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Chocolate Truffles And Other Noshes

 

 

Looking at my inventory of chocolate to be reviewed, I asked that if anyone had anything to bring me by way of chocolate that it not be be bars, but rather truffles or other chocolates to be eaten right away. I have a library of over 50 bars. All in due time for those reviews. For now it's nice to break up the reviews with fun things.

 

Angelo Scarnera brought me a nice little collection from London again. If you will remember, he is the person responsible for the British Chocolate Invasion. This time he came through with specific requests. One of those requests were more Milk Chocolate Bars with Welsh Sea Salt from Rococo. With it were two truffle bites.

 

Rococo has become a favorite of mine. That milk seas salt bar is ridiculously good. It snapped me out of this constant string of dark chocolate reviews and reminded me how good milk chocolate can be.

These truffle were lovely and rich raspberry truffle. Really clean finish. It opens up bright, bold and full of tangy raspberry. Follows through with some coffee notes of the rich chocolate but finishes clean. I am not sure of the cocoa percentage but it is a Valrhona single origin chocolate. I would be impressed with myself if I could identify the region, but the raspberry is the dominating factor. Tasty little treats.

 

Ahh Liddabits. Fun makers from Brooklyn, Ny. After having previously tried their pate de fruits and chocolate bar "The Snacker," which is sort of their version of a Snickers, I was given a bar of "Chocolate Doom." These are adult candy bars. Handmade, super rich, and super good.

"Chocolate Doom" is a chocolate sable cookie, milk chocolate ganache, white chocolate ganache, and dipped in chocolate. The cookie is a lot saltier than anticipated but is actually a nice break up to what would be an overly sweet candy bar. It ends up tasting like an Oreo cookie candy bar. Very rich. I could have done without the white chocolate, but that's just me being overly picky about white chocolate. The white chocolate gives off a weird artificial flavor. Again, this is just me being weird about white chocolate. I have never really liked white chocolate all that much except in obligatory things like white chocolate chunk macadamia nut cookies.

 

I liked this bar quite a bit. But I didn't think it was as good as "The Snacker." The peanuts in "The Snacker" end up being a more natural salty break up to the sweet handmade nougat in the bar. Still, anything called "Chocolate Doom" is worth having a go at.

 

 

Another William Curley truffle collection courtesy of Angelo. Can't ever be without a William Curley product within my reach. I've previously reviewed this truffle collection. I had a great time going through these truffles. They were very sophisticated. I had reviewed most of these but there were a few new ones in the box I hadn't tried before. The hand rolled collection.

The House Dark, Cassis and Hibiscus, House Milk, Framboise, Rothschild Champagne, and Yamazaki Malt Whiskey.

"Our fresh chocolates are made without additives or preservatives and have a shelf life of 14 days."

 

 







House Dark: Fairly intense truffle. Handrolled chocolate shell, with a deeply rich, creamy, and bittersweet ganache filling. Dusted in unsweetened cocoa powder.

"William Curley's Classic Truffles are made with a blend of Amedei's 9 and Toscano 70%. It has a fresh soft intense ganache, with a light coating of chocolate and cocoa. The House Dark has won Gold for Best Dark Truffle in 2006, 2007 and 2008."

Cassis and Hibiscus: Very tangy! The coating has a tangy cassis powder with a bump of rich and also tangy ganche right in the center, and finishes with a delicate hibiscus flowery finish. This isn't my favorite truffle, but I thought it was pretty cool. Certainly wakes your palate up.

I don't have the ingredient list for this one but I am pretty sure Amedei Toscano is one of the chocolates used.

House Milk: Much softer center and delicate flavors but still a fairly rich chocolate shell and unsweetened cocoa powder coating the truffle. This is still a very rich truffle it just has a creamier and milkier ganache filling. I liked this one much better than the house dark.

"The House Milk Truffle is another classic, rich and creamy made with a 32% Toscano chocolate. Enrobed in dark couverture and cocoa, this compliments the sweeter ganache creating a perfect balance. The House Milk has won Silver for Best Milk Truffle in 2007 and 2008."

Framboise: Tastes similar to the house dark with a delicate raspberry ganache filling. Mostly you find super tangy and overly flavored raspberry flavors. This is a lot softer and allows for more chocolate interaction.

"Fresh raspberry puree has been blended with Toscano 63% complimenting the acidity of the raspberry, coated with dark chocolate and cocoa. The Framboise has won Gold in 2008."

Rothschild Champagne: Very sweet with powdered sugar coating, and lightly flavored with champagne. You can taste classic champagne flavors but it's so subtle the sugars and chocolate over take it quickly. Still very nice though because of how sweet it is.

"Our Champagne truffles are made with Champagne Moutard which only uses the pinot noir grapes. It is an elegant and subtle light ganache dusted with icing sugar."

Yamazaki Malt Whiskey: Single malt whiskey from Japan. Very subtle. I am not sure what this whiskey is supposed to taste like though it's website mentions honey flavors. It doesn't taste like scotch or American whiskeys. I also don't know exactly what it's coated in but it's a clean tasting powder but a bit chalky.

It's interesting and soft. But perhaps if I knew the flavors better, I would understand what I was tasting. I could taste the Amedei flavors coming through but the the whiskey was so subtle I wish it were more bold.

 

Then Emily Shartin of Formaggio Kitchen, came through with some little noshes. She also brought the Liddabits candy bar. She likes the local Brooklyn food scene as much as do. She brought me a chocolate cluster, a small turtle, and two little truffles. I am not sure of the sources of these bits, but I will be sure to add an update to this post when I find out. Again, keeping with my theme of no more bars for the time being but bringing me small things I can eat and enjoy without deeper reviews.

 

Buttery pecan turtles with candied pecans. Soft chewy caramel with a slight bit of chocolate. This thing is all butter and it's all good. I am usually not a fan of turtles, but these are fantastic. I would love to cut these up in large chunks for the ultimate butter pecan ice cream.

