Losing Cadbury's Somerdale

  Oh no!  The iconic Cadbury Somerdale site in the UK is up for sale.  Last January, Kraft acquired this nearly 200 year old company for close to $19 B. Considered the largest European beverage and food deal on record, it also represents the loss of historic confectionery legend started by John Cadbury in 1824 in Birmingham, UK.

As a Quaker, John Cadbury believed that traditionally served alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine lead to poverty and morale decay. Cadbury introduced alternative beverages to the market by serving, cocoa, hot chocolate, coffee and tea in his Birmingham shop.  By 1842, Cadbury was selling an array of cocoas and drinking chocolates (11 types of cocoa and 16 drinking chocolates).

Soon the company turned into a family affair as other family members came to support and operate the Cadbury empire.  Along the way, Cadbury supported his employees by building living quarters near the production factories allowing families to be close to work and assisting employees with maintaining a comfortable work life balance.

The 220 acre Somerdale site includes 600 residential units along with various confectionery production equipment. 

A petition was started to help protect this site from future development at http://www.saveoursomerdale.co.uk/

Bellissimo Houston

Minuti Coffee landed in downtown Houston.  Located on 909 Texas, Minuti Coffee serves up Italian coffee, espresso along with an array of other speciality drinks, baked goods, sandwiches and paninis.  The speciality drink that caught my attention is the Cioco Delice.  Made with Molinari chocolate steamed with milk to create a thick drinking beverage the Cioco Delice is, most likely, what many refer to as a European Drinking Chocolate.  Served with a dollop of whipped cream, the Cioco Delice can be enhanced with a dash of Mayan, Hazelnut and Chocolate Truffle flavors.

It appears a trip downtown is in order to investigate this Italian hot chocolate experience.

Hidden behind the coffee

While searching the pantry for the hot chocolate of the day, I came across Café-Tasse’s Chocolat en Poudre or chocolate powder. This instant hot chocolate from Belgium is made with 32% cocoa and sugar. We used to carry this hot chocolate at our online store. However, it didn’t have a strong following. My husband uses the posted-dated hot chocolate to make mochas.

I forgot about this hot chocolate so it was a pleasant surprise to find this box. The cocoa powder has a reddish-brown tint with a sprinkle of white sugar crystals. The pet peeve I have with European hot chocolate mixes is that they rarely have directions placed on the box. So, I opted to use one heaping tablespoon of hot chocolate, filled my glass mug half way up with milk and hoped for the best!

After using the microwave to heat up my hot chocolate, I poured the beverage in a travel mug and headed to the office.

Once I settled in at my desk, it was time to drink up. Amazing! I forgot how lovely this hot chocolate was and how disappointed others have yet to appreciate it. It’s a robust instant chocolate with a splash of sugar. Very nice and very pleasurable!

Stimulate the economy with Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate

With another round of layoffs announced at Starbucks, my husband and I decided to help “stimulate” the economy by walking to our local cafe for hot chocolate. Since neither one of us frequent Starbucks, it is always a comedy of errors when it comes to ordering. But this time, I knew we were there to try the last of the Signature Hot Chocolate trio: Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate. We both ordered a tall (or in my world a small) and took our seat with anticipation of what this recipe will have in store for us.

Now from my last few visits to Starbucks, I enjoyed their Classic Signature Hot Chocolate and passed on the Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate. When our order was called my husband went to retrieve our two cups and we proceeded to take a seat to try our beverage.

In my haste to take a sip, I dropped a little bit of hot chocolate on my pants. Grrrh! Mine was the perfect temperature, with a nice blend of sweet with a hint of salt. Most importantly, no after taste.

Out of three recipes, I rank Starbuck’s Signature Hot Chocolates as follows:

1. Classic Signature Hot Chocolate
2. Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate
3. (a distant 3rd) Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate

I hope our small contribution helped out our local Starbucks as we left the cafe fulfilled from another hot chocolate adventure.

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.

Au Bon Pain Hot Chocolate

I learned my lesson from my September trip to Boston that the Au Bon Pain on State and Kirby is not open over the weekend. I was on a mission to try their hot chocolate before I returned to Texas. So, with great anticipation I was ready for a visit after my business meetings on Friday. I was very excited to try their hot chocolate due to an old article I read about Au Bon Pain’s hot chocolate trio called “Choco Bon Loco: A Crazy Chocolate Experience”. The recipe is a blend of three chocolates to form a European style drinking chocolate.

However, when I looked at the menu it simply listed “Hot Chocolate.” Huh? I placed my order and watched the Barista steam away 2% milk. To my disappointment, the recipe was overly sugary, yet thick. What happened to the Choco Bon Loco? My beverage wasn’t a drinking chocolate, but just as it stated on the menu, a “Hot Chocolate”. Maybe Au Bon Pain’s Choco Bon Loco fell to the way side like Starbuck’s Chantico?