Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas - Zazubean Style

Valentine’s day: Ah, sweet, sweet Valentine. The day that is either loved or dreaded by couples. They either love the idea of taking each other out on a fancy date night, spoiling their partner with flowers, chocolates and some bubbly, or there are those who panic and don’t have a clue what to gift their loved one!

Well, today, this blog post was written with you in mind: this is for the romantic who might need a little extra help in the Valentine’s Day gift giving department this year. Nonetheless, it is going to be the best Valentine’s Day yet! Today we’ll be talking about the history of chocolate and Valentine’s Day, and then wrapping it all up by dishing up some delicious DIY chocolate-infused recipes and gifts you can make for your special someone.

The History of Chocolate:

Chocolate is made from the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to Central and South America. The fruits are called pods, each of which containing roughly 40 cacao beans. The beans are then dried and roasted to create cocoa beans. It’s earliest discovery was in 1500 B.C, when traces of theobromine, a stimulant compound found in chocolate and tea were discovered. The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations in Latin America, were the first to convert the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank their chocolate during rituals and used it medicinal form Centuries later, they combined roasted and ground cacao seeds, mixed with chilies, water and cornmeal. This mixture was transferred between multiple pots, which resulted in a thick, foamy beverage, called “xocolatl,” translating to “bitter water.”  The Mayans worshiped chocolate and named it the “drink of the Gods.” By the 5th century, the Aztecs were utilizing cocoa beans as a form of currency. Chocolate money?! Yes, it was a thing! They believed that chocolate was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl, and drank it as a refreshing beverage, an aphrodisiac, and even to prepare for war.

Chocolate later made its way to Spain, seducing the rich with its decadent flavours. It then travelled through Europe nearly a century later. For a long time, chocolate was a delicacy reserved solely for the rich. It wasn’t until the creation of the chocolate press in 1828, the world of chocolate was revolutionized. The press allowed for chocolatiers to squeeze cocoa butter from the roasted cacao beans, resulting in a fine cocoa powder being left behind. The powder was then mixed with liquids and poured into molds, where it took the shape of chocolate bars.

Chocolate & Valentine’s Day:

Valentine’s Day stretches back to the Roman era. One legend believes that Valentine’s Day was created in memory and honor of Saint Valentine. The legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. During his time, Emperor Claudius II concluded that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families. This led to his actions of outlawing marriage for young men.

Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decision, decided to continue to perform marriages for the young lovers in secrecy despite the new law. Eventually, Saint Valentine’s secret was discovered and Claudius ordered that he be put to death. In honor of Saint Valentine, every year on February 14th, people purchase flowers, chocolates, cards and gifts for their friends and loved ones to show their love and admiration.

Benefits of Chocolate:

Dark chocolate specifically, is linked to a neurotransmitter called serotonin. Serotonin, is a key hormone that helps to stabilize our mood, regulate feelings of well-being and overall levels of happiness. The more serotonin that is released, the happier you feel. Dark chocolate also contains tryptophan, an amino acid serving as a precursor for serotonin.

When one consumes dark chocolate, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin are released and form a trio that is responsible for our feelings of happiness and our boost in mood. Oxytocin is a powerful neurotransmitter that helps to regulate our emotional responses and behaviors such as our levels of trust, empathy, ability to bond with others, recall positive memories and general feelings of positivity. So, if you want to put your partner in the mood, or just in a better mood in general - feed them chocolate!

DIY Chocolate-Infused Valentine’s Day Gifts:

Now that we know about the history of chocolate, Valentine’s Day and the health benefits that it has to offer, let’s jump right to the best part! Do-It-Yourself Chocolate Gift Ideas for your special honey!

Gift Idea #1:

A DIY Chocolate gift basket! Select a cute gift basket from your store of choice, fill it up with all of their favorite organic and fairly traded Zazubean chocolate bars, put a few roses in the back, and voila! Gift option number one!

Gift Idea #2:

DIY Valentine’s Day Brownies: Do you think we could write a blog without listing brownies! There are two options for this sweet gift. Make the brownies ahead of time using your favorite recipe, or, wait until date night and have a romantic evening baking brownie’s together! Don’t forget to grab heart shaped cookie cutters to take these brownies to the next level of love.

Gift Idea #3:

Do a blind Zazubean Chocolate taste test! Pick up a variety of bars, give your partner a blindfold and then do a Zazubean taste test! See if they can guess the flavour of some of our customer favourite bars such as our Nudie, Hottie, Flirty, Slinky Grass Fed or even our Lunatic bar! There are so delicious options to choose from to make this a fun, sensory experience!

Gift Idea #4:

Chocolate dipped strawberries. The infamous go-to, most frequently bought Valentine’s Day dessert. But what says, “I love you,” better than handmade chocolate dipped strawberries?! Wait and make them with your loved one, or surprise them with a sensual dessert after a delicious dinner. We recommend pairing the strawberries with our Flirt, Nudie or another Zazubean dark chocolate flavor of your choice.

Gift Idea #5:

A Zazubean chocolate memory lane! Hear us out, this one took some creativity to dream up. Each of our bars are named something unique: Punch, Nudie, Hottie, Flirt, Lunatic, Sassy, Smooch, Saltry, Kiki, Nutbar... Each of them have been named because of their ingredients and intended health benefits. So what if this year, you reminisce about your relationship, with the help of chocolate! When you’re tasting each of the bars, use the prompts below to recount all of the incredible experiences you had in your relationship, or make up your own. We promise you; this is a “never been done” Valentine’s Day gift before!

Talk about…

Flirt: The first time you met

Lunatic: The first time you did something crazy together - skinny dipped, got drunk, etc.

Sassy: Who’s the sassy one in the relationship?

Smooch: The first time you kissed

Saltry: Who holds a grudge longer?

Kiki: The first time you two did something “kinky” together

Nutbar: The first meal you two shared (restaurant and cooked together)

Nudie: The first time you had sex

Punch: The first time you travelled together

Hottie: Your favorite features/personality traits of the other person that makes them so hot!

There you have it! Five DIY Valentine’s Gift Ideas that are perfect for swooping your loved one off your feet. Enjoy your day lovebirds!