 

The Cluster is chocolate covered nuts and corn flakes!! Simple yet so delicious. I should have saved it for breakfast. Pretty salty and barely sweet at all. This is something for someone who professes they don't have a sweet tooth. I think Jacques Torres had some of these clusters in his DUMBO store.

 

The polka dotted truffle turns out not to be a truffle at all but a chocolate shell filled with the softest, gooiest caramel. Nice little surprise. I almost ended up wearing it. But managed to recover it. The chocolate added some nice rich coffee notes. Sweet, sticky, and delicious. Nice little treat.

 

The dark purple lustered truffle was super rich and made with something from South America, possibly a Rio Caribe or something equally bold and deeply complex. Something coastal of Venezuela. At first I thought it was Madagascar cocoa with the strong wood characters, but it has to be something else based on the big tar, berries, and pen ink characters. I will be curious to see if I was in the right direction when Emily tells me what it is. Sweet caramel center but more of a creamed truffle texture instead of the runny and gooey caramel. The Center isn't the main attraction of this little nosh. It's the strength of the chocolate flavors carrying through to be the last thing you focus on as it lingers on the palate.

 

Update: Emily has advised me that these treats came from Elaine Hsieh in Somerville, Ma. Now I know where to buy in bulk, the Pecan Clusters. (Fresh pecans roasted in maple syrup and a touch of sea salt surrounded with soft Knob Creek Bourbon caramel and topped with E. Guittard’s 65% dark chocolate and a sprinkle of fleur de sel. Each box is 6.5 oz and contains approximately 12 pieces.) I want to large chop them and toss them into an ultra exquisite batch of butter pecan ice cream. It would be dope yo!

She also made those incredible Rochers. (A "haystack" of crunchy caramelized flakes, roasted and candied almonds, covered in dark and milk chocolate. Each box is 6 oz and contains approximately 8 pieces.)

The polka dotted caramel was a Bourbon Caramel. I feel way off the mark with that because I didn't notice the bourbon in it at all. It just means they are getting another day in court. (Bourbon Caramel - Bourbon Caramel - Buttery soft caramel with a touch of Knob Creek bourbon.)

 

Hot chocolate spoons seems to be all the rage in the UK. Large chocolate squares on stir spoons from Melt, and now these chocolate cups with spoons for easy stirring into a hot mug of steamed milk. Angelo, knowing that I wanted more drinking chocolate this time around, spotted this little gem at L'Artisan du Chocolat.

It's called First Crush. Dark chocolate with salted caramel spoon.

 

I scaled a cup of vanilla almond milk for this cup. Scalded vanilla almond milk smells like toasted marshmallows when coming off the stove. Stirring in the chocolate cup, it took a while to melt it all down but it made a nice rich brew. I licked the spoon at the end like advised on the package. It was really good rich dark chocolate and sugary just like the UK likes it.

I didn't get much of a salt caramel taste until the finish of one sip. The almond milk made it taste like I had stirred a peanut butter cup into hot milk. Very tasty. Super rich brew too.The almond milk is sweet already and flavored with vanilla so it added more sweetness to the drink as did the dark chocolate.

After not have a good introduction with L'Artisan du Chocolat's Jamaican bar, I was very impressed with this cup of hot chocolate. Nice and rich and sugary. I am kicking myself however, I should have had this in the morning and not after 5pm. I am going to be jacked for the rest of the night.

One thing I didn't like was the wooden spoon. I had to be very careful licking the rest of the chocolate off. I have a serious aversion to wooden spoons. It's cringe worthy and gag inducing for me like nails on a chalk board. Teeth scraping wooden spoons is a horrible thing and makes my teeth ache just thinking of it. I am not the only one with a reaction like this. My husband has it too. We both cannot deal with doctors office tongue depressors, flat wooden sticks for Italian icees, or Popsicle sticks. I freely admit that this is not their fault but my own weirdo aversions.

 

Just look at that thing. You can tell that sucker is rich and I am in for a long night of being awake. I didn't taste all of this in one day either. Okay, two days is still pretty gluttoness. But these are items with a very short shelf life. I HAD to do it, right?

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.

 

Halloween Chocolate 2010

 

 

What is cool and scary looking for Halloween this year? I have decided to highlight some awesome winners for this season. And not the corny stuff either. Some stuff that I like, that I think is cool.

 

Life size and realistic chocolate skulls anyone? Pictured above. There is little information about these except that they make them using Belgian chocolate. You can get them in blends to look more realistic. And they cost about $120 bucks. I hope they come in the cool case that is pictured on their website. They better for $120 bones.

Source: Chocolateskulls.com

 

 

How about some angels and demons? Chocolate icons from Alma Chocolate in Oregon. The Charming Devil or the Anatomical Heart might be right for Halloween. Or an Our Lady Gualalupe for Dia De Los Muertos. Or perhaps a Celtic Cross to fend off any other nasties?

 

 

Source: Alma Chocolate

Skeleton/Heart image via: Oregon Live

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Icons, Alma isn't the only game in town running that offer. Bond Street Chocolate in New York, also has a selection of deities to worship in chocolate form. And the offer high cocoa percentage (72%) skulls.

 

We all know Jesus wasn't really a white man, so a chocolate Jesus just might be in order. Just don't let it get too close to your prayer candles.

Source: Bond Street Chocolate

 

 

 

Let's get morbid shall we?  Chocolate artist Stephen Shanabrook with Body Parts, wounds, and incision wounds box set lovingly called "Morgue." How about a chocolate sculpture called "The Remnants of a Suicide Bomber?" Maybe some Choir boy's being water boarded? It's Halloween after all. Just because we turn the scary into cartoon-ish images, doesn't mean there isn't some real creepy stuff out there. If you are going to do gross, go big or go home!

Wonder what kind of chocolate he uses?

