These days we are blessed with good quality chocolate bars. Thank goodness for that. Here are a few you might not have come across. When you’ve read my reviews, I hope you’ll think some of them are worth seeking out.
Reviewing products is a funny old game. Things can turn up at odd times and often not at all. So it’s often a complete surprise when I get a knock on the door and a parcel delivery. In such cases I generally have no idea what might be inside. It makes for an interesting life. The following chocolate bars are some I’ve received in my time.
Madécasse
I’ve heard a lot about Madécasse in recent months and all of it has been good. It’s a company that ticks all but one of my chocolate boxes. As the name suggests the chocolate comes from Madagascar, a country rich in habitat, but poor in economic terms.
Unusually it is not just the beans that are grown there, the chocolate is made there too. 70% of the world’s cocoa beans are grown in Africa, but less than 1% of chocolate is actually made on the continent. This is a shocking state of affairs as the real money to be made from chocolate is manufacturing it, not growing it.
Madécasse is certified Fair for Life. This means that fairtrade principles are adopted through the whole chocolate making chain, from cocoa farming right through to packaging. Bean to bar at its best.
The missing box, in case you were wondering, is that the chocolate is not organic. However, the cocoa trees grown in the shade of taller hardwood specimens does help to protect the precious habitat, home to 15% of the world’s plant and animal species.
Madécasse Chocolate Bars
But ethics alone are not enough to sell chocolate, it needs to be tasty and good value for money too. These 75g bars, currently available in Waitrose, Booths, Selfridges and Whole Foods, hit both of these targets. The cocoa content is high for milk chocolate and at 44% you can really taste it.
The cocoa beans used are a rare heirloom variety that are particularly flavoursome – I thought so anyway. Suffice it to say, I am now hooked. At £2.99 they’re not cheap, but they are both affordable and very good value for delicious ethical bean to bar chocolate. They are also, in a small way, helping the people that really need it, the people of Madagascar.
In addition to the two featured here, I’ve also reviewed their toasted coconut bar in this chocolate treats post.
Milk Chocolate 44%
Buttery is a key characteristic of this delicious chocolate. It smells of butterscotch, but it was the tang of buttermilk that first hit my tastebuds. Both seem to be present. There are fruity notes too that could be sour cherry. It’s creamy but also quite rich with a very slight granular texture. It has a real wow factor for me and CT was rather keen too. This is chocolate to savour.
Espresso Bean 44%
CT, who is a coffee chocolate aficionado got rather excited as the strong aroma of coffee assailed his nostrils. I’m not really a fan of coffee flavoured chocolate, but I could quite happily have eaten this bar all by myself. There’s an awful lot of coffee in Brazil and there’s also plenty of coffee in this chocolate or do I mean on? The mocha topping, made of crushed cocoa beans and cocoa nibs, makes for a distinctive feature which gives added interest to the smooth textured chocolate. As he munched, CT could see himself in a late night cafe, peering through the thick blue smoke and sipping on a strong black coffee.
Chocolarder
As regular readers will know, I’m a big fan of this Cornish bean to bar artisan chocolate, handmade in Penryn. A friend recently sent me one of the bars I haven’t tried before, but have been coveting for some time. You can find out a bit more about Chocolarder in my post, a Cornish Cornucopia.
Wild Gorse Flower 40% – milk
cocoa beans, raw cane sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, gorse flowers
Growing up amongst the wild gorse on the moors and breathing in the heady scent of coconut that emanates from the flowers in spring, I was intrigued by this 70g bar. The scent escaping from the packet was indeed that of gorse and when I tasted the smooth sweet chocolate, I nearly swooned. A true taste of Cornwall.
Zotter Chocolate Bars
And what is Christmas without chocolate? Well, in my book, it’s not up to much. And seeing as it’s a special day, just any old chocolate won’t do. Something rather special is called for. So it give me great pleasure to present to you some of the best chocolate around – Zotter.
Austrian chocolatier, Josef Zotter has made a name for himself for producing high quality but quirkily individualistic chocolate. He has also set himself apart from his peers with a staunchly ethical approach to production methods. As a consequence all Zotter chocolates are fairtrade and organic.
Not only that, but packaging is carbon neutral. The out wrapper is cardboard outer and the inner is organic plastic which Zotter claim is 100% biodegradable. All chocolate is handmade, from bean to bar. So far, so good. It seems that Austria’s pivotal role as a cradle of chocolate innovation continues from the far-off days of the Sachetorte down to the present.
