March 31, 2007 - Harry London Candies Inc., has recalled 26,794 chocolate fudge and peanut butter egg candies. The candies were not
labeled as containing egg products and could pose a potential threat to those with allergies to eggs. The Seattle Times has what looks
like an interesting recipe for White Chocolate Mousse with Kumquat Sauce.
March 27, 2007 - Long time readers of our site are aware of our love affair with sweetriot, those metal tins filled with cacao nibs coated in
chocolate. They come in three levels 50, 65 and 70% dark chocolate coating with the earthiest, crunchiest nibs we've come across. If you
get to their website and order before March 31st and type in riotnow in the promo code box at checkout you get to take 10% off your
purchase. Recchiuti has released what looks like some nice Easter eggs for the holiday. The shell is Dark Chocolate encasing a Dark
Chocolate ganache. Chocolat Moderne is taking Easter chocolate in an amazing looking direction. The eggs are patterned after Ukrainian
Easter eggs, wonderous designs, with flavors that are beyond interesting. Six different flavors , Anise in Wonderland, Berry Bohemian (
strawberries and raspberries with red grape must ), Cocoa Cabana , Coconut Coast , Peanut Pizzazz and Macadamia Republic.
March 23, 2007 - Hershey Chocolate is expanding its line of healthier chocolates. They are introducing two new products that are loaded
with anti oxidant flavanols. The products are Antioxidant Milk Chocolate and Whole Bean Chocolate. The Antioxidant Milk contains 260mg of
flavanols per 40g serving while Whole Bean gives 180mg per serving. For a variety of reasons Dark Chocolate sales in the United
Kingdom jumped 25% last year. For the first time Dark Chocolate is outselling Milk Chocolate in Woolworths across the UK. Jacqueline
Higuera McMahon has authored an article about her experiences with liquid chocolate. She's traveled Europe and has some opinions
about her favorite spots. She also has a recipe for liquid chocolate that looks interesting. In Australia the average person consumes 4.4
kilos a year and it's a $2.19 billion (US) business. For most businesses at the Jersey shore this is the dead time of the year. For Lucille's
Candies in Brant Beach it's time to produce Easter items. They'll be cranking out as many as 50,000 chocolate bunnies and eggs. They've
been a family run firm and first opened in Philadelphia in 1927. MarieBelle has added two new items to their Maya Chocolate line. They've
added a sugar free 3.5 ounce bar and a sugar free hot chocolate.
March 21, 2007 - John & Kira's have developed what looks like a really cute item. Little Ladybug Gems, which look like ladybugs, the shell,
and are filled with raspberry ganache. Cocoa polyphenols now seem to have another healthful benefit. A new study out of Japan has found
supplementing the diet of obese diabetic mice with cocoa liquor has bought down blood glucose levels in the mice. It's possible that
dietary supplementation might lead to lowering of Type 2 diabetes and with 20 million Americans afflicted with diabetes this could be a
significant breakthrough. According to the UK Sunday Times Cadbury Schwepps is going to try to cut down costs in their confectionary
business by $587 million in a plan that will be released June 19th. This along with the recent announcement that the drink end of the
company would be separated from the confectionary business foretells big changes are in store for the company. We are always
impressed with the way Vosges Haut - Chocolat seems to find new flavors and work them into chocolate. Although we've yet to try them we
like the look of their four new limited edition pieces. The new Green Truffle Collection is a tour through the tastes of Asia. With flavors from
Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia. The flavors are Kayoko Japanese green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom, Kaffir Thai kaffir lime
+ fresh coconut + dark chocolate, Ellateria Indian cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds and Buddha's Leaf Malaysian pandan
leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder.
March 20, 2007 - With the United States racking up record trade deficits it's always good to see US companies who are capable of turning
out high quality products and sell them in foreign markets. Noka Chocolate is opening a store in the new Tokyo Midtown development.
Joining such high end retailers such as Harry Winston and Bottega Veneta in the heart of Tokyo. The development will include Tokyo's
tallest building, the Ritz - Carlton, an art museum and a park. If you're here in New York City this Thursday , March 22nd , Pasanella and
Son, Vintners at 115 South Street is holding a chocolates and wine pairing event. It's $40 a head and is being held in conjunction with Marie
Belle Chocolates. The schedule shows six wine and chocolate pairings and looks great. Call first to check on details 212-233-8383.
