Celebrating a year of

Stunning Chocolates!1113N

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continued on page 8...

What better way to kick off proceedings than with a reminder of all the new things this year? We started off in grand style with Six of the best, a rather special, special edition that featured nothing but the champions of champions. that’s to say, the six top scoring chocolates in the Club’s history and, needless to say, they all went

The indefatigable Griotte Deluxe shone once again in 2011

2011 has been full of excitement, but over just a little too soon, exactly like our tasting boxes! The Club’s 13th year has absolutely flown by, so, just in case you blinked and missed something, here are some of the highlights.

TECHNOPHOBE?Discover our brand new series of step-by-step articles to get you started on our website.

See page 6

iSlanDAdventure!If you know your Azores from your Elba, you could be well placed to scoop first prize in the ‘Name That Island’ Competition.

Enter on page 15

tHe great rabOt eState COCOa raCeDon’t miss our brand new competition that runs all year long and is open to all members.

Find out more on page 7

Issue 1113

NewsClubThe monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club

great rabOtCoCoa RaCe

2

editoRLetter from the

Send your letters to The Chocolate Tasting Club, Mint House, Royston SG8 5HL, or simply email me on simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk or via our website: www.chocs.co.uk We are waiting to hear from you! Club News Editor: Simon Thirlwell; Contributors: Simon Thirlwell, Terry Waters. © The Chocolate Tasting Club plc 2011

Christmas is selling out fast – last orders on page 4!

w elcome to the latest issue of Club news. On the front cover this month you’ll see that we’re taking a look back over 2011 and what a busy year it has turned out to

be! i must say that the highlight of the year for me was my trip to Saint lucia during the summer and being able to experience the Hotel and rabot estate for myself. goodness knows i had written about them a great deal! Having experienced cocoa growing in ghana on many occasions now, it was extremely interesting to compare and contrast with how it all happens in the West indies.

but enough about me! i’d love to hear all about your tasting Club highlights of the year. So do please drop me a line and you could well find yourself published here in Club news (and don’t forget that every published letter receives a free tasting selection.

elsewhere in this issue you’ll find the first of our ‘Website Walkthrough’ articles – a series designed to help absolutely anyone use our website, whatever their technical ability. So if you’ve been holding back, just turn to page 6 and we’ll get you started. You’ll also see there’s a sneak preview of the forthcoming All Milk Selection, a round up of Hotel Chocolat news and an interesting new competition that will be particularly well suited to any geography fans out there.

Until next month, happy tasting!

Simon thirlwellClub news editor

But enough about me! I’d love to hear all about your Tasting Club highlights of the

year. So do please drop me a line…“ “

tempeRiNgImprove your chocolate knowledge

after rOaSting anD grinDing, mixing and conching, we finally get to a liquid that we all would recognise as

chocolate. However, left to its own devices this liquid would set into a distinctly unsatisfactory chocolate. Why? because during the chocolate making process, the cocoa butter contained in chocolate has become disrupted and if allowed to cool, its crystals would set in an uneven manner. this would produce a dull, blotchy looking, crumbly textured chocolate that we wouldn’t look twice at.

So, in order to get the crystals to set in uniformly small formations we use a process called tempering – by which we heat the chocolate, let it cool slightly and then heat it again to 31ºC to encourage the fine, stable crystallisation of the cocoa butter and its even dispersal through the chocolate. then, when cooled rapidly, it will set into the chocolate with a good, clean snap, an attractive sheen and good keeping qualities.

sEllINg ouT fAsT…

4

doN’t foRget – score by post or online at www.chocs.co.uk and you’ll be automatically entered into this prize draw

winnersThis month’s Prize Draw

s52 Elements prize draw winner is Mrs C Murdoch from Twickenham who wins a Caramel & Co Giant Slab.Next month’s prize is a Mississippi Mud Pie Giant Slab.

D141 Classic selection prize draw winner is Miss C Seignior from London who wins a Classic Signature Collection.Next month’s prize is an Everything Sleekster Selection.

K74 Dark selectionprize draw winner is Mr D Cooke from Sandy who wins a Serious Dark Fix Selection.Next month’s prize is an Extreme Dark Dipping Adventure.

Last CaLL foR tHe CHRistmas speCiaLs!

