Beyond Chocolate Caramelised Orange Truffles
Occasional Chocablogger Sylvia first drew my attention to ‘Beyond Chocolate’ a couple of weeks ago. Neither of us had heard of them (or their creator Simon Boyle), but we both agreed their web site was… how can I put this delicately… awful.
Once you get past the rather scary sounding ‘Beyond Boyle’ name, the man behind the questionable branding comes across as arrogant and annoying. He may in fact be a lovely chap, but his own web site doesn’t do much to promote that idea.
Despite my reservations, I headed to Waitrose to pick up a box. Thanks to the same text-heavy “branding” as the web site I spotted them on the shelf quite easily. Then I saw the price. “Introductory Offer: £6.49″. That’s for a 136g box of supermarket truffles. Ouch.
I very nearly put the box back and walked away, but forced myself to hold on to it – and actually pay for it.
I tried to find the ingredients, but with so much text on the box, it was difficult to find. And when I did mange to locate it, it was written in a bizarre, flowery and totally unnecessary language; “scoop of caster sugar”, “drizzle of glucose syrup”, “pinch of sorbitol” and for some reason “splash of vodka”.
By the time I came to open the box, I was so annoyed with the pretentiousness of it all that I was ready to stab someone. Luckily, Mr Boyle puts his own photo on the box (not once but twice), so I was able to relieve some of the stress before getting down to trying the chocolates.
The truffles themselves remind me of the Gorvett & Stone dark chocolate truffles I tried during Chocolate Week. They’re a similar size and shape and dusted with 100% cocoa powder. The difference is, the Gorvett & Stone truffles were slightly cheaper, packaged much better, and not made with ingredients that allow them to sit on a supermarket shelf for three months.
Taste-wise, they’re pretty good (a fact which I found vaguely annoying). As you’d expect, the 100% cocoa powder dusting is a little bitter and dry, but that soon gives way to the sweeter 60% chocolate shell, which then melts away to a rather pleasant truffle filling that actually tastes like real oranges.
I found myself quite enjoying them – not enough to scoff the whole box (the sign of truly great chocolate) – but I managed to get through nearly half of them before sitting down to write the review.
In the end, it’s a shame these are so expensive and have such horrible branding. They’re nice chocolates, but Mr Boyle has priced himself out of the market and chosen to plaster his product with self promoting nonsense rather keeping things simple. For that reason, I can’t recommend them.
Posted by Dom on 13 Dec 2009 at 11:12 AM
| 9 Comments
Filed in Reviews under beyond chocolate, dark, orange, UK
December 13, 2009 : 7:56pm
Yikes – how can they possibly justify charging that much? And even if they are tasty, the whole “pinch of sorbitol” is enough to make me pick something else up…
December 14, 2009 : 9:56am
I think the branding is actually quite lovely and makes such a welcome change from the standard red and black packaging with all those ghastly bows. Eurgh, no thanks!
I’ve also tried the chocolates and they taste incredible, the caramelised orange is my favourite.
The thing that really makes these truffles stand out is that they fund training courses for people that have experienced homelessness – which it states clearly in a concise paragraph on the back of the box.
Considering most chocolate companies out there (apart from Divine, Green & Blacks) are highly unethical, I think these choccies deserve some praise.
I wasn’t sure what sorbitol was but after looking it up, its a sugar substitute which ‘occurs naturally in many stone fruits and berries from trees of the genus Sorbus.’ Not so bad after all eh?
December 14, 2009 : 3:21pm
Oh I know what sorbitol is, so that wasn’t the issue. The fact that it is there as an artificial sweetener was the problem and no amount of cute, fluffy language will cover that up.
As for giving money to charity. That’s awesome, but it doesn’t really impress me. I’d prefer they used ethical ingredients and sold it at a reasonable price instead of adding a gimmick of funding workshops.
December 14, 2009 : 5:08pm
Duh, it occurs naturally in fruit and vegetables! I’ve only found out about sorbitol today and I know that.
Unfortunately it seems you have a very pessimistic view. I’ve taken this from their website and don’t see anything about gimmicky workshops, rather they are helping people in need to get jobs and sort their lives:
By providing fantastic work experience and on-the-job skills training for people that have experienced homelessness. To help propel them into not just full time employment but onto a flourishing career path.
Our unique programme also provides support, training and progression planning for trainees to regain their self esteem, belief and confidence needed to accomplish full employability. We partner with our parent company Beyond Boyle Ltd who contributes in kind to the Foundation and provides the valuable work experience and employment opportunities to the trainees, apprentices and graduates.
Also, you might find this of interest:
We don’t believe that food or service should be complicated or stuffy. Nor do we believe that ingredients should travel unnecessarily, so we support our local farmers and food producers whenever possible. There are times when we want flavours and ingredients from around the world and we always try to trace the source, making sure it has been produced to our own ethically high standards.
I’m more than happy to pay a bit more for chocolates that taste amazing and are doing something incredible at the same time. Those that don’t will buy Cadbury’s.
December 14, 2009 : 5:18pm
One would be forgiven for thinking that JJ has a vested interest in this product. He/She is certainly very au fait with the packaging.
I notice a lack of email address. PR or actual employee JJ?
December 14, 2009 : 5:59pm
I was thinking exactly the same thing Simon…
December 15, 2009 : 11:29am
Haha, wouldn’t mind working for them – but I would get fat. They are on the shelves in Waitrose. I bought a box for my boss for Christmas.
December 17, 2009 : 1:57pm
How much?!? Although I do like the packaging.
December 17, 2009 : 8:44pm
re JJ’s
“its a sugar substitute which ‘occurs naturally in many stone fruits and berries from trees of the genus Sorbus.’ Not so bad after all eh?”
OPIUM/Heroin/Cocaine “occurs naturally” in plants too, and you wouldn’t call any of them “not so bad”. get a grip.
But having pointed that out, this links to some clear brief info on sugars in food.
Apparently, sorbitol is only guilty of having a laxative effect if daily intake exceeds 50 grams.