Chocolate should be taxed in a bid to control the obesity epidemic, a doctor has suggested. Family doctor David Walker believes that chocolate is a "major player" in the problem of the country's expanding waistlines.Taxing the treat would raise its profile as an unhealthy food which can contribute to weight-related conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain, the Lanarkshire GP will tell doctors at a conference in Clydebank.He said people are often eating more than half a day's worth of calories when they polish off a bag of chocolates in front of the television.Of course! Blame the chocolate. It has nothing to do with the sedentary couch potato behavior of the lardass snarfing up some sweet fat confection that bears very little resemblance to "real" chocolate.Earth to Dr Walker: If you make chocolate more expensive they'll just move to crisps or something else equally bad. Don't blame the food, blame the behavior of the person who's eating the food.As my old friend Edith Ann was very fond of saying, "And That's the Truth.":: Clay
Lindt & Sprngli, the Swiss maker of chocolate truffle balls and Easter bunnies wrapped in gold foil, is to close nearly two-thirds of its retail boutiques in the US as people switch from its fancy chocolates to cheaper brands.Lindts gloomy forecast contrasts with more upbeat outlooks by mass-market chocolate manufacturers such as Nestl and Cadbury, both of which have reported rising sales for mainstream brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk and Kit Kat in recent months.To save money, the company which also owns the Ghirardelli brand is to shut 50 of its 80 US retail boutiques, concentrating on boutiques in shopping malls. It first started exporting chocolate to the US in 1987 and began opening its own stores in 1994 to raise awareness of its brand.Lindt said it no longer needed the boutiques because most of its US sales were now made through well-known retailers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Target and Walgreens, and because shoppers were unwilling to pay the higher prices charged at its own stores.
Because Mikro-Smooth contains only ultra-fine, completely inert particles [ Ed: ceramic] and distilled water, it cannot cause either short-term or long-term damage ...Here's a description of how it works:
The physics are simple: a mass-produced CD or DVD, though it looks smooth, has substantial microscopic roughness at the surface being read by the CD/DVD player's laser beam. That micro-roughness causes audible jitter in the digital music data stream. Mikro-Smooth fluid uses highly uniform particles of two ten-millionths of an inch sizefar finer than conventional polishesto significantly smooth the playing surface's micro-roughness.I will get in touch with the manufacturer and ask if its safe for human consumption.
Chemical analyses of organic residues in fragments of ceramic vessels from Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, reveal theobromine, a biomarker for cacao. With an estimated 800 rooms, Pueblo Bonito is the largest archaeological site in Chaco Canyon and was the center of a large number of interconnected towns and villages spread over northwestern New Mexico. The cacao residues come from pieces of vessels that are likely cylinder jars, special containers occurring almost solely at Pueblo Bonito and deposited in caches at the site. This first known use of cacao drinks north of the Mexican border indicates exchange with cacao cultivators in Mesoamerica in a time frame of about A.D. 10001125. The association of cylinder jars and cacao beverages suggests that the Chacoan ritual involving the drinking of cacao was tied to Mesoamerican rituals incorporating cylindrical vases and cacao. The importance of Pueblo Bonito within the Chacoan world likely lies in part with the integration of Mesoamerican ritual, including critical culinary ingredients.A newspaper article citing this research goes on to say that the nearest known cacao plantation would have been more than 1000 miles away.
Mohiddin:
1000 MT of beans will result in something around 750-800 MT of liquor which will then be pressed into butter and powder. That means processing something like 3.4-3.6 MT of liquor per day (assuming 220 working days per year).
This is industrial-scale production and cannot be done (let alone be done cost effectively) using small scale equipment. I would be really surprised if you could purchase the equipment for less than US$500,000 before shipping, import duties, and installation costs. It might be closer to US$1 million. You might be able to save money by buying used equipment, but I would be extremely careful about making sure that everything actually worked. I have heard too many horror stories.
As much as anything, this is a materials-handling problem. Storing, cleaning, and moving around that quantity of beans, liquor, butter, press cake, and powder is non-trivial. You are going to want professional assistance from a company that specializes in producing equipment that operates at this scale.
Heres another opinion from me . (not that its worth anything): Ill bet that in 5 years there will be dozens of small bean-to-bar manufacturers of very, very good chocolate. Some will supply high end pastry chefs, some will sell retail over the internet and from their specialty shops and some will process their country of origin chocolates into artesian confections for sale over the counter in their store front shops. How could there be such a radical change in a stodgy old industry as bulk chocolate processing?I agree that there is an untapped market for small, local, artisan chocolate makers. Few of these will provide couverture as it takes a great deal of skill to make chocolate with consistent workability.Why is this happening? People are becoming more interested in supporting local food businesses, people are interested in knowing more about the food they eat, people are more interested in origins, people are more interested in experimenting, people are interested in sharing experiences.Why do brew-pubs exist when there are all these big breweries? The big breweries obviously don't meet some needs. Same with chocolate.However - and this I caution everyone who wants to start making chocolate to sell - comparing chocolate making with roasting coffee, or brewing beer or making wine doesn't work. The processes are very different.Three things are holding up the movement:1) Educational infrastructure2) Easy access to small-scale equipment3) Easy access to quality beansI am working an all three and it's taking a lot longer than I thought to put things into place.
