Past Newsletters
Vol. 6 No. 4

Prepare Yourself for Italy’s Finest Chocolates!

You are sure to relish the two choices we have made from the Cuba Venchi line of chocolates. The Cuor di Nocciolato,™ cocoa and ground hazelnut filling in a milk shell will whisk you away to the Piedmont region of Italy where the very finest hazelnuts in the entire world are grown. Our other favorite is Cioccolato Ecuador puro fondente made with 56% cocoa.

These two flavors are part of Cuba Venchi’s flagship products called Cubotti™, a totally innovative line of chocolate cubes, which showcase Venchi’s expertise in creating nut based creams and pastes. They pride themselves in developing wholly diverse experiences for your palate, while exclusively using only traditional Piedmontese ingredients, such as cocoa, cocoa butter, hazelnuts, almonds and coffee. Each bite is a gourmet delights for the true gourmand!

Gourmet: A Term We Don’t Use Lightly

Ever consider what makes something “gourmet?” The term gets thrown around quite a bit these days… Consider chocolate for example: there is a seemingly innumerable assortment of delicious types available by chocolatiers from across the globe—but what qualifies a particular chocolate as “gourmet?” Typically, epicurean delights earn this distinction not based on taste alone but rather, a combination of superb flavor in conjunction with a certain degree of rarity. It is this latter quality that truly separates the delicious from the gourmet, as rarity is attributable to factors that limit availability and therefore contribute to the uniqueness of the product. Rarity is a consequence either of lack of resources, or other limiting factors, most important of which is the labor intensity requisite in their creation. Excellent chocolate could not be more suitably defined by any word other than gourmet, as it is notoriously difficult to cultivate, representing a high degree of labor from an agricultural perspective (the cocoa plant is one of the most difficult to cultivate as it is not fructiferous outside the temperate band which runs from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer). Additionally, the process of obtaining cocoa from cocoa beans and eventually creating the chocolate-based treats that we all know and love entails its own toils and demands uncommon talent.

Of course, rarity as a singular trait doesn’t necessarily make a chocolate gourmet; if you suddenly discovered your great- great- great-grandmother’s 200 year old antique stash of childhood candy shop chocolates, well, you probably wouldn’t have what many would consider a gourmet treasure trove. Flavor is obviously critical in the production of gourmet anything, particularly chocolates, and it don’t come easy folks. In fact, it has taken centuries for chocolate as we know it to develop at the hands and tastes of careful yet inventive chocolate makers. Fortunately we at the Chocolate of the Month Club are quite well connected and have been able to set you up with another truly gourmet sample of chocolates that have wowed gourmands the world over with their certifiably “gourmet” delights. They come from the world renowned chocolatiers at Cuba Venchi, but as we’ll see, reaching their current level of success didn’t happen overnight—their story actually began over 130 years ago!

An Indulgence Handed Down From the Royal Courts

Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy, has been well recognized as a culinary hotbed since the Savoy dynasty. The region’s butchers, bakers, winemakers and confectioners have continually sought out new recipes to satisfy the fickle taste buds of the city’s upper social classes, a tradition handed down from the courts of Spain and later expanded east to Turin. Not to underestimate the abounding culinary delights of the region, but Turin’s real treat is without a doubt her sweets. Ever since the Savoys began concluding their day with a steaming cup of cioccolato in the 1600’s, the city has blossomed into one of the world’s international centers for chocolate.

