cacaobug

Artisan chocolates from Foodzie

cacaobug — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:49:24 +0000

Have a hankering for chocolate from small, artisan producers? Check out the Chocolate & Candy category on Foodzie, a website that describes itself as “an online marketplace where you can discover and buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers.” It works like this: browse an assortment of chocolates from chocolatiers across the U.S., place the chocolates you want in your shopping cart, check out, and your goodies ship directly from the producers. Convenient, local, and fresh, what more could a gourmet chocolate lover want?

Chocolate research

cacaobug — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:54:30 +0000

PHD Comics has a cute comic titled “Research Topics Guaranteed To Be Picked Up By the News Media.” Any guess as to the first topic? Chocolate, of course! According to the comic, “Anything that validates the public’s wishful thinking that chocolate is secretly good for you is news gold.”

A year’s supply of chocolate!

cacaobug — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:46:33 +0000

How’s this for an incentive? Endangered Species Chocolate is conducting an online survey, and the incentive for participating is an entry into a drawing for a year’s supply of chocolate.That’s right, a year’s supply! Just the thought makes me drool.

So what qualifies as a year’s supply of chocolate? Per the fine print:

“The winner of the Grand Prize will be awarded seventy two (72) chocolate bars at one time, one shipment. (ARV: $279.00) (Guaranteed “Enjoy by date” of 12 months). The shipment will consist of twelve (12) bars of the following flavors, Supreme Dark Chocolate, Extreme Dark Chocolate, Smooth Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate with Mint, Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds, and Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut Toffee.”

Depending on your level of chocolate consumption, that may or may not be a year’s supply, but it’s certainly a start. If you’re interested, click here to take the survey. The deadline for entry into the sweepstakes is July 31, 2009.

Chocolate postage stamps

cacaobug — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:11:28 +0000

Know how long chocolate has been in France? Four hundred years! To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of cacao, the French government recently issued postage stamps that look and smell like chocolate. Wonder if you have to scratch them to release the scent?

Trader Joe’s Swiss Milk Chocolate with 30% Whole Hazelnuts

cacaobug — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:24:17 +0000

Is there such a thing as crunchy Nutella? You know, like crunchy peanut butter, but with Nutella and hazelnuts? If there isn’t, there should be. I bet it’d fly off the shelves.

Until then, here’s a substitute: Trader Joe’s Swiss Milk Chocolate with 30% Whole Hazelnuts. The milk chocolate is so smooth and the hazelnuts are so tasty it’s like eating crunchy Nutella. Seriously! If you’re a Nutella fan, you have got to try this and tell me if it isn’t so. And bonus—it’s more portable than Nutella because it doesn’t come in a jar.

Granted, $3.99 for a 7 oz. bar isn’t cheap. And those 7 ounces don’t go nearly as far as one might hope. I mean, the bar looks big enough, but with all that milk chocolate and hazelnut swirling around in your mouth it disappears fast. Really fast. Like one sitting fast. But then again that might just be me. I’m addicted to Nutella.

Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Swiss Milk Chocolate

cacaobug — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:58:07 +0000

Yesterday I discovered a new chocolate bar at Trader Joe’s: Fair Trade Swiss Milk Chocolate. It’s a good sized bar (3.5 oz) for only $1.99. Plus, it’s Fair Trade! According to the wrapper, “Fair Trade chocolate helps contribute to a better way of life for farmers and their families. This method of buying cocoa beans and sugar offers small-scale growers a fair price for their harvest.”

So how does it taste? Quite nice, actually! The chocolate is extremely smooth, and it has a hint of caramel, which adds to the overall aroma. The ingredients are pure and simple: “cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, carmelized sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla extract”. Definitely worth a try next time you’re at Trader Joe’s!

Free chocolate from Mars

cacaobug — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:13:25 +0000

No, NASA hasn’t discovered that mars is made of chocolate. (What a discovery that would be!) Instead, it’s free chocolate from Mars, Inc., the company that brings us M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Three Musketeers, Milky Way, and Dove.

Through September 2009, Mars is offering coupons for free chocolate each Friday. To receive a coupon, visit www.realchocolate.com on a Friday and register with your e-mail address and mailing address. If you’re one of the first 250,000 registrants that Friday, Mars will send you a coupon in the mail.

Hershey’s Kiss Dessert Fondue Maker

cacaobug — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:17:11 +0000

Just came across this and had to share: dessert fondue makers in the shape of Hershey’s Kisses! How cute is that? Haven’t tried one myself, but they’re currently on sale at Amazon. Originally $14.99, they’re now as low as $5.11 (66% off). Curiously, the discount depends on the color: silver is 51% off, gold is 66% off, red is 65% off, and green is 33% off. Hershey’s chocolate not included.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

cacaobug — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:20:32 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day! May you receive many gifts of chocolate. And if you don’t, do not despair—tomorrow there will be much chocolate on sale!

Chocolate sale at Amazon

cacaobug — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:40:03 +0000

During the month of February, Amazon.com is offering $20 off purchases of Toblerone, Cote d’Or, Milka, and Terry’s chocolates when you spend $49 or more. Enter promotional code “TOBLERCT” at checkout to receive the discount. These chocolates are sold in packs of 6, 10, 12, and 40 (!), so this may only be of interest to hardcore chocoholics or those wishing to buy large quantities to give as gifts.