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September Specialty
This month's creation is a Jamaican-inspired treat - chocolate dipped Jamaican almond drops.
I brought home lots of freshly harvested almonds from Jamaica which are a little different from ours in shape and sweetness.
You can order them with a dark or milk chocolate dip.
I have many wonderful pictures and videos
from my trip to share with you. As soon as the editing is done, look for them on our Facebook page for The Oakland Chocolate
Company.
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Refining
Our Recipe, Our Process and Our Offerings
You probably noticed as you reached our website, that our Home
Page photo has changed to show our new collection and new box.
Refined Recipe: In June we adopted the industry convention of including the recipe's
calling for cocoa butter as part of the cacao total percentage. You will therefore notice that our 70% cacao is sweeter
and less intense than it was before.
Refined Process: In addition to the recipe change, we have also enhanced our process, allowing
a longer time in the melangeur and "conching" for a longer period in our tempering machine. The result is
a finer texture and melding of flavors to a wonderful chocolatey brownie-like taste.
Refined Offerings: The leaf shaped boxes,
with which our company began, were part of a collection that was being phased out by another company. Since they were
so beautiful and we believe strongly in reuse and recycling, we purchased the boxes, but only have a few remaining in stock.
For our new boxes, we have a lovely chocolate brown base and pistachio top with a see-through cover and brown satin bow.
The new box holds our refined collection.
In the early stages of our company we offered a virtually unlimited selection of shapes and
custom fillings, even more broad than our customers ever sought. Over the years we have a clearer understanding of our
customers' tastes and their desire to recognize a filling by the shape. We have therefore created our new Classic Collection.
We will offer this as an alternative box of the month for those who would like a wider variety and larger box. The Classic
Collection is about 10 oz. net weight and includes a coconut crunch truffle (70% cacao ganache rolled in
dried coconut flakes, toasted coconut, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg), a honey maple walnut acorn bonbon, a
lemon curd scalloped leaf bonbon, a banana rose bonbon (white chocolate ganache infused
with banana liqueur and dried banana), lime pepper jelly oval leaf bonbon (a Jamaican jelly from Busha Browne),
a malt dome truffle, truffle Marye (a dark chocolate ganache sphere rolled in roasted Jamaican
cocoa nibs, chipotle pepper and flor de sal), a mocha cup bonbon (milk chocolate ganache infused with Jamaican
Blue Mountain coffee), pistachio roll truffle (dark chocolate ganache sphere rolled in pistachios
and flor de sal), homemade hazelnut butter log, lavendar leaf bonbon (white chocolate ganache
infused with fresh lavender and decorated with candied lavender petals), spearmint truffle, rum raisin
barrel bonbon (a Jamaican rum infused raisin in curried sweet milk), caraway mint truffle (mint
infused dark chocolate ganache rolled in toasted caraway seeds, roasted Jamaican cocoa nibs and flor de sal), Jamaican
almond ginger truffle (dark chocolate ganache infused with Jamaican ginger extract, pierced with Jamaican almonds,
dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with flor de sal), raspberry cube leaf bonbon, triple chocolate
brownie truffle (a 50% cacao ganache sphere with a chunk of milk chocolate inside, dipped in 70% cacao and sprinkled
with turbinado sugar and walnuts), cashew butter round acorn bonbon (homemade cashew butter with roasted
Jamaican cocoa nibs and flor de sal) and 3 different delicate 70% cacao leaves.
Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee
If
you are interested in purchasing the very high quality Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, please click on this link: Jamaican coffee
ENJOY!