Update: Pictures from the event below!
Our favourite chocolatey dessert company, Gü, is currently undergoing a bit of a relaunch. Last week, we were invited along to a fun event in a gallery near Leicester Square. Gü Desserts had taken over the gallery and furnished it with tempting objects, all designed to fit in with their new “Give in to Gü” TV ad campaign.
I have to say, I really like this approach. The idea of simple temptations is in complete contrast to the over the top indulgences we’ve seen recently.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRfS8ZkZXGc
Aside from the chocolatey nibbles and cocktails (some of which we’d seen before!), there were dominoes on the floor begging to be kicked over, bowls filled with bubble-wrap, and in the centre of a the room, a Gü drumkit, which a few brave souls had a go on.
But Gü have decided to take the drums theme up a notch, and for on Wednesday May 25th, for one day only, they’re turning a billboard into a giant drumkit in Tottenham Court Road in Central London. Anyone can come along and have a go, and there’s apparently a chance to win a £200 Virgin Experience Days voucher for your efforts!
We’re going to try to get there and if you want to come along too, it all takes place at the poster site on Grafton Way, opposite 145 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1T 7NE.
Update: Gu sent us some pictures of the drums being drummed. Looks like fun!
I find it interesting to see what chocolate products Trader Joe’s turns out: they have an attention to ingredients and quality, but also to affordable prices. So when I saw this colorful tower of chocolate bars, dubbed a Chocolate Palette, I was intrigued, though still not expecting quite gourmet standards. Each of the eight bars contains cocoa from a particular origin and the little booklet folds out with a handy map showing all the countries the cocoa is sourced from, along with tasting notes and an ideal pairing (things like mocha and merlot). It’s obviously meant as a response to the growing interest in such details and an introduction for people new to chocolate-tasting.
Going from lowest cocoa content up, I started with the 60% Peru, which is wrapped in bright blue and has jasmine as its tasting note. At only 60%, it isn’t too deep or complicated, just very fudgy – I’m sure something like this will agree with the average palette.
At 66%, the fruit/floral Ecuador is still mild, but you can easier pick up on some of those flavor notes.
The Sao Thome is the first 70%, described as having “intense cocoa flavor with an exciting bitterness.” How’s that for a description to get the likes of me excited and curious? As it begins to melt, you do get a sense of its darker nature–it reminds me of a book, or a villain in a book. It’s deep, but with a warm heart. I can’t call it bitter; to me, it’s an adventure chocolate, complete with a slight woodsy tone.
Ghana, with peppery notes, is dustier and thicker, possibly overwhelming for newbies, though I find it decadent. It’s almost a grown-up version of the Peru with all its chocolatiness.
The Venezuelan bar is supposed to be mild and unique with floral and dried grass notes. While it is gentler, the floral flavors aren’t too strong; it does allow you, though, to get the depth of the chocolate without that potentially scary intensity.
Marked as fruity with a touch of spice, the Papua New Guinea isn’t too deep or intense, but has a slight bite. That note of spice works itself through almost as if it’s an added flavor of its own.
The last 70%, called “slightly nutty” is the Dominican Republic. It’s sort of velvety-tasting, like cool rain splashing against the earth. It’s a light richness this one has–a gentle but firm grasp. The way it finishes is as if you’ve just enjoyed a brownie.
Moving up to 73% cacao, the Tanzania bar is labeled with “subtle fruity and vanilla notes”. It makes for a nice finish to the set. With 73% not being an incredibly high content, these are still gentle and gliding flavors, reminiscent of spring.
At ten dollars for eight 45 gram bars, this set is a good value. The chocolate is of good enough quality to display the flavor notes of the various cacao origins, without being too bitter or intense for the uninitiated. It’s worth picking up.
It may seem odd, but one of the things I love best about being (kinda, sorta) involved in the chocolate world is the amazing people I get to meet.
One of those people is Art Pollard, co-founder of Utah-based Amano Chocolate. Art is a mild-mannered software engineer turned evil chocolate genius. He first sent us some of his chocolate back in January 2008, and I immediately fell in love with the Madagascar bar.
