I’ve always loved chocolate.

Always.

Did I say always?

Anyway, in January 2001 my husband brought home some chocolates for me to try. These were not your normal chocolates. Not. At. All.

In front of me, he placed Michael Recchiuti chocolates infused with bergamot tea, with lavender, with grapefruit and tarragon pink peppercorns and anise, jasmine, burnt caramel, and other amazing things. At that time, I had never seen, never mind tasted, such chocolates. And, oh, were we in for a treat!

My favorite in their classic black box is the sesame nougat chocolate. Its the one in the bottom left corner in the photo—with a honeycomb pattern on the top.

These are so good that I can keep a taste-memory of them going for two years or so, and then I need another fix. Luckily, you can now buy these online, or if you’re in San Francisco, Michael Recchiuti now has a store at The Ferry Building.

If you’re anywhere in the Bay Area, get yourself there now!

They’ve got something for everyone, from beautiful gift boxes to dark hot chocolate mix to grown-ups’ s’mores to cocoa dusted burnt caramel almonds.

Best of all, to celebrate their 10th anniversary, they’re currently offering a great special: with every online order, they are including a free chocolate bar when you enter the code GR808 at checkout.

So, put in your order now, or perhaps you have a good friend like mine: recently I received a surprise package in the mail. “Hmmm,” I thought, “was I expecting anything from her?” I opened the package and be still my beating heart. Inside was a box of Recchiuti chocolates and a container of their signature truffles. I’ve successfully kept the truffles hidden from my son (!) and am savoring each one, fearing the day that I take the last one from the container. Sigh.

As nice as it is to have good chocolate, its even nicer to have friends to appreciate and share it with you!