Did you know your nose can identify over 10,000 different smells? Did you a know a woman's sense of smell is generally better than a man's? One of the most miraculous things about smell is that it is responsible for over 80% of what you taste!
It's so easy to take smell and taste for granted- Though, imagine how dull life would be without being able to smell the sweet musk of red roses or the scent on your lover's neck. Imagine biting into your favorite food in the world and tasting nothing but bland texture.
Luckily we get to experience the joy of taste & smell every day. In honor of National Sense of Smell Day on April 26th (yes, this is a real holiday) we wanted to suggest a few chocolates that celebrate the simple beauty of taste and smell.
This is a new life experience truffle- A silky smooth chocolate ganache with bright notes of tangerine & the vanilla honey flavor of fresh bee pollen. It's then drenched in 81% dark chocolate and sprinkled with more local bee pollen. Taste here.
This decadent fudge truffle is infused with organic raspberries. This classic, heavenly combination of bright raspberries & dark chocolate will bring you to a new level of bliss. Taste here.
The rose is floral, sweet and heart opening. Each truffle is infused with two roses- As this silky smooth truffle melts in your mouth, your whole body will relax into blissful love & radiance. Have a moment to stop and taste the roses, you deserve it. Taste here.
Wishing you a happy Sense of Smell Day filled with your favorite scents and smells.
The Easter Bunny has come to visit the chocolate factory and we conspired to create the most delicious Chocolate Eggs imaginable for you. So delicious kids and adults will absolutely love them. They're made with the best quality, organic ingredients that make you feel great.
The Eggs and "Bacon" is insanely good- Sumptuous whipped cashew butter caramel with strips of our house cured coconut "bacon" (vegan of course). Click here to checkout all the different flavors.
Easter is next week, order now to make sure they arrive in time.
To The Sweet Life,
Daniel & Matthew
PS: By popular demand, Almond Coconut Dreams have returned! Get yours here.
Great news! A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine tracked 1000 adults and found that the people who eat chocolate more regularly on average weigh 5lbs less than those who don't.
Here are three reasons why according to David Katz, MD, MPH, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center:
1. Dark chocolate is bittersweet. Whereas sweet stimulates appetite, bitter actually suppresses it. So the benefit comes from eating dark chocolate in particular.
2. Chocolate also has a little caffeine. Caffeine revs metabolism, increasing the number of calories the body burns at rest.
3. It's high in good fat, a quality that slows digestion and helps curb appetite longer.
Many customers tell us that our chocolate has helped them lose weight, because it truly satisfies their cravings and helps them stay away from addictive & unhealthy junk food.
Here are our top three recommendations to support you in feeling great, burning belly fat and staying away from addictive junk foods in the new year.
The After Dark Truffle is the darkest truffle we've ever created. It's sprinkled with unsweetened chunks of 100% pure cacao and drenched in 81% dark chocolate. Click here to have it now.
A square a day keeps the doctor away. A quarter pound of 81% dark chocolate, perfect for emergencies and to replace any old junk food still laying around the house. Click here to have it in your chocolate drawer.
Sip rich, frothy and delicious low glycemic hot cocoa after your yoga workout or a frosty winter hike. Click here to have it in your cupboard.
Make the investment in yourself, you deserve it. When those junk food cravings come, it will feel so good having a delicious piece of low glycemic dark chocolate melting on your tongue- While your whole body relaxes into feeling completely satisfied. Click here to get some now. If for any reason you're not completely satisfied with your order, let us know within 30 days and we'll give you your money back.
Wishing you a prosperous new year filled with love, health & happiness.
This recipe is an amazingly easy and delicious alternative to dairy whipped cream. It's great for desserts, strawberries, iced cocoa, pancakes, and whatever else you love to put whipped cream on! Enjoy!
Step 1. Put a can of full cream coconut milk in the fridge overnight, the cream will float to the top. The above brands worked the best in our test recipes- Native Forest is available at Whole Foods and Aroy-D is available at most Asian markets.
Step 2. Scoop the cream off the top into a chilled mixing bowl. Save the coconut water below for smoothies.
Step 3. You should have about a half cup of coconut cream from the can, add 2 teaspoons Vanilla Palm Syrup. Can substitute honey or maple Syrup.
Most people aren't aware that there are an estimated 1.8 million children involved in growing cacao in West Africa, which is where most of the world's cacao comes from. In Côte d'Ivoire (Africa’s Ivory Coast), the 2nd largest exporter of cacao, there are estimates of up to 200,000 children who are victims of slavery & trafficking. Young children who work on cacao farms are much less likely to get an education; they are often injured from using sharp machete's to crack the cacao pods and from hauling heavy bags of cacao.
