20°N & 20°S

Supporting Your Local

 

 

I support my local. If given a chance to order chocolate from far away or support the local makers in my community, obviously I am going to support the local makers. With more and more people venturing in to making their own chocolate or making their own truffles and confections, the choice is pretty easy these days. I count my blessings for all the new shops and new makers in the Boston area opening up. 

Over Thanksgiving, I decided I was already baking and making enough food to feed a small army. I didn't want to spend that much time baking more desserts. I had already made my own fig jam and port wine truffles and chocolate cake, not to mention several other things. I remembered a great local truffle maker in my area, Valerie Conyngham of Vianne Chocolat. I had tasted some of her treats before, but she now has several new truffles. She tweeted out that she had some Mulled Cider Caramels. That's what I had to have. That's what I wanted on Thanksgiving Day. It just sounds like the holidays. It was cold that day too. They worked like a charm. Plus I love her packaging. It's so cute and makes for great little gifts to pass around with the family and taste all the yummy goodness. 

Luckily for me, she came and met me for a drink and delivered me a nice big order of fun things. I ordered Mulled Cider Caramel Cups, Peanut Butter Hives with a Kick, Irish Whiskey Truffles, and Pumpkin Cups. 

The Peanut Hives with a Kick were my favorite. Lovely peanut butter truffles with a touch of honey and a really nice kick of heat from cayenne pepper that does exactly what I want, slowly build on the palate. I am a wuss about hot and spicy food. So if it's not a slow builder, then I don't want it. These were great. I don't have pictures of them because they were very popular at Thanksgiving. But they come in cute hive-shaped truffle molds. 

 

 

Irish Whiskey Caramel Cups

This wasn't supposed to happen. They are pretty popular and she said didn't have any left, but fortunately one box did make it into my bag. Thank you Valerie! 

These are my kind of caramels. Belgian chocolate shells, boozy aroma straight away, as soon as you open the box as a matter of fact. A little green shimmer hand painted on each one. Soft, runny burnt caramel center with a nice boozy kick of whiskey. What's not to love? Butter, caramel, nutty chocolate, and whiskey. Good stuff. 

 

 

Pumpkin Cups

Dark chocolate shell with pumpkin seeds on the top and real pumpkin puree in the center. So many times things that say pumpkin are usually about the pie spices and not actually about the squash itself. This is largely the case with many pumpkin ales, but that's a story for another blog. This has the puree in it and you can taste it. The spices were great too because the truffles were lightly spiced. Pumpkin pie spices tend to be over done and end up cloying. Add a little but of nuttiness from the pumpkin seed and we got a winner here. Perfect holiday truffle. 

 

 

Mulled Cider Caramel Cups

The reason I'm here with this post today. Dark chocolate cups filled with mulled cider caramel and dried apple bits on the top. Very sweet and buttery. Spiced just right like the Pumpkin Cups, soft and runny, buttery burnt caramel center flavored with mulled cider. The dark chocolate leaves a nice lingering coffee-like flavor. Perfect after dinner caramel. 

 

Valerie is really nailing it with these wonderful caramel cups and truffles. I recommend sneaking in a last minute order for your holiday gatherings. A box of one of these these flavors would make for a really nice gift for someone at work too. The packaging is so cute and chic. 

Galler ~ Kaori

 

I have to preface this post by saying my customer service experience at Galler has changed. And when I say changed I mean it was a night and day difference in the attitudes of the people who work there. 

The first time I walked into Galler, in Central Place in Brussels, the woman behind the counter was rude, bored, and barely lifted a finger to help me. Offered no information about anything and it wasn't because of a language barrier. She spoke English and was completely rude. But that was last year. 

This year I was back in Belgium only this time I was in Bruges, when I found another Galler store. I reluctantly went in, but found an excellent shop person behind the counter. He not only talked to me, he went through every product, even let me sample some of the chocolates on his own prompting. He gave me a curry truffle and it was fantastic. Beautifully spiced, not over done and balanced well with milk chocolate. I was so happy and completely over the moon with the night and day difference in customer service. I even told him about what happened the last time I was in Belgium. He said no more. Galler had made it a point to focus more on customer service. This makes me wonder who else had issues in the past. But no matter, things have definitely changed and for the better. They have also taken a more hands on approach to the chocolate. When I went to buy the Kaori sets, he told me he just packaged them. They make and package certain things right there in the small stores now. Freshness is important. I couldn't be more pleased. 

 

Kaori: Perfume, scent, fragrance. 

"The Japanese call a beautiful calligraphy 'calligraphy with taste'. The emotion is in the movement and in the expression of what resonates within us." 

 

Chocolates: 

Saffron

Cardamon

Yuzu

Ginger

Vanilla and Coconut

Strawberry and Balsamic

 

Compositions: 

Orange and Cocoa Nibs

Matcha and Opium Poppy

Kalamansi

 

The idea is to take each flavored chocolate stick, which is kind of like a truffle or bon bon stick, and dip them into the flavor pots creating different flavor combinations. Unless you lick each chocolate before dipping, it doesn't work so well without the Kalamansi which is the pot that looks like honey. Kalamansi is an Asian citrus fruit with tangy, sour notes. 

The orange and nib pot is pretty flavorful with orange and slight tannins with the bitter cocoa nibs. The matcha and opium poppy pot is very earthy. 

