Matcha Chocolat

Thank You

I’m pleased to announce that it’s Matcha Chocolat’s 2nd year anniversary!! I’ve been really looking forward to this day and to saying a big ‘thank you’ for supporting my work with Matcha Chocolat over these last two years. Every order that’s come through has made a difference to keeping my fledgling artisan chocolate business up and going, and growing! I’ve loved the feedback and enthusiasm that people have shared with me about Matcha Chocolat and I look forward to hearing your thoughts about Matcha Chocolat’s future releases.

The Highlights

As you might imagine there’s been a few of highlights across these first two years. Winning 8 Great Taste Awards, making chocolates with the Botanical Baker, and reading reviews of Matcha Chocolat posted by some of the UK’s top bloggers all stand out. With that in mind a special ‘thank you’ to Chocablog, Chocolate Reviews, and Mostly About Chocolate for covering so many of Matcha Chocolat’s selection boxes over the last two years.

New Chocolates and a Few Competitions to Enter!

In addition to saying thanks I wanted to share with you some updates I’ve made, such as new chocolates, and let you know about two competitions going on in celebration of Matcha Chocolat’s anniversary. Firstly all the photography of the individual chocolates has been redone on our Chocolate Guide (hope you like!) and there are new flavours such as Matcha & Pistachio, Yuzu, Lavender & Vanilla and many more. Secondly, there are two competitions in honor of Matcha Chocolat’s 2nd year anniversary. I am giving away a box of my award winning Masala Chai Caramels at Matcha Chocolat’s Facebook page. To enter just follow the link here, and enter your details to win. Good Luck!

And lastly, the lovely Kavey of Kavey Eats is hosting a competition, in conjunction with her review of my Mixed Selection. Kavey’s post also contains an interview with me about my first two years of running Matcha Chocolat. So if you want to learn more about what it’s been like then visit her site, leave a comment, and enter for the chance to win a Mixed Selection too!

Looking forward to seeing what the next year brings,
Katie

Preparations are now underway for the new Christmas range. I’m testing new flavours and getting ready for the chocolatier’s busiest season of the year, but in the meantime I am excited to announce that there’s also two new chocolate selection boxes available!

Our Award Winners Selection showcases an assortment of Matcha Chocolat’s fresh chocolates that have picked up accolades from both the Great Taste Awards and from the Academy of Chocolate.

And the Dark Chocolate Selection which offers an assortment of our ever expanding selection of dark chocolates.

Just a little news to share. As of today we’ve got a few new flavours on the website for you to try out.

Chestnut & Japanese Whiskey – a rich dark chocolate centre with chestnut puree and Yamazaki 10 yr single malt whiskey.

Vanilla Sea Salt Caramel – a gold swirled dome of dark chocolate blended a lightly salted, muscadavo caramel centre infused with Tahitian vanilla.

Rum, Orange & Honey – a milk chocolate ganache blended with rum, orange zest and honey. Dipped in milk chocolate and topped with a of candied citrus peel.

We’ve also given a new look to two of our award winning chocolates.

Exciting news to share! Starting today Matcha Chocolat will be available at the confectionery counter at Gatineau, an artisan patisserie based in Summertown, North Oxford. Gatineau will be stocking 10 unique flavours from Matcha Chocolat’s line of fresh chocolates including a few new flavours such as Chestnut & Japanese Whiskey; Orange, Rum & Honey; and Vanilla Sea Salt Caramels. There will also be 2 varieties of chocolate mendiant (chocolate disks covered in fruit and nuts), an assortment of flavoured chocolate slabs, and more to come for sure….

It’s been an exciting weekend for artisan food producers across the UK, since just last Friday the results for the 2011 Great Taste Awards (GTA) were announced! The GTA is the most trusted and recognized artisan food awards scheme in the UK, so I’m thrilled to be able to share with you that this year Matcha Chocolat picked up a grand total of 6 prestigious Gold Star awards.

Matcha Chocolat has been presented with a two Gold Star award for its Rosemary, Raisin & Walnut chocolate and 5 one Gold Star awards for its Pink Grapefruit, Cardamom & Banana, Jasmine Pearls, Masala Chai Caramel and Vietnamese Cinnamon chocolates; making Matcha Chocolat the most awarded chocolatier within the combined chocolate categories of truffles and filled chocolates for the 2011 GTA!!

So here are the new award winners to tempt your taste buds this summer.