From the age of Mayans, Aztecs, and Toltec, Chocolate is being used as a beverage, which they used to prepare from the beans of Coco tree (Theobroma cacao). The sun-dried, fermented, pounded and finally cooled blocks of chocolate were served during ceremonies. But the modern world had something excess in their mind!

The rich taste and flavor of handmade gourmet chocolates have helped them to win the crowning glory and to achieve a super state of culinary expertise of confection. Meticulously decorated, hand made chocolates in assorted boxed are all time favorite and satisfactory as gifts in any kind of celebration or special occasions; be it Christmas or Thanksgiving; Easter or Halloween, Hanukkah or New-Year gifts, Valentine gifts, Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts, Baby shower gifts, wedding gifts ... or in one word to treat everybody anytime!

It is also known as an aphrodisiac for a long time. But whatever cause it may be, no one ever wants to miss any chance of having a 'ready to melt inside the mouth' chocolate which can instantly bring a divine facial-expression and dreamy look. Even a new category of people with irresistible passion for chocolate has been re-christened as "chocoholics"!

The basic ingredients for chocolate preparation are coco powder, sugar, milk, and butter. But human beings do not know to stand still at one place and has introduced uncountable kinds of gourmet chocolates to pamper their taste buds. These includes nutty, fruity, vanilla, wine, rum, or any other flavored chocolates, with peanut butter, cheesy, honey-based, pretzel, blended with rice crisp, toffee, or caramel, and many more incredibly unique creations !

Keeping the question of health in mind, now a days, heart, blood-pressure and diabetes friendly natural or organic, low calorie, ready to grab chocolates are also available on the counters. In fact, handmade gourmet chocolates that are suited for the special needs are adored by the people who are challenged with their physical limitations.

Delicious handmade gourmet chocolate includes superior quality of white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and gourmet chocolate truffles which are nothing but a work of art in its edible form that stimulates all the senses of a person. Chocolates made without preservatives and artificial materials are always sought after. High quality milk, butter, sugar, coco, etc. do increase the confidence also.

Who will not love a beautifully decorated dark, milk, or white chocolate shell, filled with 'ganache', or a chocolate coated strawberry, raspberry ,orange, or any other fruit? Believe me or not, in some countries chocolate coated insects (Cricket, locust, dried caterpillars etc) are also sold like hot cakes !!!
Never feel shy or have feeling of guilt to enjoy a divine experience of having a hand made gourmet chocolate which can transport you to a surreal state.



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Gourmet Dark Chocolates are those, which are of very superior quality, perfectly manufactured and presented with a great touch of art. There are hardly any people in the world who do not like chocolate. But a true chocolate connoisseur looks for the taste, flavor, look, as well as the freshness of it.

These are liked by everyone for its variety of richness, mellowing taste, and unique flavor. These chocolates are meticulously prepared with the best quality of roasted coco beans. Their culinary status is further multiplied by addition of high amount of cocoa and various desiccated fruits or dry fruits like cherry, apricot, nuts, dates, spices, etc. Taste of natural, pure, healthy, and dark bold gourmet chocolates without preservative are all-time favorite.

Fresh dark chocolates of all the renowned companies are personally selected by their 'chocolatiers' and beautifully assorted and packed attractively in boxes. They contain good quality milk, sugar, cream, and butter. It contains high calorie (about 1000 ca/kg) and a rich source of fat, protein, mineral, and Carbohydrate and can provide high energy.

Mayans, Toltec, and Aztecs cultivated Coco tree (Theobroma cacao) more than 3000 years ago. They prepared a decoction out of the beans and generally used it during their celebrations. Even coco beans were used as currencies also.

Coco beans were brought to Spain by Christopher Columbus after 1502. In 1519, Spanish Conquistadores arrived in Mexico and got the chance to taste the Chocolate beverage prepared by the Aztecs. They used to keep the pods of coco beans in the sun to dry and the beans used to get fermented. Broken seeds used to be roasted on a slow fire and ground to a paste, which were dried into small cakes. Amazingly they knew the use of flavours like vanilla and other spices along with herbs and corns. Later these cakes were used to be broken up and mixed with hot water and then beaten into a foamy substance called Xocoatl (which means "Bitter water"). It reached Italy in 1606. Present day gourmets explore ancient recipes to bring uniqueness in their dark chocolate formulations.

With time and trials, the variety and process of preparation has produced the best of their kind. There are enough types of chocolates to satisfy each and every palate. The fine and crunchy dark chocolate with smooth creamy feeling, orange flavoured chocolate with orange juice and zest in a dark yummy shell of chocolate, Dark custard pie wrapped in dark chocolate - a famous Swiss product, ice cream and creamy vanilla mint with small chocolate chips filling, heart shaped ready-to-melt dark chocolates to accompany the first date, the raspberry chocolate having a touch of Yin and Yang concept ...and thousands more can be enrolled in the category of the Gourmet Dark Chocolate.



