Cacao trees usually get their start in a nursery bed where seeds from high yielding trees are planted in fiber baskets or plastic bags. The seedlings grow so fast that in a few months they are ready for transplanting.

Cocoa beans are the product of the cacao tree. The cacao tree is strictly a tropical plant thriving only in hot, rainy climates. Its cultivation is confined to the lands not more than 20 degrees north of south of the equator – like Peru, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Brazil.

The First Fruit

With pruning and careful cultivation, the trees of most strains will begin bearing fruit in the fifth year.

If you strip off the rippled outer layer of the palm-sized fruits, you will find chunks of the fibrous white pulp inside – the fruit of the cacao tree. It is mild tasting, with a subtle bittersweet chocolate flavor. Embedded in the pulp are dark, purple seeds that, after being dried and processed, are known as the famous “chocolate beans.”

Handling the Harvest

The job of picking ripe cacao pods is not an easy one. The tree is so frail and its roots are so shallow that workmen cannot risk injuring it by climbing to reach the pods on the higher branches.

The planter sends his tumbadores, or pickers, into the fields with long handled, mitten-shaped steel knives that can reach the highest pods and snip them without wounding the soft bark of the tree. Machetes are used for the pods growing within reach on the lower trunk.

The pods are collected in baskets and transported to the edge of a field where the pod breaking operation begins. One or two lengthwise blows from a well-wielded machete is usually enough to split open the woody shells. A good breaker can open 500 pods an hour.

Anywhere from 20 to 50 cream-colored beans are scooped from a typical pod and the husk and inner membrane are discarded. Dried beans from an average pod weigh less than two ounces, and approximately 400 beans are required to make one pound of chocolate.

Exposure to air quickly changes the cream-colored beans to a lavender or purple. They do not look like the finished chocolate nor do they have the well-known fragrance of chocolate at this time.

Preparing the Crop for Shipment

The cocoa beans or seeds that are removed from the pods are put into boxes or thrown on heaps and covered. Around the beans is a layer of pulp that starts to heat up and ferment. Fermentation lasts from three to nine days and serves to remove the raw bitter taste of cocoa and to develop precursors and components that are characteristic of chocolate flavor.

Fermenting is a simple “yeasting” process in which the sugars contained in the beans are converted to acid, primarily lactic acid and acetic acid.

The process generates temperatures as high as 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which kill the germ of the bean and activate existing enzymes in the beans to form compounds that produce the chocolate flavor when the beans are roasted. The result is a fully developed bean with a rich brown color, a sign that the cocoa is now ready for drying.

Left to Dry

Like any moisture-filled fruit, the beans must be dried if they are to keep. In some countries, drying is accomplished simply by laying the beans on trays or bamboo matting and leaving them to bask in the sun. Very often artificial methods are used. For example, the beans can be carried indoors and dried by hot-air pipes. Accelerated or artificial drying is quicker but produces the vastly inferior chocolate used in most mass produced products.

The finest chocolate though is produced when the drying process is done naturally by the sun for about 7 days. In this interval, farmers turn the beans frequently and use the opportunity to pick them out foreign matter and flat, broken or germinated beans. During drying, beans lose nearly all their moisture and more than half their weight.

When the beans are dried, they are prepared for shipping in 130 to 200 pound (60-90Kilo) sacks. They are seldom stored except at shipping centers, where they await inspection by buyers.

In another blog, we’ll continue following the chocolate-making process. Stay tuned!

Chocolates: The taste. No further explanation necessary.

But we’ll offer it anyway.

The velvety texture.

The luxurious, silky feel of the flavor on your tongue.

And there’s a scientific reason too. Chocolate has an endorphin-releasing chemical. Endorphin is also called the “feel good” chemical or the “happy hormone.” It’s the same chemical that’s released when doing exercise. Does that mean I can eat chocolate instead of exercising? Well, actually, for the happiness factor, yes. For other factors, hmmmm.

And flowers?

Also obvious.

The heavenly fragrance.

The burst of stunning color.

The beautiful shape.

The artistic design.

The feel, the sight, the freshness they bring to a room.

But why are we telling you all this? You know it already.

Because, duh, we weren’t asking you why people like to get flowers and chocolates, we were asking you why people like to give them.

The answer?

Because one of the biggest challenges of gift giving is knowing what to give. While a gift is always appreciated and as you were (rightfully) taught from when you were young that it’s the thought that counts, you don’t want the receiver to groan inwardly when getting a gift, something else to declutter at some point in their homemaking future.

And that’s the beauty of chocolates and flowers.

Chocolates, especially. They’re gone before you can say endorphins.

Flowers too. They’re admired, enjoyed, appreciated, and then they too are gone.

So, this Shavuos, give either one or the other, or better yet, a combination of both.

The receiver will love you for it.

