February 2008
VillageCandyGram
News to infuse
Village Candy
344 Beaver Street
Sewickley PA
412.741.1490
Tues - Sat 10-5
Wed til 8
I'm with Cupid Edition
Valentine's Treats
Candy Pillows
Skittle Chocolate Mix
Cola Crazy
More Sour Patch
Creative Customers
Greetings fellow candy lover!

So you've given up on the New Year's resolutions already. This month it's time to honor your mate, go after your mate (and drag him/her back by his/her hair to you/your cave), or just project amoré even if there's no moré. February 14 is Valentine's Day - it's Cupid's stinkin' holiday, let him suffer the slings and arrows. Just don't be caught empty handed!
Valentine's Treats
Chocolate is always a good bet, but not the only one
Chocolove Holiday Bar
C'mon, have a heart. Don't deny your sweetie this heart-shaped box filled with Vosges Toffee. It'll make them forget about chocolate (and you, for that matter). Or, if you must give in to their craving, pick up one of our boxed chocolate assortments, Valentine-drizzled mini pretzels or rods. Or how about a three-ringed pretzel filled with caramel, and drenched in chocolate to look just like a heart? Or a box of Valentine decorated mint patties. They won't nag if it's in a Village Candy bag.

Candy Pillows Say It All
Confession - they don't really talk
Hershey Kiss Pillow
Just look at this big kiss - doesn't it put the one that you get at the end of every day to shame? Just kidding, but no one can argue that it does make a serious statement. It would be the perfect resting spot for the head with the mouth to which you feed peeled grapes! We also have smaller squishy ones in red, green or light blue, squishy Kissables, plush Hot Tamales and MANY other candy cushions.
Something New
Skittles Chocolate Mix

Chocolate Mix SkittlesYup, you heard that right. Mars, the makers of Skittles Fruit Chews has jumped on the chocolate bandwagon (BTW, coming next month, Dark Chocolate Jelly Bellys). Not that that's a surprise, given that they also make M&Ms. But c'mon, Skittles are FRUIT CHEWS! Is nothing sacred? Sure they've extended their line with tropical, berry, smoothie, etc., but they were always some fruity variation. Although I will say that the flavors are tempting - Brownie Batter, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Pudding, S'mores and Vanilla. They did try this once before in 1998 with Chocolate Skittles. Now (drum roll) for a little background...

Skittles are small round fruit chews that come in hard sugar shells with the letter "s" printed on them. The insignia was printed in a very dark shade of purple (almost appearing black) from 1974 until 1988. Starting in 1989, the "s" insignia was changed to white. Modern Skittles with the white "s" insignia are similar in outward appearance to plain chocolate M&M's, which are produced by Masterfoods, a division of Mars, Inc.

Skittles Bite Size candies, originally made by a company in England, were first introduced in the United States in 1974. Around 1981-1982, the production of Skittles began in the US. Skittles sold in the United Kingdom are made in the Czech Republic, where Mars makes them for export to many European Union markets. The company also produces the product in Victoria, Australia, for distribution in the New Zealand market.

We at Village Candy carry Wild Berry, Tropical, Smoothie Mix, and Sour Skittles, along with the original Fruit Chews and Bubble Gum. The originals consist of grape, lemon, strawberry, lime and orange. In trivia we trust - in South Korea, Taiwan and Australia, apple replaces lime, and outside the US and Canada the grape is actually black currant. Past varieties have included Ice Cream, Carnival (sometimes known as Skittles Unlimited), Double Sour, Xtreme Fruit, Mint, and Liquorice (Europe only).

Save 20˘
On one 2 oz. bag of
Skittles Chocolate Mix
Print this coupon and present to counter dude and, c'mon, don't be greedy - one bag per coupon and one coupon per customer
(and one Skittle per friend and one is the loneliest number).