 

The best flavor profiles: 

Vanilla and Coconut with the Kalamansi and Matcha and Opium Poppy.

Cardamom with Kalamansi and Orange and Cocoa Nibs.

Ginger with Kalamansi and Matcha and Opium Poppy.

Saffron with Kalamansi and Orange and Cocao Nibs.

Yuzu (so tangy and powerful in it's own right) works well with both. 

Strawberry and Balsamic with Matcha and Opium Poppy. 

 

This is a wonderful and unique tasting experience. The flavors and spices were perfect and the tasting cups were a fun and interesting mix and match set up. This is a perfect gift to bring over to a dinner party or to share with friends who really like tastings and flavors. For people who really appreciate this kind of thing. And no, I won't say foodies because I deeply hate the term and the obnoxious trends around it. This is for people who enjoy nice things. 

Really fun, really tasty, and a simple elegant design. You can sit around for ages reflecting on each flavor and each combination. Cardamon was my favorite stick flavor. The yuzu was my least favorite only because it's tanginess surpassed the other flavor combinations. Though it did work quite well with both, it was just a bit too tangy.

If you bring one of these over for a dinner party, you will be a big hit amongst your friends.  

**Forgive the appearance of the chocolate sticks. They suffered through some heat issues traveling back to the States with me. This was due to the aggravating situation at the Le Meridian Hotel in Brussels. They had no working a/c, only heat and it was dreadful and miserable for the one night staying there. It was the reason my Westvleteren 12 truffles had melted to ugly shapes. That's in another post. I expect other chocolates that I brought back in bar form to have the same issues. But the ashy appearance is due to that. When I opened one of the Kaori boxes on our beer boat cruise in Belgium, they were shiny and beautiful. 

Vosges ~ Woolloomooloo Bar 45%

 

As part of the exotic bars collection from Vosges, the Woolloomooloo bar is an Australian inspiration. If the name didn't give it away that is. Or the macadamia nuts. 

The inspiration:

Macadamia nuts, native to Australia, were originally harvested by the Aboriginal people who occupied the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range. This chocolate bar is named after the famed suburb Woolloomooloo in Sydney and meant to honor the Aboriginal claim to the scrumptious macadamia nut.

I have been to Australia before and I do recall Woolloomooloo. I never went there specifically but I was close. It was one of those names that is so distinctly Australian.

One of the best things about Australia are the macadamia nuts. Something everyone must try when visiting are the Weis Ice Cream bars. Half and half mango and macadamia nut ice cream bars. It's to die for and you can find it in any corner store or convenient store in Sydney. Or just buy a large tub of it. But this post is about chocolate. I must stir myself back or I will get lost in my own thoughts about Sydney and Australia. My favorite place in the world.....

 

Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover.... Unless it's a Vosges Bar.

 

 

 

 

Woolloomooloo Bar

Type: Flavored/filled Milk chocolate, 45%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Milk chocolate [sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, dry whole milk powder, soy lecithin, vanilla], roasted macadamia nuts, hemp seeds, coconut, salt. Chocolate ratio: 36% cocoa solids, 15% milk solids. 

Sample Size: 14g or .5oz

 

Appearance: Darker milk chocolate color, appearance of seeds and chopped nuts on the surface, monogrammed molding with inspirational message, Matted surface, no shine.

Score: 64

Snap: Very low and dull thud snapping sound. Very soft snap. 

Score: 73

Aroma: Big milky and creamy caramel-like aroma. Soft roasted cacao and a strange vegetal aroma almost like alfafa sprouts or mold. Very earthy.  

Score: 94

Taste: Slight earthy hemp taste up front but is quickly over taken by the sweet sugars and salt from the macadamia nuts, slightly nutty, milky, 

Score: 94

Texture: Creamy smooth chocolate, very quick melt-time. Slightly crunchy seeds, particle size nut pieces and chewy but scarce bits of coconut. 

Score: 93

 

It's funny that the message is "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Did they need to have that there to cover up for the fact that none of their bars ever have a desirable appearance? I have yet to have one bar from Vosges that has a nice surface or appearance. 

I had a hard time deciding on the aroma. I liked it but it's strange. I liked the creamy and milky aroma. Lovely soft roasted cacao, and then a strange green and vegetal aroma that smelled like mold or alfalfa sprouts. Very earthy, but it seems out of place with the sweeter and creamier milk chocolate. 

It tastes good but the palate is overwhelmed with milkiness, cocoa, and salt. The nuts barely leave a tangible nutty flavor, the coconut is skimpy and the hemp seeds seem irrelevant for the most part. They left a richness to the aroma but the taste was overwhelmed. This is due to Vosges going skimpy on the ingredients. Everything sounds good on paper, but when it comes to executing it, they skimp so badly. And it makes me mad because their prices and fancy packaging lead you to think that they are something more than they are. 

The coconut is so scarce that it leaves no impact on the flavor unless you happen to be lucky enough to get a piece of coconut to chew on. The hemp seeds leave a slight marijuana taste, with some earthiness and green taste up front but it's not enough to hang on or greatly impact the flavor. There is virtually no nuttiness to speak of except for some slight hints and the salt. There are some lingering seed tastes at the end, but that's only if you get pieces big enough to taste. The micro particles of macadamia nuts leave little or no flavor, but plenty of salt. Can we be sure there are even macadamia nuts in this bar and not just large kosher salt bits? 