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Who can resist chocolate truffles? French chocolate truffles are some of the finest chocolate truffles available in the world. They are one of the most luxurious chocolate truffles that you can get. Many leading French chocolatiers make gourmet chocolate truffles. You simply cannot stop at just one chocolate truffle. These are very addictive and you will simply enjoy indulging in them, one after the other. These truffles are made with fine quality ingredients carefully obtained from around the world. Some beautiful chocolate truffles are made using the best varieties of cocoa, dried fruit, milk, and butter. In most of the cases they have additional plasticizers, additives, stabilizers, preservatives, etc.

The Gourmet Chocolate Truffles are made using dark chocolate of superior variety. Some are made using milk chocolate. Some of the leading chocoletiers sell handmade truffles. They do not use machines to make the chocolates as handmade chocolate truffles are considered to be qualitywise superior. Their flavors are irresistible and textures are smooth. The ganache interiors are covered with a very tasty coating of chocolate, which gives a satiny smooth finish to the chocolate truffles.

Most of the French chocolatiers are highly committed to their customers and see to it that they deliver their best to each and every client of theirs even though they are highly busy. They sincerely make each and every piece by hand. They make really marvelous gift packages for any occasion. You just need to place an order and they will make the assortment then and there for you. They do not keep boxes that are already packed with assortments. So you can trust them for the freshness of their products. You can also select your own assortment if you want to. It is always better to buy chocolates that are fresh. Some manufacturers make truffles that have long shelf life using preservatives. But it is always preferable to go for truffles with short shelf life without preservatives, as the fresh ones are obviously good for health.

Gourmet Chocolate truffles have distinctive tastes and they come in highly delicious varieties. For example, there are the dark truffles, the white truffles, the milk truffles, and the coconut truffles that are truly scrumptious. They are combined with other delectable elements to create some lip smacking delicacies.

Can you imagine the outcome of a truffle that is made with the yummy combination of Swiss Milk Chocolate and vanilla caramel and candied pecans? Truly mind blowing, isn't it? Another irresistible combination that you can try is Thai coconut powder, white chocolate ganache coated with delicious flakes of coconut. If you are a lover of coffee there cannot be anything better than a coffee treat. Try some truffles with chocolate ganache drenched in cream. For the lover of nuts and dry fruit, there are some wonderful combinations too.


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When people think of chocolate the thought that comes to mind is that sweet creamy taste. What most don't think about or know about is the health benefits. Now the chocolate that studies are showing that is healthy in small quantities is dark and not made with milk or drank with milk. Why? Good question.

The reason being is that milk neutralizes the large amounts of antioxidants present in dark chocolate. These antioxidants are what eat up free radicals, those are the destructive molecules that are shown to be present in heart disease and other illnesses. Recently there were two studies done to see how much the dark chocolate affected mild high blood pressure.

The first study consisted of six men and seven women who were just diagnosed with mild high blood pressure. The ages of these individuals were between 55-64. The average blood pressure was 153 over 84. The top number is called the systolic, the pressure of which the blood enters the heart. The bottom is called the diastolic, the pressure of which the blood leaves the heart.

Every day over the course of two weeks, they ate a 100-gram candy bar. Now a 100-gram piece of chocolate is about 480 calories so they were told to balance this caloric intake by not eating other foods similar in nutrients and calories. On top of this the the group of people were divided by half were given dark chocolate and the rest got white chocolate. Those who got the dark chocolate had a noticeable drop in their blood pressure by an average of 5 points on their systolic number (top number) and an average of points on the diastolic number (bottom number). Meanwhile the ones' who got the white chocolate had no such drop in their blood pressure.

The second study was conducted on twelve healthy people, consisting of seven men and five women. Their ages ranged from 25 to 35.
On different days they were given 100 grams of the dark chocolate. Then the other days they were given 100 grams of the chocolate with a small glass of whole milk, or with 200 grams of milk chocolate. An hour later their antioxidants were measured in their blood. The ones' who ate just the dark chocolate had the highest level of antioxidants. They also had the highest levels epicatechin in their blood. Epicatechin is a healthy compound found chocolate.

Meanwhile the group who ate milk chocolate or dark chocolate with milk had the lowest epicatechin levels. Now chocolate is made from plants, therefore it contains a lot of the health benefits of dark vegetables. Chocolate gets it's benefits from the flavonoids in it. These flavonoids act as antioxidants. Flavonoids help in the blood pressure because flavonoids help in the production of nitric oxide. Which in turn help balance certain hormones.

In other words what experts are discovering that a small amount of dark chocolate introduced into the diet is beneficial. But too much of a good thing is necessary good either. There are those calories to think about. So add a small amount of the darkest chocolate you can find or handle since the darker the chocolate the more flavonoids the better. But remember to balance those calories but cutting out foods similar in nutrients and calories.

Chris loves chocolate. All kinds and to find out more about the health benefits of dark chocolate check out The Ultimate Chocolate Shoppe.

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The chocolate industry is ever improving and developing. If before, middlemen are involved whenever a big chocolate company has to order tons of raw cocoa beans from farmers, now things are different.

