About our Chocolates
A small, dedicated team of chocolate professionals create around 150 different chocolates in the village of Evercreech in Somerset. All chocolates are traditionally handmade with the emphasis on original, quirky and visually attractive chocolates made with high quality ingredients. The couverture chocolates are made with the best chocolate cocoa solids from around the world.
These are unique quality chocolates which are also supplied to exclusive outlets like Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Harvey Nichols.
Retail
From our Clifton Village café we sell a unique retail range of couverture chocolates; fresh truffles from our chocolate counter and unique packed chocolates, including edible chocolate boxed and hand painted chocolate fish where you can browse and purchase as little or as much as you like
click here to view our retail chocolates
Corporate Gifts and Large Chocolate Orders
We also provide Corporate Gifts of chocolates and champagnes / wines, as well as Large Chocolate orders for events or special occasions.
click here to view our corporate gift and large chocolate orders including discount rates for large orders.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT CHOCOLATE?
Then read on……to find out why people like chocolate, what’s the difference between milk, dark & white chocolates or what are truffles. Discover the history of chocolate and even how it is made…… all this chocolate knowledge is below!
Chocolate…..The gastronomic temptress!
Chocolate tempts us with its rich, seductive flavour, its thick creamy texture and its power to soothe our minds. It contains approximately 300 natural chemical compounds which affect our brain chemistry and thus, our moods.
How does this work?
Chocolate causes the release of certain neurotransmitters such as endorphins and other opiates that can help to reduce stress and lead to feelings of well being and euphoria. One of the more interesting neurotransmitters released by chocolate is phenylethylamine. This ‘chocolate amphetamine’ causes changes in the blood pressure and blood-sugar levels, leading to feelings of excitement and alertness. Phenylethylamine, also know as the ‘love drug’, causes an increase in heart rate and a feeling not dissimilar to being in love.
Examples of other chemicals found in chocolate are anandamide and theobromine. Anandamide, similar to a chemical found in marijuana, contains properties that cause the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a wonderful chemical that elevates the mood and increases sexual arousal and response. Theobromine has properties that lead to mental and physical relaxation, as well as acting as a stimulant, similar to caffeine.
As well as, and possibly as a result of these proven properties, chocolate has a long association with enhanced virility and has been used as an aphrodisiac for over 3,000 years. Indeed, it is said that Montezuma, the last Aztec Emperor, drank fifty ‘pitchers’ of xocotlatl or ‘chocolate water’ to give him extra potency before visiting his harem. Other users included Madame du Barry , Louis XI’s mistress, who gave it to her lovers, and Casanova who, it is said, was ‘fond of chocolate’s divine properties’ and considered it an elixir of love.
Bearing all this in mind, is it any wonder that chocolate plays such an important role in matters of emotions? Whether being given as a token of passion, or being consumed for comfort by a jilted lover, chocolate has long been associated with expressions of love and is more than likely, why it is so closely associated with Valentines Day
Dark Chocolate… what is it?
Classic dark chocolate, produced by traditional methods, still remains the preferred choice of chocolate connoisseurs and aficionados. Also referred to as “bittersweet” or “semisweet”, good dark chocolate contains a high percentage of cocoa solids, resulting in the wonderful and intense aroma that sets off stimuli and reaches the taste sensors of your mouth even before you have placed the chocolate on your tongue.
What makes good dark chocolate?
Dark chocolate is defined by the characteristics of the cocoa content which can be from as little as 30% to as much as 99%. This is, of course, all a matter of taste.
However, at MeMe Chocolat, our experience tells us that the best dark chocolate should ideally have a cocoa content of between 50% and 72%. The cocoa content comprises a combination of cocoa liquor and cocoa butter, the pure components of the cocoa bean. Cocoa liquor, is the dry, powdery, non-fat component of the ground cocoa beans, and is what gives chocolate its characteristic flavour and colour. So, the higher the percentage of cocoa liquor, the stronger, richer and darker the chocolate. In cheaper chocolate, where the percentage of cocoa solids is reduced, more fat and sugar need to be added to compensate for the reduced flavour.
The fatty component of the ground cocoa beans is cocoa butter which provides chocolate with its unique claim to being the only food to melt at body temperature, thus slowly flooding the mouth with each delicious, individual flavour.
Of course, we also now know of the healthy properties of dark chocolate. It contains antioxidants which fight the destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other illnesses. It also contains cocoa phenols that have been shown to reduce blood pressure. On a lighter note, it’s theobromine content boosts the serotonin and endorphin levels in our brains, giving us a feeling of well being.
