Theobroma–“Food of the Gods”
Two weeks ago, I decided I wanted to be the real Charlie in the Chocolate Factory.
Two reasons: 1) because it seemed like fun, like when I decided to play with monkeys not long ago, and 2) because I wanted to learn the little-known art of eating and choosing chocolate, which I could then share with you. It’s a simple way to seriously upgrade your Valentine’s experience.
Since I use Scharffen Berger gourmet chocolate for most of my truffle making (70% cacao), I tracked down their most famous chocolate maker, Brad Kintzer, and convinced him to take me behind the scenes for a tasting.
Below are four video clips that explore everything from pairing with scotch and the taste trail of dark chocolate to the importance of blending cocoa beans for the perfect chocolate…
Here are a few cool facts about chocolate to pique your curiosity:
1. Anandamide (from “ananda” in Sanskrit, which means “bliss”), a messenger molecule sometimes called the “chocolate amphetamine,” is unique in its resemblance to THC, the active psychotropic in marijuana.
2. The chief stimulant in chocolate, an alkaloid called theobromine, comes from the latin genus theobroma, which means “food of the gods.”
3. In the US Department of Agriculture’s ORAC ((Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) chart, raw cocoa powder is at the top of the antioxidant list with almost four times the amount of antioxidants as Goji Berries.
How do you take a a bean that not intended to be eaten and reveal more than 1,000 flavor compounds, which is rivaled only by coffee?
Let the real Willie Wonka explain how to satisfy — and make the most of — your sweet tooth this Valentine’s Day.
Thanks to Gennaro Strangis for helping me with camera work and eating a few kilos of chocolate 🙂
PART 1 – Introduction to Brad and the spectrum of chocolates
PART 2 – Tastings and flavors, “semi-sweet” vs. “bittersweet”, and percentages of cocoa content
PART 3 – Pairing with Scotch, choosing, and tasting nibs
PART 4 – Experiencing the candy store
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The Weekend Retirement Test Drive: Groundhog Day and the Rest of Your Life (Plus: Competition)
For next week:
How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise
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Odds and Ends: Get Goodies from Me for Valentine’s Day, Cosmo Thinks 4HWW is Sexy…
V-Day Goodness from Me:
Would you like a big and beautiful Joseph Schmidt Valentine package from yours truly, replete with all the best chocolates they have? Or, if chocolate’s not your thing, some delish Ginger Snapdragon cookies from LizLovely? Just give me three bullet point reasons in the comments no later than 5pm PST Tuesday, and I’ll choose one of you to join me in sweet indulgences. If you really want to win, put up a video on YouTube with “4hourvalentine” in the tags and link to it in the comments. Have some fun 🙂
Cosmo and Sexy Time for 4HWW:
You may have noticed in this month’s Cosmo that, between “Arouse Him Like Crazy” and “Great Butt and Thighs,” The 4-Hour Workweek is voted on pg. 38 as “sexy” in the monthly “Sexy vs. Skanky” list. Yeeeeah, baby! Thanks to Vanessa for the tip off. Larger size here.
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
chocolate also has the same exact chemical reaction in a woman’s brain as does being in love… in a “loving”/ romantic way sort of way… not the dirty way 🙂 … I would grab some chocolate right now if I was not doing my own custom detox cleanse.. 🙂
For the Joseph Schmidt Valentine package:
* My girlfriend will melt. She is a chocolate addict.
* This is much better than the pathetic Belgian chocolate I was planning to give her.
* The chances of me getting laid are higher than the percentage of cacao in these truffles.
Make a brother happy.
Thanks,
Evan
You know you’ve made it when your “sexy” in Cosmo. Cash in on that Tim!
Wow, those Liz Lovely cookies look unbelievable! I just forwarded this to my boyfriend to make sure he posts his three reasons. And did anyone look at the chocolate stuff they have? Organic dark chocolate covered Lovely Oh’s (they look like Oreos?)??? WOW! My bf better write something if he knows what’s good for him…
Quite a contrast to some Valentine’s Day chocolate recently discovered in NYC shops (complete with live worms): http://wcbstv.com/consumer/rotten.valentines.chocolate.2.651417.html
Reasons why:
-They look delicious
-It’ll knock the socks off the girl that gets it
-Whats better than winning something?
Free chocolate is worth more than a minute of my time.
For the Joseph Schmidt Valentine Package:
1.My girlfriend is in Ecuador teaching English and becoming fluent in Spanish. She has been there since September.
2.My mother and my best friend are 1000 miles away.
3.My good friends who often throw a “single on valentines day” party are all out of town.
If I can’t have the ones I love, I’d like to have the one thing we all love: chocolate.
Best,
Skyler
Damn, lured from the lurking world with sweet nibblings!
– In Japan, on Valentine’s Day only the women give chocolate to the men. Men only give chocolate to women on a separate holiday, called White Day, which takes place in March. Call me impatient, but I like chocolate on V-Day, and I don’t think my coworkers are going to give Obligation Coworker Chocolate to the foreign girl anytime soon. :p
(BUT, if I end up giving the chocolate to the workplace, it’s bonus points for me!)
– That being said, I’m willing to make an exchange for random Japanese goods of your choosing.
– A professional pickup artist once told me that he could get women to be wildly multiorgasmic over the course of hours provided they get enough water and chocolate. Okay, so that’s not a legitimate reason, but I thought it was funny and slightly creepy.
