The high walls of the factory added to the mystery, like it was Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and I was just steps away from the Oompa Loompas themselves. The best kind, Aveline, has little slivers of almonds in it, adding to the flavor and providing a nice texture.


3. Suchard Double Crème - Cream is good, when it is 'Crème' it is better, and when you double that? It's over. This one was nearly outlawed in my mission due to its…how do I put this nicely…enlarging effect on sister missionaries. We were even told that we could eat but one chocolate bar a week. I admit I did not follow this rule, but as it helped me stay on my mission, I think it was a worthy violation.

So, in about 9 days I'll be loading a box with these at some store in Geneva, like a crazed supermarket sweep contestant. Requests can be sent to my email if you have it, or if you don't, just contact someone who does. Also, the 500th visitor to this site (currently sitting at about 150) will get a box of chocolate on me!! A little incentive to keep coming back. :)