The sweet and salty balance is fantastic. And for a milk chocolate it's great. But pretty underwhelming for the bar it claims to be. How is this an homage to Australia? Where are the macadamia nut chunks? Pretty weak and pretty pathetic if you ask me. And if I were Aboriginal, I would feel cheated. 

This is exactly the same problem I had with Vosges and their bacon and chocolate bars. Flavor wise the bacon taste is there, but the pieces in the bars are so pathetic. And these bars are not cheap. I want more. I want more macadamia nut pieces. I want more bacon. 

This was a good tasting milk chocolate bar. It's due primarily to the salt content of this bar. But overall I am not impressed with this. It should have been prettier than this, it should have been richer in flavor from the added ingredients. 

Final Score 83.6

   score
 C+

The Chocolate Line ~ Bruges

 

 

Left virtually abandoned by my chocolate twitter pals on where the good chocolate is to be found in Belgium, I was forced to fend for myself in a barrage of terrible tourist chocolate. Bruges, the historic and beautifully preserved Belgian town, is not unlike Brussels when it comes to the onslaught of crappy tourist chocolate. Someone really needs to publish a guide book on how to navigate the throngs of chocolate shops. 

Having said that, there are some saving graces. In Bruges, the saving grace is a popular and crowded little shop called The Chocolate Line. It was as though people had come from far and wide just to visit this shop. I found it online when I had a rare internet connection. Good thing I found them too. There is a lot of bad chocolate around Bruges. And it all claims to be the "Finest Belgian Chocolate."

The Chocolate Line was founded by Fabienne De Staerke and Dominique Persoone in 1992. Dominique dubs himself a "Shock-o-Latier," to push the boundaries in flavors. 

The people who worked there were very nice despite the crowded shop. The pushy and rude patrons did not discourage me from getting a taste of something worth while. Although, I wished I had more time to linger and search the store. I really wanted to buy the Tequila. The gentleman behind the counter with glasses, forgive me, I can't remember his name, patiently gathered up truffles for me and even recommended a few to try like the Bacon truffle and the Sun-Dried Tomato truffle. He even slipped me a Snobifram, raspberry cream chocolate cup to try while purchasing my goods. Very generous and thoughtful. That raspberry cup was fantastic too.

 

 

Admittedly, these truffles were meant to be eaten on the boat. We were on a barge for a beer cruise that took us from Amsterdam through Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges. I could have had them boxed, but the kind man beind the counter said it would be cheaper just to take them as is. I agreed and had intended to eat them after dinner. But our fantastic dinners on our boat were so fantastic and filling, we simply had no room to eat them. This was probably a good thing anyway. I am never stingy and will always share. Now, I selfishly have them all to myself. The condition these truffles are in are because I traveled with them from Bruges to Brussels, and then in my carry on the way home and stopped at 3 airports. They managed to survive relatively intact, but their appearance was not the way the store had given to them to me. 

 

The Bacon

Sadly the one truffle that suffered the most abuse on it's journey to my house. Milk chocolate coating, smells of salt and bacon fat. Creamy peanut butter and tastes like cured ham. Small bits of crispy bacon. Perhaps a bit too skimpy on the bacon, but the flavors are full and very apparent. 

Like Vosges, the bacon flavor is full but the bacon itself is lackluster. I need my chocolatiers to stop being stingy with the bacon and please put in real pieces. Go big or go home! Truffles are not meant to last so why not be realistic with the bacon? Your fans would appreciate it. Trust me on this one. 

 

Framboos

Bitter ganache with pure raspberry juice.

Firm deep rich chocolate ganache, extremely sour, tangy, and tart with the pure raspberry juice. A bit of a puckerer this one is. Full of flavor, but the raspberry is way too tart. Stick-you-in-the-glands-of-you-neck sour. While some people will surely love the extreme tanginess of this truffle, I found it to be over-the-top. Lingering chocolate on the aftertaste, but it is virtually destroyed by the raspberry. You get rich chocolate right up front and then it's all but destroyed and left whimpering on the final lingering finish of this truffle. The ganache was super rich too. Kind of sad really. 

Definitely different than the overly sweet and sugary raspberry truffles on the market. But this is a palate killing truffle. The Snobifram is much better and much more delicate.

 

Wasabi 

 

Bitter ganache, marzipan, with Japanese wasabi. 

Pungent but not spicy hot wasabi. Chocolate shell, top layer of green wasabi marzipan, and deeply rich chocolate ganache. Wasabi is very dominating right up front, but quickly dies away and leaves a wonderfully rich chocolate ganache taste. Delicious truffle. This had the balance the Framboos was missing. It has very bold and strong flavors and each one is allowed to shine. 

 

The Havana

 

Ganache with a distillate of Havana leaves. 

Again, not the prettiest shape they could be in due to traveling. But the cigar design is intact. Tastes like smoky leaves and rich chocolate. Not lit leaves, but rich natural smoky flavor. The ganache almost has a boozy quality to it. I am not sure of the distillate was an alcohol or a hydrosol, but it definitely has a boozy quality to it. That smoky tobacco leaves taste is fantastic. You won't feel like you are puffing a Cuban, but it certainly tastes like you had one in your mouth before you lit it. Definitely has nice, rich lingering tobacco notes on the finish. 

 

Italiaanse Javanais

 

White chocolate ganache with fresh basil, a chutney of sun dried tomatoes, marzipan with black olives. 