Deborah Markus of Bellaonline has a nice looking recipe for banana chocolate bread. Amano Artisan Chocolate, America's newest
chocolate factory, is up and running. We've yet to sample any of their product, they currently have two different 2 oz bars available, the
Ocumare made with beans from Venezuela and the Madagascar made with beans from, you guessed it, Madagascar. Amano Artisan
Chocolate was rated one of the best US chocolates by NPR and they can be reached at AmanoChocolate.com . Lake Champlain
Chocolate, 750 Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont, will be opening up their retail shop for a series of what looks like great events the week of
Monday, April 23rd until Saturday April 28th. Kirk Weed and Emily Jones will showing a different chocolate item each day with tips on how to
create your own chocolate treats. Attendees will learn how chocolate sculptures and two different Belgian pralines are created. There is no
need to register in advance and attendees will sample chocolate and receive take home recipes. Of course while you are there take a look
at Lake Champlain's Factory. Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli helped by increased US sales , over $500 million in 2006, has
enjoyed an overall increase of 15.1%. Some criminals in Great Briatain must have quite a sweet tooth as they heisted a truck containing
$137,000 worth of Cadbury Easter Eggs. The truck had stopped after leaving the Bournville factory and the driver was approached by the
thieves who told him his truck was shedding load. When he got out to investigate the criminals jumped into the truck and took off.
Fortunately the truck has only a tiny amount of the Eggs produced, Cadbury makes 30 - 40 million eggs in the Bournville plant.
March 18, 2007 - With St. Patrick's Day over with it's time to start examining who's doing what with easter this year. Jacques Torres has
announced his Easter lineup for this year and it looks to us to include some exceptional items. For $6.00 you can purchase a 3.5 ounce
bar of milk, white or dark chocolate. The bars have really cute Easter scenes on them and Jacque's chocolate is always first rate. He 's
also offering chocolate eggs, raisins, baskets and for Passover chocolate coated Matzoh. Vosges Haut -Chocolat neat little chocolate
bunnies, floppy eared beauties in five flavors. The Red Fire "Volcano Rabbit" which is Ancho and Chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon, and
dark chocolate. Naga - "Black-Naped Hare" which is curry, coconut and milk chocolate. Black Pearl - "Ryukyu Rabbit" composed of native
ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate and black sesame seeds. Gianduja - "Italian Hare" which are hazelnuts, almonds, and milk chocolate and
the Barcelona - "Tarragona European Rabbit" which is salt and sweet with Hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and milk chocolate.
These rabbits are 2.5 ounces each and sell for $9.50. Scharffen Berger has Easter Eggs that are 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate.
Inside the 5" eggs are tiny little chicks that look adorable. De Brand has a nice assortment of items for basket filling. Everything from a 19"
tall Easter egg, that's three inches thick for $250.00 . They also have whipped up Rocky Road Chocolate eggs, chocolate blended with
caramel, marshmallow and roasted almonds and pecans, that come in both milk and dark.
March 17, 2007 - Chuao Chocolatier, out of California, has two new product lines that look interesting. The first are ChocoPods, which are
11 gram bars, and available at Whole Foods. The second are Twists which are either Origins (cubes of different cocoa percentages) or
Carambolas (nuts covered in spicy chocolate ). Of the Carambolas the caramelized macadamia nuts in Venezuelan dark chocolate with a
touch of smoky chipotle chilies interests us the most.
March 16, 2007 - Jacques Torres Chocolate at 350 Hudson Street in Manhattan will be holding what looks to be a great event tomorrow,
Saturday March 17th at 11 am. Mr. Torres will be teaming up with his teacher from France LouLou to create an Easter creation. This looks
like a great demo. With Nelson Peltz having taken a 2.98% stake in Cadbury Schweppes the stock has been trending upward. Share
prices were up 10% Wednesday on the news. If you're going to be in Vacaville, California on April 29th you might want to check out Faith in
Action's fourth annual chocolate and wine fundraiser. Tickets are $40 each and the money raised will be used to help the homebound
elderly and those diagnosed with cancer. Cadbury Schweppes has announced that they will be splitting in two. The American beverage
business , Dr. Pepper etc., will be split from the rest of the company known as Dairy Milk Chocolate. Speaking of Cadbury the stock keeps
going up on the news of the Peltz stock buy. Through Thursday the stock price was up 15%. NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest
newspaper database available online, has just released ChocolateWarsArchive.com. The archive will include material related to the
battles between the Hershey and Mars Company. The material will be used by the Lou Reda Productions' one-hour documentary entitled
"Chocolate Wars," which will be shown Tuesday, April 3 at 8 p.m. EST on the Discovery Times Channel. Out of Texas there is a new
product Innocent Chocolate. The product is a mixture of cocoa powder and coconut oil. The products inventor needed Lauric acid which
supports the thyroid function, needed for a thyroid problem she had. The coconut oil is rich in Lauric acid and the cocoa powder made for a
pleasent delivery system. A picture from Reuters of Cadbury's Creme Egg packaging from this year. Norman Hollenberg from Harvard
Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital has done extensive research on Epicatechin, a flavanol found in cocoa, tea and wine
and believes it benefits are so substanial that it should be classified a vitamin. His research among the Kuna people who drink up to 40
cups a week of cocoa has found they have lower rates of four of the five largest killers, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke. With an
impending cocoa shortage the David Michael firm has been pushing their line of cocoa extenders that they developed a few years ago.