View our selection here: https://belgianchocolate.co.il/product-category/momentum-blossoms/

And wait, before you go, we have a grand surprise for you this year!

Just in time for Shavuos,

Butterbliss cookies by 

Melt-in-your-mouth dairy cookies made with butter and dipped in liquid Belgian chocolate. Oooooohhhhh………….
They’re so fresh off the plane, we didn’t even have time to put them up on the site. Call us for more details!!

+9722-538-5515 or call our USA local number: 713-813-8383

Can you put pareve chocolates instead of milchig? Sure

Can you deliver between 5 and 7 pm? We can try

The person I’m sending this gift to loves the hazlenut praline.  Can you set up an entire platform with only hazlenut pralines? If you say so

Can you use colors to match our company logo? No problem

Can you replace the wine with a bottle of liqueur? Of course. You can also switch to a cheaper wine or more expensive wine or no wine at all. This week somebody asked us for a Finch whisky, and although we don’t stock whisky, we offered to buy it for him. We have a wine shop across the road, so that helps.

Can you deliver on Purim? No, but we can deliver your order as close as possible to Purim.

Can you add an extra length of ribbon since my sister’s cat loves playing with ribbon? Why not? (This is a true request.)

And the list goes on.

Do you have any requests of your own?

We would love to accommodate them, but here’s the thing:

The closer it gets to Purim, the harder it gets for us to customize orders. The phone rings off the hook, the emails ping their way in, and the internet orders need attention, too. The pressure mounts. And much as we’d like to, we can’t scramble for the dry wine instead of the semi-dry or replace the calla lily flower for a bird-of-paradise.

So if you’d like that extra bit of attention, order now!

We’ll be happy to accommodate you.

To view our catalog, click here.

A freilichen Purim!

Well, here it is:

We’re moving!!

Yup, but not too far – right across the street. After over a decade of servicing our customers from a tiny little store, we’re moving to bigger, better, brighter premises. That famous Momentum chocolate and gift boutique at Yaakov Meir 9 is going to become the famous Momentum chocolate and gift boutique at Yaakov Meir 10.

And because we’re moving to a more spacious location, we can expand our line of gifts too. Except that now they’re not going to be just gifts. We’re going to start selling a line of home products that are too good to give away. Wait, let’s fix that. They’re great to give away to people you love, but you’re going to want to buy a double for yourself too.

You can’t just give away a luxury bone china dinner set and not keep a set for yourself too.

You can’t give away that cutlery set without replenshing your own dwindling, old-fashioned set with something sleek and up to date.

If you’re going to buy that baby layette (yes, we’re going to start selling layettes too, but shhhh… it’s not official yet) you’re going to buy one for yourself or your grandchildren or your brand new great niece too.

So if we’re going to start selling in doubles and triples, we need a lot more space.

And of course we need a lot more space right now because… Purim’s coming up!

But you knew that.

And of course, so do we. We’ve known since last Purim (and the year before) that Purim is the “Rosh Hashanah of chocolates.”

Here’s a sampling of our stunning mishloach manos range:

We’ve got lots more, of course – peruse at your will, by downloading our catalog or browsing online

And in case you think we’re done, we have yet more news for you! Great news!
If you order before March 14, you get 5% off.
And in case you haven’t noticed… that means today!
So what are you waiting for?
Looking forward to servicing you!
Wishing you a happy Purim!

To begin with, a reminder: Hauser chocolates and the Momentum Chocolate & Gift Boutique, are very much interconnected. The former creates the perfect chocolate pralines you know and love so well, while the latter showcases and sells those pralines in deluxe gift packaging. If you’d like to read more about Hauser chocolates, visit www.hauserofbelgium.com

Now we have news for you! On both fronts!

Let’s start with the chocolates (of course.)

Since our main customer base is in Israel and the US (where we go by the name Cocobliss) we’re often asked why our factory operates in Belgium. The answer lies in the inimitable Belgian perfectionism. Silky, smooth, real chocolate. Rich, crunchy fillings. Heavenly flavors.

The Belgian perfectionism lends itself not just to the taste of our pralines, but to the kashrut as well. When we first started out, chocolate connoisseurs discouraged us to go for the hashgachah of the Antwerp kehillah Machzikei Hadas. “They’re too stringent,” they sniffed. “Their demands are too high.” Well, we’re pleased to say we’ve proven the naysayers wrong. We’ve lived up to the challenge and have had our chocolates certified for years by the most stringent standards of kashrut, while retaining the superior quality that have made our pralines famous.

This success caused some challenges as in the decade or so that we’ve been on the market, Hauser chocolate pralines became in high demand by kosher consumers all over the world, including Israel, where the Momentum store widely popularized the product. Now as much as the Antwerp hechsher is known and respected in Europe, in Israel there are still many who insist on using only the local mehadrin hechsheirim.