I thought this one was just going to be a sun dried tomato truffle. I am very happy to lean that this is a complete foodie truffle. 

It ends up being too funky. Basil dominates right up front. It tastes like a sweet candy pizza. I wanted to like this one too. The black olives are there but not as much as I would have hoped for. The tomato is there too but the sugary marzipan interferes with the natural sweetness of the tomato chutney. While the cool factor is there, it's not enjoyable at all. The chocolate does not match at all with the flavors of this truffle. 

The savory flavors do end up lingering on the palate which isn't a bad thing, but the flavors shoudln't have been mixed with all that sugar. 

 

 

Cabernet-Sauvignon

 

A caramel with Cabernet-Sauvignon and pine seeds praline. 

Big oak-y wine flavor right off the bat. Tangy wine mixed with soft runny caramel. It's a bit of a shock at first with that tangy wine, but then it finishes with extremely oak-y flavors. It's a bit of vinegar taste mixed with the buttery caramel at first, but then it finishes sweet with the chocolate and levely pine seeds. There is definitely a lot going on with this caramel. The wine is a bit of a shock and almost out of place but ends up being balanced or smoothed out by the chocolate, butter in the caramel, and pine seeds. 

Overall I like this quite a bit. But it's a bit odd and almost doesn't work at first. 

 

Espelette 

 

Bitter ganache with mazipan and slightly smoked "Espelette."

Another truffle that took a beating as far as it's appearance goes. But so far despie what they look like, they have all tasted fine. Fine as far as freshness goes. I can't speak for the Italiaase Javanais. 

A bit of a jelly or gel-like consistency in the middle. Virtually no pepper taste at all. A mild numbing sensation on the tongue at the finish of the truffle is all you get that indicates chili pepper. There is no smoky flavor. It's just a sweet jelly-like chocolate ganache center full of rich chocolate flavors and a bit f a nmbing at the end. No heat, and not chili flavor. Bit of a let down to be honest. Chocolate and chili's are wonderful together and in chocolate, it's one of the few ways I can tolerate spicy chili heat. 

 

The Creole

 

Bitter ganache with Arabica espresso coffee. 

Soft rich ganache but again, another let down of a truffle as far as flavor goes. Where is the coffee. Arabica espresso should have yeilded a nice bitter and roasted rich flavor. There is virtually none. I even saved this truffle for last anticipating a big robust taste. It's a delicious chocolate truffle. There is nothing bad about it. It's super rich and chocolate-y. But the coffee flavor or lack there of is weak. There is just a tiny bit of lingering coffee grinds taste on the finish. Takes a while to present itself. It's Europe people. Once again, go big or go home. 

 

I liked these truffles. A few misses with the coffee, and bacon and a big miss with the candy pizza truffle. But this is a chocolatier who isn't afraid to play around with flavors. Perhaps maybe a bit too timid on some flavors and then over the top on others. The Havana and the Wasabi were the best.  Still, this was better than 99% of the tourist chocolate crap to be found all over Bruges. Brussels is no exception. The Chocolate Line will be recommended should anyone need chocolate advice for Bruges. Maybe stay away from the candy pizza truffle, though. 

 

 

My favorite way to have hot chocolate lately. Chocolate on a wooden spoon to be stirred into some scaled milk. An ingenious idea really. But this looks like a huge block of chocolate for one hot chocolate. I got it in milk because I felt like the dark chocolate would have been too rich. I think even this milk chocolate block will also be intensely rich. 

 

 

 

I did pick up some chocolate lipstick. Will I ever wear this as real lipstick? Sure! It goes on dark and then rubs into a light brown color that isn't Halloween-ish. The only problem is, it tastes like brownies and won't last five minutes on my lips without being licked off. 

 

Zotter ~ Hand-Scooped Bacon Bits

 

 

Zotter "Hand-Scooped" Bacon Bits bar. Artwork by Andreas H. Gratze.

 

 

 

Bacon Bits

Noble bitter couverture 70%

Contest of nutty flavours. Cracklings roasted in a crispy fashion and then caramelised develop nutty flavours. Hazelnut nougat competes for this nutty taste. Refined with cinnamon and coated in noble bitter chocolate.

 

Type: Filled candy bar, nougat, Noble bitter couverture, 70%

Ingredients: Raw cane sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, hazelnuts (16%), bacon crackling (7%), full cream milk powder, skimmed milk powder, butter, whole cane sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla.

*Fair trade and certified organic ingredients.

Sample Size: 2.47oz or 70g

 

Ashy and bloom-y chocolate coating. Rippled wavy surface pattern from the chocolate being blown and cooled.

Smells like cinnamon and walnuts even though it's ingredients contain hazelnuts. No smokey or bacon aroma. Cinnamon dominates everything even the chocolate.

Hazelnut and cinnamon taste, very sweet, slightly salty with small bits of crispy bacon crackles, soft chocolate coating, soft nougat-like center, and crunchy, sweet, caramelized bacon.

The namesake simply doesn't hold up. It's called Bacon Bits, and while it does have it in there, it's very disappointing with the amount. I expected it to be more loaded with bacon. It's basically just a cinnamon-y gianduja bar with scant amounts of bacon crunchies in it. This cinnamon and hazelnut also dominate the flavor of the chocolate.

