Search Results for: milk

Milk Chocolate Cocoa Percentage Milk chocolate usually contains 30-40% cocoa. Higher quality milk chocolate tends to be 35% to 40% cocoa and sweeter, cheaper milk chocolate often contains less. This is because cocoa is more expensive than milk and sugar, so the higher the cocoa percentage the better! At Melt Chocolates, all of our milk chocolate is 35% and above to ensure a high, quality luxurious taste and texture. We do not use oils, fats or excess sugar in our milk chocolate products. We aim to prioritise the cocoa over other ingredients – real chocolate. What other ingredients are in milk chocolate? The other ingredients that make up milk chocolate are cocoa butter, milk and sugar. Some companies add oils, fats and extra sweeteners into their milk chocolate – this is called compound chocolate. To learn more about the difference between real and compound chocolate, check out our blog Compound vs Real Chocolate – What’s the Difference. High Quality Milk Chocolate Generally high quality milk chocolate will be more expensive. Look for 40-45% milk chocolate if you want to taste proper luxury milk chocolate. This is because cocoa is more expensive than milk and sugar. Therefore, many mass-produced milk chocolates will contain palm oil, very little cocoa and lots of sugar. These cheaper produced chocolates usually contain a cocoa percentage of 30% or less.   Single-origin is the best kind of milk chocolate that you can buy. Usually, if it is not specified, cocoa beans will come from all around the world and be blended together to sell onto chocolate companies. However, it is possible to buy cocoa beans from just one location – this is why it is called single origin. It is considered high quality because you can trace the cocoa beans back to the farm they were produced on, and you can taste how the location the beans were grown on produce different flavours in the chocolate. For example, our Papua New Guinea single origin milk chocolate bar , due to the high humidity where this chocolate grows (rather than drying the bean under the sun, they are dried over a flame) the chocolate has a mouth-wateringly smoky hint to the milk chocolate. Visit Melt For The Best Gourmet Chocolates Now that you know about milk chocolate percentages and what they mean, indulge in the best, luxurious, gourmet chocolate experience with Melt. Our chocolatiers have curated an excellent collection of fresh chocolates, bars, and sweet treats that make our chocolate shine. If you’re looking for indulgent chocolates, any one of our products will be perfect for you. Explore our collection to place your order today! FAQ […]

Read More…

Melt’s Bestselling Chocolate and Nut collection Melt Chocolates has just introduced the best chocolate and nut selection to our range this year. Consisting of delicious chocolate-covered nuts, as well as incredible nut-filled chocolate bars with a praline-like paste inside. This bestselling chocolate and nut collection is made with only the very best ingredients. No additives, no palm oil, low sugar, and whole roasted nuts! Each bite of the large chocolate-covered nuts feels decadent and fresh, like plucking it right from the tree. Chocolate Bars with Nuts One of our new products is the nut-filled chocolate bar selection! Including a collection of nut flavours such as pistachio, hazelnut, and almond. Each bar is filled with a nutty, crunchy praline which adds a texture and saltiness that pairs beautifully with the creamy chocolate. Whether you like milk or dark we have, the pistachio dark chocolate bar, or the hazelnut milk chocolate bar. One sophisticated and one for the sweeter tastes. However, we put the flavour of the nut first. None of our chocolate and nut bars are too sweet. The natural earthiness of the nut is the most incredible flavour of all. Chocolate and Nut Full Range Selection If you can’t get enough chocolate and nut flavours, we have our full range available to buy together packaged into our incredible Book of Chocolate and Nuts. Melt Chocolates has a created the perfect Botanical book filled with delicious nut and chocolate pairings so that friends and family can taste the beauty and richness of the natural world. This is a hefty amount of chocolate, with eight 90g bars of chocolate, totalling 720g of chocolate, almost a 1kg!       […]

