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			<title>Handmade Chocolate Truffles and Caramels Online</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/78570440</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Ordering Online








We&apos;re very excited to open the doors on this exciting redesign of our online presence. Some things are the same as our previous site. You can still find your favorite chocolate truffles, caramels, brownies and chocolate bars.


You can also still find more information concerning the Chocolate Lounge, our bricks and mortar café in Asheville, North Carolina. Our hours and location, events, and our full dessert menu are all a click away.


If you&apos;re interested in the people and mission behind your treats, you can learn more about the chocolatiers over here and the values and philosophy behind our methods here.


When building a custom assortment of truffles, you can use our fancy new box builder to visually select and build your perfect variety of chocolate indulgences. Clicking on any of the truffles in that slider will pop up even more information about your selection.


You&apos;ll find that when browsing through our offerings, there is a new tab titled We Also Recommend. This feature will suggest indulgences related to the product you are currently viewing, perhaps enticing your palate towards new and exciting venues of delectability.


A feature that many of our customers have been requesting has finally been made a reality: Multi-Recipient Shipping! Now you can put as many items as you wish in your cart and when you arrive at the checkout flow, you will be able to add and delineate as many addresses as you like. Send your co-workers, friends, family and loved ones gifts all at the same time while only checking out once.


Speaking of shipping, we&apos;ve been able to integrate FedEx Shipping into your checkout process. Instead of being assessed a flat rate fee that may be more or less expensive than the actual shipping charges, the site will now estimate and assess shipping fees based on exactly what you order and where it is heading. The estimated delivery times are a helpful new indicator as well, hopefully assisting you in ensuring delivery of your treats at a date convenient for you or your loved ones.


Weddings and bulk orders have been given new life as well: You can now order your favorite truffles in bulk quantities of a dozen at a time, perfect for pampering large gatherings. If artistically packaged and presented favor boxes are more to your liking, you can find those in both 1 piece and 2 piece varieties.


All in all, we&apos;re excited to welcome you to our new digital space. More features and offerings will be added in the coming months, so keep checking in here as well as over on our Facebook and Twitter locations.


Love and Chocolate,


Dan and Jael Rattiganp.s. have feedback? questions? comments? concerns? Send us a message on Facebook, chirp at us on Twitter, or email logan AT frenchbroadchocolates DOT com. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>2011-10-27 12:57:32 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>In-Store Pickup </title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/In-Store-Pickup</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: In-Store Pickup FAQ


What?Selecting this option upon checking out allows you to purchase your favorite chocolate truffles, caramels, brownies, and chocolate bars online to be picked up at the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, without waiting in line! You will not be assessed a shipping charge when selecting this option. When?Orders placed for in-store pickup are available, at most, 48 hours after placing the order, Monday through Friday. We will always do our best to fulfill orders as fast as possible, and if your order becomes available for pickup in less than 48 hours, we will contact you via email to let you know. If you need your order rushed, contact us via phone at 828.252.4181 or email at info@frenchbroadchocolates.com and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. The Chocolate Lounge is open from 11am to 11pm Sunday - Thursday, and 11am to midnight Friday &amp;amp; Saturday. Where?French Broad Chocolate Lounge is located at 10 S. Lexington in Asheville, North Carolina. Your order will be available for pickup at the front counter. You do not need to wait in line when picking up your order.How?When placing your order, you will automatically receive a confirmation email containing your order information. Simply print that email, or show it to a member of staff on your mobile device, and we will retrieve it for you. If you are placing this order as a gift, to be picked up by someone other than the billing party, please contact us via phone at 828.252.4181 or email at info@frenchbroadchocolates.com and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.Why?We love our local community and our out-of-town visitors, and we want to give you the option to sashay past the line and grab your gifts on the go. Speaking of community, even if you aren&apos;t in Asheville, come join the chocolatey conversation at our Facebook and Twitter pages.Anything else?Please note that in-store pickup is available only for products on this website, and does not apply to or include products on our café menu. ]]></description>
			<pubDate>2011-12-09 14:03:16 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Chocolate Factory Progress Part 1</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/chocolate-factory-progress-part-one</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Chocolate Factory Progress - Part 1

blog | newsletter | press


Watch as work continues on our upcoming chocolate factory!

