Our Blog

RSS feed for this section

Truffle Tote Christmas Tree

Posted on December 4, 2012 by in Our Blog, Seasonal Truffles, The Chocolate

We think one of the great things about the holidays is the traditions that accompany our celebrations.  The time of year where you can bring back favorites you’ve been doing for years and they still feel new!  One of our favorite edible decorating traditions is the truffle tote tree.


The silver tree frame is from Crate & Barrel, which happens to be on sale right now.  It has hooks for ten truffle totes which hold the truffle of your choosing.  We’ll tie each one with assorted Christmas ribbon and you’ll be ready to impress all of your holiday guests with your decorating genius!  And, when it comes to Christmas dinner you have a table favor ready to go.  Each tote is $2.25 and quantities are limited so don’t wait; order today!

5 Reasons Chocolate Turkeys are Better

Posted on November 27, 2012 by in Our Blog, The Chocolate, Uncategorized

As we close out Thanksgiving and move toward the Christmas season we wanted to stop and say thank you to so many families who allow us to be part of their annual celebration.  We love that chocolate turkeys make your shopping list as loyally as stuffing and green bean casserole do.

We know many times they are intended to be part of the table decor;  We’re pretty sure many times they don’t last that long.

As we were putting away the turkey molds for the year we started talking about why chocolate turkey’s are better than real turkey’s.  Here’s our top five.  Feel free to share your own.

1. They don’t have to be thawed.  Ready to eat when you are, there is no embarrassing yourself in front of the in-laws because you didn’t thaw the bird enough.

2. No cleanup.  Put away the carving tools.  The most you’ll need is a napkin. Forget the Tupperware.  There won’t be leftovers.

3. You don’t have to share.  You can eat a whole chocolate turkey and no-one will judge.  Do the same to the real thing and you’ll be the talk of the town.

4. More choices.  A real turkey has dark meat and white meat.  Chocolate turkeys are milk, dark, and white chocolate.

5.  No awkward excuses of why you won’t share your grandmother’s secret recipe.  You don’t know it – you can’t share it, plausible deniability is what you’re looking for here.

National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

Posted on August 2, 2012 by in Our Blog

Thursday, August 2nd!

We’re kicking off August and celebrating National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.

(Yes its a real thing – at least as real as a holiday like this gets.)

Thursday (today) we’re breaking out a special batch of our chocolate chip cookies with a scoop of your favorite ice cream sandwiched in between.

The cookie recipe is one we’ve had for a while.  It leads to the kind of cookie that when you offer it to people on a diet they say I’ll have one, actually make it two.  They’re that good.  It’s the right amount of gooey and soft, but doesn’t fall part on you.  Hopefully it’s something we’ll be adding to our regular menu soon.  But for now, grab a couple of cookies, slap some ice cream in there, and enjoy.

Whether its classic vanilla or a scoop of living on the edge cherry chocolate cordial start thinking about your perfect pairing and visit us today until 7 pm in Davidson or Dilworth.

(Cookies are limited so come closer to now.  It’s an appropriate lunch.)

Some see 104 degrees as a problem. We see it as an excuse.

Posted on June 29, 2012 by in Our Blog

Introducing the caramel pretzel crunch.

Posted on October 27, 2011 by in Dilworth, Our Blog

 

Introducing the caramel pretzel crunch. Perfect blend of sweet, salty, chocolate, & crunch.

A masterpiece of our Dilworth chocolatier Mari.

I’ll warn you – they’re dangerously addictive.

http://ow.ly/i/k0Yu

First Timer Box

Posted on October 26, 2011 by in Dilworth, Our Blog

People often walk in to the store for the first time and ask whats good or what should I try? “Everything” really isn’t too helpful so we thought we’d put together the first timer box – a collection of the must tries. What do you think should be in it? http://ow.ly/i/jU97

Fall Flavors

Posted on October 18, 2011 by in Dilworth, Our Blog

Fall Flavors

As you likely know we typically have 18 different truffle flavors in the candy case.  Usually 4 or 5 five of those we switch out for the season.  Some you see every year – like pumpkin or the soon to arrive creme de menthe.

