Halloweeeeen!

When Witches go riding,
And black cats are seen,
The moon laughs and whispers,
It's nearly Halloween.....

Come to Cocoa Coven if you dare....
Ghastly Gouls frozen in sugar for your delight.....
Pick a piece of cursed candy if you dare!
Sinful Sweets.. A selection of the most sinful sweets selected and packaged by witchery...



Scary biscuits!!!Sleep well tonight!!

At last the search is over! NEW Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Wheat Free Creamy organic chocolate!

Anne and I were utterly delighted when we stumbled upon 'Moo Free' Chocolates in September whilst wandering round the Chocolate Fayre in London. We were even more thrilled when we tasted it!

ingredients

Dairy free chocolate buttons Fair Trade Sugar, Fair Trade Cocoa Butter, Rice Powder, Fair Trade Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier (Sunflower Lecithin) & Natural Flavouring. Contains cocoa solids 42% minimum.

Allergy Advice Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Wheat Free

The very clever people at Moo Free have developed a secret dairy free, organic, vegan chocolate recipe that does actually taste just like quality milk chocolate!

There seem to be a huge amount of people with food allergies nowadays. We have many customers who are dairy intolerant, many of whom are children. Unfortunately up until now we haven't been able to source a suitable product for younger palates. Many children find dark chocolate too bitter and most dairy free milk chocolate alternatives we have tasted are vile with unimaginative packaging. Christmas and Easter are the most difficult times for us and dairy free customers. These are very chocolaty times of the year, so naturally everybody wants to enjoy a yummy chocolaty treat. The amount of times we have turned away disappointed customers because we hadn't got what they were looking for - we at Cocoa HATE unsatisfied customers, it makes us very sad indeed!!



Our dreams came true when we set our eyes on Moo Free Chocolates, not only was their chocolate just as tasty as some of our best milk chocolates, the brand was fun and inviting - just what we love!

They do solid chocolate in all sorts of shapes and sizes for everyday AND Christmas AND Easter yippppeee! This is their advent calendar, we shall be getting these in for Christmas...

At Easter the Moo free Bunny will drop in with some dairy free eggs...


We shall be selling Moo Free Pralines too! This is a box of 12 delicious, creamy, dairy free chocolate pralines. All the taste of delicious milk chocolates but made without any milk. This box of chocolates make the perfect gift or indulgent treat for anyone with a dairy allergy, lactose intolerance, who are Vegan or simply enjoy quality chocolates. This is what a delighted customer has said about them:

"Do you know how long I have waited to capture the joy of Christmas day receiving boxes and boxes of standard Guylian chocolate seashells and pigging out on the most amazing taste of praline, and you recreated it, cruelty free!!! And in a snazzy box!"

Ok so we are due for our first delivery this week, we are going to be giving out free samples so you can try them for yourself! We are expecting them to sell like hot cakes so I suggest you come see us ASAP if you want some!

THE DAISY PROJECT & FRIENDS

A few weeks ago Cocoa was the location for a photoshoot for The Daisy Project (created by a lovely and very gifted lady named Maria Terry.)

The photographers,
Russell Skidmore Photography (www.russell-skidmore-photography.co.uk) & India Hobson (Fashion Photographer www.indiahobsonphotography.co.uk) took some wonderful photos.



'The Daisy Project is my personal attempt to rescue old beautiful textiles and upcycle them into something wearable in the 21st century.
I want to take the tablecloths languishing in cupboards and give them a new life with modern women.' - Maria Terry

'As a little girl I watched my mother create the most gorgeous evening gowns and benefited from her skills by having the loveliest dresses. Mum taught me to sew using the left over fabrics and demanding small, neat and even stitches. I made lovely clothes for Samantha my favourite doll.' - Maria Terry (above)

Maria asked Anne and I if we would like to model some of her garments. We were a bit hesitant at first (the thought of getting chocolate on her clean white creations scared us!) but Maria assured us that the dresses were fully washable.


We were very careful and kept our chocolates well away!




Each item is made from carefully chosen vintage cotton embellished with embroidery and/or lace. No two garments will ever be the same.




This dress was one of my favourites, I love the lace detail around the shoulders (I think this was the collar of a Victorian blouse).



'With a vintage garment signs of age and wear are inevitable and are part of the story. With gentle handwashing and careful ironing they should give long and lovely wear.' - Maria Terry



They are made by me on a domestic sewing machine, hand sewn and with at least one embroidered daisy.

PERUVIAN PINK CHARITY TEA PARTY

A delightful chari-tea party held in support of Annabel Reynaud's trek to Mount Machu Picchu for Breast Cancer Care.

Thursday October 14th 2010
Pop by from 7:30pm-9:30pm

It is £5 entry, includes lashings and lashings of tea and cake!

Dress Code is pink or Peruvian

I couldn't sleep last night, I'm so excited about this special event! We're helping one of our most favourite customers host a tea party in aid of Breast Cancer Care at Cocoa.

