Sugah! are a company from Halifax, Nova Scotia that managed to slip under my radar until a box of their clusters appeared in my mailbox via a friend. She hadn’t sampled their chocolate before either, but liked the look of the box and who can blame her because it puts absolutely everything upfront in a charmingly simple way. So their Anise Almond Clusters are, and I quote, “Rich dark chocolate with almonds sweetened with toasted coconut – and a boost of anise oil injected for good measure.”
And that is exactly what you get – great big clusters of almond and coconut, all stuck together with some relatively dark chocolate. Opening the box, you are greeted with the aroma of anise oil which is so strong that I couldn’t help but think that it was going to be the dominant flavour too, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. But more about that later.
These are sizeable chocolates which are obviously poured into their plastic tray while they are still melted because they take on its shape, making them almost cube-shaped. It also means that getting them out of the tray is a bit of a challenge, kind of like popping out ice cubes and that I had a few airborne chocolates to deal with before tasting began in earnest.
After finding the perfect angle of attack, each bite (because these are definitely multiple bite chocolates…) is full of texture with the slivered almonds providing crunch and the coconut adding some chewiness to the proceedings. The anise, however, really does take a backseat until only chocolate is left behind, then it lingers around afterwards for a while. It is a rather pleasant combination, even if it is a little on the unusual side.
So Sugah! have impressed me, and a look at their website suggests that they have quite a few more tricks up their sleeves. I look forward to crossing their path again soon.
These mini bars are made in Brighton by The Chocolate Heart and one thing that sets them aside from many other chocolate makers is that this chocolate is dairy free, something I happen to know to be very important to a growing number of people. I hadn’t heard of The Chocolate Heart until last month’s South Bank Chocolate Festival in London, and so naturally I was keen to try some of their wares. They also produce raw chocolate bars, but it was these 64% Peruvian cocoa mini bars that caught my eye, and yes, there’s more salty chocolate in this review as well!
I also picked out these Rose Mini Bars, as I have enjoyed floral chocolate in many forms over the past year or two.
Like Lauden’s rather lovely rose ganaches, these mini bars use the same (incredibly expensive) rose oil for flavouring the chocolate. It was chosen for it’s purity of flavour and is reinforced with the addition of dried rose petals on the underside of each little bar. One thing I will say is that chewing on a dried rose petal may not be to everyone’s taste – it’s a little like the feeling you get when you accidentally leave a little piece of paper on a toffee and find yourself chewing on it as the toffee melts.
As far as the chocolate itself goes, the Peruvian cocoa delivers strong, robust flavour as soon as it begins to melt. Slightly sharp but balanced with undercurrents of burnt sugar, the cocoa is quite light and citrussy, with a very soft, smooth mouthfeel. It’s quick to melt, with a clean finish. The additional rose flavour is quite subtle, mingling well with the cocoa but never threatening to overpower it. If you’re a fan of Chocoholly’s Geranium fish you may find the floral flavours in this chocolate a little on the meek side. There’s no rush of Turkish Delight- type rose in this chocolate. It’s a more subtle affair.
The Himalayan Salt Mini Bars use exactly the same Peruvian chocolate as the Rose Bars, so it’s really just a question of whether the salt works well with their choice of coca, and how strong (or not) the saltiness is when you eat them. I’ve never seen Pink Himalayan salt ‘in the wild’ as it were, but the story is similar to the Rose bars. Soft, subtle saltiness without any chunks or highs and lows. It’s a consistent flavour which runs through the entire bar without any drama. The more hardened salty chocolate eater (and that probably includes both myself and Dom after recent experiences) may find these a little on the wimpy side, but I think the balance is good here.
Overall, I’d have to say that I think The Chocolate Heart have come up with some good products here. The dairy-free aspect is obviously a strong selling point for many, but these little bars are of sufficiently high standard to appeal to everyone. There is of course an online shop at their web site where you might be able to pick up more of their products, although when I tried to access pricing information about these Mini Bars I was less than successful.
These cacao nibs were nabbed from the opening of the Rabot Estate shop in Borough Market, and as you can see, come in two varieties – milk chocolate or dark chocolate.
Nibs, if you don’t already know, are simply the unprocessed bean. Before it’s been refined and had sugar added. Just like chocolate, they vary in flavour, depending on the variety of cacao, where they’ve been grown, and how they’ve been processed by the farmer. And as the back of these bags is keen to point out, they’re very high in anti-oxidants, and incredibly good for you, although I’m not sure covering them in sweet milk chocolate is the healthiest way to enjoy them!
The one thing you don’t get from nibs is sweetness, so that chocolate coating really helps turn them into something enjoyable, and counteracts the natural bitterness. By weight, you get 50% nib and 50% chocolate in both varieties, and the dark version is 70% cocoa solids, the milk version a healthy 40% cocoa solids.
And they taste great too. They have a satisfying soft crunch to them, like a little chocolate covered nut, although there is the occasional harder, more gritty piece. It’s an interesting texture, and brings home the fact that this is quite a natural and unrefined product.
I decided to let the chocolate melt away in my mouth before crunching the nibs to release the flavours. Surprisingly, the first thing I got was a banana like flavour, followed by a whole range of fruitiness and toffee. After that, the bitterness kicks in, and is particularly noticeable if there’s no chocolate left to take the edge off it. But it’s an enjoyable bitterness because those most basic chocolate flavours are still in there.
What you have here is a delicious – and quite healthy – chocolate snack that disappears all to quickly. But I can at least console myself with the fact that I’m now packed with antioxidants, I suppose. Certainly worth picking up a bag or three if you’re in the Borough Market area.
In 2004, Jill and Jim Pomeroy started Cloud Nine Brownies as a small, local Colorado business. After some growth, they’re recently changed names to Aspen Brownie Works, drawing off of the Aspen Highlands, located just by their new kitchen. I don’t know how different their old look was,but I do like their new one. Their packaging uses recycled materials and eco-friendly ink; I find the natural look very appealing, accented by the right colors and designs.
The box I was given contains 20 mouth-size brownies. They also come in half and full sizes. Each brownie is individually wrapped to ensure freshness and giving them a rather nice look when you lift the box’s lid. Only downside was that I started turning obsessive compulsive when I saw their labels. Aspen BrownieWorks puts assortments of six flavors together (unless you custom order), but doesn’t seem to arrange them accordingly. So I found myself switching them around so that all the flavors were next to each other. The flavors are also uneven in amount: three chocolate chip, two raspberry, three espresso dark chocolate, four walnut caramel, four peanut butter, and four toffee.
I started with an espresso brownie, which was drier than I’d hoped for. I came in expecting almost gooey, rich dark chocolate (Aspen uses Ghirardelli chocolate). But the moistness is really only in the middle section. At first I was disappointed, but as I kept getting positive feedback when I shared any, I realized that I had just come in with too many expectations. What Aspen Brownie Works does is create a brownie with a crumbly outside that gives way to the more traditional fudginess. The duality is what sets their brownies apart from what you’d make out of a box. It’s natural enough for a homemade feel, while still unique enough to buy.
I only wish that the individual flavors had more presence. Espresso, what espresso? The toffee brownie has a sweet and salty flavor from its topping, but when the raspberry is just drawing off of a couple of jelly stripes, there’s very little raspberry flavor. Same with the peanut butter. The walnut caramel and chocolate chip pass since their added ingredients are more solid. When Aspen stresses their focus on quality, natural ingredients, they would do better to tweak the ingredients they use for the extra flavors. Otherwise, there isn’t much point in having so much variety. But besides this one point, I’m satisfied.
