I’m not sure if it’s just an Aussie thing or more global, but it seems like there are a lot of small-time chocolate makers who sell to other larger firms or specialty stores only for their products to be re-branded under the purchaser’s label.
Thus I present you with ‘Chocolates on Parade’ milk and dark orange chocolate blocks.
‘Chocolates on Parade’ is tucked away near Coles supermarket and I try – most of the time – not to walk in there. Otherwise I end up buying import-price peanut butter M&Ms, IRNBRU fizzy drink, Cocoa Farm chocolate coated wine drops, European marzipan and too much of their locally made Bailey’s flavoured fudge.
The shop’s owner, Frank (looking surprising svelte, considering his product lines) told me that their in-house chocolates are actually made either by two different companies. Chocolatier (who I reviewed previously) do their individual truffles and flowery chocolates, and Cottage Box make their large frogs, freckles and blocks.
I bought both blocks home to try because Cottage Box chocolates were started in my hometown of Murray Bridge, in 1985 (incidentally, the same year I left home to go to university). They’ve since moved to the more salubrious and touristy town of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills, and they’re on my ‘must visit’ list.
The plain milk chocolate neglected to include any ingredients on the label, other than the confident statement, ‘milk chocolate only’. No fancy logo is stamped on any of the large chunks but it smelled good. Annoyingly, after only a couple of chunks my fillings were aching: this was the most sugary sweet milk chocolate I’ve tasted in a long time. Bordering on the excessive as it made me extremely thirsty. The nine year old, on the other hand, loved it. This was unusual, because her all-time favourite chocolate is Lindt’s 85%. Was I missing something?
It was time to give up on the milk and to instead sink my teeth into the Orange Cream dark block. This did include the ingredients and it wasn’t surprising to see ‘sugar’ listed as number one and ‘fondant’ and ‘glucose’ (i.e. two other types of sugar) included further down. My expectations dropped a notch or two as I bit into it. Again, it was very sweet and I could taste some sugar crystals within the cream centre. The orange centre was almost fluoro in colour and rather runny, making it impossible to take a photo of a chunk sliced in two before it escaped like an underdone egg yolk. It did taste pleasantly of orange though. Unfortunately the sickly sugariness of the chocolate threatens to overtake the orange when it is normally preferable to have the orange flavour linger after the chocolate has melted.
My verdict is one of disappointment, but I’m aware that Cottage Box are more well known for their marzipan, peppermint mice (the shape folks, not the ingredient), Turkish delight and freckles. I’ll try them with hope in my heart and tolerance in my taste buds.
Back in May, I reviewed the “Deliciously Dark” variety of Dairy Milk Melts, so I thought it was time I to look at the rest of the range.
As you can see, the format is exactly the same. Eight small bars of Dairy Milk, tastefully wrapped in foil. Perfect for sharing, but even better for keeping for yourself.
Inside, the bars look exactly the same as the dark chocolate variety – only the filling has been changed to protect the innocent.
Unfortunately, the praline version isn’t quite up to the standard of its dark chocolate sibling. It’s still pretty good, but it’s just a little too sweet. There’s also a hint of an artificial flavour to it that I can’t quite put my finger on. There are certainly better alternatives out there for praline fans.
And that’s really all there is to say about this. Nice enough to nibble on with a cup of coffee, but nothing special. It’s still an interesting take on the Dairy Milk brand, but if I had to choose (and I do – it’s my job), I’d go for the Deliciously Dark variety over this any day.
Cocoa Farm (www.farmbynature.com.au) is the only chocolate maker that grow their own cocoa beans in Australia and only the second Aussie manufacturer to make their chocolate direct from the cocoa bean instead of the paste (Haigh’s is the other, but they purchase their beans overseas without any pesky middlemen). This is a huge positive because it means that there’s no need to worry about any poor overseas farmers being ripped off by bean buyers who then on-sell to the large factories.
Cocoa Farm’s beans are grown in the warmth of tropical north Queensland (I so wish they’d invite me to come and stay for a while) and the business and manufacturing is done further south in colder Melbourne. In addition to making organic blocks, they are rapidly becoming famous – and loved – for their wine chocolates – merlot, pinot noir and shiraz; their wine drops (dried wine grapes coated in dark chocolate) and their sugar free blocks (I previously reviewed their mango, lime and chilli flavour).
Their Organic Dark Chocolate Orange, however, has been the one I’ve been most wanting to try. Orange and chocolate is one of my all time favourite flavour pairings and I was keen to see if the Cocoa Farm’s 2007 gold and silver award winning products were worth the hyperbole. And the price tag. At six dollars for a 100g block, they are not cheap by Cadbury or Nestle standards, so my expectations were running high: it needed to give me a decent bang for my buck.
As you can see, the squares aren’t adorned with any sexy logo and were a little bit crumbly – mostly because I accidentally dropped the block on the floor before I opened it. They also aren’t particularly glossy but that’s neither here nor there for me – how do they taste??
Ah, not yet, my pretties. At 52% minimum cocoa solids and all organic ingredients including orange oil and puree, the scent was calling out my name the moment the golden cocoa bean wrapper was slashed open. Despite being described as being ‘spiked with zesty pieces of orange’, they weren’t visible to the naked eye.
But to the tongue and tastebuds they most definitely were. The not-too-strong dark chocolate had a lovely dusty, coffee flavour that easily melted in the mouth and left some gorgeously moist and flavoursome orange pieces to savour at the end. “Mmm, there’s some nice chewy bits when the chocolate’s disappeared”, was how my nine year old described it. “Is there any more?”
Alas no. One hundred measly grams is a very cruel measure for a ‘block’, and we picked up every little crumb that was lingering on the plate. Top notch stuff.
This little box was picked up at the grocery store on sale from $8 to 4. It’s not the most unique looking, but still inviting enough, so I thought it was worth a try.
There are twenty chocolates, all individually wrapped. They have a pleasant mocha smell. Unfortunately, the outer Mocha layer reminded me of a Hershey’s bar. Sweet and greasy, except that it was a little nuttier. Then the mocha taste comes in as you get to the cool and creamy center.
I’m partial to coffee in chocolate, so these chocolates had no trouble finding a home. But for eight dollars? There are better ways to spend your money. Sure, they’re nice and creamy, but too “sweet and greasy” to go out of your way to get.
