from Architect turned Chocolatier

Chocolate connoisseurs may well be aware of the superior quality of chocolate from the Caribbean yet it is the Swiss, the Belgians, the French and the Italians who are credited with refining it into fine flavoured chocolate bars and bonbons. That is because most of the chocolate produced in the region is shipped abroad to be crafted into luxury chocolates - until now. Meet Trinidadian Isabel Brash, architect turned-chocolate maker and chocolatier. Indeed Isabel may very well be the Caribbean's ONLY chocolatier. Her company is called COCOBEL and her chocolates are handmade from the finest quality trinitario beans from her brother’s Rancho Quemado Estate in south Trinidad.

Worldwide it is uncommon to find someone like Isabel who is both a chocolate maker and a chocolatier. Making chocolate is an exacting and somewhat arduous process so most chocolatiers opt to buy their chocolate from chocolate makers. These are the persons who are responsible for roasting and grinding the beans to produce a fine-flavour, fine-quality chocolate also called courveture. Chocolatiers then use the science of confectionary and their imagination to create wonderful confections and other chocolate products.

Isabel’s involvement in the process from bean to bar ensures that her chocolate is of the highest quality and her imagination knows no bounds. Fancy a ponche de crème, sorrel or gingerbread spice? Maybe a cashew gianduja, honey passionfruit or a ginger rum is more to your liking? My personal favourite is the mango pepper. Sweet with a little heat, it captures the spirit and spice of the islands all in one delectable little bite.

COCOBEL chocolate is a completely different experience from the mass produced bars sold in stores where the predominant flavour note is sugar more than it is chocolate.  Who knew that chocolate could have so many different flavours?  I had always thought that chocolate tasted like…well… chocolate. Turns out chocolate can taste like vanilla or berries or bananas or spices depending on the region in which the cocoa was grown.

Isabel’s decision to make chocolate for a living was not a conscious one. In 2005 she returned home from London with her master’s degree in architecture and worked in partnership with another architect for three years before ‘falling’ into cocoa. One day while eating some chocolate she wondered to herself, “When a piece of chocolate melts in your mouth and your eyes close down for a couple seconds… how does this happen? How does it get from that tree to this beautiful thing in my mouth?”

At the time work was slow and so she started researching chocolate purely out of curiosity. Eventually she asked her brother to bring home some dried beans from his cocoa estate. “I started to experiment with roasting, cracking, winnowing, grinding….just so! I felt like a scientist!" According to Isabel the growth of her chocolate company COCOBEL has been very organic. It started as pure curiosity and it gradually took over her life. “I just started leaning more towards exploring chocolates…then I was leaning harder and harder…then I fell into the same hole that Alice in Wonderland fell into! Down, down, down…curiouser and curiouser! Door after door and I did not look back. I will always be an architect, I am just an architect now of chocolate!”

Isabel designs everything to do with the look of the product. From brochures to packaging, she does it all. The Cocobel logo is a result of her study of the cacao flower. “This flower is very small but extremely intricate and mesmerizing—it almost looks like it wants to swallow you!” She explains, “Only about 5% of the flowers survive to become cacao pods.” Such is her passion for her company and the work that she now does she has even tattooed the logo onto her arm.

At first she was only making chocolates for family and friends. Then the need to name her business came about in 2009 when she attended the World Chocolate Federation meeting. While searching for a suitable name, something that was indigenous-perhaps something Amerindian, her father suggested COCOBEL. Everyone loved the name but Isabel wasn’t sold on it. “It’s a pretty name but I did not want people to think that the brand was named after me." She finally embraced it when her father came back from a fishing trip and told her that his patois speaking friends had said that Cocobel meant, beautiful, brown girl. “I loved it…patois! So that is what it means to me…dark beauty.”

For Isabel one of the challenges in an endeavour such as this is has been in getting out there and educating the market about her chocolates. Initially, “I was being compared to commercial chocolates and people were not aware of the difference or why my prices were so much higher.” Recently there has been a wave of interest in the health benefits of dark chocolate and people are more appreciative of her efforts. Isabel is optimistic that she won’t be the only one with this kind of business for long, “We do have some fine cacao, that is for sure and more and more people are going to get into chocolate production now, you will see!" In the meantime great things are in store for the continued growth of COCOBEL.