 

Source: Eat Me Daily

 

 

 

For something less offensive and more tasty, how about some skull and ghost truffles? Vianne Chocolat Nibs-n-skulls truffle and L.A. Burdick's Ghost truffles. Keeping in with the spirit of Halloween without getting too gross about it. Cute and tasty.

 

Source: Vianne Chocolat

Source: L.A. Burdick's

 

 

And since Halloween seems to be the time to pull out the hot spices or peppers in chocolate, why not go with this slick Mutha Fuckin' bar of chocolate right here? Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers.

Brooklyn-based, American Craft Chocolate producers, and now friends of mine, Rick and Michael Mast. Dope packaging, spicy chocolate, Dominican Republic beans. You can't go wrong.

This bar is in my own personal collection right now just waiting to be reviewed. Soon, my spicy friend. Soon you will be eaten and destroyed.

Source: Mast Brothers

Laurent Gerbaud, Belgium

Image via Station Gourmande

I recently got back from a quick trip to Belgium. The point of the trip was to witness my husband Todd and his brother Jason, get knighted by the Knighthood of the Brewers' Mash Staff (Belgian Brewers' Guild). Yes, it was a trip all about beer. But the beer helped me with a good tip on chocolate.

While visiting Moeder Lambic (probably one of the best beer bars in the world), Jean Hummler of Moeder Lambic recommended Laurent Gerbaud to me. We were discussing side hobbies and passions outside of beer. I told him I write about chocolate and that I am staying the most touristy part of Brussels, the chocolate shops were plentiful and equally touristy. A couple of saving graces for the serious chocolate fan were Valrhona, Galler, and of course the famed Pierre Marcolini. 

Jean told me Laurent's shop was very close to the bar. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it over there in time. I also, wasn't able to make it to Pierre Marcolini. This is okay with me because it just means I HAVE to go back now and maybe I will be back for Christmas. Imagine all the special treats at Christmas time. Nothing is more special than a gaudy European chocolate shop at Christmas time.

Not to worry. On one of our hardcore drinking nights, we naturally ended up back at the Moeder Lambic and amazingly, Jean took time out of his own personal day to get me a few noshes from Laurent Gerbaud. 

Since I wasn't able to visit his shop or speak with him directly, here are some blurbs about Laurent, his concept, and his special blend of couverture chocolate via his website:

LAURENT GERBAUD, chocolatier in Brussels marries chocolate, fruit and spices for 7 years. During a prolonged stay in China, he discovers the rich realm of Asian tastes and smells and begins to coat delicious kumquats (small candied oranges) with dark chocolate: an unexpected delicacy. Back in Belgium he passionately continues to create tasty combinations : "I do only what I like. When I am developing products, my only guide is my personal taste". The ingredients that compose each of his creations are all selected among the best ones in their league, and each delicacy is hand-made: " The chocolate and every ingredient we use are noble and precious: their character can be preserved only through a hand-made treatment."

These jewels are presented in a sophisticated packaging that visually enhances each product and turns them into irresistible temptations: precious gifts or a personal treat. The very distinctive LAURENT GERBAUD's logo features a red seal with the word 'chocolate' in Chinese. The deep and bright colours help create a distinctive identity to the range and contribute to evoke the world of tastes and travels in store.

LAURENT GERBAUD's chocolates are currently sold in more than fifty delicacy stores and specialized tea shops in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London and other main cities in Europe.

The new range of LAURENT GERBAUD Dark Chocolate 70% is built around an exceptional chocolate couverture prepared by Domori according to an exclusive recipe. Domori, one of the best luxury couverture chocolate makers in Europe, works only with the best cocoa beans in very small quantities, using a manufacturing process that allows the expression of all aromas of the chocolate. This philosophy met exactly LAURENT GERBAUD's own objectives, and so began a very nice partnership. This exclusive Chocolate is to be compared with vintage wines: these wines are made of specific types of grapes which develop special aromas according to their growing soil. The same happens with chocolates: they are made of specific cocoa beans selected for their aromatic and tasting qualities. LAURENT GERBAUD's exclusive mix is composed of Trinitario beans (5% of global cocoa production) originating from the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar and of Nacional beans (2% of global production), a Forastero unique of its kind, exclusively grown in Ecuador. The Trinitario beans give the chocolate its richness and aromatic intensity whilst the Nacional beans care for its exceptional length.

Treatment of small quantities of beans as well as low temperatures during the whole manufacturing process are essential factors to the preservation of the subtle and unique aromas of those noble cocoas. Not using soy lecithin ensures the mix is closer to the original chocolate recipe. This Dark Chocolate with intense and powerful taste has been developed especially to fit perfectly with the fruits used by LAURENT GERBAUD in his compositions.

The Milk Chocolate 50% designed by Domori for LAURENT GERBAUD is also a mix of rare Nacional beans from Ecuador. It holds 50% of cocoa, has exceptional sweetness and softness. A touch of Guérande salt completes this subtle picture. The Milk Chocolate contains a very small percentage of soy lecithin.

Now, these got back to the States in the best condition I could manage. They were stashed in my carry on, kept close to me without a lot of bumping. But being loosely packed, don't expect shining displays of glory. I was meant to eat these in Belgium, but selfishly, I stowed them away to write about when I got home. 

 

 

The plain disks were loaded with the aromas from the candied orange peels and candied ginger. But you can taste the cedar wood notes from the Madagascar beans and the drying effect and rounded edges from the Nacional beans. Hints of cinnamon, cherries, cedar wood, and some hidden berries.

Excellent quality. Rich, bittersweet, not heavily sweetened. With the salted cashews, this is the prefect blend. I like that the salt and cashew oils tone down a lot of that cinnamon flavor.

**Todd loved cashews. Too bad for Todd, he was Knighted in Belgium. He got a medal and all the attention he could handle. I am not sharing my Belgian prize of these cashew chocolate disks with him. 