This is a major problem in the world of chocolate and imparts bitterness in what should be a blissfully sweet experience. The largest chocolate manufacturers in the world like Hershey’s, Mars & Nestle contribute to this problem by buying massive quantities of cheap cacao beans at rock bottom prices. This forces cacao farmers in poor countries to cut wages & benefits to their workers and unfortunately some resort to using child labor. The end result is a cheap price at the register for the uninformed consumer, but the real price is poverty and bondage for our brothers, sisters & children on the other side of the world.
Ok so you're probably thinking that this really sucks and wondering how you can make sure your chocolate isn't made with child labor. The good news is that you can help put an end to this, here's two things you can do right now.
1) Stop buying chocolate made with child labor. Spread the word and inform your friends and family about the real cost of buying cheap chocolate from companies like Hershey’s, Mars & Nestle. Buy fairly traded chocolate and only buy chocolate from companies you trust. If you're not sure, ask companies where their cacao comes from. If it comes from West Africa or Côte d'Ivoire it should be a red flag. If they don't know where it comes from this is also a red flag.
2) Be honest with your kids about the problem, the vast majority of cheap candy uses cacao that is grown & harvested by exploited workers & children. When kids are told the truth it empowers them to make better decisions.
Where your Coracao Confections Chocolate comes from...
Coracao Confections sources your chocolate from small farms in Peru & Ecuador that treat their adult farmers fairly and pay them above market prices. The cacao farming conditions overall are much better in South America and the quality of the beans are extraordinary. The chocolate flavor is deep, dark and delicious. The happy brain chemicals are remarkably potent and you can feel the happiness in every bite.
You as a consumer have the power to vote with your dollars and choose chocolate that is good for you, good for the planet, and good for the farmers who grow it. If you, your friends and family choose to only support companies that source fairly, it would literally help end the problem overnight. That’s why we offer quality chocolate that leaves you feeling radiant & nourished. Quality that gives you the long lasting energy you deserve. Quality that truly satisfies you and puts an end to those pesky sugar cravings. Quality that saves you money in the long run by avoiding unnecessary visits to the doctor & dentist. Quality that makes you feel happy, because you know you're eating real food, prepared and sourced the way it should be- Naturally, with love & care and made with cacao that's grown by adult farmers who are paid fairly.
Wow what a ride it has been the last few months! Thank you for choosing to pick up Coracao chocolates online, for coming out to the Farmer’s Markets, for spreading the word about Coracao on your social networks and for all the positive ideas & words you've shared with us. I feel so blessed and grateful for all the love and support Coracao has received.
After I sent out the last blog post I got an unexpected call from OBDC small business finance in Oakland. They gave Coracao a loan back in 2008 to help purchase our enrobing machine (which is basically an automatic truffle dipper). They called & wanted to support and are giving Coracao a loan! So rare for a lender or bank to help a business out when they need it most. What an amazing organization that really cares. They support many businesses around the bay, if you're looking for funding for your own business or know someone who is, they are a wonderful organization to reach out to.
Coracao is here to stay! We'll be bringing you even more delicious & nutritious creations to nourish your body & delight your taste buds.
Cooking, creating and sharing delicious food is my true love & my art. It's been almost four and a half years, but I'm back in the kitchen creating new flavors & items for you. I'm having a blast and am inspired & grateful to be able to continue serving you. Keep your eye out and your taste buds ready for some really fun, new items that will be debuting in the coming months...
With love, Daniel
PS. Follow Coracao on Instagram, clickhereto see yummy chocolate photos and some behind the scenes pics.
PPS. Coracao Turned 5 in August. Check out the photo of Matthew and I celebrating with a delicious cashew & raspberry cheesecake from his book Sweet Gratitude!
PPPS. Leave a comment or question below, I see and answer them all personally!
I'm sad to announce that the collective chocolate factory, retail store & cafe project, otherwise known as the Hooper’s project, has come to an unexpected end. As we continued to work on the project we discovered the beautiful 100 yr old building needed much more restoration than we had thought and in the end it didn't make sense for us to invest that much in a rental building.
We put in a lot of time, money and energy into the project and Coracao took a big financial hit. For the first time since we opened our doors nearly five years ago, Coracao faces the possibility of going out of business. We are taking many steps to try and turn things around, though it is a big challenge and Coracao needs your extra love and support right now to continue.
What you get with Coracao is the best quality, healthy, fairly traded, non-gmo, organic, wild-crafted and allergy aware chocolate that tastes even better than addictive junk food chocolate. If you've been waiting for the right time to pick up some Coracao, or have been wanting to get something for a loved one, now is the right time. By voting with your heart and dollar now it will help make the difference. You can get Coracao chocolate on the web-store, at your local Farmer’s Market and a retail location near you. A big win-win is signing up for the Chocolate of the Month Club. It will save you a lot of money on your favorite chocolate and is an ongoing pledge of support that will help keep Coracao in existence.
