On Sunday, July 12th at the Bell Harbor Conference Center, The 2nd Annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon presented by TasteTV introduced cacao fanatics of the Pacific Northwest t o some of the nation's finest artisan products. The vendors were a mix of traditional confectioners and ambitious fusion craftspeople, some local and others from some of the nation's up-and-coming culture centers.

There were a number of surprises at the Chocolate Salon, such as the unexpectedly strong showing from Montana's burgeoning artisan chocolate scene. Three vendors- Posh Chocolat from Missoula and the Bozeman-based La Chatelaine and Crave operations all had delightful contributions. Posh Chocolat concentrates on spice-flavored truffles, La Chatelaine offers updated French-style treats while Crave hits the chocolate game out of the park with a wide assortment of modern but not overly ambitious candies.

Seattle itself has a growing artisan business community, with chocolatiers among the most promising. The name of the 21st century chocolate game is innovation, though sometimes the idea is better than the execution. Among the successes at the Salon was German-born Dennis Haupt's Suess Chocolates and Pastries based out of Madison Park. Many of his chocolates were balanced two-note confections like a Green Tea Ganache and a truly stunning Citrus Truffle. The real stand-out of the day goes to Oh! Chocolate, originally out of Peachtree City, Georgia but with several locations in Seattle. Their Habanero Mango Truffle is one of the most delightful, unique chocolates I've ever tasted.

One of the more unusual offerings of the day was Choffy, a 100% cacao beverage that is like a more mild, caffeine-free alternative to coffee. Choffy certainly has a lot of potential, but the current product lacks definition. With some tweaking to make it sharper, stronger and more flavorful, Choffy could be an exciting trend.

Not all of the concepts were a success. There is a disconcerting trend these days to try to turn treats into shills for snake-oil health and fitness products. Case in point: Xocai "healthy chocolates" by the not-at-all artisan MXI Corporation. These so-called snacks barely qualify as chocolate in any sense. They are chalky, artificial and generally offensive to the palate. Worst of all, the nutritional claims are dubious at best. Though the vendors touted Xocai chocolates as being diabetic-friendly, only two of their products, the Protein Bar and the tiny Nuggets, have a low enough sugar content to be safely consumed by people with the condition. When it comes to chocolate, it's best to stick with the stuff that promises an indulgent treat.

The most inspiring story from the Salon was that of Divine Chocolate, a high-quality bar company that uses the fair-trade beans of Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana exclusively. Kuapa Kokoo is one of the most successful applications of the community-ownership farming model in Africa. The cacao farmers co-own Divine Chocolate and the profit sharing model has allowed them to bring clean, fresh water to their towns and send their children to school. But it's not just a heartwarming story. Divine Chocolate is as tasty as anything you'll find on the artisan market.

The 2nd Annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon was a wonderful experience. Whether you're a budding chocolatier, a foodie or just a fan of the sweet stuff, it was a fine showcase of America's creative, increasingly international confections industry.