All articles
The full notebook: pralines, chocolatiers, history, addresses and gift ideas, all in one place. 63 articles, updated every week.
Pralines & specialtiesChocolate and wine pairing: what to serve with what
Chocolate and wine pairing: port on dark, sweet wine on milk, and why a Belgian Trappist beats a dry red on a 70 per cent square almost every time.
6 September 2026 · 6 min
Gifts & ideasThe world's most expensive chocolate: boxes and real prices
A To'ak box works out at $9,800 a kilo, a Marcolini malline at €188. Prices and weights recorded at five prestige houses, and the grid that ranks them.
3 September 2026 · 9 min
Pralines & specialtiesChocolate tempering machine: do you really need one?
Most tempering machines sold to home cooks are melters: they heat, they never cool. When the machine genuinely earns its place, and when it does not.
31 August 2026 · 7 min
History of chocolateFair trade chocolate: which label actually delivers?
Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Cacao-Trace: three logos, three very different amounts. The comparison in figures, converted into cents per bar.
30 August 2026 · 7 min
Pralines & specialtiesCouverture chocolate: 31% cocoa butter, minimum
Couverture chocolate contains at least 31% cocoa butter. That fat changes its fluidity, not its taste: when it earns its price, and when it is wasted.
29 August 2026 · 8 min
Where to buyChocolate in carry-on baggage: what passes, what melts
Solid chocolate flies in your carry-on with no limit; spreads and liqueurs don't. Packing, hold luggage, non-EU customs and postal shipping, explained.
22 August 2026 · 7 min
Pralines & specialtiesChocolate toxic to dogs: the real doses
Theobromine, thresholds in mg/kg, Belgian pralines and ballotins converted into grams: how much chocolate is genuinely dangerous for your dog.
19 August 2026 · 9 min
History of chocolateCocoa prices: why chocolate isn't getting cheaper
Cocoa has lost more than half its value since its 2024 record, yet Belgian chocolate is still expensive. We explain the lag, with the numbers behind it.
18 August 2026 · 9 min
Pralines & specialtiesHow to temper chocolate: the simple method
Callebaut or Belcolade, thermometer or marble slab: the seeding method step by step to temper chocolate and get glossy, snappy pralines at home.
13 August 2026 · 9 min