chocolate review

Kashi Cocoa Beach Granola

August 23, 2010

Kashi company, www.kashi.com, started in 1984 with their first creation of a “unique blend of Seven Whole Grains and Sesame for its supreme nutritional profile — a vegetarian source of protein and complex carbohydrates that’s hearty, satisfying, and energizing.”

I recently tried their Cocoa Beach granola cereal. The cereal has almonds, coconut, and granola clusters all coated in cocoa.
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Chocolatier Hachez

August 16, 2010

In 1890 Joseph Emile Hachez, originally from Belgium, established the Bremer Hachez Chocolade Company in Bremen, Germany.

In 1922, they began producing what would become their signature product, a chocolate autumn leaf called Brown Leaves.

Brown Leaves comes in either solid milk or dark chocolate or praline leaves filled with fine nougat. This traditional line of chocolates is only part of what they offer now.
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Green and Black’s Miniature Bar Collection

August 9, 2010

I am hard pressed to think of a box of chocolates that claims to be everything to everyone, but I may have hit the jack pot with Green and Black’s Miniature Bar Collection.

The collection contains milk chocolate, dark chocolate, almonds, butterscotch candy bits, crystallized ginger, dried sour cherries. Everything’s organic. The tasting samples are the perfect size. Also suitable for vegetarians. Did I miss anything?
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“Feel Good” Chocolate that Tastes Good Too

August 2, 2010

Seeds of Change says their chocolates are “a happy accident” that began as a mission to preserve organic and heirloom seeds from getting swept away by a progressive industrial agriculture. Their appetite for change lead them directly to chocolate as part of their search for delicious organic food.

My first experience with Seeds of Change came from an organic dark chocolate orange and fig chocolate bar. The fig flavor comes from fragrant, dried, and chewy pieces of fig; while the orange flavor comes from oil of orange. The combination is remarkably delicious. The texture is very unique because the fig not only offers the chewiness but also the crunch of tiny seeds.
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Montezuma’s Creative Chocolates

July 26, 2010

I can’t imagine getting bored with chocolate. There has never been a time in chocolate history as full of imagination and creativity with chocolate as there is now.

One of the leaders successfully bringing new and innovative flavor combinations to chocolate is Montezuma’s.

You may already know that I am a huge fan of dark chocolate and orange. Chocolate and orange is so yesterday! My new favorite is Dark chocolate with Orange and Geranium.
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Chocolate and Balsamic Vinegar Pair Well

July 24, 2010

Chocolate and balsamic vinegar doesn’t sound like it would make a good couple, but I recently had a reason to try it. My sister gave me a bottle of Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar by Oro di Oliva for my birthday.

This unique vinegar makes an outstanding marinade for chicken or pork or pour it over fresh berries. On the Oro di Oliva label, it is suggested I drizzle it on ice cream – strange, but I’ll try it!
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Out with the New, in with the Old?

July 20, 2010

In Devon England, Willie’s World Class Chocolate makes their chocolate the old fashioned way - the one hundred year-old way.

According to their website, www.williescacao.com, the equipment used to make their chocolate bars are antiques from the early 1900’s.

The Price of Chocolate

April 26, 2010

I have friends who are often reluctant to spend 10 dollars or more for a 100 gram chocolate bar. I can understand that. They wonder if it is worth it.

Here’s the thing; in the chocolate world, you get what you pay for!

There is an obvious taste and quality difference between a $0.79 chocolate bar and one that costs $1.99. All my friends get that. Also, there is a significant distinction between one priced at $1.99 and one for $7.99. Most of my friends get that. Where I lose almost all of them is anything above the magic $8 mark. Are the flavor differences that occur in this price range really worth the extra dough, they ask?
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Celebrate Earth Day with Chocolate

April 22, 2010

Happy Earth Day!

Just in case you haven't guessed the obvious... I enjoy eating chocolate, and I want chocolate to continue to be part of my world!

According to the International Cocoa Organization, 2.5 million farmers produce almost 90 percent of the world's cocoa on about 5-10 acres. Most of the world's cacao is grown on the small family owned farm. The best chocolate comes from shade grown cacao managed by farmers using small-scale, low-impact techniques.
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Chocolate Adventures in England – Thorntons

March 11, 2010

My little niece was baptized on Valentines Day, Feb. 14, 2010 in a small church near Covent Garden in London.

Previously I had been told the English didn’t celebrate Valentines Day much, but that’s not what I experienced. The chocolate shops and patisseries surrounding the church fully embraced the holiday with window displays decked out in red hearts, flower bouquets, and lots and lots of chocolate!

Most of the time I don’t buy chocolate truffles by the box and off the shelf because I don’t know how long ago those truffles were made. I prefer a really fresh, handmade truffle at the corner shop.
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