It’s a Chocolate Epidemic

For all those of you who dream about chocolate, your prayers have been answered!  Max Brenner has opened the door to a new revolution of cafes… it’s a chocolate cafe extravaganza where chocolate is presented in all formats and flavours!

Basically this Starbucks a la Chocolate Only concept features a variety of gourmet hot chocolate flavours (mexican spicy chili and cinnamon hot chocolate, was the one that got my attention) and a waffle covered in a pure dark chocolate sauce with strawberries.

Now that’s already pretty good when it comes to chocolate, but the next indulgence is what really got the sugars in our now sweetened blood pumping !!

Picture this… 

1) a mini chocolate fondu kit with your own tea light heated melting element

2) a *healthy* pile of pure dark chocolate chips, made for you to add to your heart’s desire or enjoy snacking them pre-warmed on the side

3) a small cup of warmed cream for mixing with the chocolate to your tastebuds’ content, and

4) what chocolate fondu experience would be completed without a serving of sliced fresh strawberries ready for dipping.

Now, if this is not a heavenly abode for chocolate lovers, I’m not sure what is !

Here is the article published by Springwise (a newsletter featuring innovative entrepreneurial ideas) :

Max Brenner, an Israeli pastry chef and confectioner who trained in Europe, opened his first chocolate bar in Israel in 1996. Over the past decade, another 19 bars followed in Australia, Israel, Singapore, the Philippines, and now the US. Not content with producing and selling high quality chocolate products, Brenner is aiming to create a new chocolate culture worldwide.

The centre of this new chocolate culture, Max Brenner chocolate bars are open from morning til late, changing throughout the day. In the mornings, soft jazz music plays while people hug hot chocolate in their hands; in the evenings, the mood becomes more sensual as the music changes, candles are lit and the crowd becomes more intimate.

Brenner wants to change the way people experience chocolate, turning consumption into a ceremony, with its own special utensils, textures and tastes, much like wine and coffee. The chocolate drinks menu spans four pages, including chocolate granitas and frozen chocolate cocktails for hot summer days. Special cups were created for different ways of drinking chocolate. Shown above are the Hug Mug, shaped for hugging in both hands; Alice, the ‘ultimate’ milkshake cup; and the Suckao, a special cup with a metal straw and candle underneath designed for preparing thick hot chocolate from hot milk and flakes of chocolate.

A small shop accompanies every Max Brenner bar, selling truffle creams, pralines, pastries and cookies, as well as the company’s signature mugs and cups.

It’s definitely one to keep an eye on.