I’m always happy to find another passionate Canadian chocolate company. Located in Orangeville, which is about one hour northwest of Toronto, Giddy Yoyo is clearly excited about the health benefits of chocolate.
The packaging is emblazoned with a wealth of information about that message – they only use wild Ecuadorian heirloom Arriba Nacional cacao to make their chocolate, and if that wasn’t plants are only watered naturally by rainwater or mountain streams. It is Fair Trade, Organic, Raw, Gluten Free, Vegan and the first thing listed in the ingredients is “Love & Gratitude”, yet it doesn’t come off as being preachy like some companies too. They stop short of making outrageous health claims and just want people to know that this is made with good stuff. It is eye-catching and the kind of packaging which I’m sure helps to sell bars, and the inside has even more info too about their full range.
Naturally, I’m more concerned about what’s inside the package and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. I usually find that raw bars lack the depth of flavour that I like in my chocolate, but that’s where having a flavoured bar helps to compensate. The promised spiciness comes from the addition of cinnamon and cayenne – a tried and tested combination – and they are not shy about how much they threw in.
That translates into a big cinnamony snack across the tastebuds with just a little room for some chocolately undertones, and then some peppery heat lingering at the end. It is really rather pleasant, but there isn’t much room for the chocolate amidst the spices so I really can’t tell how I feel about it. It appears to be up to the task of supporting the boldness of the flavour but that’s all I can say comfortably.
I still ate the whole thing and would happily eat another one. Or two. But next time around, I’d prefer something that gives the chocolate the chance to shine.
These days, people take one of two approaches to chocolate with me at Christmas time. They either completely give up, assuring me that I probably wouldn’t like the kind of chocolate they’d buy for me (something which is inevitably true), or they rise to the challenge and try to find something a bit more unusual instead. I have a mix of both in my life, but at least a couple have realised that there is one foolproof approach – simply go to Toronto’s Soma Chocolatemaker and get me pretty much anything. Especially a bar of their Dark Fire. That said, this year I got something completely unfamiliar – a bar made with beans from Jamaica.
Part of their more experimental Black Science series of microbatches, the Bachelor’s Hall bar is made with Trinitario beans harvested from an estate of the same name. The label even goes as far as naming the owner of the estate, Mr. Desmond Jadusingh, reinforcing the idea that they aren’t making a huge number of these bars.
It looks a lot like other bars in their range – a nice dark colour and a lovely sheen, but nothing that makes it stand out from the crowd. The beans used have apparently been fermented, then dried and that makes for a bar that could hardly be described as subtle. It starts off with a big bold flavour that is rich with acid and citrus, and just a hint of berries in the background. But that boldness drops away surprisingly quickly for a 70% bar and leaves earthiness but not much else. Not what I expected at all.
As with all single origin bars, there’s absolutely no guarantee that the next batch will taste exactly the same and I can’t help but think that with a little bit of fine tuning, Bachelor’s Hall could deliver on that initial promise. As it stands, it is still a good bar of chocolate but not a great one.
This odd little thing is part of William Curley’s Nostalgia Range; handmade recreations of childhood favourites, with much higher quality ingredients. We’ve already looked at Bounty, Marathon and Millionaire’s Shortbread. That’s Twix to you.
This one is, I assume, a recreation of a Cadbury Picnic. With hazelnut feullentine, sea-salt caramel and raisins, all enrobed in thick Amedei Toscano 70% chocolate. Some of my very favourite things.
I have to admit, that as a child, I was never particularly into the Picnic, preferring instead a Lion Bar of a Cadbury Fuse. It’s probably been 20 years since I had one, so it’s difficult to say how close to the original this comes.
What I can tell you is that it’s absolutely delicious.
With a wonderful nutty crunch, fruity raisins and sweet carmel with a hint of salt, it’s incredibly satisfying. It’s only the rich, intense dark chocolate that reminds you that this isn’t something you should be scoffing down in two bites.
It really does bring back childhood memories, but it’s also a wonderful creation in its own right. The balance of flavours and textures work incredibly well. If it has one flaw, it’s that it’s quite small and even if you take your time with it, it’s gone all too quickly. And at £3.50 a pop, it’s a little more expensive than the original.
That said, as a special grown-up treat, it’s well worth the price. I still regularly buy the ‘Bounty’ bar, and I’ll definitely be buying more of this. Just as soon as I get my pocket money.
In the past six months, this little sideline of writing about chocolate has unexpectedly become a full time job. Cocoa Runners now takes up most of my time, and it’s something I’m passionate about, but it does present me with a dilemma; how to write in an unbiased way about chocolate that Cocoa Runners sell.
After much thought, I decided the best solution is simply not to write about any bars that Cocoa Runners stock, but to continue to feature other chocolate from some of the wonderful craft chocolate makers we feature. There’s just too much fantastic chocolate out there that I have to share.
So without further ado, let me introduce one such chocolate: Pacari Fig.
Now admittedly, it may not look much. It’s not exactly a the smoothest, glossiest looking bar of chocolate in the world. But what it lacks in looks, it more than makes up for in flavour.
Those holes in the surface are down to this bar being jam packed full of small pieces of fig. Delicious, soft, fruity pieces of fig that perfectly complement the chocolate.
Pacari are known for their “raw” chocolate, which is kept below 42°C during the chocolate making process. The process gives Pacari a distinctive, grassy flavour, and although this bar isn’t marked as raw, it still has many of the same flavour characteristics. They’re flavours that work wonderfully with the gentle fruitiness of the fig. It’s a fresh, delicious chocolate, and it’s very easy to eat the whole bar in one go.
If there’s one tiny downside, it’s that you will find the occasional hard seed in the chocolate, but it’s a small price to pay for something to tasty.
I’m a big fan of Pacri. Their chocolate is produced from tree to bar in Ecuador, meaning the profits stay within the country rather than going to middle men. We get better chocolate, and the cocoa farmers get a better deal.
This particular bar is still quite difficult to get hold of in the UK, but I’m hoping that we’ll see a much wider range on sale here very soon. If you do happen to see it on sale, I highly recommend picking up a few bars!