I’m secretly hoping Evan will win though, because his plea is adorable.
Tim,
This was an interesting article. My ears perked up when I heard the Dominican Republic. Mi gente! I spent half my life out of the United States and grew up in the Dominican Republic. I did not know that cocoa beans were grown down there. I knew that there was sugar cane, cigar shops, and coffee plantations but never cocoa. I guess one learns something new everyday. Also you have inspired me to start a blog. I want to inspire people with my life story. These past few months have been awesome and I want to share it with college students my age to encourage them. Anyways sorry this post wasn’t related to chocolate. Keep up the good work! Adios!
Josh
[…] What better way to celebrate Valentine’s day then by visiting a chocolate factory. […]
Hey Tim,
I am just getting to read your chocolate posting now and probably missed the deadline, but here are my reasons why:
– I had a dream about you this weekend (really) and since you skipped the flowers I guess a basket of chocolate will do
– I’m going to the Dominican Republic this weekend to visit my grandma. Since she, well, can’t really chew – truffles would be a great thing to share with her
– I work at Sesame Street and I promise to send you a picture with Grover and the basket of chocolate 🙂
1. Because I was drooling through the whole movie – and if you send me the chocolate, by the process of elimination I’ll know if it was at you or the cacao.
2. Because I’ll make really good use of it – whether straight up, paired with Lagavulin or Dolce, combined with a chili pepper infusion for Mayan Cocoa, or added for a little flavor to a homemade cocoa butter massage bar that will melt on skin contact.
3. Because I’ll send you a custom avatar in return since your Twitter icon needs pimped!
Hi Tim!
I’ve only been out of college for one month and have not yet conquered life, so I’m unable to post a YouTube video. Damn you six year old camera! I won’t let that stop me, so here it goes:
· I’ve been falling for a co-worker for six months. She may be the funniest girl I’ve ever met, and she has been reciprocating affection as of late. I would have asked her out by now if it weren’t for one reason — she’s my boss. It may sound silly, but getting her a great Valentine is actually on my February dreamline.
· Chocolate is perfect gift for the above scenario. It can mean “I’m just being a nice guy,” or “I’ve been thinking of you lately.” Either way, it’s both effective and efficient.
· I work with her for 4 hours on Valentine’s Day, so it is a great opportunity to add “The 4-Hour Matchmaker” to your résumé 😉
Thanks a million!
JJ
Hmm Tim, here`s a quick 1, 2, 3:
1. I did a research project in the ninth grade about chocolate. It was one of those “learn to do a research project” courses, so I picked chocolate as my topic. I love chocolate that much!
2. The best chocolate I’ve ever had was stuff I picked up in Geneva @ a chocolaterie. Everything else since has just been “plain old chocolate”. My location-independent plan is still about a year from completion so I’d love a taste of the good life (and chocolate from the DR definitely counts).
3. My wife doesn’t like expensive chocolates! And I’m not kidding you here. She has the most sensitive palette of anyone I’ve known, but she still prefers “plain-jane” chocolate. I’ve fed her much of the standard imported Belgian and Swiss fare, but the only success I’ve had are the Red Lindt truffles (seriously, just the red). I’ve never heard of Joseph Schmidt until today. Hooking me up won’t just make my wife happy, it’s a definite new customer opportunity for Joseph Schmidt.
Hi Tim,
If you ever go to Brussels make sure to check out Pierre Marcolini’s shops > http://www.marcolini.be/EN/accueil.html
Quite easy to find. From the airport jump in a cab and ask for “Place du Sablon” and you will find yourself in the epicentre of chocolate and antiques (different shops however 😉
I am Belgian but now living and working in the UK. Luckily Green & Blacks is producing excellent chocolate over here… so I can always get my chocolate fix.
Really enjoy reading your posts,
Cheers,
Greg
[Semi OT]
Some day I’d like to see a video where you show how to prepare mate in the gourd and drink it through the bombilla. I had a friend bring back a bag of Cruz de Malta from Argentina (and accoutrements) as per your recommendation but it doesn’t quite work out. La yerba clogs the bombilla and it’s generally messy.
I still enjoy it though, brewing with water and yerba in a thermos and straining through a filter when serving, but I’d like to learn how it’s properly done.
/johan
For the Valentine package:
1. I want whiter teeth (high cocoa to sugar ratio may discourage tooth decay).
2. I want to live longer (Research shows that chocolate eaters live almost a year longer then those who abstain).
3. I will be sharing most of it with my g/f and her two sisters.
Guess this was the post “for the ladies” that you promised! I just can’t really decide if that was bittersweet, semi-sweet or simply very sweet of you…
These are my
– For Valentine’s Day, I’ve decided not to start the oh-no-i’m-single-and-it’s-valentine’s-day-melody and instead go to the dojo for some sweaty ju-jutusu
– I could use the chocolate to cheer up my newly dumped neighbour and friend
– With both the exercise and the chocolate, I will have enough endorphines to make a smaller town glow in the dark nights. Isn’t that environemental-friendly energy or what?:P
Tim, no bullet points to offer, but would like to share my favorite truffle recipe. Dead easy to make- and deadly delicious. A way to a man’s heart- or coveted Valentine’s prize – may just be via his stomach!
