Ever since my buddy Jaime emailed me years ago raving about the hot chocolate with cayenne she'd sampled in the New York Hot Chocolate Festival, I've been reading about the combination of dark chocolate and spicy chile. The thought intrigued me, but for some reason I never quite had the guts to step out of my comfortable sweet-only chocolate boundaries.
Yesterday, I got the cajones necessary and bought a bar of Dagoba xocolatl, organic dark chocolate, chilies and nibs (cacao content: 74%, if anyone's counting). I couldn't even wait until I got home, and broke off a chunk while pulling out of the store's parking lot. I put it on my tongue and the first taste was just dark, lovely chocolate. A few seconds later the spice - hot, a bit smoky, fiery - spread over the back of my palate. It was the most outrageous sensation; the pleasure of pain, mixed with the pleasure of pleasure. I kept eating, addicted not just to the taste, but to the feeling; that cocoa butter melting on my tongue, exploding into fire that startled me every time.














