I was in San Francisco last week and came across an incredible local chocolatier named XOX Truffles. The first thing I noticed is that the look of the shop is really casual and home-grown. The chocolates aren't laid out in neat little rows or anything, but just piled high into big bowls of different colors and sizes. There were several different flavors, but they almost all look exactly the same - irregularly shaped (the way truffles were intended to be), dipped in chocolate and then in cocoa. So when you get a bunch of truffles, you don't actually know what kind they are until you smell or taste them.

As for the taste, these taste the way truffles taste when a skilled chocolatier makes truffles in her own kitchen at home. This is my favorite style of truffle. Smooth ganache - but not overly soft - stiff enough to be rolled by hand quickly (so it doesn't melt and become a total mush - I myself have partaken in that race against time many times) with the subtlety and care that one takes when making chocolate confections in really small batches. Lovely all around and some of the best I've had in a while. Here's what I tasted:

Casmira's Favorite: This one had a sweet, flowery white chocolate ganache dipped in white chocolate.

Cognac: A classic. Pleasantly heavy on the cognac, lovely smooth, dense ganache.

Champagne: Probably one of my lessor favorites of the bunch - not very champagne-y, a little muffled.

Earl Grey: The citrus and bergamot kick in nicely somewhere between the middle and the end with subtle notes of flowers. Lovely aroma.

Vin Rouge: I love the idea of red wine truffles. The smell on this one is stronger than the taste - at least initially. The heady scent continues to develop into its full flavor intensity throughout, making for a very satisfying truffle! I almost didn't want to taste anymore after this one.

Lemon: I was curious about this one because I've never managed to find a lemon/chocolate combination that I really liked. But I'm finding that that may be because lemon and chocolate are not a great combination. This one didn't work that well. Some of the milder citrus notes reminded me of the Earl Grey, but without the florals, the bitterness is overpowering and goes against everything.