If you are thinking about ordering Cocobel chocolates for Valentine's Day then you would do well to order early. Over the Christmas season Isabel was forced to close in order to fill existing orders. You can contact her at cocobelchocolates (at) yahoo (dot) com.“I would love if people came here to sample Trinidad’s cocoa estates and come by and visit COCOBEL to get a taste of our island sweetness!”

Asked about her inspiration for the soft fruit fillings and spices in her chocolates, Isabel says that she starts with what she loves and tastes that she grew up with. “As far as the flavour design process goes, the only reason that mango and passionfruit and local hot pepper sound strange to be put with chocolate is because chocolate is hardly made in our region. We have so many amazing fruits here. Many that you never see in the supermarket…the possibilities are endless really.” She goes on to say that locally people associate chocolate with “foreign” and cocoa as local. Isabel is of the opinion that if we can grow some of the finest cocoa beans in the world then surely we can make fine chocolates too. Having tasted her chocolates I’m inclined to agree.

A website is in the works and in the future Isabel hopes to ship her pure dark bars internationally but for now her filled chocolates will only be sold in Trinidad.

Do you like chocolate? You may be fueling violence

New York, N.Y. - Despite having lost the elections in December, the incumbent President of the Ivory Coast, Lauent Gbagbo, continues to cling to power, using his support within the military to stave off opposition from the rightfully elected President Alassane Ouattara.

International and African election observers have certified the opposition’s clear victory at the polls, but Gbagbo refuses to step down and has unleashed a wave of “extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and rape” by security forces and militias, according to Human Rights Watch. More than 250 people have been killed in the political violence and over 40,000 have fled the fighting.

Many of us might find such news tragic but struggle to understand what it has to do with us. Ivory Coast seems many miles away from Independence. But if you have eaten a chocolate bar, drunk a cup of hot cocoa or ordered a mocha coffee this week you might be more entangled in the conflict than you realize.

Some 40 percent of the world’s cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, comes from the Ivory Coast. Human rights campaigners fear that Gbagbo and his supporters are using money from cocoa exports to fund the post-election repression.

“The army’s loyalty allows Gbagbo to maintain his stranglehold on the Ivorian state, and it needs to be paid,” said Daniel Balint-Kurti, a campaigner at Global Witness, the advocacy group that helped to stigmatize conflict diamonds. “Cocoa taxes have long been a major source of funds for his regime, and there’s a danger money stolen from the sector is being used to fund the militias now terrorising parts of the population.”

Chocolate’s role in fueling violence in the Ivory Coast is not new. In 2007, a Global Witness report showed how both the Ivorian government and rebels diverted revenues from cocoa exports to fund a civil war in 2002-2003.

President-Elect Ouattara, while not yet in control of the government apparatus, announced this week a temporary ban on exports, including cocoa, to try to stem Gbagbo’s ability to fund his campaign of violence. Global Witness has called on chocolate companies to respect the ban.

Several major companies, such as Cargill, have already suspended purchasing cocoa from the Ivory Coast. However, the global campaigning organization Avaaz is trying to put pressure on other companies to do the same. They are asking people to post complaints on chocolate companies’ Facebook walls and to sign their online petition at https://secure.avaaz.org/en/ivory_coast_chocolate.

Chocolate is good for your face

When Valentine’s Day is upon us, we tend to surround ourselves with thoughts of chocolate truffles and candy-shaped hearts. But shoveling those in without reserve is going to do no good -- especially if you're logging hours at the gym.

Instead of eating bon bons all day long, indulge yourself with the new dark chocolate facial at Equinox, and save yourself the extra pounds.

The special treatment-- available for a limited time in the beginning of February -- will help satisfy your chocolate craving and leave your skin feeling all dewy just in time for your date.

The chocolate facial is rich in antioxidants that combat free radicals that cause premature aging, and the antioxidant-rich cocoa beans and shea butter act as natural moisturizers. The caffeine in chocolate awakens the skin to leave you feeling invigorated and revitalized.

