One of my students called today. It was a good call. She left a message to call her back. She’s going to Switzerland and has promised to transport chocolate back for me. Of course, I won’t be able to eat it for a year, but what do I care? It will be there, waiting for me. A tiny bite at a time.
I had intended to give her my whole summer allowance, but $600 of chocolate seems a bit excessive. Even if I weren’t on a diet. Then I thought just $100. But that ought to buy at least 25 bars. And do I really need 25 bars? No. Do I want 25 bars? Yes. But should I have 25 bars? Even if I don’t eat them for a year and then only have one tiny piece a day for a year?
I don’t know.
The chocolate is Cailler’s Lait Avec Noisettes. Milk chocolate with hazelnut. The bar comes in a mainly blue wrapper with white on it and small hazelnuts rolling around the colors.
I haven’t been able to find it to purchase in the US before. But you can get samples, little minis, with this bar in it now. For only $35. Think of that next time you buy a bag of $5 candy treats and think it’s too much. Plus, I don’t like a lot of the others. So $35 for a few of the minis is REALLY expensive. But oh I love that chocolate.
You would think the chocolates would be available, since Cailler was bought/absorbed/merged with Nestle. Nestle does sell here in the US, but they don’t sell Cailler here. I called the Corporate headquarters many years ago to ask.
Of course, Frito Lay doesn’t sell their delicious yam chips, available in Thailand, either. So I guess it’s a question of what the companies think the market will buy. I loved yam chips in Thailand. And even if I can’t eat them for at least the next year, I would still buy them if they became available here, just to help the market. I’d probably even pay my boys to try them.
Anyway, I have to call Kelly back tomorrow and tell her how much money I am going to give her to buy chocolates with. Wish I knew for sure what the bars cost now in Switzerland and what the exchange rate is likely to be. Oh well. I’ll just make a guess. When I used to live there, the exchange rate meant a HUGE bar was fifty cents. When my mom went about eight years ago, the exchange rate meant each bar was $4. That’s a huge difference. I guess I’ll figure on the bad exchange rate since the dollar is low.
Cailler makes the very best chocolate. Even if it isn’t readily available in the US.
Today’s conversion rate is $1 is 0.826037 Euros. You can get up to date conversions in the MacOS X calculator. Look in the Convert menu.
Hi-I just got back from Switzerland (as well as Austria, Germany and Italy) and I agree 100% – Callier chocolate is the best! I bought some bars for friends and family and was curious to taste one and OH MY GOSH!! they are delicious. Let’s just say I ate a few gifts…I like chocolate and thought the best was Lindt or Godiva or even Belgian..nope Callier beats them all. The hazelnut ones are soooooo GOOD!