Why $140, WHY?
Good question ! I am aware that this is not common. And the price is more than double what we usually see. I will therefore try to be brief, in no specific order according to what comes to mind, and I remain available to deepen the discussion if necessary.
- Our chocolates are made from our private imports of cocoa beans. And we actually import them, it's Dany who takes care of the import process, transport logistics, batch selection, international payments and management of credit lines. And it's not always easy. He chooses high quality beans, of real quality and not marketing bullshit. It's good, world-class, in fact several of our chocolates have won international awards including the latest International Chocolate Award All America, and the world final in Italy. The results are public.
- Then, it is a chocolate made in Quebec in our workshop, unlike the vast majority of chocolates which come from Europe but which are melted and re-molded here.
- The price paid to producers is representative of the quality of the beans and our commitments to them. We pay up to more than 5 times the floor price of cocoa set by fair trade. Also, given our private imports, the traceability of our chocolates is omnipresent, with the presentation of the farms in the appellations, which is not the case for mass chocolates which hide the provenance, even displaying the country of origin. It's like saying that maple syrup comes from Canada instead of naming the maple grove and its owner. Oh yes, we are certified organic by Ecocert Canada too.
- Our chocolates are transformed into delicious confections by high-level chefs from across Quebec, selected for their talent and their use of noble, homemade products. These are partners who help to perpetuate the confectionery, chocolate and pastry making professions and who retain their nobility. So it's not ganache in a can, caramels in a boiler pre-made in a factory in Belgium.
- Each day contains 2 bites or one of sufficient size for a tasting for 2 or for a gourmet person. I estimate the contents of the box to be around 600g. Our chefs have carte blanche for creation, the objective is the tasting experience. These are also selected for their values and we have in common that we produce quality, not quantity. It's like reserving a table in a great restaurant. Asking the chef the weight of each dish would surely surprise the chef. Rather, we let ourselves be carried away by the experience with the recognition of living a culinary and cultural experience.
- The design of the box was created in-house by our colleague Diego Salvador, he is very talented and puts a lot of heart into releasing an excellent product. And it's my colleague Sabrina Desjardins who coordinates the production of chocolates with her team and who will release the confections that our chocolatiers will make for the calendar. There is also Mathieu who roasts all the cocoa like a champion, lightly to preserve the terroir of the beans and Daniel who coordinates the final shipping of all orders and who takes care of fulfilling the multiple special requests from customers, in addition to ensure the normal course of shipments.
- I would say that Advent Calendars are in the majority of cases just candy in a nice box but at the end of the day, you pay for what you get. An Advent calendar for $35-50, at 24 units, less the price of packaging, the manufacturer's margins, the reseller's margins, that doesn't amount to much per unit. It's like a table wine you take to deglaze a pan. And we still call it wine. There is a gradation of quality in chocolate. As in wine, chocolate comes from a fruit. Cocoa, like grapes, is a fruit, an agricultural product with vintages, good harvests, less good ones. And like at the SAQ, we find wines of different qualities, at different prices. Our calendar is therefore a luxurious, high quality version based on tasting chocolates. My suggestion: order a chocolate bar on our site, Madagascar, or the Vietnam trio for example. Taste it and you will understand the difference.
Then add the use of this chocolate by one of our guest chefs, and you will have an extraordinary advent calendar. That's why it costs what it costs. And I forgot to say that transportation is included everywhere in Canada.
There are plenty of other reasons but I wanted to keep it brief and I think I'm at the limit of what can be described as brief.
Dany
You can even call me if you want to talk: 1-866-525-2027
And if you want to reserve your copy, it's here:
Reserve your Advent calendar Chocolate or coffee version.
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