CHriStmaS iS a time for celebrating with friends and families and for giving

and receiving some of life’s festive luxuries – which is exactly where the Club’s Christmas Special editions come in! Whether you’re looking for a little something special to keep at home to open and share around, or you need some exclusive gift ideas for deserving friends and family – you’ll find it in our Christmas line up.

but please hurry – excellence for Christmas and the latest Fortified Selection have both SOlD OUt already. So if you’d like something special to pass around and enjoy at home this Christmas, or you need a stunning gift to stuff into someone’s stocking – please order now to avoid disappointment and to ensure delivery for Christmas.

P05 Purist selectionprize draw winner is Ms R Mardle from Wymondham who wins a Purist Collection.Next month’s prize is a Purist Pralines & Caramel Selection.

www.chocs.co.uk/RESERvE or call 08444 72 70 70

Last CaLL foR tHe CHRistmas speCiaLs!

Available to order now for the special Club price of £20.95 (including delivery) www.chocs.co.uk/ICoNs

Discover the recipes that lead from the front, set new trends and redefine entire genres – six of the very best Tasting Club icons.

Over the last 13 years we’ve tasted well over 2,000 chocolate recipes. Only a select few have gone on to reach iconic status.

6

There’s so much you can do at www.chocs.co.uk – but before you can do anything you must first register yourself at our website and then activate your membership. Just follow the first of our guides…

How to register online1. Visit www.chocs.co.uk

2. on the right-hand side of the page, under ‘Members’ login’, click on ‘Register’.

3. on the right-hand side of the page, under ‘Create your online account’, click on ‘Register’.

4. Enter your postcode and click on ‘lookup Postcode’.

5. Choose your address from the list shown and click on ‘use Address’.

5a: If your postcode is not recognised there is a link on the right-hand side you can click. This will bring up a new page where you can enter your address manually.

6. Enter your Title, first and surname.

7. scroll down and enter your email address twice, in the fields next to ‘Email’ and ‘Retype e-mail’.

8. Choose a password and enter this twice, in the fields next to ‘Password’ and ‘Re-type Password’.

9. Click on ‘Register’.

A

The what, where and how of using the Tasting Club’s website!

WebSite

How to activate membership online1. log in at www.chocs.co.uk with your email

address and password.2. Click on ‘Manage My Membership’ at the top

of the page (underneath the Chocolate Tasting Club banner).

3. Click on ‘please click here to continue’.4. When prompted, enter your Membership

Number and online Activation Key – both of which can be found either on your membership card or any of your Tasting Club bills.

B

C

D

E

F

G

A

B

C

D

E

G

Walkthrough 1

F

Choose your tree in next month’s issue

– then follow its progress all year

7

In next month’s Club News we’ll be launching our largest scale competition ever and you’ll be invited to take part in The Great Rabot Estate Cocoa Race. But don’t worry – no training (or indeed trainers!) will be required!

tHe gReat RaBot estate CoCoa RaCe

SO wHaT’S THE BIg IdEa? We’ll give you the details of five different cocoa trees (see right) on rabot estate in Saint lucia – each of which has been adopted by a member of the estate staff. We’ll also reveal more about the ‘Cocoa team’ – like who they are and what their experience is. then, using your judgement, you must choose the tree you think will provide the most cocoa during the 2012 season.

During the year you’ll get updates on the trees in Club news and the result will be announced at the end of the year. When entering you’ll be asked to say what you would most look forward to on a holiday to the Hotel on rabot estate in the usual ‘30 words or less’. We will then review all those with the winning answer and decide the winner based on who has the most interesting ‘holiday idea’. the winner will be off to the Hotel for 7 nights and four runners up will each receive a year’s supply of Club chocolates!

and to whet your appetite here are the contenders:

Coming next month!

Don’t miss the entry form in the next issue of Club News – when you’ll find out the significance of the ICS numbers and you can meet the Rabot Cocoa Team too!

great rabOtCoCoa RaCe

TREE COCOa TYPE LOOkEd afTER BY

1 Trinitario ICs 39

Cuthbert Monroque

2 Trinitario ICs 95

Murray Bertie

3old Rabot Heirloom Trinitario

simon Monrose

4 Trinitario ICs 98

Methodist faucher

5 Trinitario ICs 1

Matthew Alcindor (Mr Matt)

8

1111NL

continued on page 8...

