Hi, this is Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT salon host.

Did you read the news that Hershey’s announced it will restore “real” chocolate to its products next year, after a grandson of the Reese’s candies publicly criticized the company for not using it in its peanut butter cups? Yes, Hershey’s and other companies have been switching out real chocolate for “compound coatings” for a while now.

Such is the state of the commercial chocolate industry. As tariffs, climate change and other factors have pushed cocoa prices higher, companies are changing their chocolate-based recipes in subtle, sometimes secret ways. So, when was the last time you had a food product with “real” chocolate in it, and do you even know what “real chocolate” tastes like?

Because I’ve had a great time — and learned a lot — putting together the “Future of Wine” tastings last winter, I thought now was a good time to do something similar for chocolate.

So I’ve asked Ariel Wiseman, founder of Choquiero Chocolate, to host a Real Chocolate tasting for us at his Café Xocolatl in downtown Sacramento. Originally from Buenos Aires, Ariel has made chocolate for about a decade. His passion for chocolate making has taken him around the world and his café carries more than 100 global varieties of chocolate.

Join me for a delicious and decadent Sunday afternoon, in which we’ll explore the sensory, cultural, and even philosophical dimensions of chocolate. While Ariel guides us through a tasting experience of his thoughtfully sourced chocolates, we’ll talk about pleasure, indulgence, mindfulness, the role of taste, and the real meaning of “real” chocolate.

The tasting is $10, (along with a $1 fee for e-payment processing) and there are only 15 spots. If you’re interested, please sign up here to show you are, and I’ll contact you directly with details. The first who pay (via Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or cash ) are the ones to claim those seats.