Sad, happy, excited, hopeful…all at the same time. That’s how I feel. Sad because this dear friend, Becky, is retiring. She is the first person I hired when business began 11 1/2 years ago. It was the best business decision I made, and a darn good personal decision as well….

here are some things in life that are pure pleasure. Becoming a grandparent is one of them! Introducing a grandchild to some of your favorite things is another, and I recently had the pleasure of giving my almost one-year-old granddaughter her first taste of chocolate–one of my most favorite things!…

We live in a country that values independence. We celebrate Independence Day and value the ability to “pick ourselves up by our bootstraps”. Our history is rich with stories of bravery and hard work. I come from a family history of strong, independent men and women who worked very hard….
Unfortunately, not all chocolate is good for you. Cocoa loses nutrients during processing, so the more processed the chocolate, the fewer health benefits it offers. Chocolate also contains added ingredients to balance the strong taste of cocoa; sugar, oil, and milk are some of the elements commonly added to chocolate….
Since not all chocolate is good for you, it’s important to make smart choices when eating chocolate. Remember the following when shopping for the healthiest chocolate: Cocoa — Cocoa is what gives chocolate all its health benefits which means the higher the level of cocoa, the better for you. Stick…
Chocolate Affects Cognitive Performance and Age-Related Memory Impairment Memory decline in old age among healthy adults can be effectively reversed by cocoa flavanols, according to “Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults,” a paper published in an issue of the journal, Nature Neuroscience. Different from…

Welcome to class! This is the first lesson in our new Chocolate 101 series where we will teach you all about chocolate! Lessons will be short, but informative and fun! Let’s get started with 5 facts about how chocolate grows! 1. Cacao Tree – Chocolate grows on the cacao tree…


Hello there! While we’ve been silent on the Stella Leona Blog for awhile, things couldn’t be more exciting in the shop! We’ve finally found a moment to catch our breath and we’ve got some serious catching up to do! First, we want to start with a very big THANK YOU!…