Others are new experiments created out of great ideas we’ve seen or requests from customers.   This fall we have six seasonal flavors – many of which are completely new to our lineup.  For those who want to try one of each we created the six piece fall box.

We’ll be telling you more about each over the next two weeks, but until then here they are:

Black Cherry,  Black Garlic,  Chai Tea, PB&J, Pumpkin, Tangerine & Coconut

Always wanted to work at a chocolate shop

Posted on September 24, 2011 by in Dilworth, Our Blog

Always wanted to work at a chocolate shop: the DCC is hiring: http://davidsonchocolate.com/employment.html

Fermentation

Posted on September 8, 2011 by in Chocolate Education, Dilworth, Our Blog

I had the idea to start writing about chocolate to share our passion and knowledge of the subject with you.  I was hoping to learn a few things myself along the way.  First lesson learned: don’t start a blog while you’re engaged.  Wedding planning is a full-time and all-consuming state.

So alas, with a ring on the finger I return to the typewriter, our journey, and our loyal readers (talking about you Mom).  We last left off talking about the bean: http://davidsonchocolate.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/the-cocao-bean/.

Once the bean has been harvested the next step is fermentation.  Once the pods are harvested they are split open and the bean and the pulp are scooped out.  From there they are  fermented in wooden boxes or banana leaves.  To me it’s absolutely amazing that such a complex process that can make or break the flavor of the chocolate happens in banana leaves.  Pretty old school and I like it.

Fermentation is essentially using yeasts and bacteria to activate and alter the bean chemically.  It is this process, which typically lasts two to seven days, that produces the groundwork for the flavor of the chocolate once the beans are roasted.  The many complex compounds in the bean are broken into simpler compounds reducing bitterness and crafting a more approachable flavor identity.  If a bean is not fermented it will not have the necessary compounds to create flavor during the roasting process.  A byproduct of that fermentation is intense heat, which melts the pulp of the pod away and leaves the bean ready to be dried and shipped.

Hospice & Palliative Care – Nonprofit Benefit Day – July 27

Posted on July 27, 2011 by in Dilworth, Our Blog

As you have probably heard by now Davidson Chocolate Co. is donating 40% of store sales each Wednesday for the next four Wednesdays.  Today’s nonprofit in Davidson is Hospice & Palliative Care Lake Norman and in Dilworth it is Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region.  So I thought I’d take a minute and share a little of why Hospice?

For us, Hospice has always been the organization that was there when we had loved ones passing away, specifically my grandfather.  To me, that’s one of the interesting things about the group.  You’ve probably heard of it but may not really know what they do until you’ve relied on them.  I think their website says it pretty well: “Hospice is a special kind of care designed to provide treatment and support for those with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less if the illness takes its expected course. Hospice care seeks to enable patients to live a symptom and pain-free life so that their remaining time may be spent with dignity and quality at home or in a home-like setting.”

I have a rule that every time I start a sentence with “On NPR today” I give a dollar to NPR.  (I do the same for every time I sit in the driveway listening and waiting to hear the end of a story.)  So NPR, I owe you a dollar.  Earlier this week on NPR I was listening to a story that was discussing palliative care - which means I finally know what it is.  Palliative is the treatment of symptoms to minimize pain and maximize the comfort of the patient.  Hospice excels in palliative care, but places equal importance on dealing with emotional and spiritual pain.  As they say, hospice treats the person, not the disease.  They also focus and care for the family of the patient. 

Offering everything from routine home care to short-term inpatient care Hospice serves our community in so many ways.  I’d urge you to learn more:  http://www.hospiceatcharlotte.com/patients-info-hospice-care.cfm. 

And, if you’re so inclined eat some chocolate, enjoy some ice cream, and support our local Hospice & Palliative care groups today!