Read More…

The Yurt in the middle of Notting Hill A yurt in the middle of Notting Hill is not something you think would be possible. The immaculate streets of Notting Hill lined with shiny luxury shops, well-managed garden borders and perfectly pruned trees, seems like a far cry from the vast wilderness that the Yurt originates from. Family Experiences with Yurts So how did a yurt appear in the middle of Notting Hill? Melt’s founder Louise Nason and her family used to holiday in a yurt every summer. Inspired by its beauty, the practicality of being able to move it around, and the ability to be right on nature’s doorstep, they would go find a field in the middle of the countryside and set it up for the summer. Many years later, her husband Andrew Nason, who now runs the company, decided to bring the yurt experience to Melt. Remembering the incredible memories and sensation of living in a yurt, he decided to gift that experience to the residents of Notting Hill. The idea is to transport you from the busy streets of London to another realm – somewhere wilder, calmer and more comforting. The Yurt is placed in the back garden of their Ledbury road shop, and takes up the entire space! You walk straight out of the shop and straight into the Yurt.   History of the Yurt The yurt, or ger as they are also known, have been homes for the nomadic people of Mongolia for thousands of years. The popular narrative of the Yurt is that it originates from Central Asia around the year 700 CE. Along with the expansion of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan, the yurt culture was bought into the areas that are now known as Turkey, Hungary and Romania. However, in the year 1982 a serendipitous uncovering of the “Arjan tomb,” revealed some new information. An opulent burial from the Neo-Elamite era was found in close proximity to the ancient settlement of Arjan, situated amidst the Zagros mountains in southern Iran. In this burial site there was found a beautiful bronze bowl dated c. 600 BCE, named the ‘Arjan bowl’. The expansive outer design of the Arjan bowl prominently features the fundamental wooden components of a circular, domed “ribbed tent.” This depiction portrays the tent without its typical felt covering, emphasizing the structure’s distinctive long curved struts and crucial roof wheel. The illustration was evidently crafted to showcase the tent’s defining features. Some more evidence found on a cave wall in the city of Panticapaeum (in the vicinity of modern Kerch, in the Crimea). This painting dates back to 1CE and depicts riders moving towards a domed-shaped tent in which a family stands beside it. Therefore, prior to the widespread adoption of the yurt by the Turks, it is plausible that there was a significant period where peoples of Iranian descent had already utilized similar architectural forms. However, hundreds of years later, the yurt would proceed to develop into a the trellis tent that is still used by nomadic Mongolian people to this day. The Special structure of the Mongolian Yurt The definition of a yurt by the National Geographic is ‘a portable, circular dwelling made of […]

Read More…

The History of Chocolate Have you ever wondered where chocolate comes from? How it is made? What ingredients are used? The history of chocolate is a long, complicated one, intertwined with the history of Spanish colonialism in the Americas. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the history of chocolate and how it has evolved over the centuries. We will also explore some of the key milestones and innovations that have shaped the chocolate industry, as well as the cultural and economic impact of this delicious food. So grab a bar of your favorite chocolate and join us on a journey through the rich history of this beloved treat. The origins of chocolate in Mesoamerica So how did chocolate start as a bean growing on the cocoa plants in South America to a luxury chocolatier in London? The history of chocolate dates back to the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, where it was consumed as a bitter beverage and used in religious ceremonies. This bitter cocoa beverage was made by mixing ground cocoa beans with water and spices – such as chilli and vanilla. It was often served cold and frothy, and was enjoyed by both the elite and common people. Mayan Lord featured with a frothy cacao drink (Chocolatl) The Mayans and Aztecs believed that chocolate had medicinal and spiritual properties, and it was often used in religious ceremonies and as a tribute to the gods. In the legends of the Aztecs, the cocoa tree was brought down from the mountains by the God of sun, wind and air, the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl as depicted in the Codex Telleriano-Remensis The the cocoa tree was stolen by Quetzalcoatl from paradise where all the other gods lived and planted by him in Tula, Mexico. Hence, it was believed that Quetzalcoatal taught humans, more specifically the Toltecs, how to use cocoa beans to make chocolate. Because of this, chocolate was often associated with Quetzalcoatl and other gods, becoming precious currency and part of religious iconography. Melt’s Aztec Fire Chilli Chocolate Bar It is said that the Toltecs where transformed into powerful and influential people as a result of the delicious and energising cocoa beverage! The arrival of the Spanish and the introduction of sugar The arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century marked a turning point in the history of chocolate. The Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernán Cortés, were the first Europeans to encounter chocolate, and they quickly became enamored with it. When the Spanish conquistadors first encountered cocoa, they adapted the preparation methods to include sweetening and flavoring with spices like cinnamon, and served the beverage warm. On occasions cornmeal and hallucinogenic mushrooms were also added to the drink. This differentiated the chocolate consumed by the Spanish from that consumed by the native Mesoamericans. This pattern can be seen in other foods consumed by both groups, but none achieved the global popularity and demand of chocolate. Artistic depiction of Hernan De Cortez and Montezuma Back in Spain the Spanish nobility and Catholic priests were quick to embrace the new and exciting beverage of chocolate. They used it to sustain themselves during religious fasts, and for nearly a century, Spain kept the secret of cacao beans to […]

Read More…