Recipes, Ideas & Musings Charles' Chocolate Blog

15% OFF DISCOUNT AT CHARLES CHOCOLATES
As a Charles Chocolates email newsletter subscriber, you are entitled to RECEIVE 15% OFF NOW THROUGH MAY 31, 2006.

Online: Use the promotion code SPRING06 in order to receive this special discount. Offer expires May 31, 2006 and cannot be combined with other offers.

Visit our online store at www.charleschocolates.com.

San Francisco Store: Mention this email for a sweet 15% DISCOUNT off your entire purchase at the Charles Chocolates store.
ORDER NOW FOR FATHER’S DAY: SUNDAY, JUNE 18TH
Don’t forget Father’s Day! Our Triple Coated Chocolate Almonds, Chocolate Bars, Orange Twigs, or our 1 lb. Assortment all make great gifts. A Charles Chocolates t-shirt or sweatshirt should make the fathers in your life happy as well. Please order at http://www.charleschocolates.com by Tuesday, June 13 in order to guarantee delivery in time for Father’s Day. If you’d like to order NOW for Father’s Day arrival, just specify the date you’d like the chocolates to arrive on in the Special Instructions box when you order online.

The Classic 1 lb Gift Box: $54

Our 1 lb. Chocolate box contains an assortment of premium Charles Chocolate s confections. Our chocolates are shipped to you fresh from our kitchen no more than three days after we make them. To see a sample assortment, visit www.charleschocolates.com
popup-1lb.php.

The Charles Chocolates San Francisco Test Store closes on Sunday, May 28 . I would like to thank all of our customers in the Bay Area for your wonderful patronage.It has truly been a pleasure to meet many of our longtime customers face-to -face, as well as to greet new ones. While our store is open only through May 28, you may continue to find Charles Chocolates in stores all over the Bay Area, in more than 300 locations nationwide, or purchase our chocolates online.

As a special thank you to our Laurel Village customers, if you spend $100 i n the store this weekend, we will give you a free Charles Chocolates T-Shirt.

Don’t forget Father’s Day! Our Triple Coated Chocolate Almonds, Chocolate Bars, Orange Twigs, or our 1 lb. Assortment all make great gifts. If you’d like to order now for F ather’s Day delivery, just specify the date you’d like the chocolates to arrive on in the “Special Instructions” box when you order online.

To ensure delivery by June 18, please place your orders by Monday June 12 for 2 Day shipping, and Wednesday June 13 for Next Day shipping. Please contact us with any special requests. Read on for our recommendations and special offers, inclu ding free shipping to Bay Area locations.

This Saturday, May 27, we’re doing our final chocolate tasting at th e San Francisco store from 10 am – 7 pm, and we’re featuring one of my favorites: our peanut butterflies. I hope to see you there, and Happy Memorial Day!

SAN FRANCISCO TEST STORE WRAPS UP MAY 28
May 28 is the last day to visit the Charles Chocolates store in San Francisco, so please come visit! We’re open daily from 10 am – 7 pm.

Store Address:
3527 California Street (in Laurel Village)
Phone: 415.751.1958
We’re a few blocks up from Presidio Avenue, underneath the Viking HomeChef sign.

For more information on the store, visit http://www.charlescho colates.com/store.php.

WHERE TO FIND US
You can always find Charles Chocolates at the following San Francisco Bay A rea locations (partial list). To view the complete list of retail partners in San Francisco and nationwide, visit http://www.charleschocolates.com/ret ail-partners.php.

• Bi-Rite Market: 3639 18th Street
• Bittersweet: The Chocolate Caf=E9: 2123 Fillmore Street (San Francisco) or 5427 College Avenue (Oakland)
• Cocoa Bella Chocolates: 2102 Union Street
• Confetti Le Chocolatier: 525 Market Street
• Gump’s: 135 Post Street
• Whole Foods (California Street): 1765 California Street

CHOCOLATE COVERAGE
We’ve discovered a great resource called Yelp.com. It’s a great website for learning about the best restaurant, lounges, shops, and products in major metropolitan areas like San Francisco. Read what people are saying about Charles Chocolates, and free to Yelp about us.

SF Weekly’s Tamara Palmer recently talked with Chuck Siegel about the gourm et chocolate landscape. Read the May 24 article: “Chuck and the Chocolate Factory”.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
In addition to your feedback, we love customer stories. If you have a story about your favorite product or interesting ways that you enjoy your Charles Chocolates, tell info@charleschocolates.com. If there’s information that you would like to see in our newsletter, we’d l ove to hear about it. We value your feedback on our products and your customer experience, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

Online: Use the promotion code SPRING06 in order to receive this special discount. Offer expires May 31, 2006 and cannot be combined with other offers.

Visit our online store at www.charleschocolates.com.

San Francisco Store: Mention this email for a sweet 15% DISCOUNT off your entire purchase at the Charles Chocolates store.
ORDER NOW FOR MOTHER’S DAY: SUNDAY, MAY 14TH
Not sure what to get Mom? Here are a few ideas that are sure to delight.

