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/

Consumer Reports Hot Cocoa Review

Tribeca Treats: Hot Cocoa Recipe

Easy instructions from Tribeca Treats for hot cocoa on dailycandy.com

Happy Valentine's Day

No hot chocolate for you!

Last night our puppy doo, Wally, decided to bring us box of Target plastic bags to the game room upstairs. It was funny at the time until I realized that the box came from the same shelf I store my hot chocolate and cocoa mixes. Which meant...it was time to reorganize and remove my favorite beverages to a non-reachable location.

A few years back, I went through a major organization of my hot chocolates. Now with Wally being a busy puppy, it is imperative we keep him safe. The cocoa infused teas stayed on the baker's rack and the opened hot chocolates were moved to high shelves. I am still looking for more storage due to the number of tins I have, but at least they have been removed from Wally's reach.

What a hot mess!

A Simple Hot Cocoa Receipe

For a quick and easy hot cocoa beverage:

1 cup milk
2 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp cinnamon orange sugar or pre-blended sugar mix

Pour milk in a microwave safe mug. Heat in the microwave for 25 seconds. Remove mug and add cocoa powder and sugar. Blend ingredients well. Return to microwave for 60 seconds or until heated appropriately.

Remove mug from microwave. Garnish with whipped cream or chocolate shavings.

To create this recipe, I used Droste Cocoa Powder from Holland and a Cinnamon Orange Sugar from Surfas. The pre-blended sugar provides a simple way of creating a savory chocolate beverage without a lot of hassle.

Cocoa for Christian

Local Houstonian children sell hot cocoa to help a friend battling stage four lymphoma. Money from the hot cocoa sale will help the family with expenses related to their son's treatment. Good luck kids and happy holidays! :>

No amore for this hot cocoa

Today’s Hot Chocolate is Cocoa Amore’s Peanut Butter Brownie Cocoa Mix. First, I read the ingredients in preparation of today’s hot cocoa. Yikes! It’s has tri’s and di’s along with non-dairy creamer being the first ingredient of this mix. With that in mind, my expectations were reset.

After reviewing the directions, I appreciate them stating it will take a little work to blend this hot cocoa mix. Some mixes take forever for the liquid to adhere to the cocoa/chocolate and you are sitting their drooling waiting for that magic moment to take place.

After tearing open the packet, I poured the whitish powder with a speckle of brown into a foam cup. A slight whiff of peanuts poured into the air thus lifting my spirits a bit. Upon adding the hot water, I began to stir. Over time, the mixture darkened up and began to form a thicker consistency. Excellent! It is tasting time.

I took my first sip….Uhhh! Strange…I took another sip and decided “I’ll pass”. Darn it! I really needed hot cocoa today :<

Get your creative juices flowin'

It's that time of year again! Scharffen Berger just announced the return of The Chocolate Adventure Content. Last year, I tried to get my creative juices flowin' by creating a new recipe for the contest. However, I @#$ near made myself sick trying to be "exotic". Since I learned about the contest late in the game, I didn't have the opportunity to bounce back from my creative mishap. But this year, I will be ready!

And of course my inspiration will center around hot chocolate...

Stick with dark hot chocolate

With the recent passing of National Chocolate Milk Day on September 27, 2009, the FDA recall of hot chocolates made with powdered milk and the Food Navigator – USA reporting that Nestle purchases 10 to 15 percent of their milk from a farm owned/seized by Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, I believe everyone is better off with drinking dark hot chocolate.

Need I say more?

Dreyer's Slow Churned Hot Cocoa Ice Cream

Oh my! Dreyer's has announced a slow churned limited edition Hot Cocoa Ice Cream for the holiday season! How did I miss this announcement? Has anyone tried it yet?

Not just for hot cocoa anymore

Marshmallows are derived from an extract taken from the Altaea officinalis plant. This extract is now being used in numerous organic hair conditioners and face creams for their moisturizing characteristics.

Two attempts at Blackberry Hot Chocolate & Hot Cocoa

Inspired by a Martha Stewart podcast, I felt it was time to return to the kitchen. Since I had blackberries leftover from our luscious breakfast last week, it was time to create a fruit inspired hot chocolate. Bitter 100% Chocolate by Luker, a Colombian favorite used to make hot chocolate, Mexican Vanilla, cane sugar and heavy cream were the items identified for this recipe.