 

Prunes dipped in chocolate. Again this blend works wonderfully with dried fruits. Sweet, prunes, but not overly sweet, and rich dominating chocolate.

However, the dried fruits draw out more of the cinnamon notes. I like the salted cashews which tame the cinnamon notes and allow for more of the raw cocoa taste to come through while being blended with the cashew flavors.

The second picture are chocolate balls filled with a gorgeous hazelnut paste of butter. Lightly sweetened and naturally oily. Like a chunky peanut butter filling but better because it's delicious hazelnuts. Simply fantastic.

The candied ginger and orange peel I passed on to my husband. I am not a fan of candied peels, and I really don't like ginger all that much. I did take a nibble into the ginger, and I can say it did work with really well with the chocolate blend. If I can recognize a good match in something I don't even like, then that is worth noting. Again, not my favorite so I passed it to my husband.

And the other are assorted truffles or bonbons. Again, using the house blended cocoa. Lovely flavors with that awesome finishing touch of Madagascar cedar wood flavors, cherries, and that clean drying finish of the Nacional beans. 

I am so glad this was recommended to me. In a sea of tourist chocolate like Godiva and Neuhaus, this comes a great treat and a shining beacon for Belgian chocolate. 

Next time I am in Belgium, I will have this chocolate with Jean, and take his beer list and do a real comprehensive Belgian beer and chocolate tasting. Those will be true notes to look forward to.

Thank You William Curley!

I haven't had much time to blog about chocolate recently. Work, beer dinners, charity auctions, a trip to Belgium, and next week a trip to Denver. I have been incredibly backlogged. But I haven't forgotten about a very special package sent to me by William Curley in London.

A while back, I wrote a rather harsh review of one of his chocolate bars. A friend of mine stormed London and brought back over 50 bars of chocolate for me. WC was definitely on the list. The Caramel Sea Salt bar from WC was fantastic. But one of the bars of chocolate was off. I stand by the review.

Mr. Curley had seen the review and offered to send a replacement. Sending things overseas is a big deal to me. Not only did he send a replacement bar, but two other caramel bars, caramelized hazelnuts, and a box of assorted truffles.

Way above and beyond customer service. These things really matter. Yes, if something is off most people do expect some sort of compensation. I am just not one of these people who demands it unless the service has been really bad or the person behind it is unworthy or rude. William Curley couldn't be more gracious. I am grateful for such a nice package.

 

This a serious assortment of truffles too. Interesting and unusual flavors not to mention WC uses famed Amedei chocolate for his coverture chocolate.

* Every truffle contains butter, cream, and invert sugar. May contain nuts, sesame seeds, wheat, alcohol, honey, and gold leaf.

Amedei Chuao 

Made with Chuao cacao (Criollo) from Amedei in Italy. 70% dark chocolate from the Chuao peninsula of Venezuela and topped with a small hint of gold flakes. Amedei is considered by me and many around the world to be one of the finest chocolate makers in the world WC uses their chocolate as couverture chocolate. Amedei Chuao is widely considered one of the best chocolates in the world and have won many awards for this chocolate. Chuao beans are also considered to be some of the worlds most rare and finest cacao. 

Soft, smooth texture, slightly tangy, rich, buttery, and creamy filling with hints of pepper and honey. (Some flavor profiles may be because of direct contact with other truffles in the box.)

Normally I find beer and chocolate a much more suitable match. I think this is a red wine truffle all the way. This truffle is complex and almost a little savory.

Raspberry & Toscano 

Half raspberry gelee filling topped with a layer of soft truffle filling made with Amedei Toscano (Criollo, Trinitario blend) 70% dark chocolate.

Soft, creamy and delicate chocolate filling on top of a sweet raspberry gelee square with the seeds in it. Natural flavors make this more sweet and fruity than tangy. Chocolate is sweeter and softer than the Amedei Chuao.

Very, very nice truffle.

Fresh Mint

Super soft center slightly sunken in shell top, light and delicate mint flavor, bright but not overwhelming, brief tangy sharpness up front to this truffle, smooth and creamy texture. Slightly milky after taste on the chocolate.

Once again, a very nice truffle. Subtle minty flavors and uncomplicated cocoa flavors. 

Caramel

Soft, gooey center, tangy. At first I thought this was the Heather and Thyme truffle. The caramel had honey like flavors and herb tastes that were similar to flavors found in beer. Naturally I thought it was the heather but the thyme flavors were virtually nil. And identified the thyme and heather truffle later on. It could be a small taste of the Assam caramel bar! I really hope it is, because it's quite delicious and would be amazing in a full bar.

Passion Fruit & Mango

This one was a big rough looking around the edges, but gorgeous in taste. A bit acidic and tart from the fruits, but softer passion fruit and mango flavors made for a lovely truffle and balanced the rich chocolate.

A nice little surprise with this one.

Apricot & Wasabi

 

Soft apricot gelee topped with a layer of soft ganache. Barely noticeable wasabi flavor. A bit disappointing with this one as I was expecting some heat. No heat and virtually no wasabi flavor. On the upside, it was still a delicious bite, with more focus on the cocoa flavors and stone fruit flavors.

Blackcurrent & Juniper Berry

Very nice truffle. Black current gelee topped with a juniper berry ganache. The flavors pop and are quite distinguishable, but do not linger and are not over powering. The rich chocolate is also not over powering. It's almost palate cleansing in a way as the rich flavors sort of cancel each other out. They make their presence known and then bow out to the other flavors.

Sea Salt Caramel

This is my favorite. As was the Sea Salt Caramel bar, this one is a small bit of that. Rich, super soft, buttery, and lightly salty caramel around a molded chocolate cover. The top design is covered with cocoa pods. This is the taste of Amedei that I love. Rich chocolate that takes it's time opening up so you are allowed to enjoy the caramel. Once you have been swept away by the rich caramel, the bold and savory cocoa flavors leave a lasting lingering finish.