March 15, 2007 - The Schokoladenmuseum, Cologne, Germany's museum dedicated to chocolate is now drawing 600,000 visitors
annually. The Museum is run by Lindt & Sprungli along with Cologne chocolatier Hans Imhoff. The exhibits trace the 3,000 year history of
chocolate and has had many celebrity visitors including Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madeleine Albright. A recent customer
survey conducted by eToys.com has found that when it comes to adults eating chocolate easter bunnies 86% of respondents start by
eating the rabbits ears. The Chocolate of the Month.com, out of Ellicott City, Maryland, has reopened it's site and is up and running. The
Rehoboth Beach, Maryland convention center was the scene last Saturday of the annual Chocolate Festival. Local restaurants provided
chocolates for attendees to sample. A group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has amassed a 2.98 percent stake in Cadbury
Schweppes Plc. This of course has led to speculation that the group may be trying to take over the company. On March 21 at 7:30 p.m. The
Belchertown Historical Society at the Stone House Museum in Belchertown, Massachusetts will be holding a presentation on the History
Of Chocolate. The Hershey Company , in response to a shareholder proposal from Walden Asset Management has agreed to create a
broad-based supplier code of conduct that also includes an implementation and monitoring plan. This will hold vendors responsible in
their treatment of their workers.
March 14, 2007 - Beatrice Wood, the artist, died in 1998 at the age of 105. She credited her longevity to chocolate consumption and young
men. The Museum of Ventura County is having an exhibit of her famed luster glaze ceramics, sculptures, and drawings and it opens with a
Chocolate Celebration Reception on March 17. If you happen to be in Hexham, England drop by the Fore Street Thornton's chocolate shop
and take a look at the new refit done to bring the branch more in line with the rest of the chain. On March 9th we reported how an errant Kit
Kat wrapper led to the capture of a burglary suspect in Scotland. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail. Forrest Mars was certainly a
fascinating character. Spinning off from his father's company he built Mars chocolate into the conglomerate it is today. Spending time in
Spain during the Spanish Civil War he watched soldiers snack on chocolate lentils coated in a sugary candy and modified the idea for
M&Ms. He thought nothing of destroying a run of candy if he thought that any bacteria had affected the cleanliness of it. He micromanaged
everything and paid his employees top dollar but expected them to work long hours and be loyal to the firm.
March 10, 2007 - Sometimes we here at eChocolatenNYC receive a Press Release with news that is so staggering in its chocolateness
that we just have to reprint it in its entirety. Hershey®’s Kisses® Brand Chocolates is offering consumers a chance to win $100 million in
the Kiss Someone™ “Share, Match and Win” promotion, as part of the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration.
Beginning March 2007 through September 2007, specially marked bags of Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Kissables products will
feature game pieces displaying half of a Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate. Consumers nationwide can connect with family, friends or other
consumers on www.KissSomeone.com to find the matching half of their Hershey’s Kisses game piece. Complete game pieces
displaying a full Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate are eligible for one of more than 100,000 prizes including: cruise vacations, tandem bicycles,
Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Kissables products and a chance to share and win $100 million. Three consumers will connect with a
partner to complete three silver Hershey’s Kisses game pieces to instantly share $100,000 with their partner. The three teams will then
play for the Kiss Someone grand prize of $100 million on NBC’s hit show “Deal or No Deal” in November 2007. Official rules and more
information on the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration can be found on www.KissSomeone.com.
March 9, 2007 - The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has published its first cocoa forecast for 2006/07. They expect the world's
supply to drop by 5.5% so it's possible chocolate prices may be inching upwards. A new study has found that consuming flavanols three
days a week in liquid form improved the blood flow of smokers. The research is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.
A Kit Kat wrapper led police to Dellroy McPhillips, 30, who had burgled a house in Gracemount, Scotland. He left the wrapper behind after
escaping from a home owner who caught him in the act. If you have $1,023 and are looking for a nice gift NOKA now has available the Sky
Collection. 1.5 ' high and weighing 17 pounds the Sky Collection contains 224 dark chocolate pieces from NOKA's Vintages Collection(TM)
and 24 handcrafted truffles from its Grand Cru Collection(TM). It consists of 10 precision laser-cut, brushed stainless-steel keepsake
Signature Boxes(TM). A study out of Finland finds that a bunch of business men the study has been following since the 1960's had
slimmer waists and were less likely to have diabetes if they ate sweets. They also were healthier and less likely to be depressed.
