Past Newsletters
Vol 5 No 1

In Pursuit of Chocolate

Another Reason To Savor Each And Every Day
As if we needed one!

The awe inspiring chocolatier that we have chosen this month is none other than Nirvana Chocolates. Founded just three years ago in September by Christophe Van Riet.

Christophe embarked on a quest to find truly fresh chocolates in the United States those equal to the quality of chocolates only found in Belgium. His desire to emulate the Belgians was so strong that he finally realized he had no other choice but to import exceptional, fresh chocolates from Belgium. The delicacies you are about to taste come from a small shop that uses centuries old Belgian methods and only the freshest ingredients. These outstanding chocolatiers take great pride in crafting their artisanal chocolates... each morsel is made with passion and commitment.

The chocolate shop is located in Brugge, a romantic city where the selection of fine chocolate is taken very seriously. Check it out at http://www.visit-bruges.com. The medieval city Brugge is so well preserved that it has several places that are recognized by UNESCO as world heritage sites.

The foundation of Nirvana chocolates is rich cacao beans from Africa they are much stronger and more assertive than the milder South American beans favored by most American chocolatiers. Add to that cream, butter, sweetness, and a skillful contrast of textures and natural flavorings, and you have the basis upon which all Nirvana Chocolates are made. Truffles, named after the exotic French mushroom, are either hand-rolled chocolate or domed with piped centers. With eight tantalizing varieties you are bound to experience a bravura celebration for your senses!

Cointreau - Milk Chocolate shell filled with delicate creamy Cointreau ganache filling.

Raspberry - Dark Chocolate enrobing a silky raspberry cream ganache.

Classic Praline - Hazelnut with chocolate, my most favorite! A classic indulgence and sooo smoothly complemented by exquisite milk chocolate! FYI: great milk chocolate is hard to come by.

Caramel - Milk Chocolate filled with a smooth caramel ganache.

Champagne - White chocolate filled with a luxurious champagne ganache. Is white chocolate really chocolate? Check out our website to find out. Go to monthlyclubs.com, then to Chocolate, then to ChocolateBytes.

Amaretto Cream - Dark Chocolate truffle dusted with cacao and filled with amaretto cream.

Praline Chocolate Bresilienne truly a delicacy! To make it you must first roast and then caramelize hazelnut pieces, and then cover your truffle mixture with varieties of the most pure chocolate.

Soft Mocha Milk Chocolate filled with a soft mocha cream and covered with dark chocolate flakes. What could be better? Well I'm for Mocha covered by dark bitter / sweet chocolate.

In case you weren'' sure what a ganache is Nirvana describes it as the highest percentage of cacao solids, combined with heavy cream and a variety of flavors. The result is a harmonious balance between the smoothness of the flavor and the intensity of the chocolate.

Just A Few Nirvana Accolades

Nirvana continues to receive countless praise and admiration for their dedication to providing the freshest Belgium chocolate.

Nirvana Chocolates are emphatically, authentically Belgian based on recipes centuries-old, and manufactured with the fines ingredients and most meticulous methods. Chocolatier magazine, The Inside Story.

A source of excellent Belgian Chocolates. New York Times, "Food Stuff" by Florence Fabricant.

These exquisite chocolates made with fresh cream and butter, are flown in weekly from Brussels. The butter creams are fabulous, and so are the pralines, and giandujas. San Diego Tribune, selected as "Chocolate of Choice."

Storage Tips

Like fine wines, chocolates should be stored in a cool, dry and dark area. Since chocolate is highly susceptible to picking up odors, your chocolates should be kept away from other strong food odors. Optimally, store your chocolates at 59° to 65° F (15° to 18 °C), and under 65% humidity.

If the temperature stays below 72°F (21°C), there is no need to refrigerate your chocolates if they can be eaten within three weeks and let's face it; these chocolates will most likely be eaten within the first few days! Hide them somewhere safe if you want to get a chance to try all flavors!

A Dash of Chocolate History

So they say, when Christopher Columbus first visited the New World, he encountered many novel foods potatoes, tomatoes, and corn were at the top of his list. Now really think about that! A few hundred years ago, most of the civilized cultures had never tasted a potato, a tomato, or corn! Holy Cow, what would have happened to Ireland without a few potatoes! I can'' believe the Italians didn'' have tomatoes think I’ll do a bit more checking into that. And without corn, no filet minion, and much worse than that no easy way out of our energy crisis. (Bet you didn'' know that one ton of hard coal has an energy equivalent of 3,360 ears of corn!)

Amidst these wondrous vegetables, Chris missed the fact that cocoa beans were even a food. He noted in his log that cacao beans were used as coins amongst the Guanache Indians, but not that they were consumed in any fashion. Nobody's perfect. Can you imagine what his life would have been like had he brought back CHOCOLATE! It took another explorer from Spain, Hernando Cortez, to make the key realization. I'm guessing that one of his brighter guys recognized its importance, and as usual, the boss got the credit. It's said that Cortez and his men were fascinated by Montezuma's custom of drinking xocalatl, made by whisking together crushed cocoa beans and cold water. (And you thought a whisk was a modern implement!)