Just fantastic!

Piedmont Hazelnut

This top shell design reminds me of beer rings or the logo of Camrbidge Brewing Co. I expected this to be a gianduja center but was delighted at the actual hazelnuts inside. Sweet and honey like flavors, a crispy hazelnut bottom, with a chocolate ganache top. Lovely and not heavy. Gianduja can sometimes be very rich. This was very sweet but light and delicious.

A nice break from all the soft textured truffles. Though the gelee centers have been very enjoyable.

Richmond Park Honey

Sweet and lightly tangy, buttery ganache with soft smooth finish. Very delicate with slight floral hints. This was one I was least impressed with flavor wise, but with the super high quality of these truffles, it's not like it's bad quality. Still has a rich cocoa flavor with a gorgeous buttery, and soft texture. Still fabulous.

Toasted Sesasme

I found the missing seeds from this truffle under the Piedmont Hazelnut. The toasted sesame seeds were nice with chocolate. They gave it almost a sesame seed brittle taste. However, the ganache center was very floral and citrus-y. Bright and but not tart ganache with lovely roasted cocoa.

Thyme and Scottish Heather Honey

Very herbal and flavorful. Not too cloying with the honey. The thyme comes out right up front finishing with a soft heather honey flavor. The herbal flavors roll nicely with the rich chocolate. A sweet lingering finish is left from the soft honey. 

Once again, a very big thank you to William Curley for taking time out to send a lovely care package all this way. I am forever grateful and the truffles were to die for. Excellent quality. I can't wait until I am back in London so I can sit in his shop and have more of his fine offerings.

Look soon for me to post my notes from the Caramel bars and the house bar reviews part 2.

Jacques Torres, DUMBO, Brooklyn

I stopped by Jacques Torres in Brooklyn while visiting over the July 4th weekend. Our friend Cathy Erway, who was showing us the DUMBO area of Brooklyn, told us we NEEDED to try the iced hot chocolate. With the weather being as hot and humid as it was, it was a life saver and unbelievably good.

We also tasted some truffles in the store as well. I didn't buy any to bring home, as it was just too hot to carry around. But I did enjoy the Grand Cru truffle.

Chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows. 

Chocolate bars and blocks. Word on the street is, Jacques Torres shouldn't be calling his "Jacques' Bean To Bar" a bean-to-bar chocolate bar. Word is, he sources the beans from other companies. But this is a rumor that I never asked about or contacted their company about... yet.

The label bean-to-bar is mostly irrelevant to the average fan of chocolate for the time being. But as chocolate makers grow and the demand picks up for real bean-to-bar chocolate bars, if the rumor is true, they better come correct about it.

Truffles and bark.

Chocolate covered things. Popcorn, nuts, and cornflakes.

 

After checking out the store and buying 72% hot chocolate cocoa, and Jacques Torres French Kiss cookie mix, we headed over to a small park right at the Manhattan Bridge for a a nice little break to sit by the water and people watch.

 

Fine & Raw ~ Bonbon Bar

Oh yes! A bar of chocolate made with all natural ingredients and filled with a truffle center.  The Bonbon bar. Word to your moms!

This bar was given to me by my friend Emily Shartin, the chocolate buyer of Formaggio Kitchen. She wanted me to try a very flavorful bar of chocolate from a solid chocolate maker in Brooklyn, NY.

Fine & Raw is a chocolate company out of Brooklyn using natural ingredients and green methods of sustainability.

FINE & RAW is a fresh new company that believes the future is beautiful. To help bring this thought to life we strive to be green and sustainable where ever possible.

We'll be the first to admit we're not perfect. From the big issues, like fairtrade and carbon foot prints, down to using energy efficient light bulbs, we're learning to be greener all the time.

Our cacao is fairtrade and comes from a small cacao farmers co-op that practices sustainable farming. Cacao is a shade grown plant requiring a foliage canopy to grow. Our cacao farmers maintain the rainforests which provide natural symbiotic canopies for the plant. The farmers also grow an heirloom variety of cacao, which promotes bio-diversity of plant species within the rainforest ecosystem.

All our ingredients are organic, which means no unnecessary toxins, chemicals or pollutants are pumped into the environment. Our packaging is recycled and the inks we use are non-toxic and vegetable based.

We want the planet to be strong so it can grow more chocolate.

I have only had one previous experience with Fine & Raw. I reviewed their Mesquite bar. A strange bar that one was. Funky flavors mixed with chocolate. Bizarre yet fun. It's one of those bars that you have to try at least once and you might not enjoy it just as a bar. I found it kind of odd but then I started to think about melting it down and making variants of Mole sauces with it. It was only after thinking about what could be done with it that I fully began to appreciate it. 

I am not going to lie though. I was mostly excited for the Mesquite bar because of the wrapper. A vintage cowgirl with a lasso. It's pretty bad ass. 

Type: Filled bar.

Bean Varietal: Unknown, beans from Ecuador.

Ingredients: Raw cacao paste, cacao butter, blue agave, virgin coconut oil, cacao powder, himalayan sea salt.

Sample Size: 2oz or 54g

Description:

Dark raw chocolate bar with a thin line of bonbon truffle running down the inside center (2oz).

Appearance: Very damaged. This could come from a number of reasons, but it had a very oily and greasy feel to the bar. The oils in this bar began to separate from the cocoa. The foil wrapper was completely saturated with oils. It has a soft truffle center but the shell of the filled bar was very soft. This gave way to a poor snap character. I doubt there would have been a viable snap character anyway with the soft truffle center. But there would have been a small sound with a crisp chocolate shell. I don't know if this bar is always supposed to be this soft or if some how there was an issue along the way with heat exposure or any other reasons. 

