“Aren’t you going to buy something, Jim?” She asked.
“No,” I replied, “I have a pretty full shelf right now.”
“Oh, come on,” she said. “Can you possibly have too much chocolate?”
I paused for a moment. “Actually, yes,” I confessed.
She was shocked.
Too Much Chocolate?!
While I don’t believe it is possible to have too much Happiness in my life, some things can be done to excess. When I came home, I took a photo of part of my chocolate shelf (yes I have my own dedicated chocolate shelf in the pantry — I know you want one, too!).
In the moment, I have 25 different forms of dark chocolate in my stash. Even at my daily consumption rate, this is a several months supply. I must be careful in my purchases, so as not to avoid the Tragedy of Old Chocolate. Plus, I leave room for the occasional trip to my favorite source for truffles, Lilly Chocolate in Tremont, where their motto is, “Has Your Mouth Danced Today?”
Oh, yes! ThankYouHappyMorePlease!
Here’s my current inventory:
- 1 bag of organic cocoa nibs
- 12 oz dark chocolate malted milk balls
- 16 oz of dark chocolate with toasted pumpkin seeds
- The dregs of a bag of dark chocolate toffee
- 7 partial bags of various dark chocolate covered espresso beans from Nuts.com; some dusted with cocoa, some coated with raspberry, some sugar-free, some decaffeinated (so I can indulge after 6PM).
- 12 oz of dark chocolate nonpariels
- Most of a 1 pound bag of cocoa-dusted deep chocolate truffles (for those who know the Costco truffles that are to die for… Yes, those! Yowza!)
- Six KIND bars – the ones with organic nuts, dipped in dark chocolate and sea salt — only 5 g of sugar per serving!
- A three-pack of Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate bars (see related story)
- A large bar of Ghiradelli Intense Dark with Sea Salt 70%, and another of Dark Midnight Reverie 86% Cocoa.
- A large bar of Godiva 72% Dark
- About one third remaining of a bar of Lindt 70% Smooth Dark
- A medium-size bar of stevia-sweetened Dark Chocolate with coconut — no sugar!
- 1 bar each TCHO 70% cocoa from Ghana and TCHO 67% Madagascar organic
- Half a jar of Justin’s Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Butter (low sugar)
- 1.5 canisters of Trader Joe’s Drinking Chocolate
- 8 bars Good Greens Chocolate Raspberry bars — for nutrition and protein, brilliance from a local Cleveland company!
- And finally, just in case, a jar TCHO squares. It’s a 30-day supply of dark chocolate — to be taken in case of emergency.
On the jar of emergency chocolate is the following information:
Warnings:
- May cause feelings of happiness and well-being.
- Make cause urge to exceed daily dosage.
- Take as needed for inspiration, happy heart, coping, focus, optimism, and even euphoria.
- Beware of the tendency for mood elevation due to excess serotonin (as if!)
Oh, to die happy AND full of chocolate. Nice!