March 8, 2007 - An interesting piece on crisis management and the public's perception of a company. Especially in food safety cases. The
article is about problems Bernard Matthews the British poultry company is having but also references the Cadbury salmonella situation.
The author advises companies to release information quickly and not in dribs and drabs. Realistically the information will be made public
anyhow and the key to rebuilding public trust is to convince the public the company is addressing the situation and not hiding anything.
Barry Callebaut has expanded operations at a factory in Ghana. They are doubling production at their Tema facility. Cargill recently
announced they to are going to open an operation in Tema. AC Nielsen has released a report that states that although confectionary goods
saw only slight growth last year, 5%, some markets the Asia, Pacific and Latin America are growing at a much faster rate.
March 7, 2007 - German candy makers saw a slight dip in production in 2006 due to a variety of factors including hot weather which hurts
demand. Much of the shortfall was made up for in an increase in exports especially to Asia. The industry is also being buffeted by higher
prices for raw materials. Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined forces to improve their respective positions in the competitive European
market. Nestle will be outsourcing some of its cocoa processing to Callebaut as well as turning over their facilities in Italy and France to
Callebaut. Callebaut has also agreed to supply 43,000 tons of liquid chocolate to the Nestle Russian operations. In the last month
Hershey has announced they will be cutting their workforce by 1,500 and restructuring their distribution system making their supply chain
more efficient and allowing the company to save between 170 and 190 million dollars by 2010. This money could then be reinvested in the
companies core brands and expanding globally. There is no doubt Cadbury had a difficult year. The disastrous salmonella outbreak, the
possible prosecution of the company for breaking UK environmental laws and the falsification of it's financial figures for its Nigerian
operations. Still riding a banner year for its gum operations, Trident grew 23% and Stride was released in the United States allowed the
company to grow full year profits by 9%. A review published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine has come to the conclusion
that flavonoids the potential anti oxidant in cocoa may not be processed by the body in a manner that was previously thought. In a test tube
flavonoids attack free radicals and are 3 to 5 times more effective than vitamin C. The study comes to the conclusion though that that which
happens in a test tube is not always the same as that which happens in the human body. Cadbury Adams has patented a new kind of
sweet that releases three distinct flavors. It is composed of a soft tablet center surrounded by a crunchy shell. The flavors are released
sequentially thereby each is different. Deborah Markus of Bellonline has a nice recipe for chocolate brownie pudding. An interesting
commentary from Cee-FoodIndustry.com. The commentary postulates that advertisers instead of yanking all ads for children would be
better off using some of their budgets to educating children. The plan would be to help youngsters make better choices when they
purchase sweets looking towards giving them information about dark vs milk chocolate, organic and fairtrade etc. DeBrand Chocolates
sent us an email about their wedding chocolate programs which prompted us to take a look at their website. Our experience with their
products has always been positive. Their wedding items seem to be fairly priced for what they are and if the chocolate is of the same high
quality as the items we've sampled in the past one could do a lot worse than to take a look at what they have to offer. Lake Champlain has
released their Easter line for this year and as with all of their products it's tastefully done and in all likelihood tastes good. Their product is
made from all natural sources so it's a bit healthier to.
March 6, 2007 - The Associated Press weighs in on single origin chocolate and its effect on the marketplace. It must be getting close to
Easter because you can go to www.LindtGoldBunny.com and hunt for the Lindt Gold Bunny. It's interactive and fun. Lisa Abraham of The
Akron Beacon Journal has an interesting article providing an overview of the world of high end chocolate. Julia Baker a confectionary artist
from Scottsdale, Arizona explains how to hold your own chocolate tasting. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Laura Secord
are warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume Laura Secord brand No Added Sugar Lactose Free Dark Chocolate
Flavoured Bar. The affected product may contain milk protein which is not declared on the label. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA) is warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume certain Botticelli brand chocolate products. The products are listed in
the article and were produced in British Columbia. Richard Doyle, executive director of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, has claimed that large
quantities of chocolate milk are being imported into Canada. Much of it is being blended with Canadian milk allowing it to escape being
labeled made in the USA he charges. We've raved about NOKA chocolate the high end company out of Plano, Texas. Little did we know
the two founders Noah Haughton and Katrina Merrem were originally from Canada. An article out of The Plano Courier Star takes an
insiders look at this local business.
labeled as containing egg products and could pose a potential threat to those with allergies to eggs. The Seattle Times has what looks
like an interesting recipe for White Chocolate Mousse with Kumquat Sauce.
