It’s always a treat to find a chocolate shop, especially in a small town.
Those who have been to places like French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville or Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, to name a couple – those reading this may have a favorite spot – where tasty treats are made on site. You understand the joy of a truffle or other artisanal chocolate treats. It’s a pretentious thing, admittedly, but life is too short, sometimes.
In a recent visit by my wife and I to Floyd, Virginia, we came across the Cocoa Mia chocolate shop. The temptation to get really good chocolate was too much to pass up, so in we went.
We each had a truffle – strawberry balsamic and chocolate raspberry – and a late afternoon drink (the frozen hot chocolate was so creamy!)
Glancing around the store and the items on the shelves, I noticed chocolate bars from faraway lands like Reykjavik and Dubai and Germany and so on.
Then, I noticed this intriguing bar
And then this one
Both sounded curious to try, but then, I saw this odd selection.
We decided that, barring an exorbitant price, we had to see what this was about. I’m pretty sure this is the most I’ve paid for a chocolate bar, even as it had no promise of a “Golden Ticket”, by which we could visit Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
Turns out that the Chinese farmer, that created this particular flavor of oolong tea, called it “Ya Shi Xiang”, so as to keep his ingredients secret. Ya Shi Xiang translated into English “Duck Shit”.
The chocolate itself has an earthy and dark flavor to it, while the tea flavor is definitely present, though strong.
The chocolate is definitely a fun find one comes upon when traveling. It’s especially more fun to tell people you’ve had duck shit chocolate without further explanation.
However, it’s also a marvelous reminder not to judge a book by its cover.
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