As an extra thank you I'm including a free bag of Cora Quick with every online order you place this week (through Sunday 7/21). Cora Quick is Coracao's new instant hot & cold cocoa mix, it's off the chain good and it reminds me of drinking Nesquik when I was a kid. It's brand new and I'd love to hear what you think about it. Right now it’s only available at the Farmer’s Markets but it will be available on the web-store soon.
Thank you so much for being a part of the Coracao family and for all of your love & support over the last 5 years. It is an honor and a privilege to bring you the absolute best quality chocolate we can and with your support we will continue to serve you for many more years to come.
With love and gratitude, Daniel
PS. Another way you can support is by spreading the word- Let your people know they can eat tons of delicious chocolate and feel incredible after; share Coracao's facebook page, twitter page and the newsletter. Also if you'd like Coracao carried in your grocery store, please tell your store buyer. Thanks again!
This month we're thrilled to feature Chelsea Coleman! Chelsea has been rocking the BerkeleyTuesdayFarmer’s Market since January. Before moving to CA she used to own and operate an organic vegetable farm in Oklahoma. She decided to move to the Bay Area after going to an open mic night in Berkeley and meeting people she wanted to play music with. Plus her mom lives here and she said farming was really hard on her back.
Chelsea's favorite things to do include playing music- She is an INCREDIBLY talented country folk singer & songwriter. She also loves hiking and cooking with family & friends. Chelsea decided to work with Coracao because she LOVES chocolate and Coracao is the best chocolate she's ever had. Plus she likes how nice and chill everyone is and she enjoys selling something she loves. Her favorite items are the Chai Spice Truffle and Rawmond Butter Bar, also she thinks the Mayan Spice Milk is crazy good.
What we love about Chelsea is her amazing smile, her genuine warmth & friendliness, her radiance, her musical talents, how much she loves life and how she wears her heart on her sleeve. We love Chelsea and are grateful to have her on the team.
Check out her sensational music below and make sure to like her on Facebook to stay in the know about her live shows!
I thought I'd share the Superfood Smoothie recipe that I've been making almost every morning, which I've named the "Almond Buzzer" because of the essential ingredients of Almond Butter and Bee Pollen. Without fail, this smoothie really gets me going every time I drink it. It’s an instantly energizing drink which keeps me going for hours, and also puts me in a great mood! As an added bonus- this smoothie takes very little time to make, around 5 minutes.
My experience with Bee Pollen has led me to believe it truly is one of the worlds' most powerful Superfoods. It is known as "Natures Complete Food" and I wholeheartedly agree! I get our Bee Pollen from the "Bee Healthy Honey Shop" on Telegraph Ave (and 30th) in Oakland. Their Bee Pollen is obviously super fresh and from a new batch every time I go in there. It's also extremely local, being procured by them from the Oakland and Berkeley hills. And at $20/pound, I don't think there’s a better deal anywhere in the bay for such high quality Bee Pollen! Bee Pollen lasts a long time too- they told me at the Honey Shop that it lasts for up to a year in the fridge, and up to 6 months out of the fridge.
Blend everything except ice on high until smooth. Add ice at the end and continue blending until ice is incorporated. Enjoy! Sometimes I will also add a tablespoon of Maca and/or Chlorella. A dash of ground vanilla bean is also a delicious addition.
Chopped nuts of your choice (optional) - Walnuts, Almond, and Hazelnuts work really well
Instructions:
Melt the coconut oil down in a double boiler. Add the Raw Cacao Powder, Vanilla Palm Syrup, and Salt to the Coconut Oil and mix together until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool a little bit so it's easy to handle and then roll into bite sized truffles. Roll the truffles in Cacao Powder and then chopped nuts and you have your very own beautiful, decadent truffles! Enjoy!
Thank you for choosing the best for your body! All of our chocolates are made with the purest ingredients, including raw cacao, which is full of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and those "happy brain" chemicals that we so love. It is our mission to provide you with deliciously decadent and nutrient rich options to common junk food chocolates. We hope you enjoy!
Stay in touch with us and you'll automatically be entered every month to win $25.00 of chocolate!
I'm sad to announce that the collective chocolate factory, retail store & cafe project, otherwise known as the Hooper’s project, has come to an unexpected end. As we continued to work on the project we discovered the beautiful 100 yr old building needed much more restoration than we had thought and in the end it didn't make sense for us to invest that much in a rental building.