We look forward to every Friday when Camilla Smith-Westergaard and her beautiful family (Brendan - her husband and their three children Kaspar, Anouk & baby Pia) come into Cocoa to choose their weekly treats. It is always very exciting to see their happy little faces dash through the door and reveal what their treat of the week will be, a very difficult decision in Cocoa as there is soooo much choice!! Kaspar is a connoisseur of anything sour and is always very cunning when making his selection you can always tell he is working out what will last the longest resulting in getting the most for his money. Last week he timed how long his lemon meringue pie lollipop lasted for (approximately 1hr 07minutes, or something like that!)


Anouk is usually attracted anything pretty and dainty (think she takes after her mum), Camilla's favourites are the nipples of venus and the dipped oranges. We've started feeding Pia some little chocolate buttons now (she'll be hooked before she knows it!). Brendan never buys anything for himself, we have given him chilli chocolate he said he like that!



Camilla is a very talented lady, she is always creating beautiful things. Some of the dresses she has made for Anouk are spectacular! Anne & I often pop round to their lovely house to sew and knit over a glass of elderflower cordial prepared by Brendan and some delicious treat she has baked that day.

Anne and I (and our chaps) recently had the pleasure of attending 'Anouk in Wonderland' (I was dressed as the Cheshire Cat and Anne a little mouse , Anouk's 5th Birthday Tea Party in the Botanical Gardens organised by Camilla. She spent weeks getting everything little detail perfect, from the scorch marks on her handmade 'eat me' tags to her red fluttering eyelashes she wore as The Queen of Hearts. She really made the party very special for Anouk and her guests, it was a fine example of her wonderful imagination and creative talents!


A few weeks ago Camilla asked me if she could host a tea party in Cocoa for her friend (Annabel Reynaud) who had just recovered from Breast Cancer and who was planning a trek in Peru for the charity. As you might be aware, we are great fans of tea and cake and we like to do our bit for charity. So we jumped at the chance of helping Camilla and her friend raise some ££'s for such a good cause. After attending Anouk's party, tasting Camilla's baking and seeing her beautiful creations, I can assure you we are in for a treat!



Here is some information about Annabel and her Trek...

Annabel Reynaud

‘I was diagnosed with breast cancer in August last year. The news was devastating: a mixture of disbelief, fear and deep sadness. Eddie was 17 months old and I instantly thought of him, what he would go through, would I be there for him? I just wanted to hold him all the time and every happy moment was shadowed by a pain which is difficult to describe in this short space!

‘Then I picked up the phone to Breast Cancer Care, who reached through the line and gave me my life back. Just speaking to someone for whom this was business as usual, allowed me to turn this into “just an illness, that I would beat”. At that stage I thought I had a long battle ahead, but that moment was a turning point for me. I decided I wasn’t going to be sad, I wasn’t going to let this take over.

‘I want to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care so that it can give more young woman like me enough hope to find that turning point. And as for the trek – I am thrilled to be going to Peru (Eddie wants me to bring him a guinea pig back!) and, as you know, I love climbing a good mountain!’

To sponsor Annabel go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AnnabelReynaud

The Trek

Walking 4,010 metres above sea level, camping in sub-zero temperatures at night, hiking over snow-capped mountains and facing the sweltering heat of the rainforest on the Inca Trail – trekking Peru is a challenge of a lifetime.

On 24 September 2010 Denise Van Outen, Fearne Cotton, Alexandra Burke, Amanda Byram and Gabriella Cilmi are taking on this challenge with six women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.

Trek Peru is an inspirational and challenging charity trek along the Inca Trail culminating in reaching Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas.

The team will get the first taste of the Inca world in and around the city of Cusco, the ancient Inca capital. After acclimatising to the high altitude, the group will head off on the trek. The route is off the beaten track, on mountainous and uneven terrain with diverse and spectacular scenery and the group will see a glimpse of Peruvian life that has remained untouched for centuries. The team will be trekking for up to eight hours a day in tough conditions. Low levels of oxygen at high altitude will make breathing more difficult, considerably lowering the team’s energy levels.

Through these endless stunning valleys they will meet Andean farmers dressed in their traditional brightly coloured ponchos tending herds of llamas and alpacas. With spectacular views of snowy peaks and glaciers such as

Mounts Veronica, Chicon and Pumahaunca, and the dazzling sight of glacial blue lakes, this will be the adventure of a lifetime. The team will trek in hot weather and will deal with below freezing temperatures when the sun goes down.

At the very end of the trek the team will join the traditional Inca Trail and hike to the ruins at Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas. These breathtaking ruins are nestled high in the Andes between two peaks – Machu Picchu and Wayna Picchu. On their last night they will celebrate their great achievement.

All money raised will help Breast Cancer Care continue to provide expert information and skilled emotional and practical support to people affected by breast cancer.

Watch this space for pictures of the evening!