The feel-good benefits of cocoa, plus the sensual have-to-have-it aroma of chocolate, is the perfect combo, and the fact that it’s now combined with a day at the spa makes it the ultimate indulgence for yourself, or even better, the ultimate gift for a loved one.

The facial costs $155 and includes a detailed skin condition analysis from a highly trained aesthetician, followed by a deep, relaxing décolletage massage.

Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival

Don’t forget - the 2011 Santa Cruz Chocolate Festival is Sunday, January 23 (1-4pm, Cocoanut Grove) with more than 25 vendors including Snake & Butterfly Chocolate and Original Sin – details on these businesses and their tasty samples for Sunday are below. Benefiting re-entry student scholarships via the UC Santa Cruz Women’s Club, the chocolate festival is a popular event you don’t want to miss! Read more in these articles:

Snake & Butterfly Chocolate is an award-winning South Bay company that refines organic, fair trade chocolate from the bean. Snake & Butterfly makes single origin chocolate, which is one bean from a particular country or region in small batches using traditional stone melangers. The company uses three ingredients in its chocolate: cacao beans, cocoa butter and sugar (or agave for its raw bars); it doesn't add emulsifiers or artificial ingredients. It uses this chocolate to create plain and flavored bars, truffles and confections -- many suitable for vegans. At the Chocolate Festival, Snake & Butterfly will be sampling a variety of single origin chocolate (Ghana, Venezuela, Madagascar), flavored bars (Salt & Almond, Ginger & Nib, Maple Syrup & Bacon Brittle, Cherry & Chili), raw chocolates, and caramels. Snake & Butterfly will have its entire chocolate line for sale, too. Awards the company has recently won: five medals at the San Francisco Fall Luxury Chocolate Salon (including Gold for Best Organic/Fair Trade Product and Silver for Best Flavored Chocolate Bar) and three medals at the Napa Luxury Chocolate Salon.

 

Original Sin Desserts is a Santa Cruz company founded and owned by UCSC graduate Tanya DeCell. Original Sin will be sampling its signature product, Chocolate Sin Cake, in exchange for customers’ tasting tickets at the Chocolate Festival. It will also sample Chipotle Chocolate Cheesecake (DeCell comments: “spicy/smoky pairs really nice with dark chocolate"), Black Velvet Cheesecake, Peanut Butter Silk, and Boston Cream Pie. All of the Original Sin sweets being sampled will also be available for customer purchase. The company is committed to top-quality ingredients including Guittard chocolate and Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar vanilla. Baker DeCell uses only hormone-free dairy products, and most desserts aremade without any hydrogenated oils. Original Sin had a retail storefront in downtown Santa Cruz (with bakery and deli items) that closed in December. You can still find its products around town -- for example, the cheesecakes are at New Leaf, the soups, salads, burritos & wraps are at Cabrillo College bookstore, and you can place orders for custom cakes, catering, and wholesale business at the Original Sin web site.

Anyone else as hungry as I am after reading all this? Can’t wait ‘til Sunday! And a bonus: it's all for a great cause!

Think Outside of the Chocolate Box this Valentine’s Day

Isabella’s Cookie Company shows some heart this Valentine’s Day.  Home to the most craved cookies in the world, Isabella’s Cookie Company is serving up specialty heart-shaped Sugar Rush cookies, beginning January 24th thru February 16th.  Made with the finest ingredients, Isabella’s Cookies are baked with love and are the perfect treat to sweeten the special day.  

A heart-shaped box of chocolates is predictable; Isabella’s Cookies come in unique and decadent flavors that are sure to melt hearts and whet appetites.  Each individual batch of Isabella’s Cookies consists of pure ingredients like real butter, bourbon vanilla, and hand cut milk chocolate.  Aside from the Valentine’s Day Sugar Rush, a soft sugar cookie topped with creamy vanilla frosting and all-natural pink sprinkles, Isabella’s also offers adventurous flavor combinations like The Muffy, filled with dried blueberries, milk chocolate covered blueberries, and rich white chocolate.  As if frosting or blueberries aren’t enough, Isabella’s even has a Strawberry Shortcake cookie bursting with dried strawberries, white chocolate chips, and chocolate-covered strawberries – talk about romance.  