We decided to go one step further and check out if the Eidah Hachareidit of Jerusalem would be willing to confirm what we already knew: that our kashrut is of the highest standard, even according to their exacting demands.

And yes they did! Wow, what a compliment. When we first put forth the idea to the rabbanim of the Eidah, they were skeptical, as chocolate poses many kashrut challenges (mainly because of its sensitivity to water and boiling water is a necessary ingredient in koshering). They did agree, though, to send their representative in Antwerp to watch a sample production run.

The mashgiach (kashrut supervisor) was duly impressed and upon consultation with his superiors and recommending several minor changes, our pralines were once again declared perfect in taste and kashrut, now according to the Eidah Chareidit too.

Speaking with the rabbanim, after we got their certification, I saw they were very excited about this new development. I allowed myself to ask what they were are so happy about, since it didn’t seem likely to me that tasting a new type of chocolate, as delicious as it is, would make them so joyful. They told me that having a place where chocolate is produced from such an early stage, as Hauser does, with this level of quality, is something of a breakthrough for them, which will help them in the future.

This begs some explanation. You see, Hauser, as opposed to most praline producers don’t use ready made chocolate bars to create their pralines. We start one step further back: we actually buy cocoa mass and cocoa butter, and we ourselves produce the chocolate liquid, resulting in the ultimate taste in pralines.

What could get better than that?

And yes, we know just what you’re thinking. What about the Momentum store? Didn’t we promise you news on that front, too?

Yes, you’re right. But we don’t want to put you at the risk of information overload.

So, stay tuned! Don’t miss our next newsletter, due out before Purim!

So, to go back to our original question, send someone you care for an arrangement from Momentum and wait for the ebullient thanks to come. Ask our returning clients – the best proof of customer satisfaction. (“Do you have the names I sent to last year on your database? I’d like to send to the same people again” is a question we were asked twice in the last few days!)

A frielichen Purim and happy birthday Momentum! Keep going! You’re the best!
To order mishloach manot arrangements, click here

4The best way to a man’s heart, or anyone’s really, is through his stomach. To take a shortcut, use chocolate.
5 The best way to wish someone a good year or asking them for forgiveness is by giving them a chocolate and gift arrangement.
And now for ONE VERY WELL KNOWN FACT:
The best place to order is Momentum.
ORDER NOW

Wishing you a happy, joyful, sweet new year!
Kesivah v’chasimah tovah,
The Momentum Team

I’d like to send fresh flowers for Shavuos, to show someone in Israel that I care. But where?
And oh – on Shavuos we have a custom to eat dairy, so I’d like to send something dairy too. But how?
I’d like to send it with a gift that lasts, something that won’t be discarded right after Yom Tov. But what?
I don’t live in Israel, so I need a store in which I can place complete trust that they’ll arrange something beautiful and deliver it the right people, at the right address, on the right day. But who?
The answer? Momentum!
Fresh flowers. Exclusive dairy Belgian Chocolates. Classy gifts. Reliable service
Looking forward to bringing joy to the special people in your lives this Shavuos.

Gut Yom Tov!
The Momentum Team

We hope to G-d-willing make lots and lots of recipients happy!
We invite you to be part of Momentum’s Purim experience. As a valued customer, we are offering you 5% discount if you order a shalach manos for your friends in Israel before Rosh Chodesh Adar – that’s Feb. 20. Hurry! Just type Coupon code Purim2017 when you check out and the 5% discount is yours.

Looking forward to help you make somebody ever so happy this
Purim!
The Momentum Team

Well, at Momentum we’re very, very organized. We travelled to Prague in January and visited our outlying Czech suppliers at their manufacturing plants. Picking the items from a catalogue is an incomparable experience to viewing them up close, touching them, seeing the multi-faceted crystal sparkling in the sunlight.

One of the crystal factories we visited
Here are some of the items we ordered, laid out for viewing in the Momentum store.

The gold-rimmed in the bottom-right picture is a hot item, and selling fast. If you’d like to make somebody very happy, we urge you to hurry!
We took a risk with the lavendar-tinted vase (they had other colors too, but we picked purple, just imagining how magnificent it would look with a bunch of hydrangeas.) It turns out, however that, tinted glass, is all the rage now. I recently dined at my parent’s home, and the table boasted a set of liqueur glasses in the center, each one tinted a different color. It looked fabulous! What do you think of this latest fad? We’d love to hear from you.

One of our clients ordered this arrangement – some orchids in a tall, gold vase, set alongside 6 gold-rimmed tumblers. The arrangement was much admired by all visiting customers that day.

Wishing you a very frielichen Yom Tov and reminding you to order asap in time for Shavuos. For as the organized (and not-so organized) amongst us all know, it pays to be organized…

The Momentum Team