For the love of chocolate

lsw-x

Hotel Chocolat, Chocolate, chocolate gifts, US shippingPaul is my favorite person this week. Why? Out of all the great people in my life, why would I choose Paul as my favorite? Because he brought me the BEST news via email.

Paul and I share a passion that goes beyond design. An obsession and joy that bridges the gap of distance between him (in the UK) and me (in the US). What is this unearthly shared passion between he and I?

Chocolate. Hmm..no, not chocolate – – Chocolat (Pronounced: shok-o-LA).

Months ago, Paul introduced me to a UK site called Hotel Chocolat. Oh. My. God. This stuff isn’t just chocolate, people! Living in the US – what I have come to know of chocolate doesn’t even do it justice! It should not be legal for the chocolate produced here in the US to even be classified as chocolate! Hersheys? Please. Nestle? Forget about it!

My husband, Chris (who will forgive me of this shared passion I enjoy with another man from across the ocean – I’m sure) first introduced me to European chocolate…the way chocolate should be! Why? Because the Europeans use mindblowing amounts of cocoa in their chocolate – – Hotel Chocolat even has a 100% cocoa bar (which I haven’t tried yet – I’m afraid if I do, I might go into convulsions of complete ecstacy)…their chocolate is also all 100% organic.

A little about Hotel Chocolat, from their own website, in their own words:

The story..so far…

All good stories need a bad guy, an antagonist who sparks the action. For us that bad guy was the mediocre quality of chocolate available in UK stores. So, 15 years ago, co-founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris embarked on a journey to do something about it.

Starting as a mail order catalog business, we began making our brand of exclusive chocolates available to UK consumers for the first time. An award-winning website soon followed and in 2004 the first of many Hotel Chocolat retail stores appeared across the UK. The company and their chocolate have a loyal following all over the world, and have established a presence in the United States to better serve the American chocolate connoisseur.

The combination of authentic, premium ingredients with plenty of imagination and flair is something we’re passionately committed to. And it’s a position that we have strengthened by growing our own cocoa at our historic plantation, Rabot Estate in St Lucia. This exciting step allows us to extend our expertise all the way from the bean to the bar – making a unique connection between you the consumer and the cocoa plantation.

We think that chocolate should be exciting, whether you’re having some quiet me-time, or making someone’s day with a gift. For us, chocolate made with passion and imagination is more than just chocolate – it’s a state of mind, a place, a feeling that can take you on a journey. Where you go is entirely up to you…

The minute….nay – the second Paul first introduced me to Hotel Chocolat – I was placing my order. I was happy to find out that they do, indeed, ship to the US – although the shipping costs were through the roof! This week – – my dear friend Paul, sent me an email informing me of Hotel Chocolat’s new US shipping policy from their brand spanking new warehouse in Boston.

This, of course, made my day….and makes Paul my favorite person of the week.

(disclaimer – there are no disclaimers to be made on this post. I was not paid to write this. I do not benefit from you reading this. If you click the link and order this amazing chocolate – I do not recieve any affiliate earnings. Yes – sometimes bloggers blog about products just out of pure love of the product, not because of any potential rewards. Amazing, I know).

Posted in

8 thoughts on “For the love of chocolate”

  1. Okay, I do share your passion! If you ever happen to be near Basel In Switzerland, make sure to check out Xocolatl, the very best chocolate I ever confronted my tasting buds with… Unluckily their site is in German only, and they are not too happy about international shippments as they claim that they cannot guarantee perfect delivery conditions.

  2. Charles – a fellow chocolate lover 🙂 I’ll be sure to check them out next time I’m near Basel (next time? Hmm..I’ve never been near Basel..so I guess that would make it the first time I’m near it.) 😉

  3. Paul – you must be picturing me over here making mass orders from the Boston warehouse and just completely gorging myself on the stuff, hmm?

    Hmm…that wouldn’t be too far from the truth haha! 🙂

    I do have some self-restraint…somewhere.

  4. oh dear, please tell me you’ve seen “Chocolat” with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. Such a cool movie, love and chocolate! sorry for the semi-unrelated comment 🙂

  5. Oh, I so agree with you. European chocolate does tend to be darker, which means richer. And I find it is far, far more satisfying. But you can get some amazing chocolates in the US now, too. And, frankly, I don’t care where it come from as long as it ends up in my mouth. Yum yum!

    Cheers!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top