First and foremost, our plan to start our testing, quite fi ttingly, in New England with both Classic and Dark Introductory Selections has been a great success, although not exactly as we had forecast it would be… That’s because, when we fi rst started working with our partners in America we told them, with 13 years of experience here in the UK and Europe, that about 10% of their tasters would

Taking the Tasting Club to America has thrown up unique challenges, like developing new packaging to cope with extreme heat

In more ways that one, The Chocolate Tasting Club is pretty hot property in the USA right now, as our update of American news shows.

WHat’S HOt in America?

ARE THOSEJingle Bells?Christmas really is on its way – so now’s the time to discover the must-have Club Christmas Collections!

Find all three on page 5

ScoreDRAWTasting Club Director reveals his scientifi c methods behind his chocolate scores. Will you agree?

Find out on page 6

What’s Your FAvOURITE COLOUR?Give us your help in choosing the colour for a brand new tasting selection and you could win one of the fi rst boxes.

Cast your vote on page 15

Issue 1111

neWSClubThe monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club

1111NL_D142_News_AW.indd 1 16/09/2011 17:28

Clockwise from top left – Fortified became a quarterly selection; regular Tasting Club boxes got strikingly smart new looks; the Tasting Club continued to taste success in the USA; meanwhile, The Hotel opened in Saint Lucia and has wowed many members already; Christmas saw the launch of the renowned Club Collections, the Cheese Tasting Experience, exclusive aprons and more; a second helping of Summer Desserts; and your scores kept coming in! 9

down very well with members – with the seemingly undefeatable griotte Deluxe leading the field. another stunning debutante was our rare cocoa Purist Selection, which dropped through the first letterboxes in march this year.

this year also saw a brand new look for the Club, with a radical new style for tasting boxes, menus and Club news too. We rolled out those new designs gradually, starting in april and continuing for a few months. because we wanted to keep waste to an absolute minimum, we mixed and matched old and new box lids and menus for a couple of months, which was an interesting look! and speaking of boxes and menus, we also introduced three new chocolate personalities in Classic and Dark tasting selections – Off the Wall, founder’s favourite and blast from the Past all appeared in may’s despatches and they’ve quickly become firm favourites in every box!

rounding off what has been an incredibly busy year, we saw a whole raft of exciting launches for Christmas – including our updated and expanded recipe book, from Morning to Midnight; the ground breaking Cheese Tasting Experience and Entertaining with Chocolate, both exploring the world of tasting and flavour pairing; not forgetting our very own, limited edition Club apron of course!

but the excitement wasn’t all about the new faces on the block, some Club regulars made very welcome returns too. Due to popular demand, The Fortified Collection evolved into a regular quarterly selection, which is now in its second edition. Having first shown its face back in 2008, the His & Hers Collection made an entertaining reappearance, in good

time for some Valentine’s Day fun and games of course! Summer Desserts was another welcome visitor after its high scoring debut in the summer of 2009 and wowed members all over again.

then there was the important matter of the Chocolate bonds. because we had had several requests from bondholders to upgrade their bonds from £2,000 to £4,000 we were obliged, by the law governing such things, to offer the same opportunity to all. Once again we were truly overwhelmed by the response. first, we raised an unprecedented £3.7 million with the original issue and now we have taken the total to £4.1 million!

also in the headlines this year was Saint lucia, first with boucan restaurant, which opened its doors on rabot estate, swiftly followed by the launch of the Hotel. the ‘cacao cuisine’ at boucan has been an immediate success and the restaurant has quickly become a destination in its own right. the Hotel, meanwhile, has already played host to many tasting Club members, most of whom were kind enough to send us some of their holiday snaps!

last, but by no means least, we also said hello to a lot more of our american cousins, as the tasting Club test was rolled out. Unusually, america seems to have bucked a trend with about 35% favouring the Dark Selection, while only 10% do here in britain.

next year there are already so many exciting things to look forward to – including the full opening of the Hotel, a trip to ghana and, of course, lots of exciting chocolates. We look forward to sharing them with you!

Having first shown its face back in 2008, the His & Hers Collection made an entertaining reappearance, in good time

for some Valentine’s Day fun and games of course!“

”

continued from page 1

1111NL

continued on page 8...