Fresh Orange & Lemon Marzipan Assortment: $45

Enjoy our handmade marzipan in Fresh Orange and Lemon. These classic confections are made with the finest organic fruit and California almonds, then coated in our rich 65% bittersweet chocolate. 18 of our chocolate coated marzipans are packed in a beautiful, handmade, chocolate box (dark chocolate base, white chocolate lid). Savor the marzipans, then enjoy the box – packaging never tasted so good!

Fleur de Sel Caramel Assortment: $45

Enjoy our Fleur de Sel Caramels in plain and chocolate. Our caramels are handmade in small batches and coated in rich 65% bittersweet chocolate. 18 of our fresh caramels are packed in a beautiful, handmade, chocolate box (dark chocolate base, white chocolate lid). After you’ve savored the caramels, you still have the box to keep — or devour.

Classic Collection
Pate de Fruit Gift Box: $25 (mentioned in Martha Stewart’s Blueprint Magazine)

Our Pate de Fruit is made using the finest fruits and pure cane sugar. Each piece contains at least 45% fruit for a fresh, real taste – nothing artificial. Our gift box contains 25 luscious pieces of Pate de Fruit in 5 different flavors: Raspberry, Blood Orange, White Peach, Papaya, and Passion Fruit.

The Classic 1 lb Gift Box: $54

Our 1 lb. Chocolate box contains an assortment of premium Charles Chocolates confections. Our chocolates are shipped to you fresh from our kitchen no more than three days after we make them. To see a sample assortment, visit www.charleschocolates.com/
popup-1lb.php.

Dear Friend,

“If Mom ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
I grew up with a framed needlepoint of this saying in my parents’ house, and I’ll never forget it. Mother’s Day is right around the corner, on Sunday, May 14. All of the mothers in our lives deserve to be acknowledged and shown how much we appreciate them for everything they have done for us.Charles Chocolates can help you make Mom happy.
To ensure delivery by May 14, please place your orders by Monday May 8 for 2 Day shipping, and Tuesday May 9 for Next Day shipping. Please contact us for any special requests. Read on for our recommendations, a special discount, announcements on store events, and a special recipe.

Happy Mother’s Day.

SAN FRANCISCO STORE EVENTS
Our San Francisco store Spring 2006 chocolate tastings have been a great hit! Every Saturday, join other Charles Chocolates fans to experience and learn about a select product from our Collection. Best-selling customer favorites include the Triple Coated Chocolate Almonds, as well as the Orange Twigs. If you haven’t visited us yet, please do so before we close on May 31, 2006.

Triple coated chocolate almonds – our best-seller at the San Francisco store!	Creamy, delicious orange twigs – the perfect complement to your favorite morning or afternoon coffee.

To showcase our new Spring 2006 Collection of chocolates and to make Mother’s Day shopping even more convenient, Charles Chocolates is temporarily operating a retail store in San Francisco. Visit us now through the end of May 2006 at our store in Laurel Village. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, why wait for your Charles Chocolates to come in the mail? Come view, taste, and purchase chocolates at the only place to find the entire Charles Chocolates Collection. For more information, visit www.charleschocolates.com/store.php.

Spring 2006 Tasting Schedule
Saturday, May 6: Orange Twigs
Saturday, May 13: Chocolate Truffles
Saturday, May 20: Fleur de Sel Caramels
Saturday, May 27: Peanut Butterflies

We’re not the only ones who are excited: Our pate de fruit is mentioned in the premier issue of Martha Stewart’s Blueprint, Daily Candy featured the Charles Chocolates store as the place to be in the Daily Candy Weekend Guide, and Sunset Magazine named us “Best of the West” in their February 2006 issue.

Store Hours:
Open daily from 10 am – 7 pm
Extended hours on May 11: 10 am – 9 pm

Store Address:
3527 California Street (in Laurel Village)
Phone: 415.751.1958
We’re a few blocks up from Presidio Avenue, underneath the Viking HomeChef sign.

For more information on the store, visit www.charleschocolates.com/store.php.

Thursday May 11, 5-9 pm
Spring Chocolate Party
Just in time for Mother’s Day, on Thursday, May 11, from 5-9 pm, join Charles Chocolates and SmartsCo at the Charles Chocolates San Francisco Store in Laurel Village. We’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day with extended hours at this special chocolate tasting and shopping night. Sample the Spring 2006 Collection from Charles Chocolates, select gifts for Mother’s Day, and check out ChocolateSmarts, the fun way to learn about chocolate.

If you can’t make it on May 11th, our friends at SmartsCo are also offering a 25% off discount through June 1st 2006 on all of their stylish party games with promotion code CHARLES at www.smartsco.com. For more information on this event, visit www.charleschocolates.com/store.php.

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
In addition to your feedback, we love customer stories. If you have a story about your favorite product or interesting ways that you enjoy your Charles Chocolates, tell info@charleschocolates.com. If there’s information that you would like to see in our newsletter, we’d love to hear about it.