March 27, 2007 - Long time readers of our site are aware of our love affair with sweetriot, those metal tins filled with cacao nibs coated in
chocolate. They come in three levels 50, 65 and 70% dark chocolate coating with the earthiest, crunchiest nibs we've come across. If you
get to their website and order before March 31st and type in riotnow in the promo code box at checkout you get to take 10% off your
purchase. Recchiuti has released what looks like some nice Easter eggs for the holiday. The shell is Dark Chocolate encasing a Dark
Chocolate ganache. Chocolat Moderne is taking Easter chocolate in an amazing looking direction. The eggs are patterned after Ukrainian
Easter eggs, wonderous designs, with flavors that are beyond interesting. Six different flavors , Anise in Wonderland, Berry Bohemian (
strawberries and raspberries with red grape must ), Cocoa Cabana , Coconut Coast , Peanut Pizzazz and Macadamia Republic.
March 23, 2007 - Hershey Chocolate is expanding its line of healthier chocolates. They are introducing two new products that are loaded
with anti oxidant flavanols. The products are Antioxidant Milk Chocolate and Whole Bean Chocolate. The Antioxidant Milk contains 260mg of
flavanols per 40g serving while Whole Bean gives 180mg per serving. For a variety of reasons Dark Chocolate sales in the United
Kingdom jumped 25% last year. For the first time Dark Chocolate is outselling Milk Chocolate in Woolworths across the UK. Jacqueline
Higuera McMahon has authored an article about her experiences with liquid chocolate. She's traveled Europe and has some opinions
about her favorite spots. She also has a recipe for liquid chocolate that looks interesting. In Australia the average person consumes 4.4
kilos a year and it's a $2.19 billion (US) business. For most businesses at the Jersey shore this is the dead time of the year. For Lucille's
Candies in Brant Beach it's time to produce Easter items. They'll be cranking out as many as 50,000 chocolate bunnies and eggs. They've
been a family run firm and first opened in Philadelphia in 1927. MarieBelle has added two new items to their Maya Chocolate line. They've
added a sugar free 3.5 ounce bar and a sugar free hot chocolate.
March 21, 2007 - John & Kira's have developed what looks like a really cute item. Little Ladybug Gems, which look like ladybugs, the shell,
and are filled with raspberry ganache. Cocoa polyphenols now seem to have another healthful benefit. A new study out of Japan has found
supplementing the diet of obese diabetic mice with cocoa liquor has bought down blood glucose levels in the mice. It's possible that
dietary supplementation might lead to lowering of Type 2 diabetes and with 20 million Americans afflicted with diabetes this could be a
significant breakthrough. According to the UK Sunday Times Cadbury Schwepps is going to try to cut down costs in their confectionary
business by $587 million in a plan that will be released June 19th. This along with the recent announcement that the drink end of the
company would be separated from the confectionary business foretells big changes are in store for the company. We are always
impressed with the way Vosges Haut - Chocolat seems to find new flavors and work them into chocolate. Although we've yet to try them we
like the look of their four new limited edition pieces. The new Green Truffle Collection is a tour through the tastes of Asia. With flavors from
Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia. The flavors are Kayoko Japanese green tea + white chocolate + cherry blossom, Kaffir Thai kaffir lime
+ fresh coconut + dark chocolate, Ellateria Indian cardamom + dark chocolate + white poppy seeds and Buddha's Leaf Malaysian pandan
leaves + dark chocolate + cocoa powder.
March 20, 2007 - With the United States racking up record trade deficits it's always good to see US companies who are capable of turning
out high quality products and sell them in foreign markets. Noka Chocolate is opening a store in the new Tokyo Midtown development.
Joining such high end retailers such as Harry Winston and Bottega Veneta in the heart of Tokyo. The development will include Tokyo's
tallest building, the Ritz - Carlton, an art museum and a park. If you're here in New York City this Thursday , March 22nd , Pasanella and
Son, Vintners at 115 South Street is holding a chocolates and wine pairing event. It's $40 a head and is being held in conjunction with Marie
Belle Chocolates. The schedule shows six wine and chocolate pairings and looks great. Call first to check on details 212-233-8383.
