Emma’s tea obsession comes from her third obsession, Downton Abbey. A TV show that the amplifier relates to because of, among other things, the stricter structure of society it portrays, specifically the rules of relationships. Emma likes rules. She doesn’t necessarily follow them, but she likes to understand that they exist, including the ritual of ‘afternoon’ tea.
If you want to sip tea (etc) while you read the Amplifier books here are the types Emma drinks/serves in the books (I’ll try to keep this list updated). There are some repeats, for example, Emma defaults to the Iced Tea Fruit Blend when making … you guessed it … iced tea.
Lemon Ginger. Lemongrass, Ginger, Licorice Root, Orange Peel, and Black Pepper.
FYI – all the tea links lead to the Granville Island Tea Company because that is where I buy my tea. But this post is not sponsored in any way, nor are the books. I’m simply having fun with Emma’s obsessive tendencies aka ‘doing research’.
Yes, Dowser series research is just so damn hard. Sigh.
Akesson’s award-winning Madagascar Ambolikapiky Plantation, 75% Criollo Cocoa. If you follow that link it’s the second bar down on the page.
This is a brand new bar for me. YAY! I purchased it during my New Year’s Eve rush through Xoxolat. Fearing they were going to close before I could get there, I called ahead of time to say I was only blocks away. Arriving 10 minutes before closing, I flew along the shelves snatching up old favourites as well as some new bars – astonishing an employee I’d never met, though the lovely owner didn’t batt an eyelash. I – of course and always – dented my visa hard and was out the door 8 minutes later.
Tasting notes
My thoughts: 1st taste – silky smooth, deep cocoa. Buttery. Lingering, pleasant aftertaste. 2nd taste – subtle tartness, very buttery, the cocoa coats the tongue and mouth.
According to the bar: expressive cocoa aroma with a subtle fruity-sweet tartness and pleasant flavour notes that evoke citrus and red berries.
Usually my sweet spot is 65% – 70% cocoa but there was no niggling bitterness or harshness to this 75%. I’m pretty sure this bar will be making an appearance in the Dowser Series.
I’ve had a few requests to post a list of the chocolate eaten or mentioned in the Dowser books, so I thought I would dash off this blog post so if you wanted to get your hands on any of this chocolate before the release date for Dowser 5 (July 23, 2015) then you would have a bit of time to do so.
Inaya chocolate discs from Cacao Barry — a 65 percent blend of intense but balanced cocoa. Purchased at Chocolate Arts in Vancouver along with chocolate for my stash (in the bag) and a seriously yummy bittersweet hot chocolate (in the pig mug).
Lindt’s 70 percent Madagascar – I wanted to add a bar that I thought most of the Dowser readers might be able to get their hands on. This was a gift from my sis-in-law, Cindy. 🙂
^^^ And a little something it’s good for all of us to remember! ^^^
<3 <3 <3
The Dowser 5 ebook will be available THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, B&N, and Smashwords. The paperback will follow about two weeks later. The preorders should start going live around July 9 or 10th.
To help celebrate there will be two large giveaways. One the week before (July 15 – 18) and one the week of the release (July 20 – 23).
Or, as Jade will undoubtedly refer to them in Dowser 5, ‘the holy trinity of chocolate bars,’ which will be terribly sacrilegious. However, we will probably excuse her because she’s had a really bad day. I know this because I’ve written the bad day part, but not the chocolate bar part.
Tested from right to left.
I teased my Facebook page that I was going to test all of these bars in a single afternoon, but then only managed to taste two. I lost track of the Venezuelan bar through the reconfiguring of my office and just happened upon it in my filing cabinet this afternoon, so I decided to crack it while I wrote about Jade and Warner … and Kett … somewhere high up in the mountains …
Valrhona rarely goes wrong with their delicious creations, and they went all sorts of right with these 64% cacoa limited editions.
I tested the Loma Sotavento from the Dominican Republic first, and funnily enough it was my least favourite of the trio.
Valrhona’s tasting notes declare the Loma to be balanced and chocolatey, with round and light ripe fruits that gently give way to a delicate touch of toasted almond.
I picked up the fruit notes right away … yellow plum, maybe (and yum!) I found the chocolate more sweet than balanced, though with the lovely smoothness that seems to accompany all of Valrhona’s chocolate. And yes, I totally picked up the toasted almond finish as well. It came with a lingering aftertaste of sweet almond, which stuck around a bit too long for my taste.
Side note: Interestingly, this was Michael’s favourite of the three. He said he got caramel from it, right off the top.
According to the notes printed on the back of the bar, Valrhona feels that the Gran Couva offers subtle aromas of dried mint and fresh spices.
I picked up the mint even when simply smelling the first square – lovely! Upon tasting, I found the chocolate smooth, creamy, and subtly sweet. Followed by exceedingly subtle hints of mint with a tiny taste of spice at the very back of my throat – almost like an aroma rather than a flavour. Very, very fun! A fresh aftertaste followed, but light and not the least bit mungy.
Last, but certainly not least, I tried the El Pedregal from Venezuela.