Cocoa first arrived in Piedmont only a decade after it arrived in Spain from Mexico via Cortez’s legendary expeditions to the new world. At that time, cocoa concoctions were solely liquid-based, made according to the traditions of the Aztecs of Montezuma’s court. In 1559 Duke Emmanuelle Filiberto of Savoy imported the use of chocolate from the court of Charles V of Spain, for whom he served as general. Were it not for this affiliation with the royals, the cocoa bean’s treasures would have remained exclusively in the aristocratic circles of the Spanish court, as the beans were enormously prized and jealously guarded by the Spaniard nobles. Soon after its arrival, the Piedmontese quickly developed a passion for the exotic beans. Chocolate was soon adapted as a “royal desert” for the royal court of Turin in the 1600s, and it was through Piedmontese merchants known as “cioccolatieri” that the exportation of chocolate to northern Europe began. In fact, chocolate was first sold in Switzerland in the 1700s, a region that today boasts the highest per capita consumption of chocolate in the world! Speaking highly of its esteemed reputation, the great Swiss chocolatiers developed their techniques here and it was in Piedmont that chocolate Easter eggs were invented in the 1860s, adapting a very ancient tradition of giving painted eggs as a gift during the Easter festivities.

Enter Silvano Venchi, Confectionary Genius of Piedmont!

It was in this tradition of haute cuisine, wine, truffles and chocolate (and of course “la dolce vita”), and set against a backdrop of Hazel trees, vineyards, and green hills that Silvano Venchi began his career as a confectionery worker in 1870 at the age of 16. Enthralled with his work, Venchi used all his savings at the age of 20 to buy two bronze cauldrons with which he installed in his own apartment, and began experimenting in the creation of chocolate covered sweets. In 1878, he left his job and founded his own company, “Venchi” and by 1900 his rapidly growing firm was becoming known for the “…most elegant confections in Turin…” Venchi’s creations swiftly acquired national fame when the company began to distribute its simple but exquisite caramelized ground hazelnut covered by thin layer of extra dark chocolate, simply called “Nougatine,” which continues to this day to be one of the company’s most popular treats.

Another Piedmont Giant Is Born!

Pietro Cussino began his 20 year apprenticeship as pastry chef master in 1929, in Cuneo, a small town in Piedmont. With his extensive experience in crafting his own personal brand of pastry delicacies, he founded his own business, producing biscuits and other associated products, such as chocolate, nougat and iced chestnuts. The company was named ”Cuba,” an acronym based on his name and products (Cussino, Biscotti e Affini).
Over the next 30 years the company grew extensively and took up residence in a town in one of the alpine valleys northwest of Cuneo, a short distance from the French border. In the newly expanded setting, Cussino devoted himself to exploring local traditional chocolate recipes. He and his team began adapting the most treasured of these to a semi-industrial context, still employing traditional techniques and preserving the quality and authenticity of the original recipes. The company’s reputation was rapidly established following the creation of a special version of a local specialty chocolate: the “Cuneese al Rhum”, a praline made of a generous portion chocolate and filled with a rum-flavored cream. The drawback to the original “Cuneese” was that it only lasted a few weeks. Cussino succeeded in combining freshness and a longer shelf life in his Cuba Rum chocolates, without having to resort to the use of preservatives.

Sometimes Two Heads Are Better Than One!

The wild creativity of Venchi and crafty innovation of Cussino’s Cuba were eventually combined in 2000 in a union that married two of the most esteemed chocolatiers from the chocolate wellspring of the Piedmont region. Cuba Venchi, as the company is now proudly known, boasts an impressive product line that includes 250 different heavenly treats spawned from the following scrumptious families: confectioneries, chocolates, sugar free chocolates (sweetened with Malitol), chestnuts, nougats, and giandujas.
The last of these families is a local original. Hazelnut has long been paired with chocolate creations, and those from this region of Italy are the finest in the world thanks to the unique minerals in the soil of the hills in the region. The birth of the gianduja is attributed to the Napoleonic wars in the first part of 19th century, when the blockade by the Royal navy of all European ports caused a shortage in cocoa, which obliged Piedmontese chocolatiers to find a substitute. They discovered that by refining hazelnuts into a very thin paste they could blend it perfectly with chocolate, thus creating the gianduja. What was born as a cheap substitute of chocolate in piedmont has now become a delicacy, which only a few chocolatiers still know the secret to.
Bring on the Cubotti!

