The Dutch are famous for their chocolate, but are often overshadowed by their Belgian neighbors. The Spanish discovered this ancient Aztec & Mayan treat in the 16th century. But the Dutch figured a way to make a milder tasting powder, with a lower fat content, that disolves in water and could be used to make solid chocolate. This Dutch processed cocoa is what we use today for hot chocolate, a delicious treat available in almost every Dutch cafe, restaurant or coffeeshop.
Tip!Don’t miss an opportunity to try Dutch Cocoa, “met slagroom” – with whipped cream!
What makes Dutch, Belgian and Swiss chocolate so good is that they only use real cocoa butter as the fat in their chocolates while other countries can use all sorts of oils like palm, coconut, whatever. Cocoa butter doesn’t detract from the chocolate taste and adds a silky creaminess and that is what makes the really good chocolates melt so wonderfully in your mouth. So when you buy Dutch chocolate, you’re buying pure chocolate with whatever flavorings the chocolatier chooses to add.
The best Dutch chocolate, is made very fresh, and has a limited shelf life of a week or two unless refrigerated. Thereafter it loses it’s fresh flavor.
All over Amsterdam and Holland there are stores that specialize in bonbons, some are actually from Belgium like Leonidas, but others are homegrown like Puccini. Some shops are strict chocolatiers others are bakeries like Rene’s that also happen to sell chocolate delicacies.
Tip! We highly recommend Puccinias the best chocolatier in town. For excellent chocolate, at an excellent price, visit any Albert Hein supermarket, and check out their “AH” brand chocolate. They have all sorts of bars, bonbons, truffles, even organic chocolate. Not only is it some of the best chocolate anywhere, (Albert Hein’s been making their own chocolate treats since 1895), but it’s REAL cheap!
You can even get chocolate bonbons laced with THC! Chocolata on the Spuistraat is the best known place with a nice selection of chocolate candies with hashish or marijuana added for that extra effect.
On the right is a German-made hemp chocolate bar that I found in Amsterdam. It’s made with roasted hemp seeds and cornflakes, and boy is it yummy! It’s crispy like a Nestle crunch bar, but it won’t get you high, other than the caffeine from both the chocolate and the coffee flavor.
Tip! When you have space cake (or cannabis candy), it is difficult to know how much cannabis you are eating. It always tastes so good you want to eat more! Before you know it, you will have consumed too much. So start with a small piece. It can take anywhere from forty-five minutes to an hour and a half before you feel anything. Wait for it to take effect before you have another piece, otherwise you are sure to overdo it. This is very important, as an overdose will leave you nearly unconscious for 24 hours or more.