Saturday, March 6, 2010

chocolove

Highly recommend trying this treat!

History of Chocolove

Tucked away in Boulder, Colorado sits an unassuming building where a little magic takes place... Every day, decadent chocolate bars are carefully crafted using the timeless combination of chocolate and love.

Chocolove chocolate bars are available in ten distinct flavors that range from a sweet, creamy Milk Chocolate with a 33% cocoa content, up to an Extra Strong Dark with an impressively strong yet smooth 77% cocoa content. Tied to chocolate's natural counterpart, love, each bar resembles a love letter, complete with a romantic poem.

For the past ten years, Chocolove has been quietly developing a loyal consumer following in natural and organic food stores around the country, including Whole Foods and Wild Oats. In 2005, Chocolove began its expansion into gourmet and conventional grocers, such as King Soopers, Gelson’s, HEB and Bristol Farms, making this delightful treat more readily available to its ever-growing fan base.

Chocolove started as the classic entrepreneur story – a dream, a garage, extended credit card debt and loans from friends and family. With its visionary chocolatier, and a solid concept, Chocolove became, and continues to be, a pioneer in the chocolate industry.

Timothy Moley is the founder, owner and chocolatier at Chocolove. A tall and slightly eccentric man, he reminds you a little of Willy Wonka. His laid-back attitude, wry grin, and lanky physique would never lead you to believe he is a man who lives and breathes chocolate, and has been consuming two chocolate bars, every day, for the past ten years. Seriously.

It all began in a cocoa field in Indonesia… Timothy was chewing on some cocoa beans doing volunteer work for USAID, a government program that promotes agricultural and technical education in developing countries. He had been living abroad on and off for two years, visiting over 28 countries, developing his palate with spices, teas and wines. And, like most of us, he had always dreamed of being his own boss, dedicated to something he loved. The idea of a career in chocolate inspired him and an idea began to form - to create a premium chocolate bar, paired with the romance of love.

When he returned to the States, he began his chocolate education and quickly discovered a few key facts about the U.S. chocolate market: the average consumer could tell the difference between cheap chocolate and premium chocolate and they preferred premium chocolate; the available premium chocolate bar choices were limited, expensive and intimidating; no U.S. company was indicating the cocoa content on their wrappers; and flavors were boring.

Chocolove was born. The idea was simple - a selection of distinctly flavored chocolate bars made with all-natural ingredients and the classic techniques of Europe's finest chocolatiers. The package design would resemble a love letter sent from a distant land, and inside each wrapper - a classic romantic poem. The cocoa content would be clearly indicated on the front of each wrapper, the tasting notes would be simple and approachable, and the price, affordable.

Initially, bars were manufactured at a U.S. co-packer, but in late 2003, Timothy completed building his custom-designed chocolate factory in Boulder, CO, and by mid-2004, the factory was in full swing, running as smooth as melted cocoa butter. Today, Chocolove bars are made in small batches and shipped around the country, delivering a little bit of “chocolate–love” to discerning chocolate lovers everywhere.


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