On the episode of The Simpsons where Homer forms a barbershop quartet, there’s a conversation when the foursome are trying to come up with a name which states they picked one which was funny the first time anybody heard it, but then got less funny each and every subsequent time.
They went with The Be Sharps whereas this Nova Scotian company decided upon Just Us! The
exclamation mark, by the way, is theirs.
That might a little harsh because despite having a puntastic name, Just Us! were actually the first Fair Trade coffee roaster in Canada. While that is still their main focus, they also make some Fair Trade organic chocolate bars too with thankfully more normal names like Golden Crunch, Bittersweet Bliss and Midnight Mint.
Now, I do like me some mint chocolate, so that’s the one I went with. The bar is not too big – just 42g – which would qualify as a single serving for most people, and looks rather good thanks to the green foil wrapping. I’m not quite sure when straight forward silver foil became the norm, but it is always nice to see a bit of colour in the packaging especially when the chocolate looks kind of ordinary.
Again, that’s a bit harsh because while the bar is about as plain as they come – there no real pattern or adornments – the actual chocolate is pretty good. It is a perfectly acceptable 70% and while there isn’t much depth to the flavour even with the added peppermint oil, it is rich, smooth and pleasant enough.
Personally, I’d have liked a little more mintiness just to make it a little more memorable, but I’d quite happily eat it again if the appropriate situation ever arose. That might sound like damning it with faint praise but it is just a decent bar of chocolate, and that is a whole lot better than an unpleasant one.
Danucci is a company based in Co. Louth, Ireland who have a chocolatier by the name of Michelle Lowth.
This little box contains five pieces – a Sea Salted Caramel (the shiny silver one), a Rustic Praline (the ridged one), Raspberry Ganache and a Brandy & Fig Truffle (the pink one) with a small ‘placqette’ of dark chocolate in the centre – a neat idea, as it gives one the opportunity to taste the couverture in it’s basic form.
It seemed to make sense to begin with the placqette. It’s only 40% cocoa (not much for dark chocolate) with a very pleasant initial acidity which quickly gives way to very pleasing bittersweet cocoa, slightly winey with good depth and a clean, slightly sharp finish.
The Sea Salted Caramel was always going to be something of a deal-breaker. We’ve tasted quite a few variations on this theme over the past couple of years, and everyone does them slightly differently. Denucci’s version has a good thick shell with a good snap to it. The caramel isn’t so runny that it’s a risk to clothing, but neither is it stodgy. It’s not the saltiest salted caramel I’ve tasted, and to be honest I could have taken a little more salt, but it’s well balanced, with the first wave of burnt sugar flavours softening off as it joins the melting chocolate for a very satisfying conclusion.
The Rustic Praline was thus named because the nuts (in his case Piedmont hazelnuts and almonds from Valencia) are coarsely ground, giving it a much more grainy texture. The flavours of the nuts are right up there, blending well with the dark chocolate. It’s very obvious that high quality ingredients are in use here, as the flavours are very bold and pronounced but never over the top. Praline lovers take note, although if you like yours smooth you may find this a little too ‘grainy’.
Up next, a Raspberry Ganache, dark chocolate and zingy raspberry in a fairly common pairing, but again done well with the fruity acidity being mellowed by the dark chocolate. Nothing too challenging here, but a well executed chocolate.
The final chocolate is a Brandy and Fig Truffle. Another dark shell is home to a lightly boozy fig & chocolate confection. I was surprised at how delicate the brandy was in relation to the other flavours. The truffle is full of little bits of brandy soaked fig, putting me in mind of the Skelligs Figs I had a couple of years back.
There’s a ‘mission statement’ from Michelle Lowth inside the box, wherein she states her intention to create chocolates that are delicately balanced in terms of flavour, and on this showing I’d have to agree. There’s nothing too avant-garde here, but these are indeed fine quality chocolates. Michelle has been working for Danucci since 2005 and has garnered numerous awards in that time.
This intriguing box of chocolates was a gift from my favourite chocolate guide, and comes from a new shop called 40point5 in Kensington. The name refers to the melting point of chocolate. Clever – but perhaps something that will go over the head of the average consumer.
40point5 is the creation of Jonathan Deddis, former head chocolatier at Cocomaya. It perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise then that the chocolates look like a collection of work from some of the country’s best known chocolatiers.
Going on looks alone, I see hints of Lauden, Demarquette, Paul A. Young and even Cocoa Mountain. It’s an eclectic mix to say the least.
The flavours are a little less eclectic, though. Most of these chocolates have a simple dark chocolate ganache filling with simple flavours. (Ignore the dusting of white icing sugar over everything in the photos – my box was quite well traveled!)
I methodically sampled every chocolate in the box, and although there were some slight flavour variations; a little alcohol, mint or fruit here and some nuttiness there, along with the obligatory salted caramel. For the most part though, there isn’t a great deal to differentiate the chocolates.
That ganache is actually very nice. It’s rich and smooth, yet fresh and light. But given the wildly different looks, I was expecting something a little more – they reminded me of the Jacque Genin French chocolates I tried recently. A lot of effort has been put into presentation and quality ingredients, but the flavours lack some of the flair and imagination I’ve come to expect from British chocolatiers.
For the average consumer though, that’s really just nitpicking. They’re quality, fresh chocolates and most people would be very happy to to receive them (just as I was!). Jonathan Deddis is obviously a talented chocolatier, but I’d love to see him take a few more chances with flavour combinations in the future.
I recentl received a little box of treasure from The Chocolate Society, and one of the items in the box was this bag of cinder toffee covered in Valrhona 70% dark chocolate – aka ‘Hokey Pokey’.
The card attached to the bag references Victorian street sellers offering up hokey pokey with a slightly rude poem – “Hokey Pokey, penny a lump, the more you eat . . . etc.”. Further research suggests this may not have been the case – hokey pokey being a bastardisation of the Italian ‘ecco un poco’ which immigrant ice cream sellers would shout.
Linguistic origins aside, hokey pokey is definitely cinder toffee, and this is definitely that – and in quite an impressive style. These are not small lumps. Even the smallest were quite daunting, and I saved the largest few for impressing children with over Xmas. (They’re enormous!)
This is the ‘Wicked’ version, covered in 70% Valrhona Dark couverture. (There’s also a ‘Milkey’ version)
The cinder toffee appears to have been double dipped. My first bite did little more than dislodge the first level of chocolate, allowing me to taste the Valrhona couverture, which is nicely bittersweet, and a good contrast to the main event, which is obviously mainly burnt sugar. The toffee is classic cinder toffee – brittle, light, and just the right side of burnt to mean I didn’t find it too sweet. There’s a good juxtaposition of textures and flavours, with the burnt, sticky sweetness of the toffee being mellowed out by the richness of the dark chocolate. It’s a posh take on an old favourite (we used to sell cinder toffee when I was a young lad living in a sweetshop) and definitely stirred confectionery memories.
I did wonder why the Chocolate Society would be selling chocolate covered cinder toffee, but I suppose it works as a bit of nostalgic fun. The problem comes when you look at the price. At £36 a kilo, Hokey Pokey is no longer the cheap treat it once was. Slightly less ‘posh’ versions can be found for half the price, which makes me wonder whether the Chocolate Society may have to have a look at their costs (or profit margins).
The product is just fine – a very classy version of a childhood favourite – but if you told me you wanted £9 for a bag, I’d be off to see a London chocolatier for some real treats.