I have had a similar experience with a set of truffles that came to me from Patric. They were Elbow truffles made with Patric chocolate. They tasted so fantastic, but they got damaged along the way some how. They had a matted appearance and a bit of a sunken in effect from super soft truffle centers. It's a hard call when things like this happen. They might look messed up, but still they tasted like heaven. This bar was no exception.

Because of this I am not reviewing this chocolate like a standard bar. I am going to talk about the taste, texture, and aroma. I will give it one overall score.

Aroma: Huge coconuts, almonds, and rich roasted cocoa. Once again, a bar of chocolate that smells like a deeply rich Almond Joy. Obviously the coconut oils impact the aroma. I was hoping that the coconut was a natural aroma based on other chocolates I have reviewed with a robust coconut and almond aroma. But none the less, this aroma is unbelievably good. The bar was so fragrant that my entire living room smelled like rich coconut and almonds.

Taste: Coconuts, lovely hits of sea salt, rich roasted cocoa, nice bitter notes blended with sweet cocoa notes, and slight bit of astringency on the first taste.

Balanced flavors with the sea salt, richly roasted cocoa, and coconut make for a fantastic tasting bar. It's delicious and robust. It has a good balance of sweet salty, and bitter cocoa.

Texture: Soft chocolate shell, a bit oily on the surface, smooth soft center, creamy, melts fast.

The taste, creamy texture, and aroma completely save the day for this bar. I just wanted to eat more and more of it. The sea salt gave this bar a perfect balance. Rich cocoa notes big coconut taste and aroma, bittersweet and sweet cocoa tastes where rounded out by the contrasting sea salt taste. Excellent flavors and tastes.

It may not be totally fair to not score this bar based on appearance and snap, but this is an unusual bar of chocolate as it's filled with a truffle center. I am not sure where the issue happened with it's appearance, but it deserves a solid letter grade based on how good it smells and tastes. It's quite a fantastic bar of chocolate overall.

score
A

Making Up With Modern Dwellers

Customer service goes a long way. After being upset about the state of the truffles sent to me from a friend of mine who lives in Alaska and got them from Modern Dwellers in Anchorage, a new box made it's way to me.

Modern Dwellers ~ Beat Up Truffles

Now, this isn't why I write about chocolate. I don't like having to give bad reviews or harsh reviews. I don't like having to be sent new chocolate to make up for something that may have gone wrong. I don't write about chocolate to get free stuff, though it is nice when it happens. And I don't write bad reviews to stir up unnecessary drama. The power of words can go a long way. You never know what kind of impact you can have on a business. Being completely honest and telling the whole truth is the only way to go.

Part of the reason I was so upset about the state of the truffles was because of all of my new friends in Alaska swear by Modern Dwellers. I wanted to know what their story was and what the hype was all about. I really wanted to visit their shop while I was in Alaska back in Jan., but I never got a chance to make it over there. A kind friend of mine sent me a box of their truffles. But with no padding in the box, the truffles were completely destroyed by the time it got to me. It was hard to see what all the fuss was about and that's what I wrote.

Another reason it was so upsetting to have to write something like that, is because they have some unique flavor profiles. For a tiny little shop in Anchorage, Alaska they are doing some pretty amazing things up there. They are also working on pairing beer with chocolate with their local brewery Midnight Sun Brewing Co. There is a lot to like about Modern Dwellers.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it wasn't easy for me to write a harsh review about them. I wanted to like them and it was a rocky introduction.

All of that can be laid to rest now and left in the past. A new box was delivered and they were delicious.

I took the box and camped out in a tiny corner at my favorite bar Green Street, in Cambridge on a packed Friday night. I made everyone at the bar jealous as I ate truffles, took pictures of them and drank Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout with them. I also had a lot of red wine with these truffles. I am a BeerAdvocate, but I am not going to front, red wine and chocolate is fantastic together!

Everything sitting up right, the toppings still in place on the truffles. Still a little dusty from the nut covered truffles, but so much nicer than before. The inside was stuffed with bubble wrap this time.

There was only one disappointment this time. My list of truffles indicated that the Anchovy Amour and the Salmon Surprise were in the box. Sadly they were not. I know they sound odd, but I am all about weird and unexpected combinations. The Anchovy Amour is made with bittersweet blueberry puree ganche, hand rolled in dark chocolate, and topped with a salty and dainty piece of dried anchovy on top. Sounds awesome! The Salmon Surprise is dark chocolate, honey and black pepper ganache and coated in a dark chocolate shell, topped with lustered Alaskan Smoked Salmon. Tell me that doesn't sound delicious.

So, a mild disappointment there because I got my hopes up when I saw the list, but found they weren't there. Oh well, it just means a visit to their shop next time I am in Anchorage.






Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin pie spiced dark chocolate ganache dipped in white chocolate, dusted with pie spice.

This was much better fresh. I noticed this batch was a lot lighter on the pie spice and the white chocolate was more apparent than it was the first time I tried it. But still this was very nice. I liked this truffle the first time, and I liked it even more fresh. I just wish those pie spices were a tad more apparent.






Sweet White Delight

Creamy white chocolate and cherry ganache, dipped in white chocolate and topped with a dried tart cherry.

Not so much for me. It looked very pretty, and I thought this would be great, but it was too much white chocolate for me. The cherry ganache was too subtle and the white chocolate was too dominating. The cherry on top added a nice bit of tartness, but it didn't last long. Very pretty truffle, and great if you like white chocolate, but not a Candice truffle.




Buna Burst

Espresso and agave infused ganache. Hand rolled in dark chocolate. Rolled again in cocoa and cinnamon powder.

This was excellent! Soft espresso flavors, not bitter, but nice and roasted, light cinnamon, and unsweetened cocoa powders. Sot agave but you could tell it was present added a soft sweet and a little buttery taste. As soft as this truffle was, it was very complex at the same time. Loved it.






Indian Bop

Bittersweet East Indian curry ganache hand rolled dark chocolate and toasted coconut flakes.