A couple of days ago I got to try Amano’s latest creation for the first time, and last night at the Academy of Chocolate awards party, Art was kind enough to give me a whole bar for review. And it’s one of the most remarkable chocolates I’ve ever tasted.
Inside the simple but beautiful packaging lies a chocolate that’s so packed with flavour that you might find it hard to believe there are just four ingredients – cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla beans.
The flavour is intensely fruity, but it’s not the same citrus fruitiness of the Madagascar bar. This is deep, red fruits. Blackberry and blackcurrants. Underneath, there’s a leathery note, but it’s the fruit that’s the real star here.
Regular Chocablog readers will know that I’m not really one for picking up every distinct flavour note in chocolate, but I do know what I like, and I like this bar.
Scratch that. I love this bar.
I have a couple of friends who have completely fallen in love with Amano’s Dos Rios bar recently, and while I like it myself (especially knowing the work that went into creating it), my personal preference is for the fruitier chocolates. It’s what I love about the Madagascar, and it’s why I love this bar too.
Scratch that. I adore this bar.
There are a couple of caveats that go with it though. The first is that you can’t actually buy it yet. I don’t imagine it will be too long before it appears on Amano’s website, but you’re probably going to have to wait a little while to try it yourself.
The second is that this bar is so fresh that the flavours are still developing. It takes time for all the flavours in chocolate to develop and come together, so in theory I should give this a couple of weeks before reviewing it. In practice, there’s no way it’s going to last that long, and I really don’t think it will do anything but get even better anyway.
If you get a chance to try this chocolate, do so. It really is remarkable how so much flavour can come from four simple ingredients.
If a chocolate company ever earned the epithet ‘troubled’ surely it has to be Kshocolât. Over the past few years we’ve had our hands on quite a few of their products, and I think it’s fair to say that they’ve not been well received. It’s also fair to say that we weren’t the only people to greet Kshocolât with a degree of indifference. The company went into receivership just about a year ago, but was saved by Bon Bon Buddies, a company better known for theme branded chocolate novelties and gifts. Indeed, until a little over a year ago BBB weren’t involved in manufacturing chocolate at all.
This particular box has apparently been produced in collaboration with John Lewis and claims to represent ‘something totally new and different’. Whether these predate Hotel Chocolat’s cocktail collection, I couldn’t say, but they’re obviously not unique. Marketed as ‘a perfect girls’ Friday night in in a box’, the flavours are (clockwise starting at twelve o’clock) Margarita, Irish Coffee, Mojito, Cosmopolitan and Strawberry Daiquiri. There are two white and two milk chocolates, the only dark chocolate being the Irish Coffee ganache.
The cocoa content of these chocolates isn’t at the top of the scale; white chocolate at 26%, milk at 33% and dark at 60%, but that isn’t necessarily an indicator of quality or flavour. The following statement on Kshocolât’s web site does position them as a premium brand though, and having read this, my expectations went up a notch or two.
“Kshocolât is an international luxury chocolate brand created for the ultimate in indulgence. Our passion is to make the best luxury chocolates from the finest ingredients with irresistible flavours that taste simply delicious. Our range of chocolates treats and gifts make perfect presents for your loved ones or even yourself, for those moments when only the most luxurious will do. We are proud of our stylishly indulgent treats, so we’re sure you’ll enjoy every mouthful.”
Having tasted my way through these chocolates, I have to say I disagree with a number of those claims. The chocolates seem fairly generic, almost as if Kshocolât were still packaging chocolates made elsewhere. The flavours of the fillings are obviously made with the correct alcohols (according to the ingredients list) but seem to come across as somewhat lifeless. For example the Margarita came across as ‘alcohol with lime’ and the Mojito as ‘alcohol with mint’ surrounded in chocolate. The chocolate was as good as you’d get in most supermarket ‘Finest’ or ‘Best’ collections but it really isn’t ‘the most luxurious’ and to claim otherwise is something of a nonsene.
With a retail price of a shade under twelve pounds, they’re at the top end price wise, but for a few pence per piece more you could be eating William Curley or Paul A Young chocolates, and they just can’t compare with that level of quality, taste or freshness. I can’t help thinking these are overpriced. They’re not unpleasant, just fairly average, and fairly average isn’t going to cut it if you’re trying to convince people to buy at premium prices.