Offer Expires: February 9, 2008, so you better get your butt in gear!
Come in from (for) the Cola
Village Candy wins the Pepsi Challenge

Coca Cola MonopolyWe'll be holding our first-ever Cola Tasting on Saturday, February 23. 2008, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm! And none will taste like Oak or Shmepsi!

Now for a little background (my favorite part):

Cola is a sweet carbonated drink usually containing caramel coloring and caffeine. It was originally invented by John Stith Pemberton when he was a druggist and chemist in Columbus, Ohio working on a coca and cola (kola) nut beverage. It was intended to stop headaches and calm nervousness, but others insist he was attempting to create a pain reliever for himself and other wounded Confederate veterans. He began this process at his laboratory, but soon after the war, moved his entire operation to Atlanta.

Despite the name, the primary flavoring ingredients in cola are sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and (usually) caffeine; different manufacturers of cola drinks add other trace ingredients to the drink in addition to these flavorings in order to create distinctively different tastes for each brand. Trace flavorings may include orange, nutmeg, and a wide variety of other ingredients, but the base flavorings that most people identify with cola taste remain vanilla and cinnamon. Kola nuts, which have a bitter taste, contribute little or no flavor to most cola recipes. Acidity is often provided by citric acid, although Coca-Cola uses phosphoric acid for a more neutral (less fruity) taste.

Inexpensive colas may contain only vanilla and cinnamon as flavorings, which provide a simple cola taste. Many cola drink recipes are closely-guarded secrets of their manufacturers, with the recipe used by Coca-Cola being perhaps the most famous. In fact, in the summer of 2006. three people including a Coke employee were arrested for trying to sell their ultrasecret recipe to Pepsi. They didn't contemplate Pepsi turning to the FBI for advice.

In addition to high fructose corn syrup, many other sweeteners may be used as the sweetening ingredient in cola, including sugar, stevia, or an artificial sweetener depending on product and market. "Sugar-free" or "diet" colas contain artificial sweeteners only. Caffeine-free cola drinks are also available.

However, Village Candy has never carried, nor ever will carry any of these mass-produced colas. We're purists (a.k.a. snobs) - we only stock bottles and only something different.

Come in and sip from a sampling of our inventory of over 15 colas, including China Cola, Cricket Cola with Green Tea, Fukola, Jack Black's Blood Red Cola, Journey Ancient Cola and two old-timers, Red Rock and Moxie.
My personal favorite is Boylan's Cane Cola. We also carry Jolt (Caffeine X2) and new Diet Jolt - in bottles of course. You've probably only seen Jolt in battery cans in this area; Jolt is still packaged in glass in California and is sold on the West Coast. But, of course, we have a source.

Oh yeah, as a reminder - you MUST register by clicking HERE for the Cola Tasting. Or you can just email Village Candy and put COLA as the subject.
Something new to "Bulk" up on
Rounding out the Sour Patch collection

Sour Patch PeachSour Patch CherryLast month, in this fine literary  periodical, I wrote a Pulitzer-worthy spiel about Sour Patch, with a link to a cool video. Well guess what? We just found a supplier for two other bulk flavors - Cherry and Peach. We used to carry Cherry in bags, but they were discontinued. So get your fill of teeth sensitizing, sweet, yet sour Patch! BTW, this supplier also offers apple - if you are interested in our stocking these, email me a note. Candyman will gauge the demand.
Steelers Consolation Prize
Vince Lombardi Trophy has competition

Steeler Gingerbread House

The team didn't quite live up to our expectations, but they did provide an exciting year. And their award for this effort is the newly designed Alt Gingerbread Trophy, courtesy
of Tyler & Brenda Alt. Go Giants!
Village Candy is an old-time, new-fangled retail shop specializing in customer service, a unique selection of bulk and novelty candy, artisan chocolates, glass-bottled pop and candy-themed gifts.

We are here Tuesday thru Saturday 10 am to 5 pm, but on Wednesdays we stay late until 8! We are closed Sunday and Monday.
 
Sincerely,
 

Doug Alpern, Proprietor
Village Candy