First and foremost, our plan to start our testing, quite fi ttingly, in New England with both Classic and Dark Introductory Selections has been a great success, although not exactly as we had forecast it would be… That’s because, when we fi rst started working with our partners in America we told them, with 13 years of experience here in the UK and Europe, that about 10% of their tasters would

Taking the Tasting Club to America has thrown up unique challenges, like developing new packaging to cope with extreme heat

In more ways that one, The Chocolate Tasting Club is pretty hot property in the USA right now, as our update of American news shows.

WHat’S HOt in America?

ARE THOSEJingle Bells?Christmas really is on its way – so now’s the time to discover the must-have Club Christmas Collections!

Find all three on page 5

ScoreDRAWTasting Club Director reveals his scientifi c methods behind his chocolate scores. Will you agree?

Find out on page 6

What’s Your FAvOURITE COLOUR?Give us your help in choosing the colour for a brand new tasting selection and you could win one of the fi rst boxes.

Cast your vote on page 15

Issue 1111

neWSClubThe monthly newsletter from the Tasting Club

1111NL_D142_News_AW.indd 1 16/09/2011 17:28

Celebrating a year of

Stunning Chocolates!

scores

Classic SELECTION – d141 1. Café Latte by M Meier 8.44 (35% scored it 10/10)2. Clementine Cup by o Coppeneur 8.39 (33% scored it 10/10)3. Salted Caramel Milk Tasting Batons 8.26 (26% scored it 10/10)4. Caramel anis by g Pereira 8.24 (30% scored it 10/10)5. whisky Top by JC Vandenberghe 8.22 (30% scored it 10/10)6. Cranberry Truffle by o Nicod 8.21 (29% scored it 10/10)7. Macadamia Picnic by JC Vandenberghe 8.16 (23% scored it 10/10)8. Ruby Port Truffle by M Meier 8.14 (26% scored it 10/10)9. Spiced Rum by R Macfadyen 8.14 (33% scored it 10/10)10. Lemon & almond Mousse by K Kalenko 8.08 (20% scored it 10/10)

Dark SELECTION – k741. Spiced Rum by R Macfadyen 8.62 (34% scored it 10/10)2. whisky Top by JC Vandenberghe 8.61 (38% scored it 10/10)3. 70% dark Tasting Batons, Ivory Coast 8.43 (34% scored it 10/10)4. Café Latte by M Meier 8.41 (36% scored it 10/10)5. Ruby Port Truffle by M Meier 8.37 (35% scored it 10/10)6. Russian Cocktail by R Macfadyen 8.32 (31% scored it 10/10)7. Cranberry Truffle by o Nicod 8.31 (26% scored it 10/10)8. Clementine Cup by o Coppeneur 8.19 (27% scored it 10/10)9. apple Pie by E Desmet 8.10 (26% scored it 10/10)10. Praline Sandwich by E Desmet 8.09 (25% scored it 10/10)

Elements SELECTION – S521. Zesty Crunch 8.70 (35% scored it 10/10)2. Salted Caramel Milk Tasting Batons 8.51 (29% scored it 10/10)3. Macadamia Picnic by JC Vandenberghe 8.35 (42% scored it 10/10)4. Praline Sandwich by E Desmet 8.32 (35% scored it 10/10)5. 52% Milk Chocolate 8.05 (19% scored it 10/10)6. Clementine Cup by o Coppeneur 8.05 (26% scored it 10/10)7. Lemon & almond Mousse by K Kalenko 7.81 (13% scored it 10/10)8. Cranberry Truffle by o Nicod 7.77 (19% scored it 10/10)9. 70% dark Tasting Batons, Ivory Coast 7.32 (16% scored it 10/10)10. Mocha Matters by R Macfadyen 7.02 (19% scored it 10/10)

Purist SELECTION – P051. Bolivian Brazil Nuts 8.73 (36% scored it 10/10)2. Coffee Salted Caramel 8.18 (27% scored it 10/10)3. 67% dark Chocolate, Ivory Coast 7.73 (18% scored it 10/10)4. Time for Thyme 7.73 (9% scored it 10/10)5. Jumbo Raisins 7.46 (9% scored it 10/10)6. 65% dark Island growers, Saint Lucia 6.91 (18% scored it 10/10)

Café Latte

Spiced Rum

Zesty Crunch

Bolivian Brazil Nuts

10

feedback

Have Your say!

