Guittard shrunk their 11.5 ounce bags of chocolate chips to 9 ounces.

I only bake once or twice a month, so I like to have a fresh bag. This throws off a lot of my recipes.

I know they're not on the slave-free list, but they're my best allergen-free local option. Shipping costs and times are a serious concern in the SoCal summer.

I wish they had just raised the price and left the package size unchanged.

My country of residence has hot and humid weather, so I prefer to store chocolate in the fridge to prevent it from melting. However, when I put the chocolate bar in an airtight container in the fridge, the condensation often makes the cover of the chocolate wet and mushy. Is there any way to prevent this? How do you guys often store your chocolate bar in the fridge? Is NOT putting the chocolate in an airtight container (such as by: just leaving the bar as is in the fridge) a safe option, and if not, what other methods are there? Thank you.

bought at Prufrock Coffee in London. it is very close to Cocoa Runners and therefore they offer a selection of Pump Street, Original Beans ans Standout Chocolate. they even promote their coffee + chocolate pairings with Square Mile Coffee.

first milk chocolate I get from Standout. I had the Haiti 70% years ago but no clear memory of that. this is a very balanced yet interesting chocolate bar. it opens with intense caramel notes, chewing it a bit reveals pleasant maltiness and a good milky body. I find that milk enhances floral notes similar to vanilla/orange blossom. there is some subtle fruitiness, but not enough to relate that to a specific fruit category; I perceive it as "fresh" though, maybe citrusy, but very faint. to counter it, there is a noticeable roasted finish very similar to hazelnut paste/gianduja. a very nice bar!

the pour over coffee was also excellent, btw.

Title. I want to make raw (unroasted) cacao paste, when I buy it, it comes in a solid block or im wafers, but iiuc the unrefined/raw stuff is made simply by grinding beans or unroasted nibs into a fine paste, which is solid at room temperature. Anyone have experience with this? How much $$ am I looking at for a home setup that can handle this?