Wiseman House Selection

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on November 9 2011 | Leave A Comment

I think the box that came with my chocolates from Wiseman House was positively the biggest of any other chocolate offering container I have previously received; that certainly brightened my afternoon. The unpacking revealed promising contents, as well. The pretty truffles I will save for next time, starting with toffee and hot chocolate. If this is perhaps too heavy for one review, it is because I fear how long I will take to write out individual comments and do very much want to comment on these items.

I love it when I get toffee samples, as I’m a fan of toffee, but hardly ever buy it myself. There are two kinds here. The first is a half-pound, six-piece clear bag of Almond Toffee that sells for $14, which I find perfectly reasonable. The format is a 2 in./6 cm. toffee square covered in milk chocolate and rather finely ground almonds. Despite the fineness of the almonds, they’re stuck on well and don’t make much mess either in the bag or during eating. There’s a bonus of even more almond pieces blended into the toffee. Yet even with such almond-centric traits, all elements have balance. There is much crunch, but it’s still creamy. This is because the chocolate (just called “Belgian”) is of good quality that shows. The almonds bring with them a taste of salt. The toffee has the proper crunch, clarity, and flavor. Nicely done.

In a smaller bag with an orange-patterned cloth ribbon typing it up are two pieces of Pecan Toffee. These pieces were slightly bigger, more like 2 1/2 in. This time, it’s 58% Belgian dark chocolate that coats the toffee. A pecan half is set in the corner of each square, with smaller bits flowering out from it. I like this look; it’s unpretentious, but also detailed and thoughtful enough to show that the pecans weren’t just slapped on. This does mean, however, that you only taste the pecans in less than half the square. That’s a downside for me as I like the warmth they add–it provides a connection between the dark chocolate and the toffee. I prefer the way that the milk chocolate blends with the toffee; however, if you’re a Belgian dark chocolate fan, this format does allow you to focus on that factor while still getting enough toffee and pecans.

I was excited to try the Sipping Chocolate: drinking chocolate instead of plain hot chocolate mixes usually isn’t easy to come by. The design of the 16 oz. box is in keeping with Wiseman House’s minimalist look; the brown box with gold lettering doesn’t overdo anything. In the ingredients, interestingly, are Belgian chocolate, American milk chocolate, and Venezuelan chocolate. All chocolate, no junk.

The chocolate is in small pieces like tiny pebbles, tempting me to dig in with a spoon. What the directions call for is whisking a cup of the chocolate into a cup of boiling water and serving in espresso cups. Even if you don’t have espresso cups, you’ll want to take that as a guideline to not serve yourself too much. Having such a high chocolate content, this really is a beverage for “sipping.” I’m hesitant to say it has bitterness as there is a good amount of creamy flavor; the fact of it is that all three of the chocolate types blended in have their influence.

This drink is rich, but with lighter and darker notes. It’s one to take in slowly, also being thicker than hot chocolates. It’s a great experience, just note that you have to be okay with the darker, more intense side of chocolate to enjoy it.

One of the perks of writing for Chocablog is that I get introduced to so many companies. I like the tone of Wiseman House: they don’t remind me of anybody else and they approach chocolate maturely. I’m looking forward to trying more.

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