I saw the news that Hershey's was closing the San Francisco chocolate manufacturing of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt chocolates.Scharffen Berger manufacturing is being moved to Hershey's revamped Illinois plant. But no news on what's happening with Joseph Schmidt.I just spoke with a wholesale customer service representative at Joseph Schmidt and she said that the employees were just told today that the Joseph Schmidt brand was being discontinued by Hershey's and all production will stop by summer 2009.I'm so sad about this news. Joseph Schmidt is a strong brand name and made good truffles at a reasonable price point. Yes, there are other artisan chocolatiers and truffles that are superior, but Joseph Schmidt was really good for the price.Why would Hershey's kill off the brand?
Hershey already makes the majority of its Scharffen Berger products in its newly upgraded plant in Robinson, Ill., said spokesman Kirk Saville from the chocolate giant's headquarters in Hershey, Pa. He said the plant closures will affect a total of about 150 employees from both facilities. Saville said Hershey intends to maintain the quality of the brands, which make up the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Artisan Confections Co."We will continue to source the world's best cacao to create our rich and distinct chocolate," he said. "We will maintain the highest quality standard for all our artisan productions."That provided little solace to Bay Area fans of the chocolate-makers. Both brands have created a strong legacy and helped increased the popularity of high-end, gourmet chocolates around the country.What say you? Is this the beginning of the end for Artisan Confections Company brands? And what are your thoughts about how they are doing maintaining the quality of the brands?From the Wall Street Journal article:
But, as with coffee, eating out, and apparel, the recession has consumers trading down with chocolate. Supermarket sales in the premium chocolate category in the fourth quarter were flat versus last year, Hershey Chief Executive David West told analysts Tuesday.Mr. West said he expects that to continue, adding that manufacturers have been making premium chocolates faster than consumers have been buying them and that retailers probably will devote less shelf space to them.High-end chocolatiers have noticed. Katrina Markoff, president and founder of Chicago-based Vosges Haut-Chocolat, said sales slowed in the fourth quarter. People aren't splurging on offerings that cost $100 and up, she said, although sales of products in the $25-to-$50 range are growing.Last Valentine's Day, she said, people spent an average of $75 to $80 on online orders; she thinks they will spend an average of just $50 this year. "People still want to have a little taste of luxury and decadence," she said.At a Fannie May chocolate counter Tuesday in downtown Chicago, accountant Karen Martin said the recession hasn't dimmed her taste for chocolate -- but she is cutting back on price."I still indulge but not on huge items," she said. "When I want a really nice treat, I go out and buy it. It's like $2 -- maybe." Even thriftier, her friend Nora Wideikies snapped up four Santa Claus chocolates on sale for a dollar.However, Jim Goldman, chief executive of Yildiz Holding's Godiva Chocolatier Inc., said he expects sales to grow. "One of our best-selling products this holiday season was the 'Ultimate Collection,' a $130 offering of the best of Godiva truffles, chocolate and biscuits," Mr. Goldman said in an interview. Lower-priced items also sold well during the winter holidays, and he said he expects strong Valentine sales.Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprngli AG, maker of premium Lindt chocolates, reported a 5.8% sales increase in 2008, saying that was at the low end of its long-term goal of 6% to 8% annual sales growth."Considering the market conditions, this result is encouraging," the company said last week in a news release.
Even in a recession, frugal consumers shell out cash for popular premium chocolate, but the variety they purchase depends on its value, quality and manufacturer. Analysts said trendy, pricier premium cocoa varieties promote chocolate consumption growth. Throngs of products from smaller specialty as well as major chocolate manufacturers line store shelves. But consumers are buying the sweets less often and more discriminatively as household incomes contract with the U.S. recession and world economic crisis.The text of the full article is here .I don't agree with everything the article says:
Large chocolate manufacturers Barry Callebaut and Hershey Co. delved into the premium chocolate realm previously occupied primarily by smaller-scale specialty manufacturers. In 2008, Mars Inc.'s Mars Snackfood US introduced M&Ms Premiums in flavors such as mint chocolate and raspberry almond, as well as dark chocolate varieties.It's just too weird to seriously consider M&Ms - whatever flavor - a premium chocolate product.