The packaging is also highly individual with striking, colourful and sometimes impressionistic illustrations on the wrappers. Once I removed the wrappers I found the chocolate bars inside are unusual in appearance. And the fun and general air of excitement continued once I tasted the bars.
I was recently sent four bars to try.
Zotter Chocolate: Mitzi Blue (Indian Chai)
The chocolate is round like the wheel of a wagon with a slightly off-centre hub and geometric patterns scored into the surface. The hub tastes of spicy hot sweet chai milk tea; the outer disc is of dark chocolate which is beautifully smooth and melts wickedly in the mouth.
Zotter Chocolate: French Nougat
Zotter is particularly famous for its 70g hand-scooped bars. French Nougat is one of these. Hence, I couldn’t wait to try it. First off the chocolate is a dark milk with 60% cocoa. This is my favourite kind, but one which is very hard to get hold of. It’s filled with a layer of salty honeyed pistachio and hazelnut nougat on top of a layer of cinnamon and ginger flavoured almond praline.
This is the most divine bar of chocolate I’ve had in a very long time; all of my favourite ingredients in one bar. And it’s made doubly interesting by the layers of flavour and interesting textures. One to truly savour.
We are off to Cambridge for a few days – anything to escape the incessant rain and Cornish floods. Just in case I don’t happen to get any special chocolate this year, I’m saving the other two bars for emergency rations.
Beech’s Fine Chocolate Bars
Beech’s Fine Chocolates pride themselves on traditional chocolates made in Britain since 1920. They have recently launched a new range of chocolate bars. I fell in love with the packaging immediately. The colourful Indian inspired patterns were a delight to the eye. What’s more, the colours cleverly reflect the flavours hidden within.
The ingredients are minimal as befits a good bar of chocolate. They are also all natural with no added vegetable oils, making them clean tasting and creating a good snap. At a recommended retail price of £1.25, these are a bit of a find. Weighing in at 60g and with resealable packs, these bars are particularly good when out and about and for people who show more restraint than I do.
Beech’s Milk Chocolate
sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, soya lecithin, natural vanilla
This was creamy with caramel notes, but with the chocolate to the fore. We both liked it. With only 30% cocoa content, I was expecting this to be overly sweet and lacking in flavour, but I was wrong.
Beech’s White Chocolate
sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla
This was creamy and tasted of vanilla. It was pleasant and altogether a good quality white chocolate.
Beech’s Plain Chocolate
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin
This 55% cocoa content bar, although quite sweet, was smooth and neither harsh, nor bitter. It was fruity with caramel notes – not bad at all.
Beech’s Lime and Chilli Chocolate
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural lime oil, chilli
The scent of lime emanating from the packet was strong and reminded me of old fashioned chocolate limes. The cooling lime is the first flavour that hits the palate, then the chilli kicks in at the back of the throat – a very nice combination. This is quite a spicy little number and you may not enjoy it if you’re averse to a little heat. As a chilli fiend I loved this one.
Beech’s Anglesey Sea Salt Chocolate
sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, whey, soya lecithin, Anglesey sea salt
Little bursts of saltiness erupted on the tongue, but it was not overly and harshly salted as some sea salt chocolate can be. The caramel notes of this 30% chocolate, combined well with the salt and was reminiscent of my favourite salted caramel.
Beech’s Ginger Chocolate
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural ginger
We got an immediate hit of ginger, which we both loved. The chocolate tasted fruity and was very smooth. We’d been expecting chunks of ginger, but the flavour permeated the whole bar and very pleasant it was too.
Montezuma’s Sea Dog
I’d been given a bar of dark chocolate some time ago, Montezuma’s Sea Dog. I loved the colour of the packaging and the idea of the unusual flavour which was lime and sea salt. I kept it safe and sound wondering if I should cook with it or just savour it in its entire choclolatiness. Then I forgot about it.
Whilst I was working from home recently, however, I had that “I need chocolate” kinda feeling. I remembered the bar, had a rummage and found it. Well, no more thoughts of cooking with it, it was destined for immediate consumption.
Montezuma’s have been making organic chocolate for the past 11 years. Started by husband and wife team, Helen and Simon Pattinson they have grown from their first small shop in Brighton to selling their products around the UK and online. I have tried a number of their bars over the years, some I’ve really enjoyed and others not so much.
Sea Dog Chocolate Bar Review
(71%) – Ecuadorian cocoa solids, sugar, vanilla, sea salt, lime oil.
