Author: Andrew Nightingale
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Q: WHAT VALENTINE’S DAY CANDY IS ONLY FOR GIRLS?
A: HER-SHE’S KISSES
WHICH COUNTRY IS KNOWN TO HAVE THE BEST CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD?
Switzerland (two top brands are Nestle and Lindt)
TOP 4 COUNTRIES THAT PRODUCE THE MOST CHOCOLATE:
The United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium
GANACHE
A blend made with chocolate and fresh cream, normally used for fillings.
DARK CHOCOLATE
Contains a high percentage of cocoa and lightly sweetened with sugar.
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Events Table
| COUNTRY | CITY | EVENT | DESCRIPTION | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Fairfax, Va | Fairfax Chocolate Lovers’ Festival | Annual, including the Chocolate Challenge arts contest | 2024 |
| USA | Leesburg, VA | Chocolates Galore & More | 32nd Annual YMCA Chocolates Galore & More | 2024 |
| USA | Lewisburg, WVA | Lewisburg Chocolate Festival | Music, shopping, and chocolate! Festival dates back to 2006 and has grown exponentially ever since. | 2024 |
| USA | Belair, MD | Chocolate, Brew, and Wine Tour | Annual, Pub Crawl for beer and chocolate enthusiasts | 2024 |
| USA | Washington, DC | DC Chocolate Festival | Annual, sponsored by the Chocolate House | 2024 |
| USA | Long Grove, IL | Long Grove Chocolate Festival | Highlighting chocolate experience tent | 2024 |
| USA | Dallas, TX | Dallas Chocolate Festival | Annual, demos, classes, and lots of chocolate | 2024 |
| USA | Albuquerque, NM | Chocolate and Coffee Fest | Annual, consumer fest for chocolate, coffee, and gourmet foods | 2024 |
| USA | Lodi, CA | Wine & Chocolate Weekend | More than 45 wineries with wine and chocolate pairings curated by each | 2024 |
| USA | Denver, CO | Colorado Chocolate Festival | Colorado Chocolate festival | 2024 |
| USA | Loveland, CO | Rocky Mt. Chocolate Festival | Colorado Chocolate festival | 2024 |
| USA | Aurora, CO | Chotoberfest | Colorado Chocolate festival | 2024 |
| USA | Colorado Springs, CO | Holiday Chocolate Festival | Colorado Chocolate festival | 2024 |
| USA | Kona, HI | Big Island Chocolate Festival | Annual festival | 2024 |
| USA | Ashland, OR | Oregon Chocolate Festival | Annual festival | 2024 |
| USA | Garden City, NY | Chocolate Expo | Annual, chocolate, food and fun. | 2024 |
| USA | Miami, FL | 14th Annual International Chocolate Festival | Held at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden | 2024 |
| USA | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii | 8th Annual Big Island Chocolate Festival | With the exception of a guided cacao plantation tour, all activities will be held at The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort. | 2024 |
| ITALY | Perugia | EuroChocolate | Largest festival in world. Nine days of events. Events also found in Umbria, Rome, and Turin. Annual festival. | 2024 |
| CANADA | St. Stephen, New Brunswick | Chocolate Fest | With a chocolate tradition dating back to 1873. Week long annual festival | 2024 |
| TASMANIA | Latrobe | Chocolate Winterfest | Since 2004, built around House of Anvers and world renowned master chefs. | 2024 |
| FRANCE | Paris | Salon du Chocolat | 20th annual show, 220 exhibits | 2024 |
| GERMANY | Tubingen | ChocoLart – The Festival | Handmade chocolates, courses, chocolate artwork | 2024 |
| WALKING TOURS | ||||
| USA | New York, NY | Chocolate Tour of New York City | ||
| USA | Brooklyn, NY | Chocolate Walking Tour Brooklyn | ||
| USA | Boston, MA | Boston Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| USA | San Francisco, CA | The Gourmet Walking Tour | ||
| USA | San Francisco, CA | The Ultra Chocolate Tour | ||
| USA | Chicago, IL | Chicago Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| USA | Seattle, WA | Seattle Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| USA | Washington, DC | Chocolate Lover’s Walking Tour | ||
| USA | Washington, DC | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| ENGLAND | London | Chocolate Walking Tour – London | ||
| FRANCE | Paris | Pure Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| BELGIUM | Brussels | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| SPAIN | Barcelona | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| AUSTRALIA | Sydney | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| AUSTRALIA | Melbourne | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| ITALY | Turin | Chocolate Walking Tour | ||
| SWITZERLAND | Various Cities | Switzerland Chocolate Walking Tours | ||
| EXHIBITIONS | ||||
| USA | Cincinnati, OH | Chocolate: The Exhibition | Tracks history of chocolate through to modern day | |
| USA | Hershey, PA | Hershey Chocolate World | Experience everything chocolate | |
| USA | Lititz, PA | Wilbur Chocolate | Candy Americana Museum | |
| BELGIUM | Bruges | Chocolate Museum | Experience “CHOCO-STORY” | |
| GERMANY | Berlin | Ritter Chocolate | Workshops, “make your own”, museum, and shop! | |