I think this bar tastes very good. It's actually really good and it's texture is very nice and creamy with the crunchy caramalized bacon for added texture contrast. But I wanted more bacon. The bacon is also candy-like. Barely any smokey flavor to it at all. But there is a little bit of a salt kick which helps balance out the sweet bar, but not enough though.

I don't know exactly how to grade this bar. For taste it would get a strong B+ or even an A-. But technically since it's called Bacon Bits it should be more bacon-y and that's what you should be left with when eating this bar. But you don't get left with bacon. And while it tastes great, it should be called something like "Cinnamon Gianduja," to more accurately name this bar.

 

   score
  C+

 

Melange ~ Mixed Flavors, White, Milk, and Dark

 

 

Angelo comes through for me once again. I asked specifically for some more Melange Chocolate tasting samples, or as I call them, chocolate straps. Thin tasting bars of flavored chocolate. Last time the flavor pack was all dark chocolate. This time I thought it was an all-milk tasting. To my surprise, it was a mix pack of white, milk, and dark.

 

 

Unless things have changed at Melange, the chocolate base used for these chocolates is from Belcolade, Belgian chocolate couverture.

I don't review these particular tasting straps the same way I normally review chocolate. They are too thin for a snap quality, they have been damaged by travel from the UK to the US (Not anyone's fault, they are just very fragile.) Some people have more of a weighted system towards their review marks, but I do not. I take the time to explain in full detail what each score means and why it received the mark that it got. With these kinds of tastings, I will just explain the taste, texture, and aroma and give a general score based on my own personal tastes.

 

Matcha & Strawberry (White Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 28% cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, matcha, and strawberry.

Type: Flavored White Chocolate, 28% cocoa butter

 

It's appearance doesn't quite show up the way I wanted it to in these pictures. It looks more yellowish based on the photos, but really it's more of a soft lime green color.

It smells like classic white chocolate, creamy, fatty, buttery, and soft. It has more of a lime aroma than a strawberry aroma. More citrus and fatty cream notes. Classic white chocolate aroma is dominating over everything else. I don't smell the matcha which hardly has an aroma anyway unless it's wet leaves or it's flavored, and the strawberry is barely there leaving a tart aroma that is more like limes.

Tastes like very rich and creamy white chocolate, buttery, rich creamy texture, virtually no strawberry taste at all, it's a little fruity, but mostly it's rich, and milky, has a bit of a grassy lingering flavor from the matcha. The last flavors on this chocolate are the strawberries. I'm a little disappointed that it's that faint or subtle. At least it presents itself though, but not until the very end through retro-olfaction.

I think this is actually fairly nice for white chocolate. I am not a big fan of it in general, but this was very nice. I only wish the flavors were a bit bigger. More of that grassy, green, matcha flavor, and bolder strawberries. The white chocolate flavors dominate so much that you are only left with lingering tastes of the matcha and strawberries. It could be so much better.

   score
   B-

 

Coriander & Grapefruit (Milk Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 33% cocoa mass, cocoa and cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, coriander and grapefruit.

Type: Flavored milk chocolate, 33%.

 

Light creamy milk chocolate color, lightly citrus-y on the nose and soft and subtle coriander. Creamy milk qualities with a very slight smoky aroma. They coriander was big right out of the package as was the lightly smoky aroma, but then it tames itself down for a nice creamy soft milk chocolate aroma with light hints of the citrus grapefruit and the spicy coriander. Soft and creamy texture, but a little bit of grit from the coriander spice.

Coriander right up front, very soft grapefruit, more like sweeter red or pink grapefruit, less tart and bitter citrus notes. Very soft and gorgeous flowery taste on the finish. Very slight though. Creamy milk taste on the chocolate with a few peanut notes. Sweet milk chocolate. The coriander and grapefruit are toned down quite a bit on the second and third tastes of this chocolate. The first taste the spice and the fruit are very present, the rest of the time it's all about the creamy milk chocolate and that lovely aftertaste.

   score
    B

 

 

Coffee and Aniseed (Milk Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 33% cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa solids, milk powder, lecithin, natural vanilla, coffee and aniseed.

Type: Flavored milk chocolate, 33%

 

Black licorice. That is the dominating aroma. Not even subtle aniseed aromas but straight-up black licorice. Creamy milk chocolate aromas with a subtle smoky hint. No coffee on the aroma at all. Light brown color with black flecks pepper through out the strap.

Sweet milk chocolate, excellent balance of coffee and aniseed up front. The coffee makes the peanut-y taste on the milk chocolate present itself more. Coffee is more roasted at first taste and then has more of a grind flavor. Despite the black flecks in the chocolate, it's not gritty. Coffee ends up the dominating flavors int he end. The aniseed was very much up front on the first taste of this chocolate and then takes a back seat. Creamy, soft texture.

I only wish the licorice hung around longer and interacted more on this chocolate. It dominates the aroma and then plays nicely with the coffee but then never comes back through the rest of the tasting. Overall though it was good tasting milk chocolate with a good blend of flavors.

   score
    A-

 

 

Raspberry & Rosemary (Dark Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 72% cocoa solids, Cocoa butter and cocoa solids, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, raspberry and rosemary.

Type: Flavored bittersweet, 72%

 

This one had an interesting nose right out of the package. It had tart raspberries, a little smoky chocolate, and a strange aroma that reminded me of yellow mustard and ketchup mixed together. The rosemary on the aroma wasn't as dominating as you might think which left a strange interaction between the cocoa and the raspberry. Deep dark chocolate color.