The Cubotti you now have in your possession are an innovative line of small chocolate cubes, which highlight and encapsulate the company’s unique expertise in creation of nut based creams and pastes, a talent that typifies the expertise of the great Piedmont chocolatiers. Great pride is taken in developing sundry flavor combinations that are always pleasing to the palate. Thankfully, Cuba Venchi’s desire to create new flavors and textures of confectionary chocolate delights is rivaled by their perpetual drive to use only traditional Piedmontese confectionery ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, hazelnut, almonds and coffee. The following list includes brief summaries of the varieties included in your assortment of Cubotti:

• Cuor di Nocciolato: cocoa and ground hazelnut filling in a silky milk chocolate shell
• Crema Piemonte: milk gianduja filling in a 56% savory dark chocolate covering
• Crema Latte: delicate white gianduja filling covered with a milk chocolate shell
• Crema Cacao: 56% sultry dark gianduja filling enclosed within a 56% dark chocolate shell—a dark chocolate lover’s delight!
• Crema Cappuccio: coffee cream filling in a creamy milk chocolate covering
• Crema Mandorla: blended almond paste filling wrapped in a shell of velvety milk chocolate
• Cuor di Cacao: about as dark and decadent as they come! Delicious 75% dark almond paste filling in a bittersweet 75% dark chocolate shell

Only the Finest Ingredients Will Do

Cuba Venchi prides itself on using the best ingredients money can buy. Their Cocoa comes from the finest South America (Venezuela and Ecuador) and African (Ghana) plantations and their production standards are air-tight. From their deepest dark to their smoothest milk chocolates, and their multitude of fantastic fillings, they are totally committed to employing traditional techniques that in no way alter the genuineness of their ingredients. There are absolutely no preservatives used in their products, making them 100% natural! All the colors you’ll see are also natural, as they refuse to use any artificial colorings that would otherwise interfere with the innate beauty inherent in their constituents. You won’t find this same commitment to purity in most chocolates you can pick up at your local store, but you are guaranteed to appreciate it upon your first taste of Cubotti.

In addition to amazing taste, the lack of industrialization at their production facilities yields products that may vary slightly from batch to batch. This is not an indication of faulty quality control, but rather the mark of all artisan produced chocolates. As such, certain products may vary slightly in weight from time to time. Moreover, product lots may vary in taste and shape according to raw material lots and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, samples from every single production lot, across all 250 of their product lines, are tasted individually during the manufacturing process, and while differences may be evident during the year, these are restricted to a narrow range of acceptable variation, all set forth by experts that assess color, flavor and overall quality. In this sense, Cuba Venchi, while producing literally tons of tasty treats every year, has the same feel to its products as a small corner chocolate shop.

Rooted in the predilection for fine delectables that drove the chocolatier giants that were their founders, Cuba Venchi still exudes an unrivaled enthusiasm for conceiving and creating truly gourmet treats. Unduplicated anywhere else, the blissful extravagance of these bite sized goodies is an indulgence you’ll want to experience again and again—lucky for you we’ve included a healthy supply for you to enjoy time and time again!

Mother’s Day is Right Around the Corner!

Just a friendly reminder: Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching! If you haven’t found that perfect present for this very special day, consider getting a gift membership for your mom, grandmother, wife, or any mom whose day you want to make memorable. Mother’s Day? How about Mother’s Months! Memberships to any of our monthly clubs make great gifts that last for months and months—as long as you wish! From our Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club to our Gourmet Cheese of the Month Club to The International Wine of the Month Club and Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club (not to mention Microbrewed Beer of the Month Clubs and Premium Cigar of the Month Clubs), we offer flexible club combinations that let you mix and match different clubs for your gift recipient. You can customize the ideal combination of club memberships as you see fit—you’re limited only by your own imagination! Visit us at www.monthlyclubs.com to check out our clubs, or, if you still like interacting with real live human beings, give us a call at 800-625-8238 and one of our friendly gift counselors will help you sort through the many options we offer!