GRAND MARNIER CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
120 grams good-quality 70% dark chocolate
1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup icing (powdered) sugar
6 tbsp almond powder (I grind whole with skins, about 3/4 cup whole yields 6 tbsp ground)
3 tbsp Grand Marnier liqueur
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Melt chocolate with butter in microwave. Stir until well melted and blended. Add icing sugar, ground almonds and Grand Marnier. Mix well to combine. Leave to come to room temperature, about 15 minutes, then refrigerate covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. (any longer chocolate gets too hard)
With fingers, form into small balls and roll them into cocoa powder. Keeps well refrigerated, but serve at room temp.
Happy Valentine’s Day to all fellow romantics 🙂
Questions:
*For Brian
” … I would grab some chocolate right now if I was not doing my own custom detox cleanse.. :-)”
How do you detox?
*For Tim (or Someone else)
What is the simplest way to post a YouTube video?
My 3 Chocolate responses
(1)I have always preferred the bitter taste of dark chocolate. I get slight quivers when I eat it and it is very satisfying nutition-wise.
(2)Along with promoting deep restful sleep, consuming Himalayan Goji juice filled in my tooth cavity! (Drink it diluted in water for best results). If raw cocoa powder is at the top of the antioxidant list with almost four times the amount of antioxidants as Goji Berries, I would like to discover (and post to 4HWW, of course) the health benefits!
(3)Tim, I also seek health enhancement in the natural realm. Thank you for being willing to reveal your unconventional findings.
We deserve to win the Ginger Snapdragons because:
We love everything dragons!
We love everything Liv Lovely!
We’ll love you if you send us cookies!
Never knew that one could become as much of a chocolate expert as a wine expert…… definitely prefer the fist kind!!!
Both of the packages look delicious, I’d like either one.
1. My boyfriend and I are postponing valentines day until spring break, when we’ll be sky diving for the first time. These would be great desert for that evening when we’ll be having a mountain top sunset dinner. Actually he doesn’t know about the dinner yet, I’m going to suprise him with that part. After that we’ll probably be partying with friends and family.
2. My boyfriend has similar taste in sweets and he’s already given me chocolates early, this way I could show him how much I love him with an incredible experience (sky diving) AND some delicious treats.
3. You’d be adding the icing to the cake so to speak, enhancing one college student and her bf’s experience of a lifetime, thats something that should bring a smile to your face (and if not, can’t blame me for trying lol). 🙂
1. I love chocolate and I love food and Liz Lovely’s are my FAVORITE cookies of all time and what better way to bring happiness to co-workers and friends then to share in my obsession and share the cookies!
2. I am an chocoholic and finally found Liz Lovely cookies that dont make me feel TOO bad about eating 4 cookies instead of the typical person who eats 1!!
3. I am in the Liz Lovely Fan club…who else do you know who is in a cookie lovers fan club???
Tim,
Excellent! I don’t want lots, just good in all things. Way to go! There’s a wonderful intelligence to becoming a connoisseur no matter what it is, but I especially thank you for this little tour into Scharffen Berger. Developing palettes for quintessential experiences is like developing sensitivity for the “remarkable”. And that is always good time spent in business and personally. Like honing a skill set and besides, it’s just damn good fun.
Thanks and Happy Valentines all.
All Best,
Jan
(I vote for Evan too BTW very clever)
I should win either the chocolates or the gingersnaps because:
– I don’t care if they do go right to my hips…I won’t deny myself these fabulous pleasures just to conform to beauty magazine standards!
– I would share them with my spectacular son and my handsome husband…the two most important people in my life! (Thank you, Reilly and Mike, for making my life so wonderful!)
– I just moved to Austin from San Francisco, and I will tell everyone in between those two places how terrific these products are!
Tim,
1) I live in Chicago and there’s nothing quite like a delicious gingersnap and a cup of hot tea to take my mind off of the stinging wind and ice hitting my face as I walk home from work…
2) I got pooped on by a bird last weekend. Someone told me that was good luck…and if I win, then I’ll believe them and not just regret that shirt that was ruined.
3) There’s no significant other to share them with, but my roomate and I share a similar taste in sweets. I think if I bring some home she might actually let me use her car to go buy groceries!
So you will, at the very least, be brightening my otherwise permagray day, taking my mind off of birds (they scare me), and be providing much needed transportation to get “provisions”. Have a good one!
Hi Tim,
I’d like the Liz Lovely package.
1. For my wife’s birthday 3 years ago, I took her to a Bed & Breakfast in Vermont. On the last day of our getaway we stopped at a health store and picked up some Liz Lovely cookies because they are our favorite. As we were driving to the airport I looked at the back of the package and saw the company was located in Vermont. Not only were they located in Vermont, but they were located about 2 miles from the B&B that we were staying at. We were actually biking on the road they were located just the day before. My heart broke as we were already an hour out of town and we had to catch our flight. I did email Liz Lovely and asked if we could visit the factory next time we were there and they said they would love to give us a tour. Hopefully they will give out free samples.
2. I enjoy taking the cookies and blending it with ice cream to make some awesome shakes.
3. I would help spread the wealth by bringing in these cookies to share with fellow co-workers.
Take care.
I want the Liz Lovely cookies because:
1. They are THE BEST, with the purest ingredients. (The vegen thing is a bonus.)
2. My wife is the best, with the purest heart. (Schmalzy, yes, but it’s Valentine’s day.)
3. Dang it, she’s cute and good enough for a real treat.
For the LizLovely cookies (YUM!):
-Because I am vegan and her cookies are the only sweet treats I will get to enjoy on Valentine’s Day
-I always eat these during 24 hour brevets (unsupported bike rides ranging from 125 miles to 750 miles that must be completed within a certain amount of time)–they give me energy and settle my stomach at mile 250!