Nice rich dark chocolate flavor, lightly sweet, light raspberry, and lovely rosemary. Despite the strange aroma, the flavors are really nice. The texture is a little chalky and dry, but it's not overbearing. Deep dark chocolate, roasted cocoa interacts nicely with the rosemary, raspberry flavors are very soft, and hard to find in the middle of the bold and rich chocolate and dominating rosemary flavors. The rosemary is strong but not overpowering. There is a little bit of raspberry at the end of the tasting. It lingers on the palate and you can taste it through retro-olfaction.

Very nice chocolate. It is getting the score it's getting for that initial strange aroma, and being a bit drying and chalky on the texture. But the flavors are awesome with the deep rich chocolate. I just wish the raspberry stood up more in this chocolate. It's there but kind of hiding in the background to the rosemary.

   score
  B+

 

 

Cardamom & Cloves (Dark Chocolate)

 

 

Ingredients: 72% cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa solids, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, cardamom and cloves.

Type: Flavored Bittersweet, 72%

 

All cloves on the nose. A slight undertone of green cardamom, but the predominate aroma was cloves. Some roasted cocoa on the surface of the aroma, but it's dominated by the spice. Deep, dark chocolate color.

All cardamom on the taste. Bright green, fresh cardamom and deep roasted chocolate. No real hints of the cloves like the aroma suggests, a little spicy kick to the chocolate too. A nice roast-y, deep cocoa flavor lingering on the palate.

A nice play of flavors depsite only smelling one, and tasting the other. But the cardamom and dark chocolate together were very nice. And not all was lost for the cloves on the taste. I got a little tiny spice nugget later on that finally impacted the flavor.

  score
 B+

 

 

The biggest theme with these chocolates was a sort of bait-and-switch with the flavor profiles. The nose has one strong aroma, and the flavor dictates another taste all together. Both of the dark chocolates were the best example of this. They were also the most surprising to me. Despite it's score, the Milk Chocolate Coffee and Aniseed was my favorite. The white chocolate had a lot of potential but I needed the flavors to be a lot stronger. The classic flavors of white chocolate just dominated the palate. It's one of the reasons white chocolate is not my favorite.

Once again, a very nice collection.

Amano Truffles

 

 

 

This was a nice surprise. I was contacted by the awesome Amano people about tasting the Chuao bar. I told them I actually had it already for review They sent me chocolate anyway. And with that was a bar of Cuyagua and a box of their 12 piece truffles using various spices and different chocolates such as Ocumare, Dos Rios, Guayas, and Madagascar.

I love this life.

 

 

Amano Chocolate:
Cocoa Beans, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder (Ocumare Milk and White), and Whole Vanilla Beans

Centers:
Cream, Whole Milk, Glucose, Butter, Honey, Raspberries, Lime, Tangerine, Vanilla, Salt, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Pecans, Yuzu, Lemon Juice, Morello cherries, Morello cherry juice, Citric acid, Sugar, Invertase.

Click this entry to view the reviews and details of these truffles.

 

Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers 70%

 

 

My allies in the craft world. Craft beer drinker and chocolate eater, they are American Craft Chocolate makers. Once again coming through with stellar packaging. I LOVE skulls and this entire wrapping is just bad ass. It makes me want to say Suprasternal Notch. If anyone has seen the English Patient then you will know how amazing that word is and what it means. It's in my top five of all time for packaging.

 

 

Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers 70%

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Ingredients: Organically farmed  Dominican Republic beans, organic cane sugar, stone ground Mexican hot chilies, Serrano peppers.

Sample size: 2.5oz or 70g

 

Unfortunately I can't fully review this bar. It was broken up inside. I didn't have anything to do with that since it was gift chocolate. Probably banged up a bit in shipping. Normally I would just eat the bar and move on, but I have been wanting to talk about this one for a while.

I have had it a bit longer than I should have as well for Mast Brothers which is another reason why I can't review it in good conscious. Mast Brothers is one of the few chocolates that doesn't have a very good shelf life. Get it and eat it right then. Normally chocolate can go about a year or so depending upon it's wrappings. Mast brothers cannot. As you will notice in the pictures aside from being broken up, the bar is quite ashy.

I am happy that they chose the Dominican Republic for the cocoa beans for this bar. It's a much deeper and richer chocolate. They have been using Madagascar as their base lately for chocolate and I haven't been 100% sold on that. They need a little bit more time to perfect their Madagascar. They are right there on that cusp of greatness though. I liked their chocolate much more when Venezuela was the base. And by base I mean their base for most of their flavored bars, like almonds and sea salt or cranberries.

It tasted sweet and spicy right off the bat. A little waxy, at first bu then it opened up nicely. The heat was a slow building heat. I prefer this. I am a major wuss about spicy foods. If it builds slowly, I can take it. My palate is so sensitive I can barely tolerate medium salsas.

The chocolate flavor is robust and bitter, but not acidic or astringent. Nice sugar balance and the heat is just holding on the background. The peppers also add a nice flavor to the chocolate. Chocolate and chilies are made for each other. The spices help bring out a bit of a dried tart cherry taste on the chocolate which was an unexpected delight. Cherry pie filling lingering on the palate with tingling hot spice left remaining on the tongue. Fantastic.

