San Francisco, CA, March 9, 2009 – For the first time, CocoaBella Chocolates will be offering chocolates from the Bay Area with its launch of Michael Mischer Chocolates.  The partnership allows Michael Mischer Chocolates to retail a full line of bars and bon bons at CocoaBella stores and online at CocoaBella.com. 

Michael Mischer Chocolates is the label of the renown local chocolatier based in Oakland, CA, but his background is no less than worldly.  Native to Northern Germany, Mischer entered the confection business as an apprentice to a Swiss Master Pastry Chef at Konditorei in Braunschweig, Germany.     

“This is an exciting opportunity to expand our chocolates to customers in San Francisco and nationally through CocoaBella’s e-commerce site, including its one-of-a-kind custom box builder,” says Mischer.

According to Michael Freeman, founder and owner of CocoaBella, the partnership with Michael Mischer Chocolates is the start of CocoaBella’s long-term initiative to offer a Bay Area Collection of chocolatiers.  “In our mission to bring the world’s greatest chocolates to our customers, we found one of the finest chocolatiers in our backyard.  Michael Mischer’s chocolates are of the highest quality with brilliant integrations of ingredients,” says Freeman.

Michael Mischer bon bons available at CocoaBella include:

• Apple Pie, dark chocolate apple caramel with an apple chunk soaked in apple brandy
• Banana Split, dark chocolate banana filling with sour cherry and toasted almonds
• Cherry, dark chocolate cherry filling with cherries soaked in cherry brandy
• Lavender & Honey, dark chocolate with a subtle hint of lavender and honey
• Marzipan, dark chocolate with almond paste and kirsch
• Peanut Butter Croquant, milk or dark chocolate peanut butter integrated with caramel and croquant
• Root Beer, dark chocolate infused with root beer
• Tamarind, sweet and sour dark chocolate
• Salted Caramel, milk chocolate caramel with a sprinkle of Murray River salt

Michael Mischer bars include: 

• Almonds & Murray River Salt, single origin Criollo 38% milk chocolate
• Toffee, single origin Criollo 38% Chocolate
• Toasted Hazelnuts, single origin Criollo 72% dark chocolate
• Cayenne Spiced Mango, single origin Criollo 72% dark chocolate
• Murray River Salt, single origin Criollo 38% milk chocolate
• Fruit and Berries, single origin Criollo 65% dark chocolate
• Pistachios, single origin Criollo 65% dark chocolate
• Spiced Almonds, single origin Criollo 72% dark chocolate
• Montmorency Cherries, single origin 65% dark chocolate
• Murray River Salt, single origin 65% dark chocolate
• Dragon Fruit & Blueberries, single origin Criollo 72% dark chocolate
• Almonds & Murray River Salt, single origin Criollo 72% dark chocolate

Michael Mischer Chocolates are available now at CocoaBella stores at 2102 Union Street, at the Westfield Shopping Center, and online at www.CocoaBella.com.  For more information, please call (415) 931-6213.   

About CocoaBella Chocolates (www.CocoaBella.com)

CocoaBella Chocolates is the leading retailer of small batch, artisanal chocolates from around the world.  Founded by Michael Freeman in 2004 from traveling the globe to collect the finest chocolates, CocoaBella currently features more than 170 different chocolates from 18 chocolatiers and seven countries to offer the “World’s Greatest Chocolates.”