It’s always nice to meet new people in the chocolate industry, and the other week I met Debbie from Chocolate Craft at the Taste of Christmas show. I’d never heard of Chocolate Craft before, but Debbie had heard of Chocablog and had been following my ramblings on Twitter for some time, which is kind of awesome.
I wanted to buy something festive, but not overly Christmassy, so I skipped the Christmas Pudding truffles and went for these instead.
£5.50 gets you 70g of truffles made with fresh Hampshire cream, real port and cranberries. That’s not cheap, but at least you’re getting some real ingredients in there. The milk chocolate is 33.6% cocoa solids and of unspecified origin. It tastes alright though – it’s not too sweet and works well with the flavour of the filling.
The appearance of the chocolates isn’t spectacular though. Rather than attempting a polished, glossy finish, the truffles are simply rolled in more milk chocolate flakes, making them look a little flat (and leaving a small pile of flakes in the bottom of the bag).
The fillings are a white chocolate ganache, flavoured with the port and small cranberry pieces. They are perhaps a little sweet for my tastes (which means most people will probably love them). My main gripe here is that the port flavour doesn’t really come through. The tart cranberries help to cut through the sweetness, but I was hoping for a little more of a kick.
But my biggest issue with these is that I can’t stop eating them. And when you only get six chocolates for £5.50, that can be a bit of a problem. Overall, I really like them, but that price is just a bit too high for me to give a full recommendation.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I only found it humorous to get two boxes of chocolate in the mail marked “Hedonist Artisan Chocolates” (a hedonist being someone devoted to the pursuit of sensual pleasure). Really, what could be a more fitting way to name chocolate?
This New York company also has a look that works: simple, but with accents that count. Their truffles are handmade “with French chocolate and fresh, natural ingredients.” The first box is the Fruit and Nut Collection, made with 72% dark chocolate.
Starting with the Pecan Cranberry, I found it to look like a tiny volcano with all of the nuts on top of the chocolate. First impression: the chocolate is more bitter/serious than many boxed chocolates. Next up, the Orange Peel is like little cave with buried treasure/orange inside. Still didn’t win me over to orange peel, but these pieces were less gelatin-like, though also rather acidic.
The Pistachio also has the nuts on top — like a crown this time. I enjoyed this one; it’s reminiscent of peanut butter, but saltier and with the singular pistachio taste. The Apricot I enjoyed looking at more than eating as dried fruits have never much interested me and there is more fruit than chocolate. All the same, I can’t complain about it. After all my comments on looks, the Candied Ginger still wins. It’s the castle, glittering by the seashore. Being so glittery, however, means that it’s also a tad strong for me, but it seems to be the type of ginger chocolate Ashleigh would approve of.
Moving on to the second box, we have the Holiday Truffle Collection. The Champagne Pomegranate has a lighter brown, dusty, truffle center and tastes rich and slightly boozy, with a berry jam flavor on the edges. Just what a truffle should be. The Molasses with Ginger has just one piece of ginger on top, giving a flavor I’m comfortable with. And I didn’t know molasses can taste silky; this one does, and it’s gorgeous.
The Fig truffle was like a Fig Newton that died and went to heaven. The crunch of a few tiny seeds in an inside of velvet, not thick fruit, the chocolate on the sides instead of the bread/cookie. For the Orange Clove, I was ready to announce “too strong” when I simple found the Christmas mood settled down upon me and must instead call it a good little truffle. Last is the Egg Nog, which isn’t even comparable to the bar I tried last year. This white inside truly does taste of all eggnog does: holiday spices, alcohol, and the thick egg taste, all surrounded by chocolate. This is what I needed.
Now I remember why I give so many middle-range reviews of the few boxed chocolate I look at.
Chocolates/truffles must be good-looking, and they must also have a taste-experience to match; otherwise, I can easier just pick up a bar. Hedonist Chocolates has passed the test. The Fruit and Nut Collection was nice, and the Holiday Collection was a great find.
I’ve been aware of Jaz & Jul’s for some time now, but only had a chance to talk to them properly and pick up some samples at the Southbank Chocolate Festival.
Jaz & Juls just make hot chocolate. They use real chocolate and spices to create a range of different flavours, and have recently switched to using chocolate from The Grenada Chocolate Company as the base for their drinks.
If you’re not aware of them, Grenada Chocolate Company is an amazing enterprise run by Mott Green on the Island of Grenada. They go well beyond the concepts of what’s considered “fair trade” and produce a great product that’s now widely available in the UK.
Jaz & Juls use flaked Grenada chocolate, cocoa, spices and a touch of sugar to produce their hot chocolate mixes. I picked up three of their large (250g) bags to try. They are:
Gingerbread Man
Flavoured with ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, I was interested to see how this would compare to Hotel Chocolat’s Gingerbread Liquid Chocolate, which I found a little too spicy.
This one has less raw heat and is also less sweet than Hotel Chocolat’s version, which suits me fine. It’s not quite as gingery, with the cinnamon and allspice being more prominent, but I liked it a lot. Most importantly, it tastes of real chocolate – something that often gets lost in the added flavours and sugar of other hot chocolate brands I’ve tried lately. I like this a lot.
Chilli Con Choccy
Flavoured with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, cloves & chilli. This smells of nutmeg and cinnamon, but tastes of fire! You do still get all the flavours through the heat, but it’s just a tad too spicy for my tastes. I know serious chilli addicts who would kill for it though!
Orangeytang
Flavoured with orange oil, cardamom & cloves. Perhaps my favourite. The aroma of orange and cloves hits you as soon as you open the packet, and when added to hot milk, it tastes almost like a chocolatey mulled wine.
I really like these hot chocolates. They might be a little different from what you’re used to, being made with real, quality dark chocolate and natural flavours. They’re not too sweet (add sugar to taste if that’s your thing) and not completely smooth in texture because of all those spice ‘bits’, but I like that.
Jaz & Juls do other flavours (including a white chocolate version), so check out their website for full details. If you still think Cadbury Drinking Chocolate is the height of hot chocolate indulgence, try one of these, and you’ll never go back.
Here we have a gift from my favourite Italian chocolate chocolatier (and presumably the only UK stockist) this bar from Guido Castagna has ‘class’ and ‘elegance’ written all over it. From the burnt orange and brown box to the carefully folded paper enshrouding the bar, you know you’re in for something a bit special before you even see the chocolate, and when the bar is finally revealed it’s a real piece of art. I’ve never seen a bar shaped this way before, and while it may make sharing a little difficult, you can’t argue that this creation simply oozes elegance.
When it comes to the taste, this Madagascan chocolate delivers an initial bittersweet acidity followed with light, slightly sweet hints of citrus and white wine. There’s even a hint of pineapple in there. The chocolate has almost no bitterness and it’s quick to melt, soft in the mouth, and maintains a mouthwatering acidity which gives it a clean, crisp finish. For a 76% chocolate it’s surprisingly light and fresh, with no ‘darkness’ or cloying, and when it’s gone your mouth is left clean, with a delicate hint of bittersweet cocoa. Fantastic with a light coffee, I could see this being one to pair with wine, but I’m afraid at time of writing I’m not in a position to do so!
Considering the Italian reputation for confectionery, their products do seem to be pretty thin on the ground here in the UK. as far as I am aware, many of the well known brands (such as Stainer) are still only available through specialist outlets, and this bar really should be more widely available.
While the Guido Castagna website has yet to list any UK stockists I believe Baruzzo chocolates has some available, as Rafaella seems to be setting herself up as something of an ambassador for Italian chocolate. Well worth tracking down.