| FACTORY TOURS | ||||
| SWITZERLAND | Broc-Gruyere | Maison Cailler | One of the founders of milk chocolate | |
| SWITZERLAND | Geneva | Stettler Chocolate Factory | Creamy chocolates and truffles | |
| SWITZERLAND | Zurich | Confiserie Sprungli | Since 1859, truffles, macaoons specialties | |
| USA | New York, NY | Jacques Torres Chocolate | “Behind the window” view of production | |
| USA | Brooklyn, NY | Mast Brothers Chocolates | Organic ingredients | |
| USA | Brooklyn, NY | Li-lac Chocolates | Using the founder’s original recipes and production techniques from the 1920s, discover how old-world chocolate was meant to be made. | |
| USA | Burlington, VT | Lake Champlain Chocolates | Featuring maple syrup and honey | |
| USA | San Francisco, CA | TCHO | New American Chocolate | |
| USA | San Francisco, CA | Ghirardelli | Home of Ghirardelli chocolates since 1852 | |
| USA | San Francisco, CA | Dandelion Chocolate | Bean-to-bar factory in Mission District | |
| USA | Los Angeles, CA | Compartès Chocolate Factory | LA’s popular 70-year-old chocolatier | |
| USA | Seattle, WA | Theo Chocolates | Fully organic | |
| USA | Somerville, MA | Taza Chocolate | Organic stone ground chocolates | |
| USA | St. Augustine, FL | Whetstone Chocolates | Wholesaler to Nestle’s, Hersheys, and M&M Mars. | |
| USA | Greenacres, FL | Hoffman’s Chocolate Factory | A staple in South Florida since the 70’s! | |
| USA | Henderson, NV | Ethel M Chocolates | Producing gourmet premium chocolates | |
| USA | Hershey, PA | Hershey Chocolate World | Tours and amusement park and much more! | |
| USA | Lititz, PA | Wilbur Chocolate | An American original since 1884! | |
| USA | St. Louis, MO | Bessinger’s | Dating back to 17th century France with St. Louis shop opening in 1927. | |
| USA | St. Louis, MO | Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate | Handcrafted chocolate dating back to 1981. | |
| USA | Buffalo Grove, IL | Long Grove Confectionery Co. | Signature piece is the Myrtle® – roasted pecans covered with caramel and chocolate. | |
| USA | South Bend, IN | South Bend Chocolate Factory | See how fudge, meltaways and truffles are made. | |
| AUSTRALIA | Adelaide | Haigh’s Chocolates | Since 1915, award winning chocolates | |
| ITALY | Perugia | Perugina Tour and School | Sweet Italian kisses! | |
| BELGIUM | Bruges, Brussels, and more | Chocolate tours | Including the Chocolate Museum in Bruges | |
| BOLIVIA | Sucre | Chocolate Para Ti | Since 1990, now the largest chocolate factory in Sucre | |
| MEXICO | Tiacoluia, Oaxaca | Mayordomo Chocolate Factory | Started in 1956. Cocoa beans with spices. | |
| ENGLAND | Birmingham | Cadbury World | Theme-park like tour | |
| SAINT LUCIA | Hotel Chocolat | Tree to bar experience | ||
| HAWAII | Kona | Original Hawaiian Chocolate | First to grow and process 100%Hawaiian grown cocoa beans | |
| NEW ZEALAND | Auckland | Chocolate Factory | bean-to-bar chocolate factory | |
| IRELAND | Tuamgraney, Co.Clare | Wilde Irish Chocolates | artisan chocolate factory in the west of Ireland | |
| GRENADA | Grenada Chocolate Factory | Online virtual tour! |
Wine, Beer and Chocolate, Eating and Drinking These Foods Linked to Living Longer
Wine, Beer and Chocolate, Eating and Drinking These Foods Linked to Living Longer
Consuming food and drink with anti-inflammatory properties could lower a person’s risk of dying, according to a study. Anti-inflammatory food and drink highlighted by researchers included vegetables, fruit, whole-grain bread, breakfast cereal, low-fat cheese, olive and canola oil, nuts, chocolate, tea and coffee.
Makers of Healthier Chocolate Look to Challenge the Industry
Makers of Healthier Chocolate Look to Challenge the Industry
At Expo East, founders at organic chocolate companies said their better-for-you treats are beginning to take a bite out of the traditional industry.
93 Year Old Iowa Man Gives to His Community One Chocolate Bar at a Time
93 Year Old Iowa Man Gives to His Community One Chocolate Bar at a Time
LONG GROVE, Iowa — Bob Williams has spent the last 10 years connecting to strangers, one chocolate bar at a time. To date, Williams has given out almost 6,000 Hershey’s bars to people in his community. His reason is simple – to bring the people around him closer together.
STUDY SHOWS DARK CHOCOLATE COULD HELP VISION
STUDY SHOWS DARK CHOCOLATE COULD HELP VISION
A new study is showing there’s a reason to indulge in some chocolate.
SEARCHING FOR CHOCOLATE’S ROOTS AND ENEMIES IN COLUMBIA’S WILDERNESS
SEARCHING FOR CHOCOLATE’S ROOTS AND ENEMIES IN COLUMBIA’S WILDERNESS
Each cacao pod usually encases about 40 beans—the source of cocoa powder and chocolate. But these pods, on Gildardo Ramirez’s farm in Columbia, will never make chocolate. The healthy white, sweet pulp that normally encases the beans are diseased and infected. It’s just one of many threats that plague the region’s chocolate farms – and chocolate.