Deborah Markus of Bellaonline has a nice looking recipe for banana chocolate bread. Amano Artisan Chocolate, America's newest
chocolate factory, is up and running. We've yet to sample any of their product, they currently have two different 2 oz bars available, the
Ocumare made with beans from Venezuela and the Madagascar made with beans from, you guessed it, Madagascar. Amano Artisan
Chocolate was rated one of the best US chocolates by NPR and they can be reached at AmanoChocolate.com . Lake Champlain
Chocolate, 750 Pine Street, Burlington, Vermont, will be opening up their retail shop for a series of what looks like great events the week of
Monday, April 23rd until Saturday April 28th. Kirk Weed and Emily Jones will showing a different chocolate item each day with tips on how to
create your own chocolate treats. Attendees will learn how chocolate sculptures and two different Belgian pralines are created. There is no
need to register in advance and attendees will sample chocolate and receive take home recipes. Of course while you are there take a look
at Lake Champlain's Factory. Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprungli helped by increased US sales , over $500 million in 2006, has
enjoyed an overall increase of 15.1%. Some criminals in Great Briatain must have quite a sweet tooth as they heisted a truck containing
$137,000 worth of Cadbury Easter Eggs. The truck had stopped after leaving the Bournville factory and the driver was approached by the
thieves who told him his truck was shedding load. When he got out to investigate the criminals jumped into the truck and took off.
Fortunately the truck has only a tiny amount of the Eggs produced, Cadbury makes 30 - 40 million eggs in the Bournville plant.
March 18, 2007 - With St. Patrick's Day over with it's time to start examining who's doing what with easter this year. Jacques Torres has
announced his Easter lineup for this year and it looks to us to include some exceptional items. For $6.00 you can purchase a 3.5 ounce
bar of milk, white or dark chocolate. The bars have really cute Easter scenes on them and Jacque's chocolate is always first rate. He 's
also offering chocolate eggs, raisins, baskets and for Passover chocolate coated Matzoh. Vosges Haut -Chocolat neat little chocolate
bunnies, floppy eared beauties in five flavors. The Red Fire "Volcano Rabbit" which is Ancho and Chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon, and
dark chocolate. Naga - "Black-Naped Hare" which is curry, coconut and milk chocolate. Black Pearl - "Ryukyu Rabbit" composed of native
ginger, wasabi, dark chocolate and black sesame seeds. Gianduja - "Italian Hare" which are hazelnuts, almonds, and milk chocolate and
the Barcelona - "Tarragona European Rabbit" which is salt and sweet with Hickory smoked almonds, grey sea salt and milk chocolate.
These rabbits are 2.5 ounces each and sell for $9.50. Scharffen Berger has Easter Eggs that are 62% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate.
Inside the 5" eggs are tiny little chicks that look adorable. De Brand has a nice assortment of items for basket filling. Everything from a 19"
tall Easter egg, that's three inches thick for $250.00 . They also have whipped up Rocky Road Chocolate eggs, chocolate blended with
caramel, marshmallow and roasted almonds and pecans, that come in both milk and dark.
March 17, 2007 - Chuao Chocolatier, out of California, has two new product lines that look interesting. The first are ChocoPods, which are
11 gram bars, and available at Whole Foods. The second are Twists which are either Origins (cubes of different cocoa percentages) or
Carambolas (nuts covered in spicy chocolate ). Of the Carambolas the caramelized macadamia nuts in Venezuelan dark chocolate with a
touch of smoky chipotle chilies interests us the most.
March 16, 2007 - Jacques Torres Chocolate at 350 Hudson Street in Manhattan will be holding what looks to be a great event tomorrow,
Saturday March 17th at 11 am. Mr. Torres will be teaming up with his teacher from France LouLou to create an Easter creation. This looks
like a great demo. With Nelson Peltz having taken a 2.98% stake in Cadbury Schweppes the stock has been trending upward. Share
prices were up 10% Wednesday on the news. If you're going to be in Vacaville, California on April 29th you might want to check out Faith in
Action's fourth annual chocolate and wine fundraiser. Tickets are $40 each and the money raised will be used to help the homebound
elderly and those diagnosed with cancer. Cadbury Schweppes has announced that they will be splitting in two. The American beverage
business , Dr. Pepper etc., will be split from the rest of the company known as Dairy Milk Chocolate. Speaking of Cadbury the stock keeps
going up on the news of the Peltz stock buy. Through Thursday the stock price was up 15%. NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest
newspaper database available online, has just released ChocolateWarsArchive.com. The archive will include material related to the
battles between the Hershey and Mars Company. The material will be used by the Lou Reda Productions' one-hour documentary entitled
"Chocolate Wars," which will be shown Tuesday, April 3 at 8 p.m. EST on the Discovery Times Channel. Out of Texas there is a new
product Innocent Chocolate. The product is a mixture of cocoa powder and coconut oil. The products inventor needed Lauric acid which
supports the thyroid function, needed for a thyroid problem she had. The coconut oil is rich in Lauric acid and the cocoa powder made for a
pleasent delivery system. A picture from Reuters of Cadbury's Creme Egg packaging from this year. Norman Hollenberg from Harvard
Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital has done extensive research on Epicatechin, a flavanol found in cocoa, tea and wine
and believes it benefits are so substanial that it should be classified a vitamin. His research among the Kuna people who drink up to 40
cups a week of cocoa has found they have lower rates of four of the five largest killers, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke. With an
impending cocoa shortage the David Michael firm has been pushing their line of cocoa extenders that they developed a few years ago.
