Would i like to try some chocolate?

I was asked this question. I replied by saying something to the effect of "is the pope catholic?" I'm a bit of a whore when it comes to free samples. Maybe not a whore, because i don't have to actually do anything for it....except talk about it, and that's not even mandatory. 

So the Missionary Chocolates have been around for quite a few months. I believe they officially debuted at the VegFest in May. Jess (of GetSconed) and Webly (of Fueled By Popcorn) invited me to be on their podcast that they were doing for the their collective blog, StumptownVegans. We talked about VegFest, which we had just been to and we oohed and ahhed over the Missionary Chocolate truffles we gotten to taste there. 

They have a lot of flavors and they're sold in various shops here in town in Portland (Food Front and that store in Jantzen Beach that sells local stuff....can't remember the name! it's in the Target building with the carousel and food court...) 

Vanessa kindly dropped off 10 flavors for me to try. I don't know which one i was most excited to try, they all sounded delicious. I had a few friends and coworkers to help me out. (i couldn't do it all myself! they're too rich! it would've taken me a long time to get through them all. ) Almost all the ingredients are local and some are organic, the chocolate is fair trade and they're all handmade. 

Peanut Butter Passion (according to the website it's called Treasures now): i actually couldn't really detect the peanut butter in this, so i wouldn't consider it very "passionate", but that didn't mean it didn't taste good! I thought it was creamy delicious. My friend Anna declared it "fuckin' delicious!" and my roommate Missy said it was rich. 

Boule d' Amandes (Almond Ball): The center of this one was almost fudge-like and it was creamy chocolate goodness. Anna was a fan of the fudgyness and said it was pretty much perfect. Missy really liked the crunch of the nuts that coated the outside of this truffle and i believe it was her favorite.

Meyer Lemon Explosion: The won the award for the #1 People's Choice at the Northwest Chocolate Festival. I wasn't too excited about this one since i'm not big on citrus-y things, but i liked this one. It was surprisingly tasty and it had a nice tart flavor. Anna said it was the perfect amount of tanginess and was clean and refreshing. Missy wasn't a fan and said people with TMJ need to be careful with this one.  :o)

Coconut Haystacks: I thought this one was going to be my favorite, but i was wrong. Don't get me wrong, it was good, there wasn't a bad chocolate in the bunch. I think i just like a creamy/fudgy inside to my truffles and this one had shreds of coconut in it and didn't have as much coconutty flavor as i thought it would. Anna liked it alot, but did wish it had more coconut flavor to it. 

Sweet Raspberry Heart: I took this to work with me. I have a gluten-free coworker that i thought would enjoy trying out some chocolates (these are all gluten-free....i'm not sure how many chocolates actually have gluten in them, but it's nice when they're labeled as such). I liked this one more than i thought i would because i'm not a big fan of raspberries and mixing fruit with chocoate(though i have been known to love cherries in my chocolate). Vanessa told me they simmer the berries for 6 hours and then mix it with chocolate ganache. Another coworker of mine really liked the flavor of this one and said she couldn't tell it was vegan. 

Dark Chocolate Delights: this was the other one i took to work and my gluten free coworker liked this one a lot. This may be my favorite. I was told by Vanessa that it's usually a little different but i can't remember how. Maybe something about how it's not usually as soft? I liked that it didn't have a shell around it, just some cocoa. So it was like eating a ball of fudge. 

Smooth Espresso Spheres: Smooth, indeed. A little more coffee taste than i'd like but maybe if there was more chocolate i would like it better. Though my roommate Missy had the exact opposite reaction, she wished for more coffee flavor and chunks of bean. She really liked this one. Our friend Corinn said it was a smooth mix of coffee and chocolate.

Peppermint Perfection: i thought this one tastes like an Andes mint, which i kinda miss eating as a vegan. It was Corinn's favorite of the ones she tried and she said it was a good combination of flavors. 

Ginger: Tasted like the pickled ginger that you get with sushi.....that's all i could really taste. I couldn't really taste the chocolate part. Not bad, but not something i'm looking for in chocolate. Missy, on the other hand, said "OMG"....yeah, she liked it. She likes ginger a lot more than i do.

Cinnamon & Chipotle: Spicy! Tastes like burning! ok, it's not that bad, but i sat there kinda waving my hand at my mouth until the burning stopped. Missy liked this one, subtle and delicious. This is a girl that uses Aardvark Sauce on everything, so it was right up her alley.

These were really good chocolates and for about $4 each, a good treat when you want or need one. You can really tell they are high quality and made with really good ingredients.  I look forward to some of the other flavors, such as the seasonal Champagne and the Black Cherry Bombs.