“Everyone gets a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day, and everyone only eats half.  They pick and choose, because, let’s be honest, it is rare a person likes every type of chocolate.  With Isabella’s Cookies, individuals can customize their batch and take comfort in knowing there won’t be a single crumb left behind,” says Jennifer Palmer, Founder and Owner of Isabella’s Cookie Company.

As the saying goes, the best way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, and Isabella’s Cookies are just the ticket.  With a classic melt-in-your-mouth taste with an irresistible twist, a batch from Isabella’s Cookie Company is the sweetest way to spread happiness this Valentine’s Day.

“Everyone loves cookies. They make us feel warm and happy inside,” says Palmer.  “Isabella’s Cookies bring the comfort and happiness of a home-baked cookie with a special something extra, an excellent idea for anyone looking to move outside of the expected this Valentine’s Day.”

Isabella’s Cookie Company prides themselves on simple and quality ingredients that are honestly good, and heaven sent. Isabella’s Cookies are available online at www.isabellascookies.com and at specialty retailers, such as select Whole Foods Markets in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona.  This Valentine’s Day it’s time to think outside of the chocolate box, and choose a gift that is as special and sweet as the one receiving it.  

Chocolate or Tea?

If you have not had the opportunity to try a chocolate infused black tea for dessert, or a lovely green chocolate tea at a luncheon you are in for a real treat as you explore the world of tea and chocolate. This is one of the newer trends in the tea industry and it is evolving fast.

You can now find choclate bars with tea - we have an article and links to buy on these fabulous high end choclate bars - great gifts for the tea lover. You can also find chocolate mint tea, chocolate rooibos tea, and chocolate green teas.

There are lots to choose from, so you can get a nice sweet, or mellow (higher cocoa content) chocolate infused tea. You need to consider what and who you will be serving the tea to to determine which of the choclate infused teas would suit your needs.

Lots of people plan chocolate themed tea parties too - which can be alot of fun. Everything chocolate - tea sandwiches, desserts, tea chocolates, tea infused cakes and pasteries.... this one can be so much fun.

There are also a variety of other ways to get tea into your favorite choclate recipes, like green tea chocolate mousse, or green tea chocolate cream pie.... You can come up with a few of your own I am sure.

The tea leaves - green, black, rooibos and earl grey (personal favorite as bergamot is a natural for chocolate) and many more types of tea leaves go well with chocolate. You can further vary any of these combinations by varying the type of chocolate you use. White chocolate raspberry tea is delicious! How about a white chocolate strawberry tea cheescake?

I am sure your head is starting to fill with wonderful ideas as you read more in this article.

Choclate tea is a personal favorite and Chocolate Mint Tea is a standby for me.

This is chocolate, mint tea and sometimes contains black tea as well.

Here are some personal favorites:

Tea Infused Chocolate Bars

Chocolate Mint Tea

Chocolate Chai Tea

Chocolate Green Tea

Chocolate infused with Earl Gray Tea

Thanks for stopping by I hope you find these tea articles interesting and become a Chocolate flavored tea lover like me.

Chocolate goodies galore

LEWISTON — A roomful of chocolate delights to nibble on.

Pastries, cakes, mousses and other delicacies made by a dozen of Lewiston-Auburn area’s fine restaurants and professional bakers.

That's what "Chocolat" — Lewiston Middle School's second annual chocolate fundraiser — is all about.

The event supporting school activities will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30, at The Green Ladle on the Lewiston High School campus.

Area bakers and restaurants will compete for professional Chocoholic’s Dream and Decadent Display awards. There will also be a people’s choice Candy is Dandy Award.

Among the area groups and businesses participating are The Bread Shack, Maine Gourmet Chocolates, Russell Park Rehabilitation Center, Ella’s Candies, Bates College Dining Facility, Labadie’s Bakery, Rolly’s Diner, Island Candy Co., Pastiche, Pottle Works Catering, Cake and Candy Creations and private baker Betty Reez.

Culinary arts students from Lewiston’s Regional Technical Center will make snacks to complement the chocolate delicacies offered.

Tickets are available at the Green Ladle and the Lewiston Middle School during business hours, as well as staff at the middle school and The Green Ladle. Tickets will also be available at the door.