-They are delicious 🙂
I would love the Ginger Snapdragon Cookies!
1. I can’t afford such wonderful cookies such as these on my Americorps*VISTA poverty stipend, and thus have been forced to munch on cheapo ginger snaps to satisfy my intense ginger craving.
2. I absolutely love ginger…it is delicious and good for you. It should be baked into many more desserts, and be more frequently combined with dark chocolate.
3. I’m on the Liz Lovely mailing list and the notification of this contest was the best email EVER! If you choose me, I will share the cookies not only with my valentine, but with my fellow ginger-loving impoverished VISTAs!
Tim:
Thanks for the great V-Day inspiration. I’m a forty-something lawyer, married for 19 years now, and I often feel like I’m not part of your target audience, BUT…
1. My lovely wife is still my Valentine. After 19 years, it’s getting harder to be creative with gifts, but chocolate always works. I’d love to surprise her with the big J. Schmidt box.
2. I’m taking her to New York for the weekend for her V-Day gift already. I planned this trip based on (1) a business meeting, scheduled around helping a friend set up a health/lifestyle start-up business, and (2) using your frequent flyer point tips. Last year, I would have done this by conference call. This year, we get a weekend together in NYC, visiting friends and taking in a show. Thanks to 4HWW!
3. The chocolates would make a perfect accent to the trip, impress the wife (hard to do), and provide an engaging story for me to relate to my business partners. What better way to introduce them all to 4HWW.
Thanks!
Cliff
Hi, Tim: 3 reasons to win
1. I’m a vegan activist. I’d distribute the prizes and casually hint that they’re vegan.
2. I know A LOT of people who love desserts, but who are not vegan. I think they deserve these.
3. I’d save one for myself to sample, and purchase in the future.
I completely spaced on Valentine’s Day, and here are three things my girlfriend will probably do to me if I don’t get her a present, which are actually three really good reasons why I deserve to win so they don’t happen:
– Her ex-boyfriend forgot her birthday once. He has one less ball now.
– She’s driving my car all week, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it somehow accidentally ended up at the bottom of the lake near my house, right next to me cell phone that she threw in there when she saw one of my old girlfriends had called.
– She’s making me dinner on Valentine’s Day. Only you have the power to make sure it’s not my last meal.
Please help me.
Regards,
Jeff
Reasons why I deserve 24 Ginger Snap Dragons!
1# I can’t bake them as well as Liz Lovely.
2# I just discovered Liz Lovely cookies less than 2 weeks ago.
3# The store that I purchase Liz Lovely cookies are all out of Ginger Snap dragons (went yesterday to purchase…. 3 and I’ve already consumed the sampler box I purchased on line a week ago.!
Since I work as a nurse on a psychiatric floor ….
there isn’t any better way to celebrate Valentine’s day than to share very good chocolate with those who are depleted of serotonin.
Also nurses could really be nurtured with Liz Lovely’s snapdragon cookies……the ginger cookies cannot be compared to any others!!! And since it is real cold here it would warm their innards…..
And if those two reasons aren’t calling to your heart strings than consider how little a nurse asks for in response to what she gives out…..smile!!!
* Liz Lovely cookies are the best.
* Liz Lovely cookies are the best.
* Liz Lovely cookies are the best.
I could go on… 🙂
1. I love chocolate!
2. I’m single right now, but with these cookies I would have ladies flocking to my doorstep.
3. I eat meat, but I love these cookies. I get to eat food I love and score bonus points with my vegan friends. It’s a win win situation!
Thanks!
Ben
* Already sown “wild oats”
* Recent small business owner
* Red hair, green eyes, not Irish though.
1. I deserve to win Lizlovely Ginger Snapdragon cookies because I am her biggest fan ever and not by weight!
2. I deserve to win Lizlovely Ginger Snapdragon cookies because it’s time I get another favorite of her cookies.
3. I deserve to win Lizlovely Snapdragon cookies because they are a healthy way to reward yourself.
TIM!
I just had an awesome idea. Due to the current events at home and abroad politically, and our status of war on terror, I invented a term. The problem is that traveling has gotten slightly more difficult, and if the American people do not try to stop the plutocracy of the US, then we will all have a hard time traveling. Thus I invented the term:
“War on Tourism”
Tell me what you think.
I just finished your book, and told my boss I wanted to work from home. He thought about it for a week and said no, so I found a new job making more money closer to home with bigger clients and a much more respectable position. I will try it again with this new boss in a few months. Either way the 80/20 principle has allowed me to show more timr to my girlfriend, friends, parents, and the things I love to do. I started applying the methods in your geek to freak workout, and I also started the vegetable, meat, legume diet. I dig it all, and I look forward to joining the NR. Thanks man.
Jeremiah
– I just finished reading 4HWW and you are my new idol! I have recommended it to lots of friends and have already started planning my withdrawal from the traditional rat race. Thank you for opening my eyes!!
– I LOVE Liz Lovely’s cookies — all flavors, but the Ginger Snapdragons are my faves.
– I have been drooling over Liz Lovely’s valentine packages but don’t have a sweetheart at the moment and it would be too pathetic if I bought it for myself. If I win, I will also get some cool and yummy Valentine stuff from LL because I am a member of their Fan Club.
