The Chocospherian
Incredible Chocolate News	February 5th, 2018

Written By: Joanne Kryszek, Chocosphere Co-Founder and Chocolate Goddess

Preface	Featured Product
Incr‘Edible’ Chocolate Deals…	Customer Service
What’s New?	Newsletter
Recipe Corner	Topics

Preface

Valentine's Day is Around the Corner!

Do you have a gift for your Valentine? Impress your special someone and give the gift of love... CHOCOLATE!!! They say it's an aphrodisiac and we know it's a stimulant. If that's appropriate, why not? And if arousal and excitement are not your goal, then give it anyway and you'll get a lot of work done around the office.

Chocolate Theives

This year we have had more reports of chocolate stolen from customers' homes after delivery than in years past. It's usually around the holidays, but it can happen any time of year. If you have theft in your area here is some information that can help you actually get to enjoy your chocolate purchase.

Make sure that the shipping address is correct.
Try to use an address where someone will be there to take the package inside when it is delivered. Using a business address is usually safe unless you can't trust your fellow workers :-).
If you're not sure that you are going to be home when the package delivers, select the option to require a signature at delivery during checkout. If you don't ask for a signature and the package is stolen, neither Chocosphere or the shipper will be responsible. The only time when this is not such a good idea is when the temperatures exceed 79 degrees because if no one is there the package will go back on a hot truck and travel back to the warehouse. In this case shipping to an address where there is someone to take the package inside air conditioned space is the best option.
A tracking e-mail will be sent to you either when we prepare the shipping label or shortly after the shipment is picked up, depending on the shipping company. USPS emails come from Chocosphere with tracking information provided by Endicia.com, UPS e-mails come from UPS Quantum View and FedEx e-mails come from from trackingupdates@fedex.com. Some customers who think they did not receive a tracking e-mail find it in the Spam Folder so check there first if you don't see it in your in box. If the package doesn't deliver, track your shipment using the link in the tracking e-mail because there may be a weather delay or some other issue.
Please call us as soon as possible if there is a problem. The sooner we hear of a delivery issue, the better the chance that we can get the carrier to resolve it promptly. Most of the carriers have GPS in thier trucks so often they can quickly determine if a driver mis-delivers a package. We will file a claim for you if there is in-transit damage to the package or negligence by the shipper.

Incr‘Edible’ Chocolate Deals

Here is the amazing deal we are offering now through February 12, 2018. Pick one of the Valentine's Day baskets and get a $150.00 value for only $99.95 or a $60.00 value for only $49.95. Chocolate hearts are included in each of these baskets.

Featured Products

Amedei 'Armonie Toscane' Truffles

We bought way too much so you are getting a great deal on this product. Normally $19.00, you get it for only $15.20. Twelve small delicious chocolate truffles, in an attractive red box perfect for the season that opens with the grace of a flower. The box contains truffles of three different types: filled with Gianduja chocolate milk, dark chocolate filled with almonds, and white chocolate with hazelnut. 12 pieces, net weight: 110g/3.88 oz.

Michel Cluizel

All of the chocolate from Michel Cluizel is soy free. We have incredible milk and dark chocolate hearts and the boxed chocolates are delicious. If you're looking for a really good deal on Michel Cluizel boxed chocolates, the 28-piece and 48-piece Assorted Bon Bon Boxes are 20% off for a limited time! Do not miss this never before offered opportunity.

The 28-piece Michel Cluizel Plantation Ganaches Box is now on our Bargain Basement page because it has a "best by" date of February 1st but the chocolate is still delicious! It's half price but not suitable for gift giving because of the "best-by" date unless you are shipping it to yourself and can explain that even with the "best by" date the chocolate is still absolutely wonderful.

What's New?

Cafe-Tasse

Try these two new bars: Milk Praline Almonds Crispy Crepe and Dark Almond Praline with Yuzu (a tart Asian citrus with overtones of mandarin orange).

Callebaut

Milk, White and Dark Truffle Shell hollow forms for filling and dipping. Make uniform truffles using these truffle shells. 2.6g per form, 26mm in diameter with a 10mm diameter hole.

Valrhona

Presenting "Valrhona 66 Chocolats- Dark & Milk, 330g Grand Crus Box", Valrhona's new selection of "Grand Cru", best of the best, dark bittersweet and milk chocolate in an elegant presentation box! Inside each box you will find beautifully wrapped individual squares of Valrhona's classic "Grand Cru" chocolates:

Manjari 64% (Single Origin Madagascar Dark), Alpaco 66% (Single Origin Ecuador Dark), Guanaja 70% (Grand Crus Blend Dark), Abinao 85% (African Grand Crus Blend Dark), Tanariva 33% (Single Origin Madagascar Milk), and Bahibe 46% (Single Origin Dominican Republic Milk).

