Chocolate Report

Mmm… chocolate. While some say it’s an aphrodisiac, there’s no dispute that chocolate makes most people feel good. With its antioxidants and serotonin-boosting effects, it might even make you feel a little bit… in love. Whether you’re trying to get your lover in the mood or simply put a smile on his or her face, here are ten ways to do it with chocolate.

10. Give chocolate-covered cherries or strawberries, a box of chocolates, or another traditional chocolate gift. My husband knows I love chocolate with gooey caramel, while I know his favorite is white chocolate; find out what kind of chocolates your lover likes best and go with those for a gift he or she will surely love. Read more

The Lindt Excellence range of chocolate bars is divided into to broad divisions; those bars with specific percentages of Cacao, ranging from 50% to 99%, and then a wide variety of chocolate with flavorings. In terms of the flavored chocolate offerings, there's a series of Lindt Excellence Intense bars, in orange, pear and mint. Read more

I've written about Lindt Excellence before—specifically, the Lindt Excellence Intense Orange—but this particular bar, while not actually new, was one I've not seen before. Lindt's Excellence A Touch of Sea-Salt is part of the Lindt Excellence range of dark chocolates with various ingredients added for flavor. It's one of their standard 3.5 ounce, 100 grams bars of dark chocolate, with French Fleur de Sel crystals of sea-salt. It caught my eye in part because it immediately made me think of dark chocolate sea-salt caramels, which are a fabulous combination of flavors. It's almost February, and so the local chain stores are all stocking up on chocolates at sale prices; this bar was part of a range of Lindt bars at 2 for $3.00. Read more

If you love hot cocoa but you’d really like to try some hot chocolate this season, it’s the perfect time to make some! It’s surprisingly easy to make if you want to make it at home; of course, you can order it at your favorite restaurant if they serve it as well.

To make a big pot of hot chocolate to share with your friends and family (feel free to adjust if it’s just for the two of you), gather together a cup of sugar, 8 cups of milk, 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Using a good knife, place the chocolate (squares or a bar form work well) on a cutting board or other safe surface and chop it up into fine pieces. The finer the better—it will melt faster that way—but don’t stress over getting the tiniest pieces possible. Scrape them up and put them into a mixing bowl. Read more

Having a hard time coming up with that perfect gift? With only nine days left until Christmas, you’re getting down to the wire! No worries, though—if you can’t come up with the right appliance, toy, outfit, or other gift, why not give something that everyone can enjoy—chocolate!

If your loved one hates chocolate, of course, ditch the idea.

However, if he or she is like most people, the gift of sweet chocolate would be much appreciated. Here are some ideas; of course, if he or she has a favorite (we always get my dad his much-loved M&M’s), go with that. Read more

The highlight of Halloween, when I was a kid, was always getting homemade treats from a neighbor we all knew and loved. An elderly woman whose kids were grown, she always baked the most delicious treats for us to take home and enjoy. Sometimes she even gave our parents treats and we would hang out at her house, munching and enjoying ourselves while she marveled fondly at our costumes. Read more

Recently my sisters and I took a trip to The Melting Pot and had the most awesome meal ever—possibly the best we’ll each have all year! There’s just something about dipping your food into hot, melty cheeses, sauces and chocolates. It’s something we’ll definitely have to do again.

While the three of us are all working, this still isn’t a treat we can afford to do often. That, however, will not stop us from enjoying our own fondue! You don’t have to go somewhere fancy and fork over a hundred bucks for good chocolate fondue. There are plenty of ways to have it at home, any time, and any day. Read more

No, it's not what you think. As health concerns increase about calorie intake, and Vulcano chocolatethe world wide economic melt-down proceeds at a rapid pace, chocolatiers have noticed that chocolate consumption in the eight largest Western European countries has declined by two percent, and in the U. S., chocolate consumption has dropped 8%.

Clearly, drastic measures are called for. Read more

On Sunday, July 12th at the Bell Harbor Conference Center, The 2nd Annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon presented by TasteTV introduced cacao fanatics of the Pacific Northwest to some of the nation's finest artisan products. The vendors were a mix of traditional confectioners and ambitious fusion craftspeople, some local and others from some of the nation's up-and-coming culture centers. Read more

Earlier this year, lisala wrote a story about the antioxidants found in dark chocolate, as well as the benefits of dark chocolate with red wine. (Talk about sheer decadence for your health! If you haven’t read that article, be sure to find out how much is too much of the delicious duo—and how much you can have in your diet.)

But did you know that dark chocolate is loaded with other health benefits? A small dark chocolate bar every day can actually help your heart, as well as your cardiovascular system. Here are some great ways that dark chocolate can improve your life—aside from tantalizing your taste buds:

Dark chocolate can reduce bad cholesterol by up to 10%. Read more