Gourmet Gift of the Day Blog

I love this time of year!  The apples are abundant, the leaves are turning and the kids are looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  To celebrate this time of year, Holiday Gifts & Gift Baskets is offering a Fall Snack Chest that showcases rustic colors and a great mix of gourmet treats.

My mom’s birthday was a couple weeks ago, and we sent her this snack basket since we weren’t able to deliver a gift in person.  She called to thank us and explained that she wasn’t able to try everything in the basket since dad hid the snack mix and butter cookies from her – apparently they were so good that he didn’t want to share!  She did enjoy the fruit candies, chips and dip.  She was even able to sit down and relax with a cup of the Vanilla Spice Tea while she controlled the remote for the night (dad’s birthday gift to her).

We visited mom and dad house last week-end and I was pleased that the gift chest was being used to store her scarves. It was nice to see that the gift was not only tasty but also contained a practical item!

I recently ate one of the tastiest pieces of dark chocolate I’ve ever experienced!  Made by Aequare Fine Chocolates, their Blackberry Cobbler flavor features a thick semi-sweet ganache on the inside that is topped with a sweet, tasty layer of pure blackberry preserves and then covered with a shell of 70% Ecuadorian Chocolate.  I’m not sure which was better – the amazing scent of the bonbon or the exquisite taste!  With a single small bite, I could sense the purity of the chocolate and taste the beautiful mixture of flavors.

Single origin chocolate is made of beans exclusively from the same geographical region.  The flavor is very distinct, and in this case, very rich.  Single origin chocolate is very popular in Europe and is becoming more in demand in the United States.  All of the products available from Aequare Fine Chocolates are crafted from single origin Ecuadorian Chocolate.

The six-piece assortment that I received included five other gourmet flavors – Tahitian Vanilla, Amazon Dark Chocolate, Persian Saffron with Orange Essense, Passion Fruit Honey, Moccha, Le Citron-Meyer Lemon and Salted Caramel.  Although I loved the unexpected flavor of the salted caramel piece, the rich, fruitiness of the Blackberry Cobbler was definitely my top pick.  I was pleasantly surprised that a few small bites completely satisfied my chocolate craving, and I could hardly stop smelling the delicious aroma that emanated from the box.

For only $13.95, their 6 piece gift box offers an excellent variety of taste and flavor, and also makes a stunning presentation!