How Chocolate & Hazelnuts Made the Ferrero's Rich

Did you know the owner of Ferrero Rocher is the richest man in Italy? Or that they don't let journalists inside their factories because they fear industrial espionage?  

Find out more in the latest post on Italian Chocolate Brands.

Fairtrade Cocoa: Shouldn't All Chocolate be Fairtrade?

I was just reading an article on confectionerynews.com  which says that there is enough fairtrade for more of the bigger chocolate brands to convert to fairtrade cocoa.

So why don't they?  

Is it too much to ask for the cocoa farmers to be paid a fair price for their labour?

Consumers need to put more pressure on chocolate manufacturers to use ethically sourced ingredients.

Chocolate Video: Christmas is Coming....

With Christmas creeping ever closer I thought it would be a good time to show a Ferrero Roche advert. In our household anyway, Ferrero Roche seems to be synonymous (long word!) with Christmas.

Haven't the foggiest idea what they're saying but it looks good!

Chocolate & Beer: The New Taste Sensation?

Interesting article in the New Zealand Herald today recommending beer and chocolate as a "match made in heaven"

"If you're serious about chocolate, you have probably combined it with all manner of food and drink through pure coincidence-chocolate and wine, chocolate and cheese, chocolate and a cup of tea, chocolate and Weetbix, you get the idea.

But if you're looking for a new, delicious match, there's one gaining increasing popularity in New Zealand that comes with the tick of approval from chocolate aficionados, chefs and liquor experts: chocolate and beer."

Okay, they're not talking about lager and Mars Bars here, but I'm still a little sceptical.  

However, seeing as eating chocolate and drinking beer are two of my favorite pastimes, I may just have to give it a try.

Chocolate Brands: The History of Lindt

New article on the history of Lindt & Sprüngli in chocolate brands on buychocolateonline.org 

Interesting!

Chocolate Facts: Why Does Chocolate Seem to "Melt in the Mouth"

Good chocolate melts just below the temperature of the human body and that's why it literally melts in the mouth. 

Chocolate Covered Scorpions Mmmmm Yummm....

What is the world coming to? Chocolate covered scorpions. toasted ants. Whatever next?

THIS may be unpalatable news. Upmarket store Harvey Nichols has launched a range of insect-based food products including worm crisps, chocolate covered scorpions, and toasted ants. And if that sounds distasteful enough, the bad news is not only will you have to hold your nose while you eat them, you'll have to pay through the nose too.

The unusual range, priced from £2.95 for a packet of worm crisps to £15.95 for a tin of toasted ants, has been launched in Harvey Nichols' Edinburgh store. The line also ncludes Thai green curry flavoured crickets, toffee scorpion candy, Tequila lollipops with  real worms inside and civet coffee, which is made from coffee beans that are prepared for roasting by being passed through a civet cat. There is also a type of tea, which claims to have been picked by trained monkeys.

Join the queue at Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

 http://news.scotsman.com/news/Chocolate-scorpions-with-sting-in.6573460.jp

Bad News For Chocolate Lovers as the Price of Cocoa Soars

Thorntons are not raising prices yet, but warn that they could do if the price of cocoa continues to rise

Cocoa has surged 25 per cent in recent months to 38-year highs due to poor harvests and increasing global demand. Major confectioners such as Cadbury and Nestlé have recently raised prices by up to 7 per cent as a result.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/thorntons-warns-prices-could-rise-2099882.html

Heed the Warning:

Had to laugh at this warning on wikihow.com

If you are allergic to chocolate, then do not eat it.

http://www.wikihow.com/Taste-Dark-Chocolate
Is it really necessary?  
Are there really people who would eat chocolate even though they know that they are allergic to it?

Still Celebrating Aero's 75th Anniversary. Here's One For The Ladies.

Before I get to the part that the ladies will enjoy I thought I would show you the South African Aero chocolate bar that I'm about to devour to celebrate Aero's 75th anniversary.

How do they get those bubbles inside?

Any how here's a U.K. advert for Aero Bubbles that I thought some of our female readers might enjoy.

Happy 75th Anniversary to the Aero Chocolate Bar

Nestle's Aero bar is celebrating its 75th birthday on Sunday.  The first Aero bar was produced in the Rowntree factory in York, England in 1935.
I think I'll commemorate the historic day by going out and getting myself an Aero. Oh the hardships I have to endure for my hobby!
Here's a South African advert for Aero that I thought you might enjoy.

Anyone for Marmite Chocolate?

"Very Peculiar" is the appropriate name for the the new chocolate bar soon to be released by the makers of Marmite in the U.K.  

As the article says it would make a good Christmas present for in-laws and I guess for anybody else you didn't like.

Think I'll pass. Thanks.

http://bit.ly/marmitechocolate