Seattle Variety in 2.5 Ounce Bars

Last year Seattle Chocolate sent us several offerings, and today we'll be revealing the last of these, several varieties of their 2.5 ounce Truffle bars, to you as a full Chocolate Cult team with reports from your Chocolate Priestess, the Chocolate Coconut Acolyte and our Mocha Acolyte.  In total Seattle sent us 10 different flavors, one of each variety they sell, so you will find out today which

Chocolate Shops in Illinois

In preparation for your Chocolate Priestess's long trip back to see family and for various trips she has to take this spring and summer, I'm looking for your knowledge about different chocolatiers and chocolate shops or bakeries or whatever might lay along our routes.

We'll be going through Illinois along I-74 for part of the trip.  If you know the addresses of any chocolatiers along that route,

Allergens in Chocolate: Voice Your Concerns

Your Chocolate Priestess always tries to include information about potential allergens in the chocolate and cocoa products she reviews.  There is a standard list of these allergens that companies as supposed to highlight on their nutritional information but sometimes I find potential allergens in the ingredients unhighlighted and I'll mention those.

Aside from those of you who have allergies to

Cinnamon Hot Cocoa

We tried another flavor of the Kroger Private Selection Cocoa Supreme variety of individual hot cocoa mixes last night.  This was the "Chocolate & Cinnamon" flavor.  I got these on sale for 50¢ versus their everyday price of 65¢ currently at my local Kroger.  As with the other flavors the biggest problem is the trans fat, 2g of it per envelop which is one serving.  It also has 150 calories, 1.5g

Muscle Building Chocolate?

I found this Muscle Milk Light "Chocolate Peanut Caramel" bar at Target on sale so I purchased one so I could reveal it to you.  Inside this white plastic-foil wrapper is a 3.25 X 1.25 X 1 inch bar with oozing caramel out of the sides.  It has a very caramel smell with a strong cocoa scent. Cocoa powder is low on the ingredients list however.  This 1.59oz bar has 170 calories composed of 4g

One Year in The Chocolate Cult

Sisters and Brothers, today marks the one year birthday of The Chocolate Cult.


This is our 325th post so I feel like I've give you all quite  bit to think about through the past 365 days.  We've looked at several types of products related to chocolate, mostly candy and fine chocolates but also drinks, books, tv shows, and news items.  Each time I try to present you with objective information

Healthy Chocolate Options

Sometimes you get things you aren't expecting here in The Chocolate Cult.  Fouts Family Chocolate seemed like a small chocolatier, and as you know I love to give those publicity here, especially when their chocolates rival or outshine mass-produced candy.  What they sent me were several Xocai products, as you can see in this photo.  Healthy chocolates are big business, but they are mostly sold

Chocolate near Cincinnati/Sharonville Ohio?

Sisters & Brothers, your Chocolate Priestess will be at a science fiction and fantasy convention at the Holiday Inn I-275 at 3855 Hauck Road in Sharonville, Ohio, the third weekend in March.  Yes, we will have a Saturday Sacrament then I'll just post from the hotel or set it up ahead of time.

This is a shout out to any of my readers in that area.  While we probably won't venture much into the

Chocolate & Fat Tuesday

Sisters and Brothers, for some of you today is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras which means tomorrow starts Lent, 40 days you may feel you need to give up chocolate. I don't follow religious practices where I have to give up things, especially things I use in Moderation and with a Purpose all ready. But I will remind you that reading and commenting on the blog is not breaking any rules so please do

Does Chocolate Decrease or Increase Stress?

Another health claim for chocolate has appeared in the mass media.  This one reported briefly on a study that showed eating 1.4oz of dark chocolate a day for two weeks changed the brain's biochemistry, reducing stress levels.  This was earlier reported on a medical website, too, with more details.  This website had even more details.  With Valentine's Day passed, I wanted to turn to other

Ghirardelli Choices for Valentine's Day

I'm sure my readers in the USA have heard of Ghirardelli chocolate.  You can find their bags of square treats throughout the year in candy aisles and their baking morsels in the baking section of any major grocery store and most chain discount stores like Target or Kmart.  During the holidays they put out decorated bags and special boxes and tins of the same chocolates.  They sent me, your

Valentine's Day around the World

Sunday, Sisters and Brothers, is Valentine's Day here in the USA.  In terms of the focus, while mass marketing would have you believe this is a day that men are supposed to go out of their way to court or remind women that they love them, a closer examination of what you can buy from gifts to cards reveals it is a holiday for everyone.  Children give each other cards in school, women give gifts

Cookies for Valentine's Day

Your Chocolate Priestess received a nice cashback bonus from one of her credit cards in the form of a double gift certificate to Mrs. Fields.  They primarily sell cookies, if you are unfamiliar with them, Sisters & Brothers.  Mrs. Fields is not just available online; you can find them in malls around the USA, so I thought it was fine to reveal one of their Valentine's Day offerings fairly close

A Chocolate Cult Valentine's Day 2010

Your Chocolate Priestess shares bits and pieces with you about her personal life outside of chocolate from time to time.  I don't want to devolve into topics that do not relate to our Sacred Substance.  But I will share what my Valentine's Day weekend plans are and in return I want to hear about yours -- both as they relate to chocolate.

Have you been reading The Chocolate Cult for the past few

Tower of Sweets

FTD is primarily known for flowers and their delivery around the world, but they also offer other gifts, including a decent selection of chocolates they retail.  Your Chocolate Priestess received a double value gift certificate from one of her credit cards and used it to buy one such gift from FTD.  This was the "Red Roses Tower of Sweets," which is three boxes of four types of chocolate treats

A Riot of Cocoa For Valentine's Day

Cited in several big-name magazines and sought out by celebrities, sweetriot sent your Chocolate Priestess two different types of products to reveal to you all, and I was so honored.  The first type is their chocolate-coated cocoa nibs, which are covered in chocolate with varying degrees of cocoa content.  From now until the end of February you can buy all three flavors as a "Cupid's Cacao 3 Pack

GuyLian Gift

Back on your Chocolate Priestess's birthday, she received a lot of chocolate which wasn't surprising.  One of these was from her friend Cindy who gave her a 6 piece GuyLian gift box.  You may have heard of GuyLian, Sisters and Brothers, they make these molded chocolates in the shapes of sea shells primarily.  I'd never had them before though I'd seen them in stores.  Remember, until I started

Chocolate Love Letter

The wonderful head of Astor Chocolate, Meir, sent me their latest product just in time for Valentine's Day, so I wanted to make sure all of you,  Sisters and Brothers, had time to read and think about whether it could be something extra special for the loved one in your life.  The cover is in maroon, a darkish purple, light pink, and gold.  It reads "Love Letter for A Special Person" and further

Chocolate Box Winner!

Of the four people who commented, three of them remembered to also promote this contest and gave me notice of it.  So that made it a 33.33% chance that any one of them would win.

Using a 12-sided die, the first person to answer was numbers 1-4, the second 5-8, and the third 9-12.  Using a computer program to simulate rolling this sot that no friction can interfere, I rolled to see who would win

Sundaes on Saturday Report

This past Saturday, January 30, 2010, your Chocolate Priestess and the Milk Chocolate Acolyte took a mini pilgrimage to one of the many events happening during our city's "Week of Chocolate" which I mentioned earlier on The Chocolate Cult.  This was the "Sundaes on Saturday" event held at the Monroe County History Center in Bloomington, Indiana, where I've done a very, very minor amount of