Claudio Corallo is a genius, and this video proves it! A British TV crew travel to Sao Tome and document how Claudio and his family grow and process the beans. I found this video fascinating, and I hope you do too.
I’ve been doing some tests with meringues to create an ice cream sandwich for the summer. I want to make something light and that’s why I chose a meringue based cookie as opposed to a chocolate chip cookie or an oatmeal cookie. In the first test I used pure melted chocolate which I folded into the meringue at the stiff peak stage. The taste was delicious but it looked bad and with all that expensive chocolate, the cost would be too high. I tried another one the other day and used cocoa powder this time but the meringue collapsed and it tasted super sweet. The search for the perfect meringue recipe continues.
In the meantime, Leva made a batch of gelato for us using the Valrhona Guanaja 80% we gave them. So good! The chocolate really added a certain depth that I’ve never tasted before in chocolate ice cream. Super chocolatey with a nice acidity and a long finish. Who would have thought that ice cream could have a long finish!
As many of you know, we have been carrying Madecasse chocolate from Madagascar for a while. It is fantastic in many ways. Watch below to learn about where the chocolate is made, and get a peek inside the factory!
Absolutely! Francois Pralus’s 100% sugar free chocolate has just arrived at our store – straight from France! According to the American Medical Association, “Today’s findings are interesting because they suggest it takes only a 6.3 gram serving of dark chocolate per day – only 30 calories worth – to lower blood pressure.” (That’s about a square a day.) So enjoy an intense and decadent chocolate experience – without the guilt!
Study for your own personal interest or for chocolate education:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070704/dark_chocolate_070704/20070704/
We will have a table at this very cool event called “The Over the Top Fashion Swap” taking place on May 29th at the Winspear. We think the concept is great, and the event will be great too. Tickets are $18. Find out more by clicking above!
Photo by Christopher Thrall for Metro Edmonton
Our local Edmonton daily free paper, Metro News, had an article in it today about Kerstin’s Chocolates. Writer Christopher Thrall said some very nice things! To quote: “It is amazing what a difference it makes to buy Kerstin’s over Cadbury.” and “The care and hand-picked ingredients add so much weight and power that gluttony seems gauche.” as well as “Pot of Gold just doesn’t cut it any more.”
Check out the full article on the Metro News website.
We were also mentioned in May/June issue of The Tomato in the Pantry Section. (the articles in The Tomato are online!). They wrote about the Amedei chocolates from Italy that we carry in the shop. If you haven’t tried the Amedei bars yet, you are missing out!
We have introduced a flavour in our bark bouquets – just in time for the summer! We are featuring our Green Tea bark in our bark bouquets. In each individually wrapped bouquet includes our Green Tea bark, our very own Chai Crunch bark, and also our Dark chocolate bark with pistachios and dried cherries. Our bark bouquets are beautifully hand wrapped and make amazing gifts for any chocolate lover. Now you can have your tea, and eat it too!
We’ve been working on some new things in the Shop lately, so here’s a peek at some of our newest creations now out in the shop:
Packages of milk, white and dark Mendiants are now sitting pretty next to the Meltaways. Flavours are fleur de sel, vanilla bean and fruit and nut.
Outside of our Mothers’ Day collection, we also have two brand new truffles out – Pistachio Gianduja and Hazelnut Gianduja. These are rich and intense truffles, with the smoothness of the ganache provided by the ground nuts themselves.
Finally, we are now selling the Michel Cluizel nougat mushrooms in singles out of the truffle case, so you can purchase just one to munch on… or this entire plate.
Happy Mother’s Day to all those moms out there! Have a great weekend.
Kerstin was featured in this month’s Merge Magazine. Read the article!
Are you still looking for a great gift that will show Mom how grateful you are for all of her efforts? Why not give her some very delicious and original chocolates that she will enjoy and appreciate.
Our Mother’s Day Ganache Collection includes five new ganaches that are guaranteed to inspire her senses. Here’s what we are offering:
Stimulate: Thyme and Honey (top photo)
Refresh: Mint and Lemon
Soothe: Thai Basil and Yuzu fruit
Relax : Lavender
Harmonize: Rose and Raspberry (bottom photo)
(The 8 piece box to the right is $12.)
We also have our ever popular Bark Bouquets available for Mother’s Day. These contain 3 sheets (one dark, one milk and one white chocolate) and are great for sharing.
The Mother’s Day Bark Bouquets contain the following 3 flavors:
* Chai Crunch (chai milk chocolate with caramelized rice crispies)
* Vanilla Spice (white chocolate with vanilla beans and pink and green peppercorns)
* Dark and Stormy (Chocolate from Madagascar with praline nuts and apricots)
Finally, we have many assorted gift bags and gift totes (see picture below) that contain a variety of Kerstin’s chocolates as well as a other great chocolates that we sell in the shop.
Between May 6th and May 8th, enter our Mother’s Day raffle at Kerstin’s Chocolates for a chance to win 2 spots in one of our chocolate making class for you and your Mom! Come into the shop, fill in a ballot and cross your fingers!