Still one of my favorites. I liked this a lot the first time I had it, but it is worlds better fresh and with freshly toasted coconut flakes. Nice crunchy shell with super soft ganache in the center. I am not a big curry fan, but this worked out extremely well with the dark chocolate.





Purple Infusion

Dark chocolate lavender ganache covered in dark chocolate and topped with lavender petals.

This looks worlds better than the first time I tried it. The lavender on the first one looked like dried up grass or hay. This was topped with pretty purple petals and the petals helped add a nice pop of herbal flavor. The lavender ganache was very subtle. The rich, dark chocolate ended up dominating this truffle, but it was still pretty over all.










Cacao Wow

Dark 72% chocolate ganache encased in dark chocolate and topped with organic cocoa nibs.

I got two of these in my box. This is a straight forward truffle of rich dark chocolate. Sweet and rich, and nice roasted cocoa nibs on top. Simple and delicious.






Raspberry Grove

Bittersweet raspberry and maple ganache covered in dark chocolate and a luster coating.

This is much prettier than the first go around with this truffle. This is what I had hoped it would look like. Still has a bit of a dsty coating on it fromthe nut covered truffles in the box, but gorgeous purple luster. The raspberry popped but was not tart of overpowering. Soft raspberry taste, no maple taste, but nice rich dark chocolate.





The Berbere

Bittersweet ganache spiced with Ethiopian berbere dipped in dark chocolate and topped with a pinch of berbere.

I called this a mystery truffle in my notes until I bit into it. It didn't look anything like the first Berbere truffle I had. But the heat was there. The heat was a lot softer than the first go with this truffle, but still too much for my wuss mouth. If you like heat or spicy foods, this is a great truffle. It's a bit softer than a cayenne pepper or red chili heat, but paired with the rich chocolate it was tasty. I did love the lingering warmth despite the initial bigger heat kick and a sip of red wine with this truffle. It was fantastic.






Pistachio Passion

Lemon zest white ganache enrobed in dark chocolate shell topped with salted pistachio nuts.

This is a lovely truffle. I love the lemon zest ganache. It's bright but not too tangy and doesn't allow the dark chocolate to over power. I wish there were more salted pistachios on the top as the salt added the right contrast, but there was enough of it there to get the idea. Great truffle.







Dazed By Hazel

Rich milk chocolate and hazelnut ganache rolled in dark chocolate chunks of hazelnuts.

Milk chocolate was the right choice for this truffle. Soft hazelnut taste, but delicious. Crunchy texture, soft milk chocolate ganache. It tastes like Italian gianduja.






Margarita Zing

Bittersweet ganache of fresh lime zest and tequila covered in a dark chocolate shell and topped with Hawaiian pink sea salt.

This wasn't as lovely as the first time I tried it. It needed more pink salt, and the lime zest was more apparent this time. I liked the lime zest, but the dark chocolate overtook the subtleties of the tequila. I likes this, but I feel like it could have been a lot better.


And there you have it. What these truffles were meant to be like the first time. Very nice collection and very nice people at Modern Dwellers along with Shauna Pajak, who sent these along to make sure I had a fair shot with Modern Dwellers.

Modern Dwellers ~ Beat Up Truffles

When I was visiting Anchorage, Alaska last month, my new close buddies Ken and Shauna Pajak of Cafe Amsterdam sent me a box of truffles from Modern Dwellers. They arrived just as Ken arrived to hang out and visit Boston for the BeerAdvocate Extreme Beer Festival.

I wasn't able to check out their shop while visiting Anchorage, because they were closed on the one day I had for some free time in Alaska. Shauna being the amazing person that she is, shipped off some truffles to me to make sure I got a chance to try them.

I have to admit though, I am kind of disappointed. These truffles got beat the hell up in transition. I am frustrated at Modern Dwellers for this. Even if you are taking them down the street, or shipping them across the continental US, they should have been packed up better. They were tossed on a large box, and rattled around. Ones that were coated in nuts, completely lost the coating. Others were covered in soot from the other truffles.

This is what they looked like after I tried to put them back together again. Not very appetizing. But believe me when I say the box was in total shambles when I opened it. See their website with a list of truffles and what they would have looked like.

Modern Dwellers Truffles

The other issue with the way they were packed is freshness. Sitting in a cardboard box for days on end without any kind of insulation, leaves them vulnerable to getting stale and absorbing the box flavors. Not to mention absorbing all the other spices from the heavier spiced truffles in the box. All in all they are bit stale and are in no way representative of what is shown on their website.

The reason this is so aggravating is because it destroys a nice gift that my new good friends were trying to get to me. Also Modern Dwellers had some completely unique flavors. How can I give them a fair shot when they don't care enough to package their products properly?

It should be said that I am not normally this picky when someone gives me a gift. I am not ungrateful to my friend Shauna for giving me the chance to get to taste these truffles. I am just miffed that they didn't do too well in transition.

I will get over how they look because some of them still tasted good based on how they were flavored despite being beat up. But this is something Modern Dwellers should look into and take care of. Package your product better!


This is what came in my box.

Pumpkin Spice: Pumpkin pie spiced dark chocolate ganache dipped in white chocolate.

Very good! And I will be damned when I ate the truffle before I thought of taking pictures of the individual ones. But you can figure at least for this one since it was dipped in white chocolate and was the only white chocolate in the box, which one it was from the picture above.






Dazed By Hazel: Rich milk chocolate and hazelnut ganache rolled in dark chocolate and chunks of hazelnut.

Uhhhh you mean the nuts that ended up at the bottom of the box? Fail! This one tasted okay. It was soft but I had a hard time telling which one this actually was. It didn't taste too hazelnut-y.






Indian Bop: Bittersweet East Indian curry ganache hand rolled in coconut flakes and dark chocolate.