It goes without saying that the techniques, styles and recipes of the chocolatier are vital components in the production of good quality chocolates and as we, at MeMe Chocolat, pride ourselves on never compromising on quality, we have sourced our dark chocolate selections from some of the best chocolatiers across the continent.
Here at MeMe Chocolat we guarantee a minimum 50% cocoa, and often use 72% cocoa, so our customers have a the ultimate dark chocolate experience!
Milk Choclate
Milk chocolate, decadent and delicious, remains, unsurprisingly, the most popular variety of chocolate in the world! The production of milk chocolate, as we know it today, was first perfected in Switzerland in 1875 when sweetened condensed milk, instead of water, was added to chocolate, resulting in a much sweeter, smoother taste than dark chocolate. Milk chocolate quickly became popular and the chocolate variety of choice. Luxurious and velvety smooth, it starts to melt the moment you put it on your tongue. This is because good milk chocolate has the unique quality of having a melting point that matches, almost exactly, our body temperature.
What makes good milk chocolate?
It’s all to do with the percentage of cocoa solids used in the making of the chocolate. Cocoa solids, also known as cocoa liquor, is the dry, powdery, non-fat component of the ground cocoa beans, and is what gives chocolate its characteristic aroma, flavour and colour. Good quality milk chocolate should contain no less than 30% cocoa solids. When the percentage of cocoa solids in milk chocolate is reduced, more fat and sugar need to be added to compensate for the reduced flavour. The fatty component of the ground cocoa beans is cocoa butter, and is what provides chocolate with its smoothness and low melting point.
We, at MeMe Chocolat, pride ourselves on never compromising on quality. By sourcing our milk chocolates from some of the best chocolatiers across Europe, we are able to offer our customers a minimum 30% guarantee.
White Chocolate
White chocolate is made with cocoa butter, sugar and milk and as cocoa butter is one of the main ingredients of the cocoa bean, white chocolate, with its very appealing smooth texture and ivory appearance with its own delicious, creamy and different flavour, and remains extremely popular, with a serious and committed following. White chocolate is made by combining approximately 20% cocoa butter with milk solids and sugar. It is flavoured, mostly, with vanilla, however it successfully lends itself to many other flavours as well.
Like its milk and dark counterparts, its cocoa butter content provides it with the unique quality of having a melting point that matches almost exactly our body temperature, allowing it to start melting the moment you put it on your tongue … an infinitely satisfying and luxurious sensation!
What are Truffles
Chocolate, nowadays, is eaten in various solid forms from chocolate bars, chocolate moulds, filled chocolates, cake decorations etc. However, possibly the most luxurious form of all is the chocolate truffle which, just like its highly prized namesake – the fungus – has become synonymous with luxury, decadence and the ultimate indulgence … hence the term, “sheer truffle bliss”.
The basic nature of the truffle is its ganache centre, which is enrobed with a thin coating of dark, milk or white couverture. Ganache, essentially, is a combination of chocolate and cream, and can be flavoured with anything from fruits, nuts or cream to herbs or liqueurs. The couverture, which is a chocolate coating of guaranteed superior quality, provides a crisp ‘snap’ as you bite into the truffle, whilst the inner ganache holds its charm and remains intensely chocolaty and velvety smooth.
Chocolate, due to its cocoa butter component, has the unique quality of having a melting point that matches, almost exactly, our body temperature. This allows the truffle to start melting the moment you put it on your tongue, thus releasing a heady burst of flavours which gently explode into warm sensual liquids around your mouth.
We, at MeMe Chocolat, consider good truffles to be the crème de la crème of chocolate confections. And so, we have gone for the very best! Why not try one of our superb collections of truffles – sheer indulgence with amazing flavours to choose from
The secret of our specialist chocolatiers lies in the careful choice of their ingredients … natural, fresh and definitely no preservatives! To guarantee the constant high quality couverture and chocolate, only the best ‘Criollo’ cocoa beans are used to create their unique blend. Considered to be ‘the prince of cocoas’, Criollo is known as the original cocoa tree. Reserved for use in only the very finest chocolates, Criollo is the rarest and most expensive variety of cocoa and prized for its exceptional flavour and intense aroma.
