EUPHORIA CHOCOLATE
COMPANY STARTED IN
1980
Craft
Chocolate
Euphoria is chocolate without the Oompa Loompas By Rick Levin
I
RAW COCOA BEANS
SERVE AS FODDER FOR
EUPHORIA'S CHOCOLATE
TRUFFLES
’m here to report that the Euphoria Chocolate
Company in west Eugene bears little
resemblance to the delicious Byzantine
splendor of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
Sadly, no orangey Oompa Loompas mobbed me
at the entrance when I visited, and Euphoria proprietor Van
Glass is practically the antithesis of that passive-aggressive
tyrant Willy Wonka, whose benevolent disregard sent poor
Augustus Gloop up the tube.
The insides of Euphoria, instead, are clean and elegant,
almost Kubrickian in their steely geometry, and Van Glass
— who co-owns the operation with his wife Bonnie Glass —
is a kind, mild-mannered man whose professional approach
to high-quality artisanal chocolate is less Gene Wilder than
Henry Ford.
“Craft chocolate is just starting to gain serious momentum
and is still in the early phases of growth,” he tells me. “I
would liken it to where the craft beer industry was about 20
years ago.”
Bonnie Glass also emphasizes the unique characteristics
of the sort of “small batch” craft chocolate in which
Euphoria specializes. “A good-quality, consistent chocolate
is satisfying,” she explains. “Like wine, it has differences tied
to region, production and a lot of other factors.”
Together, the Glasses are the last people you might expect
to be making and selling such addictive devilry as those
chocolate-coated graham crackers I can’t for the life of me
stop wolfing down.
Nonetheless, Van and Bonnie Glass did exhibit a devious
and somewhat Wonka-like delight as they watched me sample
a generous offering of their latest innovations: soda truffles
(grape, root beer, 7-Up, cola) and chocolate-coated cereal,
which includes such classics consumer staples as Cap’n
Crunch and the surprisingly delicious Golden Grahams.
Talk about knowing your audience. As I popped one
delicacy after the other into my mouth (“don’t mind if I
do...”), a kind of Gloopian greed overtook me; I wasn’t sure
if I’d finish the chocolate or the chocolate would finish me.
It’s hard to believe that, less than three years back, the
Glasses were living in Costa Rica with no thought of making
chocolate. Van, a Eugene native, has a background in software
engineering, and Texas-born Bonnie’s only experience with
food production was working in a tortilla factory. When they
moved to Eugene in December 2013, all they knew was they
wanted a new venture.
“I soon learned that the owners of Euphoria Chocolate
Co. were retiring and thought this would be a perfect
opportunity for us both,” Van says, noting that Euphoria
“has been part of the community for the past 35 years, so
it is important to us that we be good stewards continuing
to offer customer favorites while also introducing new
product lines that allow us to put our own stamp on the
company.”
“I think people like buying something new to try,”
Bonnie adds. “It gives them a reason to keep coming in.”
Perhaps the biggest flag the Glasses have planted in
the established company comes on the production side of
things. Among all the munchies I sampled was evidence
of the Glasses' most daring venture — a truffle that the
company has created from beginning to end, unlike most
manufacturers who buy their chocolate base in bulk.
What this means is that Euphoria is now in the business
of buying raw cocoa beans from places like Ghana,
Guatemala and Papua New Guinea; they roast the beans
themselves (similar to the way coffee is roasted, but at
a lower temp), separate the meaty nib from the husk
(“winnowing”), grind the nibs into a chocolate “liqueur”
(the “mélange” process) and, from there, turn them into
truffles.
Euphoria’s bean-to-bar truffles are disarmingly
complex. Unlike most mass-produced chocolate, which
strikes a single sweet note, the truffles reveal themselves
slowly, with a flavor profile that unfolds hints of coffee,
fruit and a becoming bitter-sweetness that is satisfying in
a uniquely adult way. Euphoria’s truffles are to the waxy
monotone of Hershey’s chocolate what Budweiser is to,
say, Ninkasi or Hop Valley. It’s like the world goes from
flat to round.
The Glasses seem pleased at my response, and both say
they are excited for local customers to try their new wares.
“One of my favorite parts of my job is doing chocolate
tastings,” Van Glass later tells me. “I enjoy nothing more
than to get together with a group of people who have
never tasted craft chocolate before, walk them through
a series of different single-origin chocolates and discuss
impressions.”
The least I could do was oblige. ■
Euphoria Chocolate Company’s main plant is at 4090 Stewart Road, with
products sold at several outlets and stores around town, including the new
downtown Euphoria at 946 Willamette Street; for further information, visit
euphoriachocolate.com.
'A good-quality, consistent chocolate is
satisfying. Like wine, it has differences
tied to region, production and a lot of
other factors.'
— Bonnie Glass, Euphoria Chocolate
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW
CHOW SUMMER 2016
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