This was excellent. But I wish half of the coconut hadn't worn off. Nice curry flavor without being too over bearing. Lingers a bit, but is in no way offensive. Some people really love curry. I can tolerate it in small bits. I really liked this one a lot.

Raspberry Grove: Bittersweet raspberry and maple ganache enrobed in dark chocolate. Finished with a lavish luster.

This could have been pretty if you could still see the sparkly sheen and not the dusty coating from the other truffle coatings. This tasted interesting. The raspberry is not as dominating as I would have thought. The maple comes through quite a bit.

Purple Infusion: Smooth fragrant lavender ganache encased in layers of delightful dark chocolate. Garnished with petals of lavender.

Mine looked like it was topped with grass. It barely tasted like lavender. The chocolate was too strong for it. Maybe it was different when it was more fresh. I can only assume that's the one I was looking at because no other truffle listed is described as this.

The Berbere: Bittersweet ganache spiced with Ethiopian Berbere. Dipped in dark chocolate and garnished with a pinch of berbere.

Woo a little too spicy for me. I am wuss about spicy food and I make no bones about it. This is spicy and laden with a bit of heat. It was a little salty at first to contrast the sweet chocolate, but then the heat got the better of me. I think most people will like this one, but again it was too much for my oversensitive palate. My wuss mouth.

Mint Breezy: Fresh taste of mint infused in a bittersweet ganache. Hand rolled dark chocolate shell and lustered.

Soft, subtle mint. Tasted like spearmint. I liked this truffle. The sheen was pretty despite the condition of these truffles. The mint was soft and worked well with the dark chocolate.

Orange Drop: A delightful ganache of orange zest and Grand Marnier enrobed in dark chocolate and accented with fresh candied orange.

This will sound silly but it tastes exactly like the chocolate covered donuts from Entemann's. I loved those when I was a kid. The orange is apparent and soft, but the Grand Marnier is dull and not potent at all. This was a good truffle, but might have been better with a bit of an alcohol kick. 

Cacao Wow: Dark 72% chocolate ganache encased in dark chocolate and sprinkled wit organic cocoa nibs.

This is simple and straight forward, a rich dark chocolate truffle. Tasty and strong dark chocolate. Hardly any nib left on the top.

Blueberry Patch: Bittersweet blueberry puree ganache swimming in layers of hand rolled dark chocolate.

Not too fruity. I was hoping for big blueberry taste on this one. The dark chocolate overwhelmed. Might have been different fresh.

Margarita Zing: Bittersweet ganache of fresh lime zest and tequila cloaked in dark chocolate and topped with Hawaiian pink sea salt.

No sea salt left on this truffle, but it tastes salty on the coating. Light lime and tequila taste, but worked surprisingly well with the dark chocolate. Would have been fantastic fresh.

Pistachio Passion: Lemon zest white ganache enrobed in dark chocolate shell topped with salted pistachios.

No pistachios left on top of this truffle, but very tasty center. The lemon zest is delicious and holds up well against the dark chocolate. The salted pistachios are deeply missed for this truffle.

I cannot express enough my disappointment with how shoddy Modern Dwellers packed their lovely truffles. These would have been fantastic if they were fresh. These are creative and wonder flavors for truffles, but since they were stale from lack of proper packaging, they failed miserably in their representation of what is deemed an awesome chocolate shop in Anchorage, Alaska.

To my friend Shauna Pajak,

I thank you for making sure these were sent to me. You went out of your way to make sure I got them, and I am personally grateful to you for that. I just hope my brutal honestly in writing about these doesn't upset you personally. They should have packaged these up better. But your kindness in thinking of me is more important than the outcome of these truffles.

Elbow and Kakao Truffles Made With Patric 70% Madagascar Cacao

70% Madagascar cacao from Patric Chocolate made in to truffles and bon bon's by Kakao Chocolates and Christopher Elbow, specially released for Valentine's Day.

I ordered these right away when Alan McClure of Patric Tweeted that there were a few orders left. Alan had previously sent me his whole profile of bars and drinking chocolate (reviews still to come), and knowing that these truffles were made with Madagascar beans, I jumped all over it. I have been a major fan of Madagascar beans lately.




I must say, I was rather disappointed with the condition of the Elbow chocolates. They arrived at my apt. last week. I opened them and that was the condition they came in as pictured above. I am usually less critical of chocolate appearance, but in this case, what a disappointment. They lost their luster, were not shiny, blotchy, sunken in a little bit, and some of them were cracked. And it wasn't just one box of the Elbow. I bought two of each from Elbow and Kakao. Both boxes of Elbow looked like that.






The packaging though for Elbow was fantastic. For the Kakao truffles, it was a little basic in plastic wrap with little to protect the truffles. Interesting that they held up better than the Elbow truffles.

The Kakao truffles smelled like wood and citrus. So much citrus the nose was astringent. The Elbow bon bons smelled more buttery. Softer and more delicate cocoa notes with hints of wood and citrus as well.

The Kakao truffles were soft in texture, tangy with big citrus flavors, slight hints of wood, a bright cherry finish. Lingering spiciness.

Excellent!

The Elbow bon bon's were very soft. Soft texture and taste. Tastes like rich roasted cocoa, wood, cherries, and creamy butter, slightly tangy but not astringent. Very delicate and nuanced.

Excellent again!

Next time Patric, Elbow, or Kakao announce the release of these special truffles and bon bons, make sure you order yours right away. Hopefully they will come in better condition than mine came in, but if it's the taste that is all that matters, then you will be blown away by these rich and decadent offerings. Once again Madagascar beans proving to be my favorite.

Update: I just received an email from Alan McClure of Patric Chocolates with amazing customer service offering to refund me my money for the state of the Elbow truffles. I refused of course because these truffles were simply amazing. I ate them and was happy to have had them. But it was worth noting the level of customer service Patric Chocolates will go to to make sure their customers are happy.