– Please pick me!!!!!! (oops, that was four bullets)
3 reasons to win Liz Lovely Ginger Snapdragons:
1. I went to order 8 snapdragons on line today, and this winning a case was in my email, so perfect timing.
2. I always have to place an order at Whole Foods in my area for them because no one carries them around here(CT.-no one really knows good food).
3. These are ABSOLUTLY the only cookies I eat, especially that have white flour & sugar — they are worth it.
4. an extra- the crystalized ginger on top cannot be beat.
THEY ARE ABSOLUTLY THE BEST. Of course, we all could go on & on about these gingersnapdragons-as their name suggests…… 🙂
3 reasons to pick me for the Liz Lovely cookies…
– My 4-month-old wakes up every 2 hours to breasfeed so I need sugar to keep me awake at work.
– I think you’re the smartest, most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on.
– I’m a pig and really want some vegan cookies.
I should get those Lizlovely cookies because
1) I have been craving those cookies for months, but they are to get over here in the west coast
2) Since I am away at college at stanford, I am not able to be with my loved ones on valentines days, so i would love to turn to yummy cookies for comfort
3)If you choose me because I am part of Lizlovelys fan club I will get a case, and then I can share them with my family and boyfriend over spring break, making many people happy
Thanks!
I would love to win cookies from Liz Lovely!
Reasons you should pick me:
* I love to bake from scratch and I share my baked goodies with friends, neighbors, and co-workers. I will do the same with my winnings, too.
* I help out the community – I work with children in a local grade school, I give my extra stuff to non-profits like Recycle North and Spectrum, I tutored at CCV, I am taking college courses and I share resources with fellow students, and on and on…
* I do a lot for the environment – I garden organically, I compost, I use biodegradable products, I use energy efficient practices, etc.
So in general, I am a helpful, caring, giving person who would love to receive an extra Valentine’s day treat.
: ) Thanks!
I always thought Pure Vermont Maple Syrup was the best thing ever from Vermont…………..then I tried Ben & Jerry………… B & J was #1 until I came across Liz Lovely Cookies (love her Mochadamia Mountain Cookies!!!!!).
So now its:
1) Liz’s cookies,
2) Ben & Jerry,
3) Maple Syrup
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, maybe something with all three…………
Why I deserve Liz Lovely cookies.
* I am in the third week of my clinical year of vet school and I am so busy that I have no time to go to the grocery store (I also don’t have a car) or make my own cookies.
* My boyfriend of 7 yrs lives far away and I will not get his present in time for Valentines day.
* I am on call for emergencies all day on Valentines day
Lis Lovely is the best maker of cookies in the world. Her cookies have kept me alive and sane in some of the darkest parts of my life. The Ginger Snapdragons put regular ginger snaps to shame. Since I moved from Vermont 18 months ago, I had to join the Liz Lovely Fan Club to get updates, but now some stores in my area are carrying them. For the best, simple, vegan, chocolate chip cookie in the world (plenty of chocolate for the addict), try the Cowgirl Cookie!
Hi Tim!
Because…
* I can show you how to make Truffles or any other kind of Chocolate Delight with a little known Sweetener that Looks and Tastes Just Like Sugar, Has a Glycemic Index of Zero, has Zero Calories, is All Natural, and has Absolutely No Aftertaste whatsoever…(No it’s not Stevia or Xylitol or any other thing you’ve probably heard of)
* I will give you a very generous quantity of this Sweetener for your own personal use and testing…and if you love it (which I think you will) maybe you would consider some kind of endorsement in exchange for an unlimited personal supply??? This product is actually my Muse…and who knows it might make a great case study as well…
* You can now be free to eat chocolate anytime you like (assuming it’s the sugar that’s stopping you) as well as adding true sugar-like taste and sweetness to anything else you want…
OK…I’m off to see if I can create an interesting You Tube clip. OH and BTW…my offer is good wether I win or not…
Ciao!
Brian
Brian I am dying to know about this sweetener you are talking about, puh-lease inform me…..?
Whats goin on Tim? I havent read your book yet, but its definately something I plan on doing. But heres why I deserve to win some of those delicious LizLovely cookies….
1.) I dont bike 150 miles (for fun) or breast feed, but I can tell you that some extra sugar during the day would be great for myself and the guys at work….
2.) I work for the Army and most of us usually have the mindset that if its vegan, it cant taste good. I want to put a little experiment together and I bet most of them wouldnt have a clue that its vegan.
3.) I also was in an edition of Cosmo’s Sexy vs. Skanky. Unfortunately, I was stuck in the skanky side and I bet those Liz Lovely cookies are exactly what I need to make the big jump!!
Hi Tim,
First off I have to say I love your mind, body and soul. You seem really connected to life and that is rare in the world, Kudos and Yummm 😉 Thanks for all your inspiration so all of us can become more whole and less addicted to distraction. (Ha-ha I said dicted!)
BTW- Heart IS my last name and there is a story behind it. It doesn’t come from my Mother’s wish for her daughter to be asked for years-Did your name come from the TV show Hart to Hart?
On to the list-
* Daddy, I want a chocolate box now! I want the whole world- Give it to me NOW!
* You must give ME the chocolate as it is your duty as a single man to give to a single woman. Consequences for insubordination are being hand cuffed, flogged and hot chocolate.
* Because chocolate is a substitute for not yet having a special someone to make love to. And another fun fact- Chocolate contains phenethylamine, a nutrient that enhances mood and is the chemical we produce in our brains when we fall in love.