I am very impressed that they kept the balance of the heat in check. Serrano Peppers is a no no for a wuss like myself, and I could handle this chocolate. The only issue I have with it, is that the heat is a bit distracting from trying to taste any nuances with the chocolate. But then again, that's not the point of something like this. And that cherry flavor is an unexpected bonus thanks to the heat. But that's all I am really picking up through the heat.

It's not a real review, but still fun to taste and talk about. If I were to give this a grade, I would give an A- or a B+.

 

American Heritage Chocolate

 

 

 

Lovely samples of a traditional colonial chocolate recipe sent to me by the Historical Division of the Mars company. A new line, American Heritage Chocolate, featuring old 18th century traditions of chocolate making and old Pennsylvania colonial-style recipes.

Handcrafted chocolate with natural ingredients with no additives or preservatives. Historians, chefs, food historians, and their chocolate makers collaborated to use only ingredients and spices available in that era. Recipes adapted and tested from Hannah Glasse and John Nott as well as others.

The blend of spices used for this chocolate are cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, red pepper, orange, vanilla, salt, and annatto.

The hand made techniques are detailed as:

-Imported beans from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

-Cocoa beans roasted over an open flame, and shells were removed by hand.

-Mortars and Pestles ground the nibs. Often leaving behind traces of other spices and chili peppers. Grinding was also done in mills that ground ginger and mustard which would also influence some of the chocolate's taste.

-Heated stones or metate, was used to grind the nibs in to a chocolate paste.

-Then the hardened chocolate was grated into water or milk.

Watch a chocolate demonstration here: 18th Century Chocolate Making

 

 

I love the presentation of it all. From the wooden box it was sent in and the cloth bag the chocolate sticks were presented in. It's very fun.

 

Single Chocolate stick, pack of four chocolate sticks, and a block of chocolate.

 

 

 

I took one stick for one normal coffee cup and steamed *almond milk. I did take a small nibble off the end of the stick to see what the texture and chocolate tasted like on it's own. Naturally it was very spicy, but the texture was fairly waxy. One of only two issues I had overall with the chocolate.

It smelled fantastic. The spices were a good mix for the chocolate. It did however leave a bit of a cloying taste at the end though due to the spices. But I didn't care about that because it was very soothing and comforting to drink.

 

 

I do think one stick for the cup wasn't rich enough. Though I don't know how it will effect the spiciness with added sticks. After using all of my leftover chocolate scraps from reviewing chocolate and making hot chocolate out of them, I prefer a robust and bold hot chocolate. That's also from being spoiled from the richness of L.A. Burdick's insanely rich hot chocolate. I would try it with one stick for a normal coffee cup, and then gradually add more if you think it needs it.

I haven't baked with it yet, but as the holidays roll around, I will certainly find something to do with the block. For now, I am left with four sticks of the drinking chocolate. That means about 2 more cups. I will make sure I save them for an especially frigid night.

Even with this being a product of a "Macro" chocolate company, this is fun chocolate. This cool little experiment in history and recipe searching. You can find it at historical sites for now to purchase, such as Williamsburg, Va., Mount Vernon, The Smithsonian, Monticello and the Fortress of Louisbourg in Canada. And even better for me being in Massachusetts, I can get this in Deerfield, Ma. The also have teas and coffees.

 

 

*I have recently had to give up milk. It's one of two reasons, either the amount of hormones added to milk here in the United States, or the pasteurization of milk causes a make reaction with my skin. It's been the most devastating thing to ever have to give up. But in Europe, I had raw milk and nothing happened to my skin. Adding milk to my coffee, nothing happened. I still have yet to talk to a doctor about the matter, but my findings so far are leading to me to think it's the pasteurization. When milk is pasteurized a crucial enzyme in milk that helps human bodies process it is destroyed. This could be the reason it's taking it's toll on me. However as a life long milk drinker, this is first time I have ever noticed such damaging effects.

But not all is lost. Almond milk has really come through and saved the day. Vanilla Almond Milk to be more precise. It has vanilla in it, it's sweeter, very thick and creamy. It's like going through the process of making homemade hot chocolate but cutting out all the steps. It's very tasty. And despite being made from almonds, the nuttiness doesn't interfere as much as you would think. It's there mildly, but over all it enhances the richness of the chocolate being added to it. Without Almond milk, I might have considered tossing myself off a bridge if I had to live without milk.

Rococo ~ Basil & Persian Lime 65%

Rococo Basil and Persian Lime

Sadly, this was the last bar of chocolate from Rococo in my British Chocolate Invasion collection. I don't want my journey with Rococo to end here. I have become a fan and I look forward to getting back to London, where I can visit one of their shops.

What is a Persian lime? Well for us, it's just a fancy name for limes commonly found in any grocery store or the. That's not to say this is a bad or generic combination by any means. These limes have a distinctive taste which I think work well with basil.

Description

The Tahiti lime tree is moderately vigorous, medium to large, up to 15 or 20 ft (4.5-6 m), with nearly thornless, widespread, drooping branches. The leaves are broad-lanceolate, with winged petioles; young shoots are purplish. Flowers, borne off and on during the year but mainly in January, are slightly purple-tinged. The fruit is oval, obovate, oblong or short-elliptical, usually rounded at the base, occasionally ribbed or with a short neck; the apex is rounded with a brief nipple; 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 in (4-6.25 cm) wide, 2 to 3 in (5-7.5 cm) high; peel is vivid green until ripe when it becomes pale-yellow; smooth, thin, tightly clinging; pulp is light greenish-yellow when ripe, in 10 segments, tender, acid, but without the distinctive bouquet of the Mexican lime; usually seedless, rarely with one or a few seeds, especially if planted among a number of other Citrus species. The Tahiti lime flowers have no viable pollen.

