New Store Hours!

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, April 21st, we will have new operating hours!

We will be open--
Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm, closed between 1-2pm
Saturday & Sunday: 9am-5pm

We wouldn't still be here if it weren't for all of you, so we'd like to say thanks for all your continued support!

We had a great time at Pixar!

What a greeting from life size LEGO versions of Buzz Lightyear and Woody!

On Tax Day, last Thursday April 15th, we attended an event for Pixar employees, the chocolate event to end all chocolate events. Bittersweet was one of 12 guests showing our wares and sampling out our products. What a cool environment to spend the day. The people we met were so nice and inquisitive. They asked so many great questions, what a joy. We were happy to sample out little Bittersweet Hot Chocolate's and Coconut Chill's and of course our very own Bittersweet Origins Chocolate Bars.

This was the first time we have taken drinks on the road and it was very successful. I think we may do it again sometime.

Thank you Pixar for allowing us to be a part of your Chocolate Day!

Lower Your Belly Fat By Eating Chocolate?

This just in....

BellyFatAnswers.com reports:

According to Prevention Magazine and Web M.D. there are 5 food groups that fall into the category, “Flat Belly Foods” that will help you lose belly fat.

One serving of these foods, each packed with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA's), at each meal will help reduce excess weight in your mid-section and protect you from various diseases.

Nuts and seeds, olives, avocado, dark chocolate, and healthy oils (olive oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil to name a few) are all included on their belly fat busting list. Make an effort to include these foods in your daily diet plan.

Now if you just pick up a bag of our Almond Bark, made with 61% Dark Chocolate and Almonds, you are set to bust the fat.

The list as to why I need to keep chocolate in my diet just keeps growing longer. Oh darn, I will just have to force myself to continue with my chocolate habit.

I have a regular customer of the Danville Bittersweet to thank for turning me on to this.

Have a great weekend!

There's More....Coffee Facts!

Here are just a few of the facts on the CocoaJava.com website. Enjoy! I found them pretty informative.


"Cowboy coffee"? It was said they made their coffee by putting ground coffee into a clean sock and immerse it in cold water and heated over campfire. When ready, they would pour the coffee into tin cups and drink it.

Caffeine is on the International Olympic Committee list of prohibited substances. Athletes who test positive for more than 12 micrograms of caffeine per milliliter of urine may be banned from the Olympic Games. This level may be reached after drinking about 5 cups of coffee. Ouch! Any coffee athletics out there?

The word "coffee" was at one time a term for wine, but was later used to describe a black drink made from berries of the coffee tree. This black drink replaced wine in many religious ceremonies because it kept the Mohammedans awake and alert during their nightly prayers, so they honored it with the name they had originally given to wine.

Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce! (Ouch!)

Espresso has 1/3 of the caffeine of a regular cup of coffee.

During the American Civil War the Union soldiers were issued eight pounds of ground roasted coffee as part of their personal ration of one hundred pounds of food. And they had another choice: ten pounds of green coffee beans.

Cafe Procope was the first true Paris coffeehouse. It was opened in 1689 by a former lemonade vendor, Francois Procope. The cafe faces the Theatre Francais, where it drew the artists and actors of the day.

Ugandans mix green beans with sweet grasses and various spices, dry them, and then wrap these in grass packets, which were then hung in their homes. It serves as talisman and as decoration.

Coffee most exacting rite of passage is known as "cupping" or cuptasting. It is the act of assessing the qualities of a particular batch of beans by freshly roasting, brewing, and tasting it. It is the work for serious and talented professionals.

There is a difference between the strength and body of the coffee? The strength of the coffee refers to how much coffee is there in the brew, whereas the body is a measure of the richness (or heaviness) of the coffee taste.

In the old days in Constantinople, the first coffeehouses were called qahveh khaneh (schools of wisdom) because they were the meeting places of men of arts and literature.

The requirements for making of good espresso is summarized by the 4 "M"s: Macinazione (the correct griinding of coffee blend), Miscela (coffee blend), Macchina (the espresso machine) and of course, Mano (barista).

Beethoven who was a coffee lover, was so particular about his coffee that he always counted 60 beans each cup when he prepared his brew.

When coffee supplies became scarce during the American Civil War, soldiers desperate for a cup of coffee used roasted sweet potato and Indian corn as a substitute!

Have a great weekend!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I found this recipe on epicurious.com and tried it out a few weeks ago with delightful results. Top it off with a little creme fraiche or some raspberry gelato and you've got yourself a great after dinner dessert to treat your guests with!

• 4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with a round of wax paper and butter paper.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet if desired. (Cake keeps, after being cooled completely, in an airtight container, 1 week.)

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Flourless-Chocolate-Cake-14478#ixzz0kMQjl1SA

Easter Is Upon Us!

Easter is this Sunday, April 4th! Wow, time flies. We still have some great and very cute items in the store, but time is running out. Stop in today to pick up your favorite treat before they are all gone. We still have Solid Chocolate Bunnies in all sizes and in both milk and dark, little gift collections and various Chocolate Pops and Eggs. I picked up the cutest little Bunny Ears for place settings at the Sunday Easter dinner table.

Items are disappearing, so please don't delay. Your little chicks and honey bunnies deserve the best chocolate in their baskets.

Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all!

Bunnys and chicks and chocolates, oh my!

Easter Sunday is fast approaching, and we are your store for last minute Easter gift shopping! From solid milk (and dark!) chocolate bunnies in all shapes and sizes to peanut butter filled chocolate easter eggs, we have the what you'll need to make this holiday weekend extra special for your loved ones.

Have a happy Easter from all of us here at Bittersweet Cafe!

More Coffee Facts

I have been having fun scouring the internet to bring some fun and insightful information to you. Here is another site with some fun facts about coffee, whose trading at one time ruled commerce.

* When shopping for perfume, take some coffee with you in your bag and have a good sniff in between smelling each perfume to refresh your nose!

* Sprinkle spent coffee grounds around the base of your garden plants and it will stop snails and slugs from munching them!

* A mixture of coffee grounds and sugar, fed to a pot plant and watered regularly, will revive houseplants that have turned yellow in winter.

* Some of the worlds most powerful business, including Lloyds of London and the New York Stock Exchange, started life as a coffee houses.

* The aromas in coffee develop at the 10th minute of roasting.

* Coffee increases in volume during roasting by 18.60%.

Coffee is...

• The second most widely used product in the world after oil.
• It was worth 6 million tonnes per year in the mid 90's.
• It is worth €30 billion per year to the producing countries.
• It is a living to more than 100 million people.
• It is consumed at the rate of 1400 million cups per day.
• The world's second most popular drink after water.

Check the justaboutcoffee.com site for more fun facts.

Have a great week!

Thanks again!

On behalf of everyone here at Bittersweet Cafe Danville, I'd like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you who took time out of your busy schedules yesterday to donate blood.

Thank you for helping us help those who need this precious commodity.

Blood Drive Today!

Today is the day! Your chance to give blood and get a truffle in return. We have slots available between noon and 3:30. Please stop by or go by the website to sign up. It is a great day to help others.

Have a wonderful day!