The History of chocolate
Chocolate is made from cocoa, which comes from the cocoa bean. This is fruit-like pod that grows on the cocoa tree, also known as Theobroma Cacao which, literally translated, means “Food of the Gods”. These tropical trees have been cultivated in South America for over 3,000 years. The story of cocoa begins with the ancient kingdoms of Mexico and Central America. The Aztec, Mayan and Toltec tribes believed that the cocoa bean had magical powers and they used cocoa during the many traditional ceremonies that played significant roles in their lives
It is believed that Christopher Columbus was the first to bring cocoa beans to Europe when, in 1502, he returned to Spain from Nicaragua with many treasures, including cocoa beans, to present to King Ferdinand. The Spanish king and queen, however, were distinctly unimpressed and did not realised how important cocoa beans were to become. Indeed, it was to take almost twenty years before the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez succeeded in penetrating the Aztecs, by then under the rule of the Emperor Montezuma, and realise the commercial possibilities of the cocoa bean
In 1756 the first chocolate factory was opened in Germany and the subsequent development, in Holland, of the first cocoa press, enabled the cocoa beans to be freshly ground, thereby extracting the liquid cocoa butter. Later on, a means of alkalising the remaining cocoa powder was discovered, making it easier to mix and digest. The result was that chocolate drinks became smoother, and less fatty.
How chocolate is made
The cocoa bean, which is the main ingredient of chocolate, is the seed from the fruit-like pod of the cocoa tree, also known as Theobroma Cacao. The cocoa tree is a tall, thin evergreen, and a native species of the rainforests of Central America. It grows in the tropics, in a band that stretches approximately twenty degrees north and south of the equator. It grows above 250 feet above sea level and requires high temperatures, high levels of humidity and a rich soil. Nowadays cocoa trees are cultivated mostly in West Africa. About 20% come from Central and South America, and the rest come from Malaysia and Indonesia.
The two main varieties of cocoa trees are the ‘Criollo’ which produces the best quality cocoa, and the ‘Forastero’ which is more robust, but produces cocoa of a lower quality than the Criollo. A hybrid of Criollo, the ‘Trinitario’ is now grown in the Caribbean. In favourable conditions, the trunks and branches of these magnificent trees are adorned with white or pink flowers the whole year round and it is from a percentage of these flowers that the fruit pods or cocoa beans grow.
A cocoa pod measures between fifteen and thirty centimetres long and about ten centimetres in diameter. Each pod contains around thirty to forty cocoa beans. The pods turn deep red or yellow as they ripen and are then cut from the trees with machetes. The pods are carefully split open to reveal the creamy coloured beans which, once exposed to light, darken to a deep brownish purple colour.
The beans are removed and left to ferment in large heaps, covered with banana leaves. During the fermentation process, which can take up to eight or nine days, the surrounding pulp turns into acetic acid and evaporates, leaving behind pale brown beans which, by now, have developed much of the characteristic aroma and flavour of chocolate. The beans are then dried under canopies for around fourteen days, after which they are weighed, graded and put into sacks ready to be shipped to different countries to be turned into cocoa powder or chocolate.
FROM BEAN TO BAR
The manufacturing process begins with the roasting of the beans. Time and temperature are the most important elements of roasting as they will determine the colour and flavour of the chocolate. Once roasted, the beans are then ‘winnowed’ to remove the outer shells, leaving behind the centres or ‘nibs’. The nibs are ground through a series of rollers, where the pressure and heat cause the cocoa butter to melt and separate from the cocoa liquor. The cocoa liquor is then mixed with ground sugar, vanilla and an amount of cocoa butter. It is now ready for ‘conching’, a process developed by Rudolfe Lindt in 1880.
During this process, the chocolate paste is fed into giant shell-like machines and gently ground between granite rollers. Additional cocoa butter can be added at this stage to achieve a smoother texture. Conching reduces the particle size of the chocolate paste, thus ridding it of any remaining grittiness. It also reduces bitterness by aerating the chocolate. And the result is the velvety smooth texture that makes chocolate so luxurious and sensual to eat.
The final step is to ‘temper’ the chocolate. This is a gentle warming and then cooling process to break down and then re-align the crystalline structure of the cocoa butter. The result leaves the chocolate with a delicious ‘rounded’ flavour and shiny appearance. It is now ready to be either moulded into blocks or transported, in liquid form, to specialist chocolatiers.
From the harvesting to the blending, conching and preparation, chocolate manufacturing is a delicate and often tricky process. The quality, flavour and texture of the chocolate can depend on a variety of factors from the beginning cultivation process right up to the recipes used in the final product.
We, at MeMe Chocolat, pride ourselves on sourcing our chocolates from some of the finest chocolatiers in Europe who, in turn, set themselves exacting standards of excellence. By settling for nothing less than the best quality, we are able to bring to you a range of superb continental chocolates, truffles and gourmet confections.
