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Issue / Problem / Topic:

Ever since I was young, I have fallen in love with chocolate, especially chocolate bars and chocolate candies. To what extent I love them? I have hoped that I can own a piece of land, in which the whole land is paved with chocolate. I would then be able to produce a great quantity of chocolate bars and candies. Hence, satisfying my desire for chocolate. I believe every other child has a similar wish as I do. For this reason, I think Joseph Storrs Fry, the one who invented chocolate in its solid form in 1847, was just too great. No matter adults, teenagers, or children would never be able to resist the temptation of chocolate. He had just fulfilled our aspiration. It is always true that chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors around the globe.

Chocolate seem to have become traditional as a symbol of gift during holidays, especially chocolate coins during Christmas times, chocolate hearts on Valentine’s Day, chocolate bunnies and eggs during Easter times, or even as an expression of love on Mother’s Day. People would easily be pleased and get satisfied whenever they receive chocolate as their gifts. According to a survey released in Chicago at the American Dietetic Association’s annual meeting, the result showed that chocolate has actually the highest happiness score. This is true. Ever since I was young, I have always heard people saying that eating chocolates can indeed enhance one’s joyfulness and hence, improve one’s mood, simply because of the different chemicals involved in chocolates.

However, do people really know how to best choose among those large varieties of chocolate that they see in their daily lives? Do they ever know which chocolate actually best suits their health condition and economic situation? My goal for the 30 days is to try and taste different brands and types of chocolate bars and chocolate candies that I can find in supermarkets, so that I will be capable to analyze and evaluate each of the chocolate type that I tried. Eventually, I will come up with a conclusion that indicates the healthiest and the most worth purchasing chocolate brand. I will limit myself to only trying one piece of chocolate bar or candy everyday, since I am afraid that I might easily get fat and sick of chocolates after completing my 30 days experiment. Yet, I will still try my best in fulfilling my target, so that I will be able to come out with a solution on how to choose chocolate for oneself in a sensible way.

Experiment and Rules:

For the next 30 days, I must eat 30 kinds of chocolate. I will keep on recording my experience as my experiment goes on everyday. For the weekday blog entries, I will embrace the assessment of ingredients, nutrition facts, and price of the chocolate. Furthermore, I will also embrace short background information about the manufacturer, and a brief summary that focuses on my impressions and opinions towards the chocolate that I tried that day. For the weekend blog entries, beside from the materials brought up above, I will as well as include beneficial and detailed research about chocolate, for instance, the history, healthiness, and production procedures involved. In addition, I will limit myself to only trying chocolate bars and candies with different flavors, for instance, green tea chocolates, and vanilla chocolates. Eventually, I will come up with a conclusion / reflection, that shows the result of the top five most appropriate chocolates that consumers should buy.

Timeline and Documentation:

The beginning date for my 30 days experiment will be on May 3, 2010 (Monday) and the end date will be on June 1, 2010 (Tuesday).

For my experiment, I will need to collect 30 kinds of chocolate that I can seek from the supermarket nearby my apartment. For my blog, I will need to use the Internet in order to gather and search for background information. Moreover, I will take pictures of the chocolate that I tried and post them to the blog entries. They will act as records of my 30 days experiment.