March 15, 2007 - The Schokoladenmuseum, Cologne, Germany's museum dedicated to chocolate is now drawing 600,000 visitors
annually. The Museum is run by Lindt & Sprungli along with Cologne chocolatier Hans Imhoff. The exhibits trace the 3,000 year history of
chocolate and has had many celebrity visitors including Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio and Madeleine Albright. A recent customer
survey conducted by eToys.com has found that when it comes to adults eating chocolate easter bunnies 86% of respondents start by
eating the rabbits ears. The Chocolate of the Month.com, out of Ellicott City, Maryland, has reopened it's site and is up and running. The
Rehoboth Beach, Maryland convention center was the scene last Saturday of the annual Chocolate Festival. Local restaurants provided
chocolates for attendees to sample. A group led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has amassed a 2.98 percent stake in Cadbury
Schweppes Plc. This of course has led to speculation that the group may be trying to take over the company. On March 21 at 7:30 p.m. The
Belchertown Historical Society at the Stone House Museum in Belchertown, Massachusetts will be holding a presentation on the History
Of Chocolate. The Hershey Company , in response to a shareholder proposal from Walden Asset Management has agreed to create a
broad-based supplier code of conduct that also includes an implementation and monitoring plan. This will hold vendors responsible in
their treatment of their workers.
March 14, 2007 - Beatrice Wood, the artist, died in 1998 at the age of 105. She credited her longevity to chocolate consumption and young
men. The Museum of Ventura County is having an exhibit of her famed luster glaze ceramics, sculptures, and drawings and it opens with a
Chocolate Celebration Reception on March 17. If you happen to be in Hexham, England drop by the Fore Street Thornton's chocolate shop
and take a look at the new refit done to bring the branch more in line with the rest of the chain. On March 9th we reported how an errant Kit
Kat wrapper led to the capture of a burglary suspect in Scotland. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail. Forrest Mars was certainly a
fascinating character. Spinning off from his father's company he built Mars chocolate into the conglomerate it is today. Spending time in
Spain during the Spanish Civil War he watched soldiers snack on chocolate lentils coated in a sugary candy and modified the idea for
M&Ms. He thought nothing of destroying a run of candy if he thought that any bacteria had affected the cleanliness of it. He micromanaged
everything and paid his employees top dollar but expected them to work long hours and be loyal to the firm.
March 10, 2007 - Sometimes we here at eChocolatenNYC receive a Press Release with news that is so staggering in its chocolateness
that we just have to reprint it in its entirety. Hershey®’s Kisses® Brand Chocolates is offering consumers a chance to win $100 million in
the Kiss Someone™ “Share, Match and Win” promotion, as part of the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration.
Beginning March 2007 through September 2007, specially marked bags of Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Kissables products will
feature game pieces displaying half of a Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate. Consumers nationwide can connect with family, friends or other
consumers on www.KissSomeone.com to find the matching half of their Hershey’s Kisses game piece. Complete game pieces
displaying a full Hershey’s Kisses Chocolate are eligible for one of more than 100,000 prizes including: cruise vacations, tandem bicycles,
Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Kissables products and a chance to share and win $100 million. Three consumers will connect with a
partner to complete three silver Hershey’s Kisses game pieces to instantly share $100,000 with their partner. The three teams will then
play for the Kiss Someone grand prize of $100 million on NBC’s hit show “Deal or No Deal” in November 2007. Official rules and more
information on the Hershey’s Kisses Brand 100th anniversary celebration can be found on www.KissSomeone.com.
March 9, 2007 - The International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) has published its first cocoa forecast for 2006/07. They expect the world's
supply to drop by 5.5% so it's possible chocolate prices may be inching upwards. A new study has found that consuming flavanols three
days a week in liquid form improved the blood flow of smokers. The research is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.
A Kit Kat wrapper led police to Dellroy McPhillips, 30, who had burgled a house in Gracemount, Scotland. He left the wrapper behind after
escaping from a home owner who caught him in the act. If you have $1,023 and are looking for a nice gift NOKA now has available the Sky
Collection. 1.5 ' high and weighing 17 pounds the Sky Collection contains 224 dark chocolate pieces from NOKA's Vintages Collection(TM)
and 24 handcrafted truffles from its Grand Cru Collection(TM). It consists of 10 precision laser-cut, brushed stainless-steel keepsake
Signature Boxes(TM). A study out of Finland finds that a bunch of business men the study has been following since the 1960's had
slimmer waists and were less likely to have diabetes if they ate sweets. They also were healthier and less likely to be depressed.