How do you like them apples?!!
Happy Valentines Day!
Love and Hugs,
Jen
1- As a vegan, my favorite vegetable is sugar cane; my second favorite is ginger.
2- If I get the case, I promise to eat a cookie, give a cookie away, so even more people can enjoy (eh, get addicted to…) these dangerously decadent treats.
3- I live in the quirkily fabulous Mad River Valley, home of the Liz Lovely Cookie Factory (which is adjacent to the American Flatbread transport center, which is across the street from where Green Mountain Coffee roasted its first beans, which is 20 minutes from Ben & Jerry’s factory…we love our goodly creative food here…) and so you won’t have to pay for shipping–I will pick them up! Today if possible!
I would love to win the Liz Lovely cookies because:
1. I love those cookies. They’re great.
2. I have a kiddie pool full of milk just waiting to be dunked into
3. I’ve gotta do something with the other 36 hours of my week that I’m not working 😉
-Paul
2-on second thought, I think it would be more fair if I ate TWO cookies and gave one away
Hi Tim,
I’m a fan of your book and blog. So inspired, in fact, I quit my day job in October and went full-time in my studio. I want that chocolate! Reasons why are these:
1)Two weeks after quitting my day job I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I’m doing battle (and winning!) with the best of Western and Eastern medicine. I need those antioxidents, man!
2)I’m a young single woman and I’ll be spending my Valentine’s Day morning getting radiation treatment and meeting with my oncologist about side effects.
3)If I’m not having sex this Valentine’s Day, at least I need to be having chocolate. (Like you, Tim, I eat a little dark choc every night as well, actually…so even if I don’t win, I’ll eat some chocolate)
By the way, congrats! 4HWW is totally NOW and sexy. Glad Cosmo is on board. i am sure that means so much. *grin*
If you want to verify my (sob)story, I’m writing a blog on it here:
http://www.myturnip.blogspot.com
Thanks, Tim.
I would like to win those Liz Lovely Gingersnaps because
Everyone deserves cookies, but of all people I deserve a box of Liz Lovely cookies for, hopefully, what you see as three darn tootin good reasons.
-I love in Colorado where Liz Lovely unfortunately does not distribute, too, but everytime I’m home I smuggle them here in my bookbag.
-I’m a starving, vegan college student and although we’ll be the first to say we aren’t deprived of sweets, we are! Were cheap and too busy to cook our own!
-For Valentine’s day my roomate and I are going bowling. We are losers in dire need of some love! Liz Lovely that is.
I deserve to win the Liz Lovely Ginger Snap Dragon cookies because:
1: I eat them every week on my way to band practice; it helps me concentrate
2: My kids always try to eat them all, so I need all the extras I can get to share
3: They go great with ginger kombucha, plus they’re the same color as my guitar…
My three reasons:
1. Cookies are the best way to express “I Girl-Love You” to other ladies. I would wear that slogan on a T-shirt if you made it, but the cookies would work better for girls.
2. Savoring a cookie on your mat and listening to a story before taking a nap is the daily secret to success. Ask any pre-schooler.
3. Cookies are the distillation of the finest things, and therefore can be balm a troubled soul, can dissolve barriers and can offer transcendence. I want some of that, please!
As for this contest, I deserve to win the Liz Lovely Ginger Snapdragon Cookies because:
1: I eat them every week for inspiration on the way to band practice
2: I need all the extras I can get to share with my kids
3: They go great with ginger kombucha, plus they’re the same color as my guitar…
Please rescue me with a chocolate delivery!
1. My job (which is not a four-hour work week – must buy that book) has sent me into the 20-below, snow-covered wilds of the Adirondacks, with no chocolatier in sight.
2. I work all week with about 200 construction guy, none of whom is my valentine.
3. A chocolate delivery would warm the cockles of my heart.
Lovingly,
A Chocolate-loving Damsel in Distress
I would love to win those Liz Lovely Ginger Snapdragons because
1) They sure beat animal cookies or any other kind of cookie for that matter!
2) They are so tasty and delicious. They tingle your tongue and tickle your tummy as you gush with glee from gnashing your teeth on those gingery giant gems.
3) I tasted Liz Lovely’s cookies in Vermont but haven’t found them any where around here in rural New York and my mouth is just watering thinking about them. Do me a gingery favor and select my entry, please kind sir.
Hey Tim, looks like you had a great time!
You should drop in on the new choco-collaboration between Wired co-founder Louis Rossetto and legendary chocolatier Timothy Childs.
(check them out online at http://www.tcho.com/)
This message is for Tim but all are welcome to reply to me..
This is random and not part of the chocolate story..
Does anyone ever feel like quitting the mindless drome of society and leaving all material possessions behind? I lately feel like travelling indefinately and just living like….i dunno what the word is….
It seems as a more beautfiul life to spend it around nature and out of our business driven, advertising swamped, material greedy society that has been created.
I feel it more and more now to abandon the lifestyle that most people attain to. Even if just for a short while.
Anyone else feel like this or imagine at times?
Email me if you do mattbailey84@hotmail.com
Im interested to hear the ideas.
For the Liz Lovely package:
Please, please send me those scrumptious Snapdragons!
– I’m lactose intolerant and most of the vegan cookies out there are SO boring. Liz Lovely’s are outstanding and really wake up your mouth!
