EASTER!!!

Hopefully that gets your attention

From Tuscany to Southwestern PA

Andrea Stainer Chocolate is reasonably new to our shores (meaning the U.S., not the banks of the Ohio). It's made in the Italian green Tuscan hills of Lunigiana, using only the finest ingredients. Stainer's luscious chocolate is then mixed with exotic flavorings and spices to create some of the most extraordinary combinations we've encountered.

While many are aware that the first chocolate was produced with cocoa beans from America brought to Europe by the Spanish, few realize that the chocolate bar was actually invented in Italy. In 1778 an Italian inventor constructed a machine that mixed cocoa butter with vanilla and sugar, in effect creating a chocolate praline. This system was then perfected to produced chocolate bars as we know them today. Before the advent of the chocolate bar however, chocolate was consumed in drink form, and it was the Venetians who picked up the new trend quickly and started serving the dark liquid in their city's coffee shops. After the machine that turned the liquid into bars was invented, the whole world, including Italians, went crazy for chocolate.  

For white chocolate lovers who feel like they haven't been shown the love, we're here to offer comfort from the cruel world. We've acquired three new white bars: White with Pistachio (see left), with Ground Coffee, and with Raspberry. There's also a Milk bar with Vanilla, or one with Ginseng and Honey, and there are five tempting dark combination choices. We liked these bars so much that we're including a coupon at the bottom of this newsletter for you to judge for yourself.  

Chiller Theater 

A report on all things sodarific: what's new in the fridge, tastings and interesting tidbits from the world of bottled effervescence   

Remember this dude to the right? Walked around on TV with a black robe and gavel? (actually, you didn't see much of him from the chest down). Well his Root Beer will be back in stock in a few days. A new shipment of bubbly freshness will be arriving this week, and we can't wait. But we will. Included will be a resupply of Henry Weinhard Root Beer, which many root beeraholics consider to be the best RB of all. Several others are new, and worthy of introduction. From Wisconsin-based Sprecher Brewery comes crisp Red Apple. Orchards of refreshingly sweet apple flavors are packed into this gourmet soda made from apple juice and other natural flavors. And from Chicago comes The Sopranos' Italian Sodas, which combine the best of two worlds: traditional time-honed and time-honored flavors and delicious all-natural soda formulations. One look at the bottle and the name says it all: This is a real Italian treat. And you don't have to be a Wise Guy to get it. The Sopranos Sodas will be arriving in 3 well-known flavors: Chianti, Amaretto and Limoncello.

Don't Be Left Out In The Cola!

Actually, that used to be a tag line for 7up (which, shameless plug, Village Candy also carries) and it was on a 4 foot by 6 foot poster on the wall of my bedroom growing up. But it seemed worth borrowing to introduce a new tasting.

It's been quite some time since we had a Cola Tasting, and since it happens to be one of this proprietor's favorite vices, it's high time. Cola (a.k.a. Kola) was originally flavored by kola nut, and citric acids, but is now commonly flavored artificially. It became popular throughout the world after druggist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886. Pepsi was first introduced as "Brad's Drink" in New Bern, North Carolina in 1898 by Caleb Bradham, who made it at his home where the drink was sold. It was later named Pepsi Cola, possibly due to the digestive enzyme pepsin and kola nuts used in the recipe.

Despite the name, the primary flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (orange, lime, or lemon peel), tamarind, cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavoring. Modern colas rarely contain any kola nut - its taste is very bitter. They also usually contain caramel color, caffeine and a sweetener such as sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Manufacturers often add other trace ingredients such as nutmeg and lavender in order to create distinctively different tastes for each brand. Still, the base flavorings that most people identify with cola taste remain vanilla and cinnamon. In much of Spanish-speaking Central and South America, "Kola" with a "K" is the generic term used for any flavor of carbonated soft drink, not only colas.

We're going to put a wide swath of cola-dom on display on Saturday, April 30, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. We'll even throw in a dose of Mexican real-cane-sugar Coke (in bottles, of course) for comparison. Though we don't carry it at Village Candy, we do give it its due respect. And something completely new - organic Oogave Cola (pictured above left), sweetened with natural Agave Nectar!

Remember, our tastings are always free, fabulous and fun, but you MUST RSVP before we fill up and you're left out in the cola. We guarantee it will be a jolly good time. Come crave the cola with us - register now!

Summer Sundaes 

In historic Long Grove, Illinois, an old nostalgic red schoolhouse, reminiscent of the one-room variety that once served the village, was built as the first candy kitchen and retail store of the Long Grove Confectionery in 1975. One of the store's unique features is a vintage beveled glass window, which still allows visitors today to view  candy production, most notably fresh strawberries being dipped in creamy milk chocolate.

Today, the Long Grove Confectionery has two store locations in the Metropolitan Chicago area, and still takes pride in creating hand-made chocolates with the utmost care and taste. These yummy chocolate bark-filled "sundaes" are inspired by ice cream parlor creations. They come in cute little plastic-covered dishes in three flavors: Strawberry Neapolitan, Rocky Road and Cherry Almond. And each one includes its own little spoon!