Chocosphere.com's Bargain Basement Grab Bag - Buying Great Chocolate

A couple of weeks ago, I was writing an article about things I don't regularly buy at my local supermarket. One of the items I don't usually buy at the Publix is hot chocolate. My husband, Bill, was in the room and we started talking about how much we both enjoy tasting really high quality chocolate. I remembered that Chocosphere.com, an online chocolate retailer based in Portland, Oregon, was where I had made my last purchase of high quality Belgian hot chocolate flakes. I also remembered that Chocosphere.com had a fabulous selection of premium chocolates from around the world.

Although neither Bill nor I really need to be eating too much chocolate, I was curious to see what was being offered at Chocosphere these days. Off I went to the store's official Web site, just to do a little browsing. I was just about to navigate away from the site, when I noticed the clearance page. I clicked on the link, just to see what kinds of things warranted being tossed in the virtual clearance bin, when I noticed something that really got my attention-- Chocosphere's Bargain Basement Grab Bag.

The grab bag, is available in two sizes, regular and deluxe. The regular sized bag contains up to $45 worth of chocolate, but is priced at a very economical $19.95. The deluxe bag contains up to $100 worth of chocolate, but costs $39.95. The actual goodies in the grab bag are mysterious... and described as being past their "best by" dates or slow movers, but "should still be pretty darned good".

I was intrigued by this deal on many levels. First off, I love a bargain. Secondly, I love chocolate. And finally, mystery turns me on. With Bill's blessing, I decided to order the deluxe grab bag, since exotic chocolate is something we both really enjoy. For $39.95 plus shipping and handling, we would get the chance to try fine chocolates that we otherwise might never sample. And since it's January, there would be no need for any special hot weather packaging, for which Chocosphere charges $7.

The contents of the bag

The actual contents of each grab bag may vary by purchase, of course, since different products come through Chocosphere.com's inventory at different times. In our case, the deluxe bag consisted of about seven pounds of chocolates, most of it in bar form, coming from locations as diverse as Grenada and Ecuador to Italy, Switzerland, and Belgium. There were two huge 500 gram bars of culinary chocolate from Ecuador, a small jar of "Chocaviar", which are tiny bits of very bitter chocolate meant to be used as a garnish. There were several large bars of bitter and milk chocolate, some of which were flavored with exotic flavors like anise seed, pistachio, and orange. There was a small bag of chocolate hazelnut bon bons. There were even quite a few chocolate squares, the kind that go perfectly with a cup of hot coffee.

That grab bag was literally stuffed full of chocolate. And yes, some of it is, in fact, beyond its "best by" date, but I have yet to run across any that is inedible or of poor quality. In fact, Bill and I have enjoyed sampling the different chocolates from around the world. We have had the chance to eat plenty of Belgian chocolate, but the chocolate from Grenada and Ecuador have been a surprising treat. And though we knew the Italians could also put out some great chocolate, before we bought our deluxe grab bag, we'd never had the chance to try much of it. I was surprised to find out that some of the Italian chocolate that came in this collection was actually from Pinerolo, a small Italian city Bill and I had the chance to visit a few years ago. We had no idea that such fine chocolate was made there when we were visiting.

Drawbacks to purchasing a grab bag from Chocosphere.com

Overall, I'm really happy with my decision to buy a deluxe grab bag from Chocosphere.com. But I can think of reasons why buying the deluxe bag might not be a good idea for everyone. For one thing, we didn't know we were going to be getting so much chocolate. I remember gasping in surprise when I saw the shipping weight on the tracking email I got from FedEx. Seven pounds is a lot of chocolate, even for two people who really love it. A little chocolate is good for the soul and can even be healthy, but having so much of it can be a bit of a temptation, especially for those who are hoping to shape up in the new year.

Secondly, while the grab bags are a good deal, they may not be a good deal for those who don't like exotic flavors. If your preference is for plain old milk chocolate, you might be disappointed with the grab bag, since it tends to be stocked with items that are slow sellers. Bill and I have so far liked what came in our grab bag, but we recognize that some people might not like chocolate with anise seed or orange.

Finally, think twice about giving this grab bag as a gift, unless you're sure the recipient won't mind or won't notice that some of the products are past their "best by" dates. We have not noticed any quality issues whatsoever with the products that were in our grab bag, but you always run a risk when you buy something that's "expired", and you never know how your gift recipient will take getting a gift of old chocolate.

That being said...

I would still recommend either of Chocosphere's grab bags to chocolate lovers who feel a little adventurous. They do offer a unique opportunity at a great price to taste chocolate you might not have ever before had the chance to try. A little chocolate is a real mood lifter when the weather is cold and depressing, as it has been just about everywhere in the continental United States recently. Just be careful not to self-medicate too much with that chocolate. You don't want to have a depression rebound when you can't fit into your pants anymore!

Sources

www.chocosphere.com

Personal experience