CHOCOHOLICS UNITE: CENTRAL MARKET'S ANNUAL CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL RETURNS FROM FEBRUARY 9-15

HOUSTON, TX - Bigger bars, richer cakes, more mousses, sweet and salty treats: all are hallmarks of one of Central Market’s most anticipated celebrations. The store’s annual Chocolate Festival begins the Wednesday before Valentine’s Day on February 9.

In store, you’ll find chocolate samplings throughout, bubbling pots of fondue, fresh fruits for dipping, chocolate truffles, chocolate bars, and yes, even chocolate beer. It’s a chocolate lovers dream!

A visit to centralmarket.com will reveal a number of products vying for Chocolate’s heart, and in-store hunt for QR codes revealing chocolate pairings leads customers to an enter-to-win opportunity that could net them an enormous basket of gourmet chocolates.

A sampling of chocolate products found throughout the store:

· (New) Republic de Caco, single origin dark chocolate bars

· (New) Xan Confections, filled truffles called Lady Bugs and filled chocolate called Saintly Sins and Jewels

· (New) Bissinger’s Chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate bark bars and chocolate dipped caramels

· (New) Hoja Verde Dark Chocolates, dark chocolate bars made with unique Ecuadorian chocolates

· (New) Rausch Chocolates, single origin milk chocolate sticks and bars

· Young’s Double Chocolate Stout in Beer

· Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix from Vosges

· EO Nourishing Shower Gel and EO Everyday Body Lotion (both in Chocolate Mint)

· Stash Premium Chocolate Hazelnut Tea and Republic of Tea Chocolate Pecan

· Chocolate Tortilla Chips by “Food Should Taste Good”

Plus shoppers can grab great items to pair with their chocolates for Valentine’s gifts like specials on 10-stem tulip bunches for $9.99 and the popular Valentine’s Day Dinner for Two, which now includes a lovely bottle of wine for the same price!

WHEN: February 9-15, 2011

WHERE: Central Market 3815 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77027

CHOCOLATE COOKING CLASS HIGHLIGHTS:

Chocolate Love

Central Market Cooking School Staff

Tuesday, February 1 from 6:30-9 PM

Chocolate is the universal symbol of love (especially this time of year). You'll learn to make: Gianduja Cookies, Mexican Chocolate Cookies, Fudge Brownies, Bittersweet Chocolate Chile Truffles and Dark Chocolate Pave (you'll take this home in the pan for your loved ones!)

Kids in the Kitchen: Sweets from the Sweet (6-9 Year Olds)

Central Market Cooking School Staff

Saturday, February 12 from 10-12:30 PM

Learn to make these sweet creations to give to your Valentine: Decorated Heart-Shaped Cookies, Chocolate Truffles, Chocolate Peppermint Bark and Cinnamon-Crusted Pecans.

Chocolate Extravaganza

Ruben Ortega, Pastry Chef, Backstreet Café and Hugo’s

Tuesday, February 22 from 6:30-9 PM

Join the 2010 My Table Magazine's Pastry Chef of the Year as he takes you on a chocolate journey like no other with this menu: Chocolate Tart with Raspberry Preserves, Chocolate Pudding with Raspberry Marshmallows, Milk Chocolate Creme Brulee with Orange-Cardamom Cream and Poached Pears with Chocolate Cream Sauce & Almond-Orange Streusel

· For more recipes and ideas, log onto www.centralmarket.com and search “Chocolate” under the recipes tab.

Chocolate Novelty at the Chocolate Box

Nichelle Patel and Patti Taylor became bakers and business owners by chance.

The two women didn't start out their careers thinking they'd be dealing with sugar, chocolate and cakes every day, but a little bit of luck has brought them together in what they hope will be a fruitful venture.

"I was looking for a store location and just in this economy, it's not a good time to be starting something new," said Patel, owner and creator of The Chocolate Box, which opened earlier this month within Taylor's East Brainerd Cake Boutique shop. "There seemed to be a very good marriage of both of our relationships: cake and chocolate, they go together very well."

In August 2009, Patel left a job working in product development to take care of her family and soon started experimenting with making things out of chocolate. She began to grow her business, making custom cakes, lollipops, truffles and novelty items from chocolate.