Valrhona also provides a colorful guide to your chocolate collection, describing the origins and character of each type of chocolate. Indulge. or give one to your favorite chocolate connoisseur! 330g/11.64oz net wt., 11 squares of each type, 66 squares total per box.

CHOCOVIC Ocumare Couverture Discs - 1.5kg

A new size bag, CHOCOVIC Ocumare Couverture, made from single-origin Venezuela cacao. A soft aroma with tones of exotic woods, dried fruit and spicey notes, persistent taste, well-proportioned and full. Special note of cedar, tobacco and prune tones. 71% cocoa content. These couverture discs are small (around the size of a typical cookie chip), making them convenient to scoop and measure, and easy to melt Four-drop fluidity. Net wt. 1.5 Kg / 3.3 lbs.

Recipe Corner

Chocolate Dream Pie

8 servings

Pie crust

Ingredients

6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/6 cup or (5 and 1/2 Tablespoons) cold coconut oil
1/4 cup ice water

Chop the butter into small pieces and store in the refrigerator while you prepare the dried ingredients.

Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the butter and coconut oil. Use your hands to press the butter and coconut oil into the flour mixture. Add the ice water and mix by hand until just incorporated.

Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator and place on a floured surface. Roll out dough and fit into a 9 inch pie dish. Line the unbaked pie crust with parchment paper and weight it down with something so that the bottom doesn't puff and the sides don't slouch. You can use dry beans.

Once the crust is set when the edges turn golden — remove the weights and let the crust cook a little longer on its own. For a partially baked crust, you want the bottom to look dry and flaky, but still pale. For a fully baked crust, look for the bottom to turn light golden. The baking process won't take more than 15 or 20 minutes.

Chocolate Cream Filling

1/4 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups milk
1 cup cream
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used Amedei 66%)

Place cornstarch, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan and combine. Add milk, cream and yolks and use a whisk.

Turn heat onto low or medium low. As the mixture warms up, whisk occasionally and do not allow to burn. After around 3 minutes, you'll feel the mixture thicken.

Whisk the mixture thoroughly making sure that all the area including the area between the bottom and sides of the pan is covered with the whisk. The mixture will start to boil at around 5 minutes. Contiue to whisk for 45 seconds and then remove pan from the stove.

Keep whisking for about a minute and a half and add butter, chocolate and vanilla. Continue to whisk until chocolate melts and filling is smooth.

Pour filling into pie shell and smooth the surface. Gently place round parchment or waxed paper on surface. Refrigerate overnight or at least 12 hours. Remove paper.

Top with whipping cream. You can shave or grate chocolate on the top.

Customer Service

Of course we are happy to help over the phone, but we do appreciate it when you place your order on line. It helps us to give the most prompt and accurate service. And when you need help, we are here for you. There is generally someone answering the phones between 8:30am. and 4:30pm. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, with the exception of commonly observed holidays.

There are five of us answering phones at Chocosphere, where we speak fluent Chocospherian. We try hard to answer all calls personally during normal business hours, but occasionally one slips over to voice mail. If you call and end up in voice mail, please leave a message. We will do our very best to call back promptly. If by chance you don't hear back from us in a reasonable time, please call again during our normal business hours.

We each have varying levels of experience. It is our goal to happily serve you the very best chocolate!!

If you're ordering for holiday delivery, please take note of ordering deadlines so we can get the chocolate to the right place at the right time. You can also find a link to our holiday shipping deadline page inside an information bloc shown at the top of the Chocosphere home page and the top of the checkout page.

Finally, and very importantly, our web site lists our service commitments as to when we ship an order based on when the order is placed. However, we certainly understand there are circumstances where you may want us to process an order faster, when you need your chocolate “now”! If you need your order shipped faster than our listed service commitment, please place your order online letting us know of your need in the “Comments” section, and then call us (503-692-3323 x 0 for Customer Service) to let us know. We can't guarantee early shipping, but we always try hard to provide chocolate happiness to our valued customers.

If you want us to send a copy as an email every time there is a new issue or to tell you about special offers, please create an account at chocosphere.com and check the newsletter box.

Topics:

If you have a topic you would like us to cover in the newsletter, please drop us a line: customer‑service@chocosphere.com and we will be happy to include it in a future edition.

Fax 503-692-1494