Bouquet macadamia Picnic – ClassicPerfect look, perfect texture, perfect taste. an undeniable 10 out of 10.

Verity Mills, Mountain Ash

Brickbat macadamia Picnic – ClassicWhoever did that to the wonderful macadamia nut should be taken out and shot. Sludgy, gritty filling overpowered by sickly sweet chocolate...

Elizabeth Draper, london

Brickbat time for thyme – Puristthis is the first time i have ever disliked a chocolate, i tried each one to give myself a chance to change my mind (like with kids eating sprouts!) but nope...

Rachel Mardle, Wymondham

Bouquet Salted Caramel tasting batons – Classicanother taste i’ve discovered through being part of the Club. loved these – creamy, good caramel notes and that sharp occasional salt granule.

Beverley Watson, Daventry

Bouquet 52% milk Chocolate – elementsthe chocolate we’ve been waiting for, without knowing it!

Victoria Wilderspin, Jersey

Bouquet Caramel anis – Darkthis surprised me! not normally a great fan of caramel but this certainly changed my mind – it’s simply delicious!

E ferguson, Hamilton

Fortified Comments...Speyside whiskyGorgeously warming. There are plenty more whiskies to try, so just keep going. Rosemary arthur, wakefield

Port CoolerI love port, I love Portugal, I love Xmas and this chocolate reminded me of all three. karen george, Preston

generalWonderful selection, just right for the cooler evenings coming, leave you with a lovely warm feeling.Marion Bartlett, gosport

Cognac CaressGood combination! Strong! Reminded me of Christmas pudding with my homemade brandy butter!Michelle Bedoe, Bristol

Champagne TruffleA perfect champagne truffle –it almost sparkles.Sylvia Crouch, Canterbury

generalLooking forward to the next box, have had to start marking down a bit or you will have to raise the marking to 12.Mary Hatton, Burton-on-Trent

11

existing members will be able to give the All Milk Selection a try without interfering with regular tasting box deliveries – by trying the iNtRoduCtoRy seLeCtioN foR just £9.95 (including delivery)

Please go to www.chocs.co.uk/MILk or call 08444 72 70 70 to order yours!

We’ve always known that a majority of Club members prefer milk chocolate, which is precisely why the Classic Selection is our most popular.

tHe aLL miLK seLeCtioN

However, following a members’ survey not so long ago, it became clear that many Classic members

would love a box devoted to milk chocolate. Just as it became clear back in the earlier days of the Club that there were quite a few members who would love an all dark selection. that culminated in the launch of the Dark Selection in the spring of 2006 and this time we’re launching the All Milk Selection.

each All Milk Selection will be based on the corresponding Classic Selection, with one exception – we’ll be concentrating on the mellow, milk chocolate recipes by featuring three each of the most mellow,

most milky of them all (rather than the usual two each), as well as four milk chocolate batons.

Take a peek at...

thank you for helping us to choose the colour for this new selection,

you can see the winning shade above. and there’s a special little something on the way to one participating member, mrs U Wood – for not only choosing lilac, the winning colour, but also for including some timely advice for our designer –

“Not too wishy-washy please”.

12

1. Speyside whisky by R Macfadyen 8.82 (44% scored 10/10)

2. amaretto Crunch by K Kalenko 8.81 (40% scored 10/10)

3. Cointreau Bombe by o Nicod 8.80 (39% scored 10/10)

4. Cognac Caress by K Kalenko 8.78 (41% scored 10/10)

5. Calvados Caramel by R Macfadyen 8.69 (33% scored 10/10)

6. Champagne Truffle by o Nicod 8.66 (34% scored 10/10)

7. white Port Cooler by g Pereira 8.53 (28% scored 10/10)

8. Poire william by o Nicod 8.52 (34% scored 10/10)

9. Metaxa Mania by g Pereira 8.52 (31% scored 10/10)

10. Bison grass Truffle by K Kalenko 8.32 (28% scored 10/10)

updates

the first of the new quarterly Fortified Selection was inspired by autumn and featured some

of the Club’s all-time favourite liqueurs – from comforting amaretto and warming saint lucian golden rum, to mellow Marsala fortified wine, bison grass vodka and much more. As you’ll see from the results below two Club favourites, speyside whisky and amaretto, finished first and second, while the classic liqueur Cointreau completed the top three. But every recipe clearly went down well, as all 14 scored well over 8.

