Farewell Original Hershey Chocolate Factory

The home of the Hershey's Kiss is closing it's doors after breaking ground in 1903.  Although chocolate production will continue at a newly built modern facility nearby, Milton Hershey's dreams came to life at this iconic location.

Cacao for Breakfast

Since the other half came home early from his business trip, we made time for a little hot chocolate tasting. Unfortunately, we've been traveling quite extensively lately. So, this was a rare opportunity in recent months.

For this adventure, it was time to try Hershey's Cacao Reserve Drinking Cocoa purchased during a Wal-Mart excursion. To accompany our meal, I decided to whip up some scrambled eggs with beef sausage, cheddar, monterey jack and asadera cheese, white onions, salt and pepper to taste, and wheat toast with real butter.

To prepare the cocoa, I decided to serve one serving with whole milk and the other with water. The primary directions state to blend with water. But everyone knows cocoa is always best with milk! Cacao Reserve is a cocoa powder therefore, the cocoa butter (cocoa fat) has been extracted so I already know the consistency will be thin. When a cocoa powder is blended with milk, the beverage becomes creamier and most importantly, tastier.

Although the pictures are not very clear, the mug to the left is the milk blend and the one on the right is made with water. The difference in color is strong in real life. The other half took the first sip of the milk blended cocoa. A pause came next. After a few moments he said, "acceptable". My turn was next. I was already knew deep down in my heart what was to come, but I will give anything a benefit of the doubt. I sipped the water blended Cacao Reserve. As it trickled down my throat, I thought to myself "common". We exchanged mugs and the other half and I agreed the cocoa with milk was a much better choice out of the two.

However, I must admit that this was better than the typical cocoa powder mix you find on the grocery store shelves. If you enjoy a quick and easy cocoa beverage this would be "OK".

Cacao Reserve for All

Since I wanted to stretch the next couple of paychecks in order to get some work performed on our house, a decision was made to go to Wal-Mart for a little household shopping. As a die-hard Target girl I wasn’t pleased, but we must do what we got to do to get by.

Like any cocoa connoisseur, I had to browse the hot chocolate/ coffee/ tea aisle to see what selects were available for Wal-Mart shoppers. Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s Drinking Cocoa Premium Mix caught my attention. At a price point of $2.07 for 5 servings, anyone has the chance to try a drinking cocoa. Over the past year, Hershey has worked to distinguished themselves in the premium chocolate arena with the introduction of Cacao Reserve chocolate bars and cocoa mixes. Now, The Nibble provided a favorable review of the Cacao Reserve chocolate bars. However, they were not as fond of the drinking cocoa as they were the bar chocolate.

I guess I will have to try it himself to form my own opinion. But any hot chocolate can be doctored up to create a delicious drink.

Sconza Capitalizes on Hershey’s Departure

The legendary chocolate company Hershey’s closed their 45-year old plant in Oakdale, California, this past February to relocate their production facility to Monterrey, Mexico. As one of the main sources of job opportunities for this small town of 18,500, the closure nearly devastated the town. However, a knight in shining amour has arrived!

Okay…maybe not a knight in shining amour, but family-owned company called Sconza. Sconza, a growing candy manufacturer previously based in Oakland, California, is relocating to the Oakdale area. Founded in 1939 by Vincent Sconza, the company is capitalizing on Hershey’s departure by relocating to a region saturated with confection making talent and excited to have a company stay in the good old USA.

Hmmm... Maybe they will add hot chocolate to their product line…?