The middlemen can now be eliminated from the equation and cocoa farmers could go straight to chocolate manufacturers and strike an agreement with them. And this development is actually a good thing - because the interests of both the parties involved are best served.

When chocolate manufacturers can confer directly to the farmers, they can provide the farmers with definite instructions as to how they want their cocoa beans produced. Cocoa beans are especially cultivated and fermented to meet the manufacturer's exacting standards. With the presence of a middleman, getting the right quality and aroma of beans can be a very difficult feat. Middlemen rarely know anything about cocoa or any other product they carry. This is another reason why direct communication with farmers is essential.

Cocoa farmers are doubly benefited if they have the means to negotiate straight with a chocolate manufacturer. This is because they can get premium prices for their products. Most cocoa bean farmers depend on their produce to earn a decent living. So when middlemen are eliminated from the equation, their products get the best possible rate in the market.

And when cocoa bean farmers and chocolate manufacturers bargain on a price, the result will always be a discount for the chocolate makers and a mark up for the cocoa bean farmers. This is the advantage best obtained when no middlemen are involved, as both industries are given premium rates for the products they need or provide.

However, rarely do cocoa bean farmers get the chance to discuss sales matters directly with the actual people who require their products. This is primarily due to topographical difference and language barriers. The finest cocoa beans in the world come from the Dominican Republic. However, the biggest market for such beans is the U.S. It is also in the U.S. where world-renowned chocolate makers are holding business.

The need for business expansion is very important to be able to link cocoa farmers and chocolate makers to one another. It is either the chocolate manufacturers open up an office in the Dominican Republic or the Dominican Republic farm owners send representatives to permanently work in U.S. soil.

It's a good thing that there are indeed several cocoa bean farms that had invested in opening up offices in the key cities of the U.S. to facilitate cocoa bean sales and distribution. Dealing with these types of companies is strongly advised because they can deliver exactly what you need. Furthermore, they also follow U.S. business codes and ethics, which is very important in the exportation business. By going straight to the U.S. office of your preferred Dominican Republic cocoa bean farm, then it is almost a guarantee that you'll get exactly what you paid for. And if in rare case you weren't pleased, their office is just within the city. You can always call them whenever you've got problems with the shipment.

Marabel Cocoa Farms - raw cocoa beans producer and importer from the Dominican Republic.

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When people think of chocolate no two people are the same.

Most chocolates that people are familiar with are dark, milk, white, semi-sweet, and maybe sugar-free.

But there are so many more out there.

Take AERATED chocolate for instance. It usually dark or white chocolate where air bubbles are introduced to the chocolate as it is being made.

And then there is FILLED Chocolate. It is a chocolate that additives were added. Things like nuts, jelly pieces, dried fruits and even cereals.

As for Organic, it is made from the raw material that the farmers produce.

In the 1990's chocolates with a high content of cocoa became very popular in Europe. The content of cocoa was 40-60%. Now some producers make chocolate ranging from 70 to 85%. There are even some that contain 99%!

Here is a list of unknown or unimagined chocolates.

Raw or Roasted Cacao--- this the whole cacao bean minus the shell.

Cacao Nibs---this the broken up pieces of the bean.

Ground Cacao---as the name suggests it's the bean ground up.

It is the healthiest form of chocolate there is however it can be quite bitter to the taste.

Chocolate Liquor--- Unlike what it's name may suggest there is no alcohol added. This how chocolate starts. Producers start by grinding cacao nibs into a liquid paste in which nothing is added. It has about 53% cocoa butter at this stage.

Unsweetened Chocolate---this what people use to bake with. It is sometimes referred as pure or bitter chocolate. It contains at least 35% chocolate liquor. There is cocoa and sugar in various amounts. There really no difference between bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate. Often times they are referred as dark chocolate. The chocolate bittersweet or semi-sweet (the type baked with) is sweetened by adding cocoa liquor without adding the cocoa butter.

Sweet Chocolate---this chocolate is sometimes mistaken for bittersweet. The reason being that it contains at least 15% chocolate liquor in which cocoa butter and sugar is added in various amounts.

Milk Chocolate: This chocolate contains at least 10% chocolate liquor then cocoa butter and sugar is added in various amounts then at least 12% milk, cream, or milk powder is added.

White Chocolate: technically isn't considered a type of chocolate since it doesn't contain chocolate liquor. But it must have at least 20% cocoa butter and 14% milk with sugar added in various amounts. No wonder my white fudge never turns out!

Cocoa powder--- is really cocoa powder or unsweetened cocoa.

Then the last on my list is Dutched Chocolate.
It is formed by washing cocoa powder in an alkali solution of Potassium Carbonate. This wash darkens the color and neutralizes acidity of the cocoa powder. Cocoa that is very alkalized is called Black cocoa. This is the chocolate used in Oreo cookies.

In short the use and types of chocolates just depends on the imagination of the producers. Then in turn the consumer who is using the chocolate. Well I can say for this, my imagination turned to making white chocolate fudge and as I stated earlier it didn't turn out. OH,well back to the drawing board. I haven't given up.

Chris Alleny enjoys writing about food topics including chocolate.

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