2008 Product of the Year

As the 2008 Product of the Year, Aero Bubbly Hot Chocolate beat out 58 other brands for the coveted spot in the hot drinks category. For hot enthusiasts, this is exciting news! The hot drinks category consisted of other hot beverages such as tea and coffee, and a hot chocolate blend beat them all.

I’ve never tried Aero Hot Chocolate, which is made by Nestlé’s, since it available for the European market. However, I must try to get here in the states.

Economy down, chocolate up

Although the global economy is struggling, chocolate sales are not. In Great Britain, sales for dark chocolate have double over the past two years. Chocolate sales in America’s chocolate mecca, Seattle, Washington, are extremely strong. Why? People wish to treat themselves with a little something sweet during these turbulent times.

Everyone knows when the cards are down people will either eat, drink, shop or participate in other unmentionable activities. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Candy sales hit the sweet spot, the increased demand for chocolate is “a way to get through malaise induced by high food and gas prices.” Purchasing a chocolate kills two of those vices with one stone: shopping and eating. If you ask me, eating or drinking chocolate is the best way to ride out the roller coast of this unsettling global economy.

All Natural Baking Line

Ghirardelli, one of America’s oldest chocolate confections manufacturer, broaden their product portfolio with the introduction of a premium All Natural Baking Line. With the holiday season coming upon us, Ghirardelli’s new gourmet baking line consists of:

58-percent Cacao Semisweet Baking Chocolate
72-percent Cacao Extra Bittersweet Baking Chocolate
100-percent Cacao Baking Chocolate

By focusing on the cacao bean’s origin and refining process, Ghirardelli’s sought to extract the flavor from the finest cacao beans to develop a product with smooth melting and creamy texture. Ghirardelli hopes home based and culinary bakers alike will enjoy professional grade products for their decadent desserts.

Cocoa…Take me away

Forget Calgon, Hotel Chocolat in St. Lucia will relax your soul and tantalize your senses. Scheduled to open in 2009, Hotel Chocolat plan to immerse visitors in the true meaning of bean to bar. Visitors can tour the hotel’s very own cocoa plantation and journey through the entire growing, harvesting and manufacturing process of the hotels luxury line of chocolate.

While submerging yourself in the sensory experience, the body and soul can enjoy a cocoa nib exfoliation, cocoa butter moisturizing treatments and a dinner menu influenced with St. Lucia’s prize cocoa beans.

Sunshine in the Mail Box

Just after Ike’s departure from the Texas coast, hurricane-shocked Houstonians, such as myself, tried to return back to our normal daily lives. Of course, it did not include electricity, running water, accessibility to gas and so on. So, when my husband went to retrieve the mail, a little piece of sunshine fell out of the pile of magazines, bills and junk literature. It was a package from WideSpark Design, the publisher for The Chocolate Story by Rick Moser.

After requesting information regarding retailing the book, to my surprise Mr. Moser himself contacted me regarding the inquiry and asked if I would like to have a “fresh off the press” copy of the book. “Absolutely,” I said! A signed copy of The Chocolate Story arrived at the perfect time. We were in need of a charming story to wash all the devastation around us.

The book tells the story of two adventurous children on a walk through a forest that stumble upon a chocolate house. Without giving too much information away, the children learn a valuable life lesson on manners. My favorite part of the book is the Story Time Discussion Questions which allows, parents, teachers, family or friends to engage the children in a discussion about the main characters, Emily and Nick, and their actions throughout the book.

With the holidays around the corner, I would add this one to your Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Happy New Year or just because list.