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Sweets for the sweet: five chocolate bars, two teas

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Kusmi Violette tea

We haven’t talked about chocolate around here in a good long time, so in honor of Valentine’s Day, here are quick reviews of five chocolate bars. Plus two Kusmi teas just because. Do share any of your own chocolate or tea favorites in the comments!

MarieBelle Dark Chocolate Banana (65% cacao)

This is a spendy New York brand that reportedly makes great hot chocolate, but I’ve never tried any of their products except this admittedly sort of strange bar. Numerous little bits of dried banana translate into an oddly bumpy exterior similar to a puffed rice chocolate bar, and lend a satisfying chewy-crunchy texture. I frequently complain that bars don’t have enough “additives”, but this one arguably doesn’t have enough room left for the chocolate — chocolate purists would probably not like it, but then, chocolate purists probably wouldn’t like any of my favorite bars…

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Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food & Fragrance ~ perfume books

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Aroma, Mandy Aftel and Daniel Patterson

As far as collaborative projects go, perfumer Mandy Aftel and chef Daniel Patterson totally nailed it with Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food & Fragrance. More of an inspiring manual than a cookbook, the down-to-earth text provides comprehensive information on making fragrance and enhancing food with 27 aromas—from classics like green tea to the intriguing litsea cubeba, distilled from a Chinese fruit.

The brilliance of Aroma is that it provides a good handful of things to do with each featured ingredient, a number of which are readily available at the grocery store. And they’re not all elaborate, hours-in-the-kitchen concoctions, either. In addition to basic dressings and sauces that can be kept for weeks or months, each section begins with simple suggestions for using a fragrance “in the everyday kitchen.” Adding a few dashes of rosewater to frozen strawberries, vodka and seltzer is a particular favorite…

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Take another sniff at that drink

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IF you think perfume’s only place is behind the wrist or ear, take another sniff at that drink you just ordered. Scents are starting to show up in martinis, margaritas and much fancier concoctions, thanks in large part to Mandy Aftel [of Aftelier], a former psychotherapist who now makes edible and potable perfumes.

— Read more at Perfumes to Sip as Well as Sniff in the New York Times. Aftel's Chef Essences recently launched at Williams & Sonoma. 

Father’s Day 2012 ~ scented gift ideas, part 2

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Day number two of my Father’s Day gift ideas post focuses on fatherly types personified by the likes of Ward Cleaver, Rick Steves, and J.I. Rodale.

Traditionalist

Fathers who still insist on safety razors and shave creams might appreciate the Edwin Jagger Shaving Cream Gift Set ($55) at Luckyscent; the boxed set contains the Edwin Jagger DE89L chrome-lined razor, a 75 ml tube of Edwin Jagger natural shaving cream, two sample sizes of shave creams, and five Derby Safety Razor Blades. Choose between Aloe Vera or Sandalwood shave cream formulas. Another good shave cream at Luckyscent is Crema da Barba Almond Shaving Cream ($10/150g).

Carbon 2 Cobalt black coffee soap is not “prissy” ($8/5 oz bar) and the Gents Shave Kit is also “macho;” it includes a 4.5 oz shaving soap (in a glass tumbler) made with Rhassoul clay and Sierra Nevada Stout Beer, a 5 oz spiced rum body soap, a 1 oz bay rum aftershave, and a pure badger hair shaving brush…

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