Today's tea snack was a late Valentine's gift from a customer. Although there are many chocolate makers, when you think of "Merry" you think of chocolate. It was an assortment of various types of chocolates. We all enjoyed it during tea time. The milk chocolate was very sweet, perfect for children, while the dark chocolate was a bit bitter. Some pieces had jelly or puffs inside. We couldn't stop eating them, so we had to force ourselves to stop. I ended up consuming more calories than I intended.

Nowadays, women might avoid giving Merry Chocolates on Valentine's Day, saying "That's so old-fashioned, lol", but Merry Chocolates is actually a great company that is considered the origin of Valentine's Day marketing in Japan. In 1958, they held a "Valentine's Sale" campaign at Isetan Shinjuku Store, but since Valentine's Day was not well-known at the time, they only sold a few chocolates. It wasn't until the following year when they started selling heart-shaped chocolates that they began to sell well. There is a theory that in 1936, Morozoff placed an ad in an English newspaper in Tokyo suggesting to give chocolates to your Valentine, but personally, I support the Merry Chocolates origin theory because it's more impactful. They have received international recognition, winning the "International Excellence Award" at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris for three consecutive years from 2007 to 2009. They are also known as the Michelin of chocolates and their brand "Tokyo Chocolates" has received a 4-star rating for three consecutive years in the Salon du Chocolat official guidebook. It's cooler to give Merry Chocolates after sharing this kind of trivia rather than just mindlessly giving Godiva chocolates (lol). Merry Chocolates also has a brand called Clé de Cacao, and our store has a section dedicated to it. The standout item is the broken chocolate series, where nuts and dried fruits are scattered on top of white, milk, bitter, or tea-flavored base chocolates, making them colorful and rich in taste and texture. It's not just about the appearance, but the taste and texture are also delightful, so I highly recommend it. The evolution from chocolate bars to coins, hearts, and spherical shapes, and finally back to broken chocolate, is quite interesting.

Received a friend chocolate on Palentine's Day, it seems to be chocolate from a cat lover ◆ Nyasort Chocolate, Tochiotome, Caramel, Sweet (Cat), Milk (Cat), Milk, Cafe au Lait.