Even though I’m not an especial lover of dark chocolate, I wolfed the entire 100g bar and enjoyed every square of it. It smelt deliciously of chocolate, but with a faint whiff of lime. It was delicious; smooth, subtly salty with just the right amount of lime. The salt came and went at irregular intervals, which I really liked and the lime was not overpowering. In fact the chocolate left a pleasant salty limey tang in my mouth long after it had disappeared.
Interestingly, this bar contains no lecithin. This is something I’m always being told is essential to make good quality chocolate. My major quibble with this bar, is that it doesn’t appear to be organic. I had assumed that all their chocolate was, but that’s obviously not the case. 9/10
Chocolate Bars from The Chocolate Cafe
Three 100g bars from The Chocolate Cafe arrived in the post the other day and I was most excited. Having ripped open the padded envelope and bubble wrap, the first thing I noticed was the distinctive packaging which, with my penchant for red, really drew my eye. Each bar is wrapped in matt paper the colour of the chocolate it is safeguarding with the chocolate cafe printed in red and the chocolate cafe’s logo – a sploosh (my words not theirs) of what I take to be molten chocolate, also in red.
Not having reviewed chocolate before, I wasn’t quite sure where to start. So I thought I would do a taste comparison with equivalent bars that I am more familiar with, in this instance from Green & Blacks. This actually worked really well, except it doubled the quantities of chocolate consumed – oh well, not exactly a hardship! I hasten to add, we did not do all the tasting at one sitting.
As I’m somewhat of an idealist, I would prefer it if these bars were fairly traded and better still organic. However, overall we enjoyed trying these chocolate bars and came to realise just how much variation there is between different high cocoa content bars.
Premium Dark Chocolate
(70% cocoa) cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla.
The first thing I noticed was the fragrant spicy smell that arose when I opened the wrapper – most enticing. These first impressions were reinforced when we tried some, it was smooth and creamy with coffee tones coming through first, followed by almonds. The G&B 70% bar had a sharper smell and tasted more bitter & acidic leaving an aftertaste reminiscent of tobacco.
CT thought it was more like coca cola (this is not good in our book). It was coarse and lacked subtlety, leaving a not particularly pleasant coating inside the mouth and throat. What struck us most about the Chocolate Cafe bar was that unlike most dark chocolate, a couple of squares were not enough. We wanted more, which is not something either of us say very often about dark chocolate. We really liked it. 9/10
Premium Milk Chocolate
(33.6% cocoa) – sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, soya lecithin, natural vanilla.
I was really looking forward to trying this as milk chocolate is my number one favourite when it comes to eating chocolate in bar form. It had a nice firm texture and a fine grain structure and gave a satisfying snap when broken. Comfortingly smooth in the mouth, yet not cloying, it was sweet, but not overpoweringly so.
Flavours? CT detected coconut, but I was getting delicious caramel notes to begin with and then, strangely but pleasantly, peanut butter. What a disappointment the G&B milk was in comparison. It was coarse and acidic with an almost metallic aftertaste; how could I have failed to notice this before? The two reservations I had with this bar were: 1) it was a little too sweet for my taste, 2) I would have preferred a higher cocoa content, although I did enjoy the caramel flavours. But all in all it is a delicious bar and we both very much enjoyed eating it. 8/10
Premium White Chocolate
(28% cocoa) – sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soya lecithin, natural vanilla.
Having fond childhood memories of white chocolate (of a brand which shall remain nameless), I hoped for a similar experience. It started well, breaking with a good snap and initially felt smooth in the mouth.
Sadly, this was about the best we could say for it as we found it to be a generic white chocolate without any individuality. It tasted foremost of milk powder and the vanilla was hard to detect. We both found it cloying and it left a not altogether pleasant coating around the mouth. The Green and Black’s bar by contrast is really great with a powerful vanilla flavour and a good texture which is not in the least bit cloying. 4/10
Dolceria Bonajuto
A 50g bar of Sicilian Dolceria Bonajuto 65% chocolate flavoured with cardamom winged its way to my house from London recently. I had heard that the chocolate was very good and I was looking forward to trying it. Founded in 1880 in Modica, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto is the oldest chocolate factory in Sicily. The chocolate was not at all what I had been expecting, which was something dense, rich and smooth.
Dense and rich it was, but it didn’t melt in your mouth at all. In fact it had a surprising crunchy, sugary texture which was not too sweet despite the crystalline nature of it. The texture reminded CT of Kendal mint cake, only much nicer he thought and not nearly as sweet.