After the chocolate was melted in my double boiler, I added the heavy cream and vanilla. As the ingredients meshed together it was time to introduce 8 blackberries to the mix. Since my husband stripped the blending mechanism on our blender during a smoothie making trip, I could not properly blend the cream and berries together separately. So, I opted to do it the old fashion way. Once the berries heated up, I gently pressed them against the side of the boiler to release the flavors. Next, I added the cane sugar to taste and a little more milk to achieve a smoother texture. A strainer was used to separate the berries from the hot chocolate mixture. However, little chunks of chocolate were separated also since this chocolate is pure it doesn't melt so well.

Upon tasting the hot chocolate, I felt something was missing. I added a little orange extract which gave the drink a wonderful aroma. Now it was time for a taste from the other half. First he said, “its different” with a pause. Then came,“it needs to be sweeter”. Blah! I cannot stand sugary sweet hot chocolates. Nonetheless, here is the recipe of my 1st attempt at Blackberry Hot Chocolate:

1 square Luker Bitter Chocolate or Unsweetened Chocolate
¾ cup Heavy Cream
¼ cup Milk
½ tsp Mexican Vanilla or Vanilla
1 tbls Cane Sugar or Sugar
8 each Small Blackberries
¼ tsp Orange Extract

Since I personally didn’t care for the consistency of the final product, I decided to try it again with cocoa powder and 1% milk. With the cocoa powder, the mixture blended completely and the flavors came together much better. If I had oranges available, I would have used a real orange vs. the orange extract. The orange extract provided like a metallic taste to the recipe although it smelled quite flavorful. Sounds like a strange description, but that is what came to mind. I asked him to rate the recipe from a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent, he scored the recipe a “3”.

Determined to make a better recipe, I tried the recipe again with a few modifications. On my 2nd attempt I decided to add cinnamon sticks and more sugar to the mix. The two cinnamon sticks and vanilla were added to the warming milk and stirred. Next came the Nomu cocoa powder and berries. Just like in my 1st attempt, I gently smashed the berries on the side of the basin to release the flavors. Sugar was added, but no orange extract.


Blackberry Hot Cocoa:
1 tbls Cocoa Powder
1 cup Milk
½ tsp Mexican Vanilla or Vanilla
8 each Blackberries
1 tbls + 2 tsp Cane Sugar or Sugar

The verdict on this one was a smile and “4”. Ahhh! Redemption.

How do you do it?

Since my last recipe was a HOT mess and feel I've lost a little of my hot chocolate creating mojo, I am wondering what everyone else uses to make their own hot chocolate? Soy Milk? Water? Organic Milk? So, I posted a survey to find out what liquid you use to create your own hot chocolate? I would love to hear from you all!

A Recovery from Stonebridge

We finally finished cleaning up from the Stonebridge Church Holiday Market last week featuring Michelle Hammond. The hot chocolates and cocoas we shared with our booth visitors were Omanhene Hot Cocoa Mix, The King’s Cupboard Dark Chocolate Chunk, Dagoba Organic Xocoltal Hot Chocolate and Vosges Haut-Chocolat Bianca Couture Cocoa.

Visitors were exceptionally impressed with Vosges’ Bianca Couture Cocoa. The product arrived just in time for the event and I knew it would be a show stopper…which it was. I first experienced the power of Vosges Bianca while visiting Las Vegas earlier in the year. From my own personal experience, I knew people would simply love the unique spices that make up this cocoa blend.

At our own “cocoa bar”, we gave an overview of each product and the product manufacturer to interested customers. Once we explained the ingredients of Vosges’ Couture Cocoa: White Chocolate Shavings, Australian Lemon Myrtle, Lavender, people’s eyes lit up like fire. Although I had to remind them that white chocolate has absolutely no chocolate/cocoa content in it as it is derived from the fat from the cocoa bean (i.e. cocoa butter), that did not stop them from trying this cocoa. I must say Bianca made an impression on the visitors at this holiday market event.

hot cocoa during coffee break

Recently, I was contacted for advice from someone who wishes to participate in espresso/coffee breaks with colleagues at work, but does not drink espresso/coffee.

For others in the same dilemma, here is the advice I provided:

“In order to better assist you, can you tell me if your office machine has a separate milk frothing mechanism? If so, you can bring your own milk into the office and have the machine froth/heat it up for you. Once the milk if heated to the appropriate temperature, add your chocolate packet.

