Haigh’s Selection

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on May 8 2008 | Leave A Comment

I seem to have trouble possessing the self-restraint needed to stop gobbling up Haigh’s chocolates before they’re artfully arranged and photographed for the visual delectation of Chocablog readers.

If I buy Haigh’s most popular product – a ten pack of their little chocolate frogs (milk chocolate, dark chocolate or milk peppermint), they tend to have a life expectancy similar to that of a real amphibian shoved in a foil-lined paper bag for a bus ride home: i.e extremely limited. Therefore, I decided to buy a selection of products in the hopes that some would remain unsullied enough to write about.

Milk chocolate frogs
These are Haigh’s biggest sellers and it’s not hard to see why. With a cocoa mass of 36%, they are still nice and chocolatey but have a smooth and creamy finish. I’ve never found anyone – even those from The Dark Side – who don’t enjoy them and it is a common refrain to hear or read ‘Please don’t forget to bring some Haigh’s frogs’ from homesick South Aussies.
Better still, Haigh’s also make ten and twenty packs of dark chocolate frogs (approx 50% cocoa) that also hit the mark for those who are young at heart but not in taste buds. Their third variety is milk peppermint which is the only flavour combination I’ve never been fond of – Haigh’s or otherwise.

Having seen the factory staff delicately and skillfully hand make the truffles that Haigh’s are also famous for, I selected three to describe. That’s right, only three but it gives me many other opportunities to keep visiting and trying other varieties for you, dear reader.

Shiraz truffle
This is a relatively new horse to Haigh’s stable and whilst it looks like a dark chocolate blob, once inside the mouth it sensuously melts into sheer, shiraz heaven. The fruity flavour of the red wine forms a perfect union with the dark, buttery chocolate. Maybe one day I’ll try getting drunk on red wine this way…..

Rose crème
Topped with a sugared piece of rose petal, the pale rose fondant is generously coated in a thick layer of dark chocolate. The scent and taste is of rose and yet is nothing like the jelly flavour of Turkish delight – it is much purer than that and partners up a treat with the wicked dark outer layer.

Violet crème
These are my all time favourite soft centres. Ever. Anywhere. Anytime. The flavour of violet may not be to everyone’s taste but these babies have been around forever, so it’s a compliment to Haigh’s that they’ve conquered a tricky taste and turned it into a long-standing favourite. The cremes are incredibly sweet and I wouldn’t recommend eating more than two in succession. I’d also recommend just eating them on their own without a strong hot or cold drink in hand in order to fully appreciate their fine flavour. They stand proudly on their own.

Cappuccino Bars
If a small handful of fine-but-pricey artisan chocs are not your thing, Haigh’s have not forgotten the person who wants to appear as though they’re going to share but really just want to eat them all by themselves. They have packages of four small chocolate bars to try. Their milk chocolate covered caramel bars and peanut crunch bar are sensational, however my favourite milk bar is their cappuccino variety. It is not merely a boring sugary paste flavoured with coffee essence but is instead a light, fluffy mixture that truly represents the milky flavours of a good cappuccino.

I’ll tell you about their dark bars in another post, as well as their lemon myrtle creams, passionfruit creams, berry chocs, dark peppermint crunch, mandarin creams, vanilla almond dark and chocolate-dipped orange slices. Not to mention their Giant 350g frogs, cointreau truffles, rocky road, macadamia nougat, white strawberry block, berry mousse dark centres, roasted almonds, café latte truffles…..

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