1st Speyside Whisky

3rd Cointreau Bombe

2nd Amaretto Crunch

13

tHe foRtified Selection – Autumnthe Big tastiNg

giVeaWaY

One lucky winner is in for a very entertaining Christmas!

1. Entertaining with Chocolate2. The Cheese Tasting Adventure3. A bottle of Hotel Chocolat Port

for Chocolate4. our exclusive Morning to Midnight

Recipe Book

This has been the most popular Tasting Club competition to date, with well over 2,000 entries. But there can only be one winner, picked at random from the many correct entries, so – CONgRaTULaTIONS TO MR MaRk COOkE Of aBINgdON.

We asked which of the following is a type of CoCoA, CHEEsE, CoffEE, PoRT, or a CHoColATE RECIPE.

a) Kopi luwak is type of... COffEEb) Porcelana is type of... COCOac) oxford Isis is type of... CHEESEd) Colheita is type of... PORTe) Budino di Cioccolata is type of...

CHOCOLaTE RECIPE

We recently ran the Great Big Tasting Giveaway competition, with four fantastic prizes for the lucky winner:

Competition Results

Results

and finally

Don’t forget to brandish your membership card if you drop into the new look Hotel Chocolat stores

If you’re one of the first to visit Hotel Chocolat’s first Scottish store, why not drop us a line to tell us what it’s like?

14

while there has been a whole host of brand new Hotel Chocolat stores

opening (see below), we mustn’t forget those trusty old stores that many of us have grown to know and love – especially as quite a few have just re-opened after a spot of rejuvenation.

So, step forward bluewater, birmingham, gateshead, brighton, manchester, milton Keynes and london moorgate – all of whom are now sporting sparkling new looks. So if you’re within striking distance, why not drop by and see what’s new for yourself?

and don’t forget that tasting Club members receive a preferential 5% discount on their Hotel Chocolat purchases, in-store and online. Just remember to take your membership card along!

At long last Hotel Chocolat’s first Scottish store has opened and quite fittingly you’ll find it in the beautiful capital city.

Hello sCotLaNd!

We’d love to say that the long wait has been a patient one, but it has actually been pretty vocal! Tasting Club members haven’t been shy in been writing to demand that Hotel Chocolat open up in scotland and it’s not unknown for desperate scots to take the train south for vital supplies. The good news is that the days of those chocolate raiding parties is now over, for those within reach of Edinburgh anyway!

And in the run up to the Christmas season there has been a clutch of new openings across the uK – including london Euston station, Westfield stratford City, Newbury, london Canary Wharf and Taunton

so wherever you are, you may well find that gorgeous chocolate is now closer than you think.

RefResHed, reborn and

raring to go!

competition

15

✁Tear or cut along dotted line

Cocoa thrives on many tropical islands from the East and West African coasts, to the Far East, South America and the West Indies. But the question is – can you tell us the names of the 41⁄2 islands pictured below?

CompetitionName tHat isLaNd!

SEND your entry form to CTC Tasting Competition, Mint House, Royston SG8 5HL or EMAIL your answers to simon@hotelchocolat.co.uk all entries must be received by 31st January 2012

HOW tO enter – write the name of the island in the corresponding space below then complete your name and membership number.

PlEAsE PRINT

Name

Member No.

We’ll collect those entries with five correct answers and the first picked at random will win a Hotel Chocolat Signature Collection.

a.

B.

C.

d.

e.

a.

b.

c. d.

e.

There’s still time for Christmas delivery – buT hurry!

Wherever you are with your Christmas preparations, we can still guarantee that your

Christmas order will arrive in time

hotelchocolat.co.uk Tel: 08444 93 13 13

Last order dates for ChristmasUK Standard – Tues 20th Dec at 2.30pm UK Gold Delivery – Thurs 22nd Dec at 4pm

UK Saturday Delivery – Fri 23rd Dec at 4pm (for delivery on Christmas Eve)