Anybody who knows me, KNOWS that I just LOVE chocolate. I mean, good chocolate, with at least a 70% cocoa content. None of those sickeningly sweet candy bars, where all you want to do is pull your teeth out after one bite. On a recent trip to Williamsburg, I just had to stop at Mast Brothers, a “bean-to-bar” chocolate factory in Brooklyn, to sample their artisanal chocolates for myself.  As soon as you entered, you were literally hit in the face by the aromas of cocoa. And then, right before your eyes, was the sampling table with rows and rows of beautifully wrapped chocolate bars. My other favorite- fine papers. It was so tempting to buy the whole lot. They didn’t come cheap, with the average cost of each bar around the $12 mark. There were samples from Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica, Madagascar and some other far flung places. Still, the place is worth a visit, if you’re in the area, But if you’re unable to, hopefully these pictures will provide you with visions of chocolate heaven.

The Factory

The many beautiful fine papers used to wrap each bar

The two flavors I ended up with were “Vanilla and Smoke” and yes, “Black Truffle”. Yum yum!

And finally, I left with my very own signed copy of the Mast Brothers’ Cookbook!