This bitter, unsweetened chocolate was consumed several times a day, from special solid gold beakers. One rendition I’ve read states that each beaker was then destroyed. I'm imagining they tossed them into a volcano, but if the Right Wing prevailed, they probably just smelted them down, made new ones and inflated the price. Of course, only the BIG CHIEFS were allowed to drink it, since it was widely accepted that chocolate gave them special powers. Actually, they weren'' far off when you do a little Internet research; you will find that modern science is giving chocolate all kinds of kudos.

In order to add some character and to make the bitter flavor more palatable, the wealthy added vanilla, chili powder, and/or honey. And the Spanish were known to mix it with hazelnuts, almonds, and/or cinnamon. Quickly recognized as a stimulant, chocolate won favor in Spain as a complement to breakfast. (Last week I put our chocolate fondue (part of our August shipment) on my English muffin with a dash of peanut butter and thought I was at the Ritz! It was sooo good I had it for supper too.)

Creativity took over and boiling water instead of cold water took the drink to the next step. Ginger or nutmeg was used for seasoning sort of like Starbucks. Maybe reincarnation is for real? Occasionally, cane sugar was used, but generally the drink was consumed unsweetened. The Spanish held this concoction in high esteem, and competition being what it is, they had no intension of exporting it to other areas of Europe. For over a century, they kept it to themselves!

We can thank Italian explorers for generously sharing this magic potion I can see it now. Sometimes I wish I were Italian they know how to celebrate! When Italian explorers went to the West Indies in 1600, they also encountered the cocoa bean, and all of its incredulity. Remember that in the 1600s Italy wasn'' the country we know today. Like other areas, Germany for example, the land was controlled by the local BIG GUYS who had serfs. And each one had a King. The politics was more like warring states then a united country.

Based on what we know today about the different varieties of the cacao bean, the Italian chocolate experience, no doubt, had different properties. Check out our website if you are interested in the different chocolate bean varieties. Go to monthlyclubs.com, chocolate club, and then Chocolate Bytes. And be mindful of the many varieties of lilies chocolate beans are that different!

The next breakthrough occurred when the, the Spanish Infanta, Anne of Austria, (the eldest daughter of Philip of Spain), married Louis XIII of France he was fourteen and had inherited the throne after Pops was assassinated. Here she was marrying this guy whom she couldn'' even talk to and word had it that intermarrying had created just a few distasteful problems. Ah, but for the sake of politics, and the lack of women's rights, she trudged off to do Daddy's bidding but not without at least bringing her chocolate. Well you all know what must have followed. If it's the Queen's special treat, than count me in!

When England took over the island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655, they began to import cacao directly, and cutting out the middleman helped to bring the delights of chocolate to the average Joe. Vienna could boast of the first chocolate house, but London soon followed. By 1657, numerous chocolate houses existed in England. We are told that the English believed chocolate to be a sure-fire hangover cure, and that Chocolate Shops were very popular with those creative and well traveled types, as well as intellectual and political figures that spent hours debating the dialectical relationship between nationalism and religion.

By the end of the 1600s, hot cacao in its modern form - mixed with hot milk and sugar was the most popular chocolate drink, although the odd mixes including pepper and mustard were still in existence. Soon after, chocolate gained favor as a confection, and ceased to be thought of as just a drink or a spice. In 1728 the first chocolate factory, for the purpose of making chocolate candy, was built in London. Other countries followed suit, all taking advantage of industrialization in order to create a product that was inexpensive enough for at least the middle class to purchase on a regular basis.

Famous names in chocolate begin to spring up around the beginning of the 1800svan Houten, Cadbury, Cailler, and Nestle. Milton Hershey, one of the most famous names in American chocolate, opened a candy store in 1876 in Philadelphia, which ended in failure after six years. His factory in New York also failed. Moving to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Hershey created a recipe for milk caramels that became popular, and kept him in business. Busy making caramels, Milton also started tinkering with chocolate, trying to create a recipe for a chocolate candy bar. He eventually sold the caramel business, and opened another chocolate factory in 1903 in the little town soon to be known as you guessed it, Hershey. Now there's a very important lesson for all of you entrepreneurs!! Stay the course.

Today chocolate's position as a favorite dessert, drink, and snack is well established. According to the polls, nine out of ten people adore chocolate, and the tenth one is lying! But you chocolate lovers better get on board with some ecology groups AND FAST! The future of chocolate is in jeopardy. Cacao beans are a delicate crop, requiring high temperatures and plenty of rainfall. Pretty much all of cacao is grown between 15° to 20° of the equator. As you know the Earth's climate has been erratic these last few years and no one can adequately explain why because we are on unchartered ground. I'm sure you have read about the wars in these regions, the clear-cutting of rain forests, and the increasingly huge consumption which puts the crops increasingly at risk.

I urge you to be informed and to be responsible for the future of our progeny not chocolate. You might start by reading the August 26th issue of TIME. I'm not endorsing all of the information, but it's a great place to start your own personal assessment of our tenuous life on Earth. Check out the magazine on TIME's website http://www.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,1101020826,00.html. Mother Earth needs us all to be vigilant but then again Earth will survive once she throws us to the wind. The more poignant assessment is will the human race survive?