Valrhona’s tasting notes: subtle notes of honey and ripe fruit.
I thought the smell of this bar was divine. A rich, deep cocoa scent that filled my nasal cavities (which doesn’t sound very elegant but I enjoyed it nonetheless – ha!). The first square was smooth and very chocolatey. A consistent, well-balanced flavour. I picked up an exceeding subtle hint of honey on my third piece. Not too sweet, and not at all bitter. It finished with a slight lingering aftertaste, but light, not unpleasant. Very, very tasty chocolate!
I declare all three of these bars very enjoyable and worth ‘investing’ in! 😀
FYI – I purchased these bars from Xoxolat in Vancouver last September, but I waited a little too long to try them (the expiration date was 12/31/14). I didn’t notice any issues in this regard, other than the chocolate didn’t snap as cleanly as fine chocolate usually does. Perhaps the taste of each was diminished as well (?) but they tasted just fine to me!
I’ve been conducting an exceedingly scientific series of chocolate tastings for the next Dowser Series trilogy over on my Facebook page. However, I promised myself that I would blog more this year, so I will now be posting any tastings I do here – YAY FOR ME!!
Yes, this is my version of research.
To the tasting!
I loaded the latest version of Dowser 4 on my iPad yesterday afternoon in order to read it once more before I do final tweaks. Then, it will be off to the proof reader! It was a crazy rainy day – perfect for a book and a new chocolate bar. I dug around in my stash drawer and opted for a favourite maker but a new chocolate.
According to the packaging: acid yellow fruit freshness and roasted notes.
My thoughts: smooth, creamy, with hints of citrus. Very balanced. All the quality I’ve come to expect from Valrhona, though slightly on the sweet side. Everything I love in a bean from Madagascar.
“A child has no trouble believing in the unbelievable, nor does the genius or the madman. It’s only you and I, with our big brains and tiny hearts, who doubt and overthink and hesitate.” – Steven Pressfield, Do The Work
This is not a review – yes I enjoyed the book, but, having just finished it, must let it distill, and distill and then? Spring into action! Just wanted to share the above quote.
In other book publishing related news, Michelle Demers, who has generously answered many of my questions about self-publishing, has just released her book, The Global Indie Author. Grab it here in paperback or as an ebook! I will personally be scouring the pages about setting up a POD version (Print on Demand) for After The Virus (release date TBA).
Writer Suzie Ivy recently read and reviewed my novel, After The Virus – “Bad guys become good, worse guys stay bad and humanity fights for what’s right. What more could I ask for? Oh and then Doidge added zombies. Bottom line, I loved this book!”
A brand new project of mine can be found over at Yesterday’s Sunsets – in an effort to offset the massive amounts of writing I am currently doing on the Harbinger first draft, I felt I needed another creative project, but not one that would consume too much writing time. I had always intended to document the amazing sunsets we are so lucky to get here in Vancouver, and this seemed like a good time to start doing so. I am adding a bit of random dialogue along with each post – just to keep my writing muscles flexed (in a different direction) as well.
Currently reading, Bad Luck Cadet by Suzie Ivy and very much enjoying it! I’ll post a review when I am done, but you can find excerpts of the book (and her next one) over at her Bad Luck Detective blog.
Just read Scott Fitzgerald Gray’s novella, The Twilight Child, and though I usually don’t read high fantasy, (which I believe is the correct term) I really enjoyed this short story. I even reviewed it!!
General update: I just cracked the midpoint of the Harbinger novel, and am trying to not get distracted by a new idea to redo my screenplay, Love Lies Bleeding, as a novel. I actually have most of the third act written for Harbinger, so it’s a bit deceptive to say I am only halfway. I should have a completed draft by the beginning of December, then the rewriting begins! I’ll continue the Flash Fiction Fridays every 2nd Friday and start posting some short stories soon as well. Sales for After The Virus have been steady (thank you!), and I am working on a POD (print on demand) version that I hope to have ready for Holiday shopping.
Hope you are all well – I just can’t believe it’s NOVEMBER!!
A Book Vacation recently read After The Virus and ranked it 4 stars! Shana seems to be looking forward to a sequel, but she’ll have a bit of wait ahead of her as a prequel/sequel is not currently in the works (though there are always ideas… ha!)
If you are a writer and not reading these blogs you are crazy (okay, that’s a bit extreme seeing as time is a limited resource, but still check these out):
Oops, this was supposed to go live yesterday!!
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Instead of doing individual posts, I’ve decided to do a link round up every Wednesday (if I have collected enough links to warrant a round up!!) So, since I last posted about my novel, After The Virus, (buy and sample links found on the right hand side bar) here is what has happened around the web!
Want to know all about ISBN’s? Author Michelle Demers has written a 6 part series for self-publishers on this very topic. Here’s PART ONE.
Ever wonder what it would be like to be a female detective in a small town? Well, Suzie Ivy is the Bad Luck Detective and she blogs about her crazy (and funny) experiences. I’ve got her on RSS and am loving her posts.