Cardamom can be a tricky spice to use with chocolate. Too much and it becomes overpowering and slightly bitter, but if done well, it is a great combination. This was just about right, giving an aromatic quality which lingered on the palate after we’d eaten it.
Fiona thought that this was more like raw chocolate than tempered and I can see what she meant. It’s certainly not like the artisan bars we’re used to finding over here. But I have to say I thought it was delicious. Thanks very much to Fiona of London Unattached for sending me a bar to try from her Sicilian travels.
Betty and Walter
Inspired by the names of Betty and Walter bags and accessories, Creighton’s Chocolaterie have created a limited range of chocolate bars to complement them. I was sent one of their bars to try. When the box arrived I didn’t know which of the four flavours I was going to get. All of them sounded interesting, especially the fig and pink pepper dark chocolate.
But secretly my heart yearned for rose. I’ve had an affinity with rose ever since I was a nipper and was dressed up as the Fry’s Turkish Delight girl for our village carnival one year. And as I’ve said before, this queen of flowers reminds me of my grandad who was passionate about his roses and won awards for them every year.
Beautifully packaged, the chocolate came with a personalised label which immediately endeared Betty and Walter to me and made me smile.
Almond and Rose Milk Chocolate
(33.6%) sugar, cocoa butter, while milk powder, cocoa mass, soya lecithin, vanilla, almonds, rose oil.
I was so enamoured by the anticipation of not knowing what I was going to get and later by the look, sound and scent of this bar, that I took it in stages. I made the whole seductive process of looking, smelling, touching and finally tasting, last as long as I could. In a nutshell: day one, I received it; day two I unwrapped the outer packaging ; day 3, I unwrapped the inner packaging and tasted the chocolate.
Wrapped in greaseproof paper emblazoned with Creighton’s chocolaterie interspersed with yum, I found this to be a classy way of wrapping the chocolate. As soon as the outer layer of plastic was taken off, the evocative scent of rose assailed my nostrils. But what of the chocolate? Thankfully, it tasted delightfully of rose too. The bar was sweet, but whilst I’m not generally a fan of very sweet chocolate, it somehow works with rose. The crunchy pieces of almond gave added texture and interest. Once started, CT got in on the act and the bar didn’t last very long at all.
At £3.50 for a 100g bar, this is well worth the money,for the pure anticipatory joy, if nothing else.
Doisy and Dam Chocolate Bars
New on the chocolate block, Norfolk based Doisy and Dam have come out with a range of handmade chocolate bars appealing to those who like their chocolate, but want it to be good for them too. The chocolate is all 74% dark and organic too, although not certified by the Soil Association. The nutrient values of the various ingredients are given with some infographics interspersed with a quip or two – if you’re lucky. I hadn’t realised, until I read one of the packs that hemp provides a complete source of protein.
Beautifully packaged with an inner wrapping of bronze coloured foil and an outer one of colourful cardboard, I heartily approved – not a bit of plastic to be seen. They come in 100g bars and rather cute little 40g boxes. The rich dark nature of the bars, precluded any scoffing and a couple of squares at a time was plenty enough to satisfy. This chocolate felt as though it was an indulgence, but thankfully not a particularly naughty one. I wish the creators Rich and Ed the best of luck with these bars.
Coconut & Lucuma
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, coconut flakes, lucuma, coconut essence vanilla powder.
This was the one I reached for first, I couldn’t help myself, I love coconut chocolate. As soon as I unwrapped the foil, an aroma of coconut wafted towards my nostrils in a most seductive way. The chocolate was rich and coconutty and utterly delightful. I perhaps shouldn’t have started with this one as I had a feeling it would be my favourite and it was. Sadly for me, I only had a 40g bar.
Goji & Orange
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, goji berries, orange essence, vanilla powder
Goji is a hard flavour to detect, but this had a subtle fruity note which wasn’t just orange and there were bits of berry punctuating the smoothness to give a chewy contrast. The orange flavouring was gentle and tasted of real orange, something some other orange flavoured chocolate could learn from.
Ginger, Chilli Flakes & Hemp Seed
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, hemp seed, chilli flakes, ginger essence, vanilla powder
Being something of a chilli head, I do like the combination of chilli and chocolate. This bar was particularly fiery with hot ginger added to the mix, a lovely combination that isn’t used often enough in my opinion. Chewing on chilli seeds embedded in chocolate was a first for me. I have to say the presence of hemp seeds rather passed me by, which was probably a good thing as I don’t find them particularly palatable.