Still looks like a big ole warehouse, but with...walls!
Finishing concrete for new drain lines.
Trey, our General Contractor, was very pleased that he could pull his truck right into the building.
Our first green tag for our plumbing rough-in.
I can&apos;t remember what&apos;s happening here.....I think Trey&apos;s telling me a joke.
Mark, our electrician, setting the riser for our new 400 amp service.
There&apos;s a roof leak! Ahhh!&amp;nbsp;
Actually, this is access to our rooftop penthouse.


Trey marking his territory.]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-02-06 11:44:21 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Chocolate Factory Progress Part 2</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/chocolate-factory-progress-part-two</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Chocolate Factory Progress - Part 2

blog | newsletter | press


Watch as work continues on our upcoming chocolate factory!

Buxton hill has a new architectural landmark, French Broad Chocolate Factory&apos;s solar roasting penthouse.

Our badass framing crew eating homemade tamales.
These two unassuming copper pipe stubs will be the feed and return lines for our solar roaster&apos;s heat exchanger.


The crew hard at work.
This baby could burn for eight hours and still be standing.
Brent our architect amusing Trey. It&apos;s not difficult.
Our high tech lumber distribution method. It involves a flatbed, and muscles.
]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-02-17 15:17:14 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Chocolate Factory Progress Part 3</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/chocolate-factory-progress-part-3</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Chocolate Factory Progress - Part 3

blog | newsletter | press


Watch as work continues on our upcoming chocolate factory!

Goodbye, insulation. Hello, drywall!Two five-ton gas-pack RTUs. Keepin&apos; that chocolate cool.

Charades! First word, sounds like...neck pain!


Progress Energy delivering our new transformer cans to power our 400 amp service.

Priming our newly finished drywall ceiling.
Mark &apos;roughing it in&apos;, as it were.
Tubular!
Our custom loft window. Tag teaming the nailing flange.



Jael wonders, is it done yet?]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-03-09 11:18:23 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Green Shipping</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/green-shipping</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Green Shipping
Green ShippingWe understand that paying for shipping costs isn&apos;t nearly as palatable as paying for tasty chocolate truffles and brownies. Here&apos;s the breakdown for your shipping costs:Shipping Fee - This is the cost of shipping to your intended destination, and is the &amp;nbsp;precise cost assessed by FedEx. We do not add any surcharges or inflation to this quote. We feel like the rates are appropriate the vast majority of the time, and appreciate your understanding. Bear in mind, folks outside of a certain range of us here in Asheville will only be offered the 2-Day Express option to ensure melt-free chocolate.&amp;nbsp;Warm Weather Packaging Fee - We have said goodbye to Styrofoam and now ship exclusively in 
bio-degradable insulated packaging.  This massive reduction in impact 
packs a small fee: $4.&amp;nbsp;The additional $4.00 fee represents the cost associated with shipping you unmelted chocolate without destroying the planet with polystyrene! If you are interested to know how polystyrene impacts our environment,&amp;nbsp;here&apos;s a good place to start.
We are really proud of this advancement in shipping packaging. We worked directly with Landaal Packaging Systems to find the perfect solution, and their&amp;nbsp;Green Cell Foam® is a great fit. You can find the press release on our partnership with even more information right over here.