– I work for a nonprofit so I have a low cookie budget (and I promise to share)
– My name begins with an “L” too!
Thanks
1. I deserve the cookies and treats because I am skinny!
2. If I win, I will have more to share with my husband and daughter
3. I could also use the added calories, it has been so dang cold here, I live in Minnesota:(
Okay, here we go:
[1] All that gingery-goodness would certainly help clear the nasal passages which are currently in desperate need due to the cold and wind of my first Chicago winter.
[2] I would share these lovely delights with the eighteen other people suffering through the first-year program of the mathematics PhD program at the University of Chicago, who are all needing a bit of love due to rather longer than four-hour work weeks. (The rest of the college has this Friday off for “suicide prevention day,” except the graduate students.)
[3] As my partner left for Cambridge UK at New Year’s, I am living the celibate life until we reunite at the end of June, and will spend Valentine’s Day studying for a functional analysis midterm.
[3.14159265…]* I’m the only first-year who has ever had Liz Lovely cookies! This is a tragedy of major proportions which needs to be rectified!
*Given the main topic of this post, I thought it would be appropriate to give pi (=pie) many reasons…
thanks for the awesome blog,
Claire
The best three reasons why you should select us for the Liz Lovely cookie give away are:
1)Liz and Dan are Lovely people, it’s true I know them personally.
2) My kids love the cookies and they are a healthy snack alternative
3) They’re soooo damn good
Thanks
1. I deserve the cookies because I am bulimic and I would enjoy the cookies “twice” as much as anyone else…please…please….give me the cookies!!!
#1. I have not received a valentines gift in 4 years…due to my never ending divorce…I deserve something…the ex-husband is a nice gift…but I would LOVE to have TREATS too!!!
1) Because I’ll out eat you and you’ll be impressed
2) Because winning an extra 5 lbs of fat is way cooler than loosing it =)
3) I. Love. Chocolate. And you too, if that helps me win.
……Liked this post,
Only thing I have to complain about Tim is that I had a terrible craving for chocolate after this post, Thanks!!!! There went the diet, I am having to go grapple twice now to get rid of some of these extra calories….LOL
Check out Nicaragua when you get a chance, they have kickass coffee beans…
Jose Castro-Frenzel
* my wife is away for Valentine’s Day and I have been looking for something extra special when we celebrate on her return
* it would be like outsourcing, while simplifying my choices at the same time
* I have some Oban Single Malt, one of the 6 Classic Malts, that would go really well with some of that chocolate.
OK…I’m Back!
Here’s the link to You Tube for the video I made this afternoon…
Phew! Man, what an adventure…my video camera is broken so I went to the closest store, which is Staples, to buy a new camera and every model that I wanted was out of stock! Not having a whole lot of time to get this finished I opted to use the video function in my Palm Centro Phone which I have never done before…quick trip to Trader Joe’s to come up with an idea for a recipe on the fly, pick up a few things and then off to the beach to make the video. No cameraman, just me winging it, without even knowing if any of it was going to work (I’ve never posted to you tube before). Got it on the first take…it’s not super-exciting but it’s not bad for a first try! I had alot of fun just putting it all together and making things up as I went along.
I am re-posting my 3 reasons here in case it gets confusing:
Because…
* I can show you how to make Truffles or any other kind of Chocolate Delight with a little known Sweetener that Looks and Tastes Just Like Sugar, Has a Glycemic Index of Zero, has Zero Calories, is All Natural, and has Absolutely No Aftertaste whatsoever…(No it’s not Stevia or Xylitol or any other thing you’ve probably heard of)
* I will give you a very generous quantity of this Sweetener for your own personal use and testing…and if you love it (which I think you will) maybe you would consider some kind of endorsement in exchange for an unlimited personal supply??? This product is actually my Muse…and who knows it might make a great case study as well…
* You can now be free to eat chocolate anytime you like (assuming it’s the sugar that’s stopping you) as well as adding true sugar-like taste and sweetness to anything else you want…
Ciao!
Brian
Gingersnaps are spicy cool treats that are sooooo good for you
The Liz company is a true small business dream come true, they should be an example we can all strive to goal for.
Besides saving animals and being vegetarian, they are saving people by being so good for you and tasting so good for you, that every one what’s to eat them:)
Hi Tim!
Ready? Here goes…
1. I recently decided to quit my job and make a movie (which has been my lifelong dream)!!! My last day of work is tomorrow and Valentines day will be my first day of preproduction:-) I have the script done, the 3 main roles cast and so far everything is falling into place. I’m so stoked I actually find myself grinning randomly throughout the day! Chocolate would even enhance the high 😉
2. On the other hand, this could very well be (que music..) the beginning of the end. I’ll spare the boring details but given my present circumstances and the rediculously challenging nature of the film industry, I might have screwed myself just a little :-/ I already weighed this option and decided it was worth it because I’ve always wanted to do this, but it will still be on my mind come Thursday… and chocolate it the best thing for denial.
3. I’m single. Don’t send it to a couple. They have eachother damnit.
😉
-Monica-
Hi Again,
My last comment appears to be stuck in the process of moderation and I apologize if this post is redundant but I wanted to make sure my You Tube link shows up before the 5 pm deadline, so here it is again:
Thanks,
Brian
1. I need to prove to my husband that vegan food can be delicious, and vegan cookies especially, can be knock-your-socks-off yummy. Bottom line: I want to buy the cookies, but my husband fears it would be gross and not worth the money.
