Pretty Packages

Xoconochco
434 Main St
Franklin, TN
615-599-0236

The box

At one time, gifts, wrapping paper, ribbons and bows were of the wealthy only. Back before manufacture paper and tape (what would we do without clear and masking tape?) gift wrapping was truly and art form made from artfully folded paper and ribbons to hold the structure together. Also, because gifts and gift wrapping were of the wealthy, they paper and ribbons were usually painted, beautiful, colorful and a bit showy to show off how wealthy the gift giver is. That was over 100 years ago.

Fast forward to my birthday, and I got a really nifty gift box that was wrapped in the tradition of the 1800s. There was no tape used, only folded clear plastic to make the boxes, and ribbon to hold in the boxes. There were 8 tiny boxes in one big box that was tied with green and purple ribbon, then placed in a matching green bag with matching purple tissue paper of the bag. Even the card color scheme matched the wrapping and ribbons. The package was absolutely stunning.

strawberry

I have purchased only 2 USA made candy bars since returning from Belgium (really superior chocolate quality) because the mass produced chocolate quality that is made in the USA is like a hydrogenated oil wax stick with brown coloring. If I wasn't in the 3pm "got to eat candy" mode on those 2 occasions, I would refrain. It is not worth the calories or hardening of the arteries to eat USA mass produced chocolate.

When I opened my really visually wowing package, I saw that I got hand made chocolates! Wheee! Was I in for a surprise.

coffee

The chocolate truffles are hand made and sold in on Main Street in Franklin, TN just south of Nashville. Xochonochco offers old world crafted chocolates, not mass produced, and not with chemical flavorings devised in New Jersey candy. The strawberry gel inside the strawberry truffle is made from a strawberry reduction to result in a consistency of a soft Turkish delight, it isn't sweet because the chocolate maker did not add a lot of extra sugar into the gel, and the true strawberry flavor comes through delicately to the mouth and nose. No shortcuts were taken to make these chocolates. No fillers were used to make these chocolates. They are what hand crafted chocolates should be.

The quality and flavor of these chocolates are so so so much better than any USA mass produced chocolate, that these serve as a reminder that I need never buy USA mass produced chocolate ever again. I suspect Xochonochco chocolates cost is relatively high compared to USA mass produced chocolates. But, it is all about quality and goodness over quantity. It is also about pound foolish, penny wise. The real old money wealthy know this way of life: spend now and only once on quality and have it last, be satisfying and be timeless instead of buying a ton of inferior product over and over again because it is poor quality and never satisfies. Xochonochco is satisfying.