]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-03-20 16:15:05 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Asheville Green Dining</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/asheville-green-dining</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Green Dining
Green Dining in AshevilleWe&apos;ve been proud to work with the Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute (BRSI) and the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association&amp;nbsp;(AIR) over the last year to attain our Green Restaurant Association 3-Star Certified Green Restaurant status. We were so pleased to see this fantastic video from Industrious Productions, and to see the coverage of this exciting progress in our local green dining scene featured on the Huffington Post! You can read the full article here, and watch the video below.&amp;nbsp;


 ]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-04-23 13:10:52 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Factory &amp; Tasting Room</title>
			<link>http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/articles/factory-and-tasting-room</link>
			<description><![CDATA[French Broad  Chocolates: Factory &amp;amp; Tasting Room
note: for wholesale inquiries, please email dan@frenchbroadchocolates.comThere&apos;s never a dull moment when you have chocolate in your mouth, and cocoa beans on the brain!&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Our lives are full of love and excitement. &amp;nbsp;New adventures and new collaborations abound. &amp;nbsp;Most notably among our adventures: our vision of a sustainable, bean-to-bar, Dan &amp;amp; Jael-style chocolate factory is being realized. &amp;nbsp;Over the last several months, we&apos;ve leased a 4000 square foot warehouse, secured an SBA-backed small business loan from our bank, and transformed the warehouse into a beautiful, almost-completed factory space. &amp;nbsp;Please check out our photo journal of the construction progress. &amp;nbsp;It&apos;s getting really close. &amp;nbsp;Of special note is our rooftop solar production deck. That&apos;s right, it&apos;s a deck, on the roof, for solar roasting. We&apos;ve been developing a prototype solar cocoa bean roaster, which will be installed on the new deck and placed into production in the coming month! &amp;nbsp;In a cocoa shell: off-grid, solar-charged battery operated cooling fan and tumbling motor, with human-operated solar alignment. &amp;nbsp;The parabolic trough concentrator uses mirrors to reflect solar radiation onto the roasting drum. &amp;nbsp;Read more details about the project here. &amp;nbsp;


In the mean time, our most notable collaboration: we set out to import a container of organic, fair trade cacao from Peru. &amp;nbsp;In the process, we are bucking a firmly-entrenched industry tradition to covet one&apos;s origins for one&apos;s own benefit. &amp;nbsp;The idea is simple: small producers, working together as a guild, can gain access to better raw materials than they could working alone. &amp;nbsp;To maximize the costs of an importation, the container (in this case, a 20 ft. box with a capacity of 13 metric tons) should be packed to capacity. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;

There is no way we could have raised the capital to purchase 13 tons of cacao ourselves, even with the confidence of our lenders. &amp;nbsp;And even if we could, there is important work to be done in building relationships and removing barriers to cooperation among our industry peers. &amp;nbsp;So we put out feelers and found two colleagues willing to trust us and invest with us in a future of collaboration. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;

Elemental Chocolate, and its founder Paul Mosca, were the first to sign on. &amp;nbsp;We approached Paul to source together a few years ago, when he was trying to import a shipment of cocoa beans from Esmeraldas, Ecuador. &amp;nbsp;With our small purchase, his buying power was augmented, and shipping charges spread over greater quantities. &amp;nbsp;He took the primary risk at the time, being the negotiator and consignee of the shipment. &amp;nbsp;We saw our Peruvian purchase as an opportunity to return the favor. &amp;nbsp;Paul is purchasing one metric ton of cocoa beans from the Tumbis cooperative in Tumbes, the tropical region on the northwest tip of Peru. &amp;nbsp;He&apos;s already sent out a good article about the origin: read here. &amp;nbsp;Elemental has always been a logical partner, as our businesses barely overlap. &amp;nbsp;He makes delicious chocolate-coated whole cocoa beans. Buy them here. We&apos;re hoping to work together on a collaborative product, in which he&apos;ll make his chocolate-coated Tumbes beans with bean-to-bar Tumbes chocolate from our new factory!

Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Company is our other major collaborator. &amp;nbsp;Kristen Hard, founder and chocolate maker, has in a short time become a respected expert chocolate maker and cacao taster. &amp;nbsp;Among her accomplishments is membership in Cocoa of Excellence, an international board of tasters of the world&apos;s best cocoa bean origins. &amp;nbsp;She has been doing wonderful work identifying farms with notable post-harvest processes and cultivars, towards the betterment of cocoa bean sources the world over. &amp;nbsp;We don&apos;t sell her chocolate right now, but if you&apos;re in the Atlanta area, I strongly encourage you to taste her wares and support her efforts. &amp;nbsp;Kristen does a lot of her own sourcing, especially in Trinidad and Venezuela. &amp;nbsp;When I approached her with an interest in cooperatively purchasing from Peru, she was very helpful in encouraging me and pointing out potential pitfalls (of which there are many). &amp;nbsp;Cacao Atlanta is purchasing 3 metric tons of cacao from Tumbes, as well as 2.5 metric tons of cacao from Chulucanas. &amp;nbsp;I&apos;ll mention Chulucanas in more detail below. We&apos;re very happy to collaborate with Kristen and her crew. While our businesses could be viewed as direct competitors for artisan chocolate buyers, we choose to take the perspective that high tides raises all ships. &amp;nbsp;Moreover, working cooperatively can hopefully provide an example of what can be possible when you operate from a place of trust.

As for French Broad Chocolates, our share of the shipment breaks down as follows: 2 metric tons of Tumbes; 2 metric tons of Chulucanas cacao; 1.5 metric tons of Morropon cacao, which is just southeast of Chulucanas. &amp;nbsp;Chulucanas is the origin that holds the most meaning for us. &amp;nbsp;We visited Chulucanas last June when we embarked on our first South American sourcing expedition. &amp;nbsp;We visited the farm of Juan de la Cruz, in the village of Palo Blanco. &amp;nbsp;It is from the Palo Blanco processing center that this specific lot of cacao is coming! &amp;nbsp;Oh...last but not least: we filled the last 1000 kilos of container space with a pallet of organic Panela, which is a delicious whole, unrefined brown sugar collected and processed by the same organization that is selling us the cacao, called Cepicafe. &amp;nbsp;We&apos;ll be making some more history when we create a chocolate bar using cacao and sugar all produced in the province of Piura, Peru! &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;A little about Cepicafe: Central Piurana de Cafetaleros is an awesome example of an uber-cooperative, which pools the resources of smaller farmer coops to be extremely effective in marketing, distribution, and technical assistance to farmer members. &amp;nbsp;We&apos;re so happy to have been able to work with them on our first ever importation.The question du-jour is when the Factory and Tasting Room will open. &amp;nbsp;While we cannot say for certain, this we do know. &amp;nbsp;The month of May will be spent moving in equipment (still waiting on our temperer/depositor, built-to-order in Italy) and developing our workflow on the production line. &amp;nbsp;Come June, at some point, we&apos;ll begin to invite guests to tour the facilities and taste our creations. &amp;nbsp;Our chocolate will, of course, gradually supplant the chocolate we currently use at French Broad Chocolate Lounge for truffles, pastries, and drinks. &amp;nbsp;You can currently taste it in our Pure Dark, Buddha, Canela Picante, Xocolatl and Oaxaca sipping chocolates. &amp;nbsp;I&apos;m probably forgetting some others...&amp;nbsp;

But the real game-changer is that our artisan chocolate bars will be made available for sale at fine retailers near you. And this is where we need your help. &amp;nbsp;Please assist us in identifying the ideal shops to represent us well. &amp;nbsp;Anywhere in the continental US is fair game, so please help us get our product out there! &amp;nbsp;When a retailer you refer contacts us and places their first order, we&apos;ll contact you for shipping info to send you a complimentary sample pack of our new line of artisan chocolate bars! Be sure to claim your referral by emailing us with the places you contact. First referral per retailer gets the booty.&amp;nbsp;We&apos;ll leave it there for now. &amp;nbsp;So much to do!&amp;nbsp;As always, we&apos;re deeply appreciative of your continued support and encouragement. &amp;nbsp;Keep up the good works, and so will we!Love,Dan &amp;amp; Jael

]]></description>
			<pubDate>2012-05-15 15:27:53 EST</pubDate>
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