After more than a year, she decided it was time to take her business from her home kitchen to a place better suited for the volume she plans to put out.

"I've always had a creative flare that I've wanted to bring to things," she said. "I'm not a baker. It's a talent that I've developed."

Patel doesn't want her business to be a chocolate shop, but rather a place where people can come to find novelty items "you can't find anywhere else." She's made carousels, high heeled shoes, ducks, houses and footballs all from chocolate, and said she won't turn down custom creation ideas.

By combining the efforts of Patel and Taylor's businesses, the two hope to be able to help one another and provide an increased array of options for customers.

Taylor has focused on specialty, wedding and cookie cakes for the past three years and said having Patel in her shop can expand her offerings.

TRY IT OUT

* What: Chocolate Box open house

* When: Jan. 18 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

* Where: The Chocolate Box, within the Cake Boutique at 7550 East Brainerd Road

"She can do a lot -- the specialty chocolate -- that I didn't indulge in," Taylor said. "For instance, in most weddings, the bride's going to have favors for the guests. Now she can do her cake and her favors right here."

The women said they can pair Taylor's cakes with Patel's chocolate creations, effectively creating a one-stop-shop for people looking to provide sweet treats for a big event.

Both businesses require items to be made to order, with a few treats on display only in the store. Patel said she might get to the point where she accepts online orders, but for now she prefers to have the in-person interaction with her customers.

She said she's relying on word of mouth and her marketing skills to get the business off the ground, but she hopes much for the future.

"Everybody that wants something out of chocolate, we will help them -- if it's one item or a thousand items," she said.

10 Illnesses You Can Cure With Chocolate

There’s nothing like the taste of smooth, silky chocolate to heal that craving for a sweet treat. But most people don’t know that chocolate is thought to heal a lot more. In fact, some medical professionals believe it offers amazing health benefits for a number of afflictions. Let’s look at 10 illnesses that doctors say you could cure or prevent by eating yummy, rich chocolate.

1.  High Cholesterol

Did you know that consuming chocolate is known to lower LDL, which is the bad type of cholesterol? Because you ingest flavonoids, which have major antioxidant power, you are oxidizing LDL and reducing the risk of damaging the arteries while decreasing your chances of heart disease or heart attack.

2.  High Blood Pressure

Medical professionals say that chocolate also provides flavanols, which are great for lowering blood pressure and creating quality heart health.

3.  Hemorrhoids

Doctors say that one of the main causes of hemorrhoids is the excess of free radicals that are found in the body after it tries to turn food into energy. Since dark chocolate is known as a “super antioxidant” it helps to prevent the radicals from building up and producing hemorrhoids in the skin.

4.  Stroke

A flavanol compound found in chocolate called epicatechin is said to be very helpful for strokes. Professionals say the compound guards against the damage that a stroke could cause.

5.  Cancer

Of course, since there is no actual cure for cancer, chocolate can’t cure this life-threatening disease. But some medical professionals do believe that eating chocolate does offer preventative benefits like reducing cell damage that can cause tumor growth.

6.  Diabetes

In addition to helping with hemorrhoids, dark chocolate has been helpful for those in danger of becoming diabetics. If done in moderation, eating dark chocolate has been found to improve processing of blood sugar, which could reduce the risk of diabetes.

7.  Liver Disease

Since the antioxidants found in chocolate have been known to reduce high blood pressure in the liver, professionals say that snacking on it could reduce damage to liver blood vessels.

8.  Stress

Chocolate is known to have mood-enhancing qualities, which is why many women suffering from PMS will quickly grab a candy bar to feel better. Experts have found that chocolate could be the ticket to reducing levels of unwanted stress hormones, instantly making people feel happier.

9.  Blood Clots

Eating chocolate has been found to slow clumping of blood platelets, something that aids in the prevention of blood clots that could ultimately cause a heart attack.

10. Cough

If you have a persistent cough, you might be surprised to learn that chocolate could be very helpful. Experts have revealed that theobromine, which is found in cocoa, can reduce the cough because it affects the sensory nerve endings of the vagus nerve that runs through the airways in the lungs.

http://www.zencollegelife.com/10-illnesses-you-can-cure-with-chocolate/