The Chocsters 2011

Posted by in Features on February 27 2011 | Leave A Comment

Welcome to the 5th Annual Chocster Awards, the time of year where we pick some of our favourite chocolates and squeeze them into arbitrary and entirely made up categories. Ignore all other award ceremonies you may see today, because this is the one that counts!

The only criteria needed to qualify for an award is that a chocolate must have been reviewed on Chocablog in the last 12 months.

The Chocsters is our own take on what’s been hot (and what’s been…. not) in the last year of chocolate reviews on Chocablog. Like most awards, the winners are a purely subjective choice, and most likely wrong. Feel free to argue and suggest who we should have picked in the comments!

Best Dark Chocolate
Soma Chuao 70%
Michael & I both reviewed this amazingly light and fruity bar from Canadian bean-to-bar chocolate maker Soma. We both agreed it’s divine, and one of those bars that you really do need to try for yourself to appreciate just how good chocolate can be.
Best Milk Chocolate
Theo Creamy Milk Chocolate
Deanna fell in love with this organic, fair trade 45% milk chocolate from Seattle-based Theo. You will too.
 
Best Assortment
Cocoa Mountain Selection
These perfectly balanced truffles from north west Scotland’s Cocoa Mountain are made with stunningly fresh local ingredients and taste divine. Worth a trip to their remote cafe in Scotland for (although ours came by post!)
Best Handmade Chocolates
Raffaella Baruzzo Sicilian Lemon Slices
We fell in love with Raffaella and her amazing crystallised Sicilian lemons chocolates at The Southbank Chocolate Festival last year. A must try.
Best Hot Chocolate
Jaz & Juls Organic Grenada Hot Chocolate
Delicious flavoured hot chocolates made with chocolate from The Grenada Chocolate Company. What more could you want?
Best Chocolate Experience
Chocolate Ecstasy Tours
A city walking tour may not seem like the most indulgent experience in the world, but when you’re exploring some of the world’s best chocolate shops, it’s an experience every chocolate lover has to try.
Best Newcomer
Katie Christoffers – Matcha Chocolat
It seems like Matcha Chocolat has been around forever, but it’s less than a year since we first wrote about them. Katie has consistently impressed us with her amazing tea-inspired chocolates and focus on quality.
Best Everyday Chocolate
Choceur Plain Chocolate With Roasted Salted Almonds
Just because it’s cheap, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. This 56% dark chocolate with almonds from Aldi contains just 4 ingredients and won’t cost the earth.
Weird & Wonderful Award
Nikkyuh Blackgarlic Chocoball
Who says chocolate and fermented garlic don’t go together? Well… we do. But we do like the fact that someone is trying these things!
Chocolate Raspberry Award
Cadbury India Temptations Raisin & Apricot
There are many, many contenders for this award every year, but the judges decided the (dis)honour of the award for the worst chocolate of the year goes to this oily creation from Cadbury India which we tried and (de)tested only this week. Nice one, Cadbury.

Once again, we’re a little sad to report that none of this year’s winners could be here in person to receive their awards. On the bright side, at least you don’t have to sit through the acceptance speeches, and can go and watch the Oscars® on TV instead.

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Comments On This Post

  1. So much chocolate to try. I’ve only had Matcha Chocolat from this selection, but if any of the rest of them match the quality of Katie’s chocolates, then I have a lot to look forward to.

  2. Where do you find so many amazing chocolates from? We visit the ISM in Cologne every year and also any relevant UK based shows but have never seen some of the products you mention. You’re doing a great job at helping the UK population gain access to better quality chocolate.

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