Maca, Vanilla & Cacao Nibs
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, cacao nibs, maca, vanilla essence, vanilla powder
This was my least favourite bar. I’ve never really got on with maca, which I find a bit too bitter for my taste and I could definitely detect it here. It has a bitterness which is quite different to cacao nibs, which I like. As with the orange bar, the flavours were subtle, but I felt this one could have done with a bit more than just a hint of vanilla; it needed a lift. However, I have heard from others that it is their favourite bar and it also won a Great Taste Award last year, so there is just no accounting for tastes!
Mulberries, Chia Seeds & Spirulina
cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Fresh mulberries are sadly very hard to get hold of. My mother planted a mulberry tree a couple of years ago; I’m not sure how long it will be before we get any fruit from it. Meanwhile dried mulberries are not a bad substitute, they are chewy and slightly sticky with a pleasant flavour. They are even more appealing when covered with chocolate. I couldn’t taste the spirulina, but imagined it doing me lots of good as I savoured the chocolate. The chia seeds provided an interesting crunch and made a change from consuming them in my morning smoothie.
Chocolate Bars from The East India Company
When the East India Company contacted me recently, I was very excited. What, THE East India Company? Surely not? Not the one I studied in history at school, the one that played such a large part in building the British Empire, bringing tea and spices to the British table and at one time employing 1/3 of the British workforce? Surely, that couldn’t still be going?
Well, lots of question marks, so a bit of digging was required. The answer? Not quite; the original company, founded in 1600 by Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth 1 was dissolved in 1874. Indian entrepreneur Sanjiv Mehta managed to buy the name in 2005 and has recently relaunched the brand by opening his first shop in London’s Mayfair in 2010. The company has an online store too and specialises in fine foods with chocolate featuring as one of the products offered.
The two chocolate bars I was sent to review came in sumptuous and exotic packaging. A reminder of the Raj. The flavours were exotic too.
I really enjoyed these bars, partly because of the historical association but mostly because of the flavours. Subtle they are not, so best avoided by those who prefer a more delicately flavoured bar. They are also quite low in cocoa, only 30% and way too sweet for my taste. Disappointingly, there was no mention of where the chocolate had come from. At £5 a go, these 80g bars are not cheap, but they would make a good present for a lover of spicy chocolate.
Cinnamon Leaf
(30%) – sugar, cocoa butter, full cream milk powder, cocoa mass, soya lecithin, cinnamon oil, vanilla.
This had an aromatic spicy smell and a nice snap when broken. It was very smooth, but not particularly creamy. CT thought it stayed solid in the mouth for an unusually long time before melting. It had an unusual but delicious flavour – the leaf being quite different to the usual cinnamon bark. The flavour could best be described as a mix of cloves and cinnamon. Overall, this was quite refreshing and the taste lingered on long after the chocolate has disappeared.
Nutmeg
(30%) – sugar, cocoa butter, full cream milk powder, cocoa mass, soya lecithin, nutmeg oil, vanilla.
The aroma was again spicy but hard to identify. Biting into it, however, nutmeg surged across our palates. It’s a powerful, but pleasant taste, that persists long on the tongue. One small square has as much nutmeg as the average rice pudding thought CT, but it did combine well with chocolate.
More Chocolate Bars from The Chocolate Cafe
When I heard about the new Strawberry Bar from The Chocolate Cafe, I couldn’t wait to get my mitts on it and more importantly get it into my mouth. I really enjoyed the Chocolate Cafe’s first three own brand bars when I tried them back in March. So I was looking forward to trying their next creations. Another three bars duly arrived, so not only was I able to try out the strawberry but also their mint and honeycomb too. I loved the new bold colours of the wrappers and I’m already a fan of their distinctive logo which goes brilliantly with the new colours.
These bars are variations of the three originals, the dark, milk and white, but with some very noticable differences. They all retained the underlying smoothness characteristic of the Chocolate Cafe brand. All in all, I think these bars are rather good and at £9 for the three, they represent good value for money. The Chocolate Cafe is a cafe I would very much like to visit and if ever I am in the vicinity of Ramsbottom I most certainly will. However, they do a very good line in high quality and interesting chocolates that can be bought online, so a visit is not essential.
Premium Dark Chocolate with Mint
(70%) cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Mint Oil, Soya Lecithin, Natural Vanilla
A wonderful scent of dark chocolate and mint wafted up from this bar as soon as I picked it up and it became even stronger when I opened the wrapper. I had to savour this for a while as I love the smell of mint. I couldn’t hold out for too long though, so I soon broke off the first piece. It gave a very satisfying snap and then proceeded to melt gradually on my tongue. It has a very smooth texture which gives it a sensuous quality.