For ease of use, I would recommend a cocoa powder mix vs. chocolate shavings. The reason behind this suggestion is that it will take a little longer for the shavings to truly melt in the milk. Since time is of the essence, a powder cocoa would perform nicely such as Ghirardelli, Dagoba or Dufflet. However, if you are looking for something a little thicker in consistency, than a taza powder by Valor would be right up your alley. If you really which to mix things up, bring a spice packet (with Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Pumpkin Spice etc.) a few days a week to add to your hot chocolate.”


As always, “Indulge and Enjoy”!

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Hot Cocoa

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory recently announced a licensing relationship with Lehi Roller Mills, a Utah-based manufacturer of flour, gourmet brownie, pancake, muffin and cookie mixes. Established in 1906, Lehi Roller Mills has over 100 years of expertise in the specialty food marketplace.

Currently, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has three hot cocoa selections in their product line:

Rocky Mountain Hot Cocoa
Belgian White Cocoa
Raspberry Truffle Cocoa

All come in 6.5 oz tins and retail for $7.50. Although I have yet to try any of these selections, I will add it to my “Must Try” list.

Next, up…Vosges Haut-Chocolat

After enjoying our Jean-Philippe Patisserie crepes and deep, dark hot chocolate, we were off to Vosges Haut-Chocolat in The Shoppes at Caesar’s Palace.

Vosges Haut is located in the newest part of the Caesar's Palace shopping area. As a youngster, I frequently vacationed in Las Vegas with my parents. It is interesting to see how a one-time rotunda with a long flat escalator that transported you to hotel was transformed into the newest portion of Caesar's Palace.

Along the way, we passed numerous sculpture replicas from the great artists such as Michelangelo. When we finally arrived at Vosges Haut-Chocolat my heart was set on the Aztec Elixir Hot Cocoa which has ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla bean, cornmeal and dark chocolate.

The Vosges Haut interior was decorated in a white and purple palette, quite chic and very modern. Once I took at seat at the mini-bar, I changed my mind. I no longer wanted to try the Aztec Elixir, but the Bianca Hot Cocoa. Vosges Haut-Chocolat Bianca contains Australian lemon myrtle, lavender flowers, vanilla and white chocolate. Half & Half was used to create the $5.00 a cup white chocolate mixture. While the Vosges Haut associate worked on my beverage, my mother brought a chocolate bar with bacon to my attention. The Vosges associate offered my mother a sample of this unusual chocolate bar. Mommie took the associate up on the offer. After the associate presented me with a tall ceramic mug of white chocolate, I was in enamored of the flecks of the lemon myrtle visible at the top of the mug. The aroma was amazing and I was ready to sip.

Since I didn’t have any expectations on the hot beverage before me, all I can say was I was utterly surprised by the divine flavors assembled in this couture hot cocoa. A lot of heaven in a cup and I wasn’t going to let anyone rush me out of the shop until I had every last drop. Okay… that is a lie since I had to return to the tradeshow, but I had to come down out of the clouds which I wasn’t ready to do at that point.

I finished a large portion of the hot cocoa and took the rest with me. With great shock, my mother loved the chocolate bar with bacon and purchased it for my father. She too enjoyed the Bianca Hot Cocoa therefore everyone went home with a box of Vosges Haut Bianca Hot Cocoa!

Friends with Benefits

Being a friend of a person who owns a store dedicated to cocoa has its occasional benefits. One of them is that when it is time to clear out the “Best Due By” inventory (products that are just before or past the “Best Due By” date). I usually give family and friends all of these wonderful products. I always fell bad not donating the Best Due By inventory to a food bank. However, I feel visitors to a homeless shelter or food bank deserve the good stuff too. So, I donate overages or slow sellers to charity.

When products were donated last year to a children’s school that was collecting hot chocolate for the homeless, I received the cutest picture from the children as a thank you. The weather has been quite crazy lately and everyone, especially a homeless person could use some hot chocolate or cocoa.

For this past delivery, friends with benefits received two types of 100% Unsweetened Cacao. One was in bar form and the other in shavings. I personally prefer the shavings since it requires less work when preparing to bake or cook with it. Next on the list were two drinking chocolates and a hot chocolate from Belgium.

One of my friends used the last round of “Best Due Inventory” to create a dreamy chocolate cake. It was brought into the office today to share with the rest of the company and it was gone real quick. She used 100% cocoa to make the cake but she was disappointed when it didn’t come with a real deep, dark color. Now she wonders if certain restaurants, chefs etc use food coloring to make a chocolate cake that nearly black color you see on occasions. Personally, I could care less because that cake was @#$ good!