Origin and Distribution

The origin of the Tahiti lime is unknown. It is presumed to be a hybrid of the Mexican lime and citron, or, less likely, the lemon, and it is genetically a triploid though only the normal 18 chromosomes have been reported. Dr. Groff, in a reference to Citrus aurantifolia in his "Culture and Varieties of Siamese Pummelos . . . ", said: ". . .it is represented by a large variety known as Manow klom and by a small one known as Manow yai." One might speculate as to whether the large variety might be the female parent of the Tahiti lime. At any rate, it is believed that the Tahiti was introduced into the Mediterranean region by way of Iran (formerly called Persia). It is said that, for some centuries, a virtually identical lime called 'Sakhesli' has been cultivated on the island of Djerba off the coast of Tunisia, and that the local name means "from Sakhos", an old Arabic name for Chios, a Grecian island. Portuguese traders probably carried it to Brazil, and it was apparently taken to Australia from Brazil about 1824. It reached California from Tahiti between 1850 and 1880 and had arrived in Florida by 1883. It was being grown at Lake Placid in 1897. This lime was adopted into cultivation in California but is not extensively grown there, the bulk of California's lime crop being mainly the Mexican lime. In Florida, the Tahiti quickly took the place of the more sensitive small lime and the lemon. Following World War I, the Tahiti lime became a well-established commercial crop. At first, there was market resistance, buyers viewing the Tahiti lime as a "green lemon", and, for some time, Canadians would not accept it because they were accustomed to the more flavorful Mexican lime. In the 1930's, many Florida citrus growers planted limes for extra income and, in 1949, the development of limeade concentrate provided further impetus to the Tahiti lime industry.

In 1954, Libby, McNeil & Libby topworked 100 acres (40 ha) of grapefruit trees in Florida to Tahiti lime. Production increased 60% from 1970 to 1980. In 1979, the total crop was valued at close to $9 million. Nearly 1 million bushels (250 limes per bushel) were shipped fresh and the same amount was processed. By 1980, there were approximately 8,000 acres (about 3,250 ha) of commercial groves. Five years later, Dade County shipped 110 million lbs (50 million kg) of fresh fruit worth about $14 million to the growers, from a total of 6,500 acres (2,630 ha). Florida produces 90% of the national crop, for marketing fresh and for canned lime juice, frozen lime juice, frozen lime juice concentrate, frozen limeade and powdered lime juice. The Florida Lime and Avocado Administrative Committee conducts research on production and carries on national promotional activity.

  

[Source: Perdue University]

Type: Flavored Bittersweet, 65%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, Persian limes, basil essential oil, soya lecithin.

Sample Size: 70g or 2.4oz



Appearance: Deep dark brown with a glossy surface. Classic molding from the 17th century chocolate molds used by Rococo. A few spots of matting from sticking to the inside of the package, but not much.

Score: 93

Snap: Very firm, deep snap. Excellent, but the cracking snap sound was just a tiny bit subdued.

Score: 96

Aroma: Immediately out of the package it was very robust with basil. It was completely dominate and over powering at first. There was also a very strong pepper aroma coupled with roasted cocoa. I let this one sit out of for a bit and the basil toned down quite a bit allowing a bit of a lime aroma to present itself. It still had a lot of pepper notes though. Also, it had a light sweet aroma as well once the basil toned down a bit. Like sweet roasted cocoa not just the wood and toasted aromas on cocoa.

Score: 94

Taste: Roasted cocoa, pop of pepper up front, basil upfront, it is pleasant and light, cocoa is robust and intense, and the lime is very soft. I expected a much bigger basil taste based on the initial aroma. Cocoa is rich and dark, not acidic, or tart. There is nice lingering lime flavors on the after taste and through retro-olfaction. This is balanced with soft flavors that help tame this potent chocolate.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth opening but some grittiness towards the end of the melt. Medium melt time.

Score: 92


I expected a much bigger basil taste based on the initial aroma. The cocoa is rich and dark, not acidic, or tart. The flavors of basil and lime are soft and delicate.

This is lovely flavored chocolate. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to like this one at first because the first time I encountered basil and lime in chocolate, the basil was so overwhelming. This was very soft and pretty. The basil and lime ended up being a lovely compliment to the robust chocolate.

The chocolate was rich and robust, but also very sweet. Characteristics of British chocolate I am coming to know. But this was beyond just being a sweeter dark chocolate. It was fairly robust and hearty chocolate for a 65%. Sometimes you can get 65% and it's too light or too sweet, and sometimes you can get fantastic flavors of the chocolate to come through. It was big cocoa content after all.

But it can all depend on the cocoa butter content. A little known secret to the average fan of chocolate, is that if a chocolate bar says 65% it could only have 50% cocoa and 15% cocoa butter. Since cocoa butter is derived from the beans even if it's different beans than the cocoa being used, it can technically be called 65%. You can taste it when it's not as big as it should be.

I liked this chocolate a lot. I have only had 3 bars from Rococo, but I am starting to get the big picture here. Someone with almost 30 years of experience, Chantal Coady knows chocolate and knows how to balance flavors in chocolate the right way.

Final Score: 94.2

score
A-