My kids have weekly chores to do. Usually, Timmy cleans his room, and takes out the trash. Sandy, usually does the dishes. Every once in a while when I get too busy at work, I have my daughter surf the web for me. I tell her to bookmark all the sites about chocolate. I’d give her extra allowance for that. It’s usually 50 cents per website she finds. I would then look at the site. All sites that fit the chocolate criteria, I give her 50 cents for each site. Those sites that are not appropriate, obviously, she doe not get the money.

Sandy came across a site talking about chocolate laptops. It’s not what everyone thinks it is. Although, LG has had great success with their LG Chocolate phone. The company decided to expand on the brand, and include Chocolate Laptops.

That’s really boring. For a chocoholic, it’s does not really do anything. Here’s something much better. Like I said before, Sandy came across a blog talking about a chocolate laptop that’s edible. After a hard day’s work on the computer, I could definitely indulge in chocolate laptop.

It can be purchased at Geschenk. It’s a great novelty gift for a brother, an uncle, or even a co-worker. I am definitely going to get a few for Christmas.

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I feel much better. I’ve been under the weather lately. Thank you Nick for posting. As I posted previously my late husband was a chocolate fanatic, and did in depth research. Here was one of his posts that he never published.

He was a student of chocolate. My dear husband craved to learn every step in the process of producing chocolate. Today we start with the raw cocoa bean. First, the raw cocoa beans must be separated into their two classes: cocoa for use (Forastero) and cocoa for refining (Criollo). The Criollo cocoa beans for refining are the most appreciated and expensive, but there are fewer of them available on the world market. These beans have a fine aroma and lingering aromatic substances. They are principally grown in Central America and Southeast Asia and bring high prices.

The Forestere cocoa bean makes up 90% of the world’s production and is used as the basis in the different chocolate mixtures. The majority of the African production of this bean goes to the European markets. Brazil, increasing its production every year, supplies primarily the United States and Asian markets.

The big business of buying raw cocoa beans is conducted at the world’s most important stock exchanges.. The major multi-national food chains and industrialists buy future shares in each crop. In the late 1970s and the 1980s high prices of the cocoa bean encouraged new plantings. Subsequently, an abundance of the beans resulted in declining prices and lower income for the 2.5 million farmers who produce almost 90% of the world’s cocoa plant on small farms of 5-10 acres.

However, in 2007 a shortage of cocoa beans seems imminent because of political unrest in the Ivory Coast and a drought in Western Africa. Concern over a shortage has the cocoa bean trading at three year highs.

Consumers are also changing their habits as scientists have pointed out that dark chocolate is healthier. It has more flavonoids and antioxidants which are believed to lower blood pressure.

I know this post is a bit complex, and a bit over my head as well, but my husband understood it all.

Love Ya

Theresa Lisenby

Duchess of Chocolate

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