2. My cat loves cookies and I want her to try these! She only lets me cradle her like a baby if I feed her something that makes her belly happy.
3. My home value has dropped over $250K and I need to eat away my woes.
Fess up: You outsourced those chocolate factoids, didn’t you?
ok, when you get bored and want travel company for a trip just let me know. Interesting!
Okay, So who won the Liz Lovely cookies, Etc.??????? Please tell us!!
* Because tardiness is next to godliness
* Because I need to slap more lard on my ass.
* Because I once had to sell pens for a living.
Sorry, don’t know where else to write…
I have a HUGE idea, nothing like it out there,
found a patent attorney, helped me write up a patent application, submitted it and now trying to license or sell the idea – no one will even listen.
You said in your book you have helped people,
PLEASE give me a second of your time! I beg you!!
jessica
###
Hi Jess,
Please search “Stephen Key” on this blog and you’ll find the right concepts and people for licensing. They’re the pros. Good luck!
T
I love this!
First, I am a Liz Lovely Fan Club vegan cookie eatin’ chocolickin’ life lovin’ gal! (the Ginger Snapdragons and the Cowboy Cookies are my two favorites!)
Second, I’m willing to share my cookie winnins’ with less fortunate cookie eaters.
Third, I will now share with you a not-so-secret: You must find your way to 30, Rue Des Saints-Peres, Paris, France, where you will then enter the most lovely chocolate establishment…quite possibly in the world! Debauve & Gallais. Try the 99% cacao Chocolat bar. Oh my!
Thank you for your great blog!
Hello Boys and Girls,
I’ll get you the results here soon! Please be patient as I read your very, very amusing answers 🙂
Tim
Just wanted to say that I completed Tim’s 7 hour
CD and it is some of the best marketing information
available today.
Great job.
Mike Smith
Creative Advertising Services NET
😛 to Vanessa for tipping you off. I really could have snorted my water out my nose while perusing a Cosmo a few weeks from now while getting my pre-spring pedicure. pssht.
Seriously, that rocks. No explanation, just “The 4-Hour Workweek” I think that officially makes it an icon 🙂
~Marcie
Chocolate Song!!
It’s already 5:30 AM on the 15th so V-day’s come and gone but Happy Valentine’s Day from the Land of the Rising Sun! (Did you know that men/boys RECEIVE the chocolate here on Valentine’s Day…then on March 14, they are supposed to reciprocate with a gift of some sort like jewelry or a new purse? What a great marketing strategy by the candy companies!) BTW I just stopped by the LizLovely site upon your fab-o recommendation. Wish they shipped overseas…I can think of a bunch of folks who would go orgasmic over their baked goodies. But we’re moving back to Texas after 4 FANTABULOUS years living in beautiful Kamakura (SOB SNIFF WHINE…so I guess I’ll be hunting down LizLovely in my local Whole Foods and sending a care package back to Japan. Arigato gozaimashta…for sharing the love and knowledge!
Tim, I have to admit, your book has changed my life. Fortunately and/or unfortunately it also made me go into a depression. How? Why? I realized many things I have been doing wrongly in my life. Now, I’m the most effective person, I’m making the most money I have ever made and I’m working the least (about three hours per week for $60,000). I feel weird, my boss thinks I’m great employee and he thinks very highly of me. I only meet five minutes with him every two weeks to keep him updated and I have three business ideas going on. Yet, I feel that I don’t know how to get excitment about life again. I know I should be grateful but I can’t avoid feeling like in a limbo. Everything is working fine. I have beautiful women inviting me to go to other countries with everything paid and others want to settle down.
I guess I need to get use to the idea of transitioning to this new uncluttered person. I’m seing a psychologist .. he doesn’t know why do I feel empty. Have you even felt this way?
###
Hi O,
This is very, very common. Filling the void is the hardest of all. Please reread that chapter and search “Groundhog Day” on this blog for some great experiments people have done to address this.
Best of luck — it’s a battle worth fighting,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Excellent post! It actually relates to what I am currently working on. I wasn’t sure how else to contact you, but I wanted to let you know that your book was the final piece in the puzzle that helped me complete my newest entrepreneurial venture. See link related to this comment!
It just about answered all the questions I needed – I listen to chapters 6 – 12 at least once a week since October. I wasn’t sure how to set up a lot of that stuff like the relationships between manufacturers and mailing services, your instructions were perfect! I love how you include estimated costs, that was something I was concerned about.
Thank you so much for printing when you did!
As for anyone reading this blog – BUY 4 HOUR WORK WEEK now if you want to succeed in business on the first go around!
D Sanchez
Thanks, D!
As Far as The Cosmo article,
I would be surprised if it wasn’t on there!
I know it’s an old post, but it seemed like the best place for my question…
I know you have your “nutritional day off” on Saturdays- I’ve done the same on Sundays for as long as I can remember. I also follow that you cheat occasionally- I do the same frequently. I was wondering- if you cheat on your diet on another day of the week- for whatever reason, maybe you had the opportunity to eat something great, maybe you felt you deserved a treat- do you then say “OK today is going to be my day off instead of Saturday,” or do you just flat-out cheat?
D’avance merci!
I Love Scharffen Berger!
[…] authors Tim Ferriss also has a similar passion about dark chocolate. He’s visited the delicious Scharffen Berger plant, loves finding very awesome (and cheap) high % d. chocolate, and likes to pair it with lovely red […]