Thomas Haas - Matcha Tea Chocolate Bars

I am a big fan of Thomas Haas Chocolates, and adore his hot cocoa. It truly is the best tasting hot chocolate I have ever had. So it was natural for me to move on to his Chocolate Bars. First up was this piece called Matcha. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I am not happy with the flavor concoction because I am not a big white chocolate fan. However, the blend is milky and smooth, and I think he did a good job at trying to mix a bitter tea with chocolate. We'll try another bar soon.

Mink Chocolates, Vancouver

Just discovered a wonderful chocolate shop along West Hastings, called "Mink Chocolate Cafe" where they sell the most intriguing chocolate bars at a premium. The products are handmade / hand wrapped, and their video on their website shows how they do their chocolate bars. I just bought 3 bars for M and I to taste, and the first was called "Tawny and Ruby are Friends." The dark chocolate bar has port wine mixed in the ganache. Website: http://www.minkchocolates.com/. I am unsure if the chocolate they use are fair trade, which is a deal breaker for me. I would like to try the bourbon and mint combination called "Open in Case of Emergency."

Now, Anybody Can Make a Store on the Net

Remember a time when you thought you needed to have a knowledge of html code to make a website, assuming you even had the bandwidth and space to have a store? What happened? Web 2.0 happened, thats what. Now you can easily make a blog or website without knowing code at all. But that's so yesterday. You now have the ability to create your very own store on the net, without hiring 'internet experts' or an expensive advertising agency to create it for you. Enter tinypay.me and Zlio. The latter is a french website where you can create your own e-store in 5 minutes. The former beats this record by creating your own store in just 30 seconds, with a twitter like UI. Both stores do a good job at making their sites as intuitive as possible. And, it helps mini-prenuers deliver a store front at very low cost (free!) Imagine selling your used games or books or whatever to a worldwide audience. Good luck!

5km, Richmond, BC

On the West Dike Trail. We started at Garry Point, Steveston, and then ended up near Terra Nova. That's 5km one way.

The Lonely Bench.

Took this at the West Dike, while M and I were biking on a 5km trail in Steveston, Richmond.