March 8, 2007 - An interesting piece on crisis management and the public's perception of a company. Especially in food safety cases. The
article is about problems Bernard Matthews the British poultry company is having but also references the Cadbury salmonella situation.
The author advises companies to release information quickly and not in dribs and drabs. Realistically the information will be made public
anyhow and the key to rebuilding public trust is to convince the public the company is addressing the situation and not hiding anything.
Barry Callebaut has expanded operations at a factory in Ghana. They are doubling production at their Tema facility. Cargill recently
announced they to are going to open an operation in Tema. AC Nielsen has released a report that states that although confectionary goods
saw only slight growth last year, 5%, some markets the Asia, Pacific and Latin America are growing at a much faster rate.
March 7, 2007 - German candy makers saw a slight dip in production in 2006 due to a variety of factors including hot weather which hurts
demand. Much of the shortfall was made up for in an increase in exports especially to Asia. The industry is also being buffeted by higher
prices for raw materials. Nestlé and Barry Callebaut have joined forces to improve their respective positions in the competitive European
market. Nestle will be outsourcing some of its cocoa processing to Callebaut as well as turning over their facilities in Italy and France to
Callebaut. Callebaut has also agreed to supply 43,000 tons of liquid chocolate to the Nestle Russian operations. In the last month
Hershey has announced they will be cutting their workforce by 1,500 and restructuring their distribution system making their supply chain
more efficient and allowing the company to save between 170 and 190 million dollars by 2010. This money could then be reinvested in the
companies core brands and expanding globally. There is no doubt Cadbury had a difficult year. The disastrous salmonella outbreak, the
possible prosecution of the company for breaking UK environmental laws and the falsification of it's financial figures for its Nigerian
operations. Still riding a banner year for its gum operations, Trident grew 23% and Stride was released in the United States allowed the
company to grow full year profits by 9%. A review published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine has come to the conclusion
that flavonoids the potential anti oxidant in cocoa may not be processed by the body in a manner that was previously thought. In a test tube
flavonoids attack free radicals and are 3 to 5 times more effective than vitamin C. The study comes to the conclusion though that that which
happens in a test tube is not always the same as that which happens in the human body. Cadbury Adams has patented a new kind of
sweet that releases three distinct flavors. It is composed of a soft tablet center surrounded by a crunchy shell. The flavors are released
sequentially thereby each is different. Deborah Markus of Bellonline has a nice recipe for chocolate brownie pudding. An interesting
commentary from Cee-FoodIndustry.com. The commentary postulates that advertisers instead of yanking all ads for children would be
better off using some of their budgets to educating children. The plan would be to help youngsters make better choices when they
purchase sweets looking towards giving them information about dark vs milk chocolate, organic and fairtrade etc. DeBrand Chocolates
sent us an email about their wedding chocolate programs which prompted us to take a look at their website. Our experience with their
products has always been positive. Their wedding items seem to be fairly priced for what they are and if the chocolate is of the same high
quality as the items we've sampled in the past one could do a lot worse than to take a look at what they have to offer. Lake Champlain has
released their Easter line for this year and as with all of their products it's tastefully done and in all likelihood tastes good. Their product is
made from all natural sources so it's a bit healthier to.
March 6, 2007 - The Associated Press weighs in on single origin chocolate and its effect on the marketplace. It must be getting close to
Easter because you can go to www.LindtGoldBunny.com and hunt for the Lindt Gold Bunny. It's interactive and fun. Lisa Abraham of The
Akron Beacon Journal has an interesting article providing an overview of the world of high end chocolate. Julia Baker a confectionary artist
from Scottsdale, Arizona explains how to hold your own chocolate tasting. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Laura Secord
are warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume Laura Secord brand No Added Sugar Lactose Free Dark Chocolate
Flavoured Bar. The affected product may contain milk protein which is not declared on the label. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA) is warning people with allergies to milk protein not to consume certain Botticelli brand chocolate products. The products are listed in
the article and were produced in British Columbia. Richard Doyle, executive director of the Dairy Farmers of Canada, has claimed that large
quantities of chocolate milk are being imported into Canada. Much of it is being blended with Canadian milk allowing it to escape being
labeled made in the USA he charges. We've raved about NOKA chocolate the high end company out of Plano, Texas. Little did we know
the two founders Noah Haughton and Katrina Merrem were originally from Canada. An article out of The Plano Courier Star takes an
insiders look at this local business.
| March 2007 News |