The Chocospherian – September 2019

The Chocospherian
Incredible Chocolate News	September 29^th, 2019

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

Another Chocosphere Anniversary!	Staff Picks
Incr‘Edible’ Chocolate Deals…	Customer Service
Recipe Corner	Newsletter
What's New?	Topics
Holiday Gift Giving & Corporate Gifts

Another Chocosphere Anniversary!

Would you believe that Chocosphere is 21 years old? And we’ve come a long way from the days when we were in the basement of our home with just six brands in 1998, to today when we carry over 60 brands in a 6000 square-foot temperature-controlled warehouse! In recent years we also significantly improved our web site that presents all of this amazing chocolate so that you can browse through in a variety of ways to find exactly what you want and maybe even a little bit more.

Have we had fun, travel and amazing folks working with us? Absolutely! But our baby is now 21. We should celebrate! See our Incr'Edible Chocolate Deals (immediately below).

Incr‘Edible’ Chocolate Deals

Here's what we're offering on the occasion of our 21^st anniversary. The offers below are valid for retail consumer orders only, from now until October 18^th, 2019 except as specifically noted:

1. Discounting chocolate on our “Award Winners” web page was well received, so we’re going to do that again. Save 15% on all of our Award Winning chocolates shown on the Award Winners page!

2. Any order over $50.00 will get a 20% bonus of chocolate added to the order. I will be picking the chocolate to add, so please let me know via the "Comments" section at Checkout if you have any preferences or allergies and we’ll do our best to accommodate, though I can’t guarantee meeting requests. The chocolate will not be the same as chocolate on your order to introduce you to something different. Gift certificates, Chocolate Clubs, the EcoleChocolat Understanding Chocolate Flavor Package, Grab Bags, items from our On Sale and Bargain Basement offerings and orders shipped outside of the U.S. do not qualify for this offer.

All you have to do to utilize this offer is write “21st anniversary bonus chocolate, please” in the "Comments" section at Checkout and our super efficient and friendly Ooompahs will take care of the details. We can ship or hold the order for a limited and reasonable time so feel free to ask and we'll let you know what we can do. Just add “Ship in time for Thanksgiving” any other holiday or special celebration between now and the end of the year to the "Comments" section.

3. Dark Love is new and devilishly good. Until Halloween, we are offering a 10% discount. Hearts and Coffins full of flavor and beautifully wrapped in a black box for all your shades of pleasure.

4. 15% off all Italian bars, squares and gifty items.

Holiday Gift Giving & Corporate Gifts

We love making beautiful gifts! Chocosphere has attractive packaging and an artistic Oompah (MeLissa) who loves putting it all together for you in her own special way. This is early I know, but won’t you feel better when you have all your holiday gifts taken care of and someone else gets to deal with the details? So get your orders in by October 18^th, 2019 and take advantage of the discounts and bonuses as noted above.

We gladly help with Corporate Gifts, but we need to know now if you are ordering large quantities for multiple gifts so we can get everything delivered on time. It can take 6 to 8 weeks to bring a shipment from Europe or Central / South America. Times flies by fast, so make sure your orders are in by the middle of October. It will help us if you call first. This way we can tell you if it’s possible and offer alternatives if it’s not. Do you want your corporate colors used or your logo on the greeting card? No problem, we can do that.

Staff Picks

Trent, one of our customer-service specialists, shares his chocolate thoughts and picks below.

I don’t have favorite chocolates, instead I prefer to explore different flavors and percentages on a regular basis, leaving myself open to new and different taste experiences.

Domori ‘To Go’ Dark Chocolate with Ginger Bar

This is one of our newest bars from the Domori line. The ginger in this bar is just bold enough to assert itself, but not so intense as to overpower the smooth, rich chocolate that Domori is known for. Along with the flavor I also appreciate the small size and minimal packaging.

Valrhona Amandes Noir

I love these chocolate covered almonds from Valrhona. The sweetness of the chocolate coating matches perfectly with the toasted almond, creating a well balanced flavor and crunch combination.

Michel Cluizel Mokaya Bar

Rarely am I able to read the tasting notes on a bar and agree 100% with what is written, yet here we are. I enjoy a bar with varying flavor notes and Michel Cluizel does not disappoint with this bar using Mexican cacao beans.

Guido Gobino Giandujottino Tourinot Maximo +39

Some days you just need a little pick me up. I tend to find myself craving gianduja (finely ground hazelnuts mixed with smooth chocolate) on those days and this is definitely a go to piece for me.

Belvie Black Pearl 85% Bar

This Vietnamese chocolate is a newer brand for us. It is smooth and rich and full of subtle flavors due to the rich volcanic soil it is grown in. This 85% bar is just sweet enough to keep the chocolate from being bitter, but not so sweet as to overwhelm the taste of the cacao.

What's New

There are so many new items that you might want to use this link to peruse all the delicious chocolates that our makers are coming up with.

But here are just a few details:

Valrhona Inspiration Yuzu just arrived and is the latest offering in Valrhona's Inspiration Line of fruit-inspired couverture. A pure cocoa butter based product, it tempers, covers, and can be used as would a white chocolate, while having the very intense citrusy flavor of the prized Japanese Yuzu fruit.

Original Beans Mini Bars are the perfect size for a few delicious bites (12 grams) and beautifully wrapped in colors that catch your eye. The Original Beans Small Assorted Mini-Bars 4-pc Box has four different chocolate varieties and is a very nice small gift.

The Pralus Barre Infernale Café 160 g. is a creation from the teamwork of François Pralus and famous French culinary writer Vincent Ferniot. This intense bar is perfect for coffee lovers, with an outer shell of Pralus' delicious Carre de Café Noir (mainly coffee, cocoa butter and sugar, but no cocoa solids) surrounding a filling of hazelnut and almond praline paste with more Carre de Cafe Noir mixed in.

Eight new Domori bars in the larger 50 gram size (the link also shows a couple of really good legacy bars); two inclusion bars and five origin bars and a 100% Ecuador Nacional bar, plus Domori's new chocolate eggs which are made in collaboration with their sister company Prestat of England.

Michel Cluizel is offering some new chocolates, including bars and squares from La Laguna Plantation in Guatamala, and some delightful new 30g Mini-Bars.

Recipe Corner

DEREK'S IRRESISTIBLE COOKIES (Another excellent recipe by Derek Poirier, Valrhona corporate pastry chef, courtesy of Valrhona)

Category: Cookies and bars
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 40 min

INGREDIENTS

Makes about 2 dozen cookies depending on size

4 1/3 cups (540 g) flour
2 tsp (12 g) salt
2 ½ tsp (12 g) baking soda
1 5/8 cups (370 g) butter
1 ½ cup (310 g) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (225 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla extract
7 oz (200 g) chopped GRAND CRU DARK BAKING CHOCOLATE GUANAJA 70%

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a stand or hand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars until light and fluffy.
Combine eggs and vanilla extract. Slowly add to the butter mixture, scraping down after each addition.
Combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add to the wet mixture and mix until the dough just begins to come together.
Add in the chopped chocolate, and finish mixing just to incorporate the chocolate.
Form the dough into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, or until light golden brown on the edges.

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 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!!

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