Not too minty, which was a big plus as far as CT was concerned as he does not likes his mint to be too strong. The mint was a good foil for the cocoa, cooling and softening its powerful wallop. Overall it has a harder, drier, stronger flavour and is not as sweet as the other bars, making it ideal for the adult palate. This is not a bar for gorging on, but rather to be savoured in small doses. Indeed, it would make an excellent after dinner mint. 8/10
Premium Milk Chocolate with Honeycomb
(33.6%) – sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, glucose syrup, butterfat, water, polydextrose, salt, soya lecithin, natural vanilla.
As I have now come to expect with the Chocolate Cafe, this chocolate was silky smooth even though it had crunchy bits of honeycomb scattered throughout. It had a creamy taste and texture although it was rather too sweet for my liking. It does, however, have a pleasant coconutty flavour which becomes more pronounced over time as does its emollient quality.
Despite not liking my confectionary overly sweet, I do have a penchant for honeycomb and butterscotch in chocolate. I decided to compare this to the G&B Butterscotch, which is one of my favourite bars. They were two very different beasts indeed. The G&B bar was richer, chunkier and not as sweet, but it was also harsher – more bitter with a coarser texture. 7/10
Strawberry Chocolate with a Hint of Black Pepper
(28% cocoa) – sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, freeze dried strawberry black pepper, soya lecithin, colour E120, natural vanilla.
As soon as I opened the wrapper, I was accosted by a strong strawberry aroma. This was followed by an equally strong fruity hit as soon as I bit into it. The chocolate iss most definitely pink. And although I’d prefer not to have any added colouring, it was quite fun. Following on from the strawberry, came the sense of overwhelming sweetness from the sugar, although the sharpness of the fruit does help to counter this a little. I really liked the hint of pepper, but a hint was all it was, accenting the strawberry flavour rather than overpowering it.
Like its sister, the white chocolate bar, it is slightly cloying and leaves a bit of a coating on the tongue. Because it’s highly reminiscent of one of my childhood favourites, the strawberry Pink Panther, I had to say I did enjoy this one. I suspect the quality of this version is of a much higher standard though and I’m sure it would be infinitely preferable if only I had one of the old panther bars to compare it to. However, because it is so sweet, scoffing the whole bar in one sitting would probably be a bit of a challenge. 6/10.
Paris Truffles Chocolate Bars
Well this is a first for me. I’ve heard much about the rise of real chocolate in the USA, but I’ve not had the opportunity to try any of it. Until now, that is.
As the name suggests, Paris Truffles is a company offering elegant and fashionable chocolates. It also has an interesting and quirky range of flavoured 85g chocolate bars which I find particularly appealing. Husband and wife team Robert and Paige Leavitt established the company back in 1984. Robert spent his childhood hanging around in French chocolate shops (somebody’s got to) while Paige travelled the world.
They’ve combined their passion for chocolate and world cuisine to make a range of bold flavoured bars. Kettle corn and maple bacon may not be for me, but an emphatic yes to any of the others. I’d certainly like to try the chilli crunch bar – 35% milk chocolate with toasted tortilla and the world’s hottest chilli.
The Chocolate Bars
When I opened the parcel, I found six exciting chocolate bars to try. And although I didn’t get the chilli bar I’d hoped for, I received two others that contained this indispensable spice. I found the bars really interesting and great fun, but if subtlety is what you’re after, these are probably not the ones for you. The flavours are strong and punchy and I loved them. The smooth couverture chocolate is mixed with the key ingredients in their natural state for added texture.
Thai Satay (35%)
sugar, whole milk powder, cacao mess, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, peanuts, sesame, coconut, cayenne, Thai birds eye chilli, sea salt.
This bar had an almost savoury scent that was indeed reminiscent of satay sauce. Salty peanut was the first flavour to make its presence felt, followed by the coconut and sesame. It was then the chilli decided to say hello and wow, it had a kick. Not one but two types of chilli in this bar. All this wrapped up in 35% milk chocolate which helpfully allays the chilli – just a little.
As regular readers will know, I am a chilli fiend. But I’m often disappointed when I try a bar of chilli chocolate. They’re usually just too mild. I was not disappointed with this bar, my mouth and throat glowed for quite some time. Not subtle, but totally moreish.
Siena Fig Bar (64%)
cacao mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, figs, pistachios, pine nuts, sea salt.
I’m a fan of both figs and pistachios, so I had to try this bar next. The first thing I did was breathe in the fruity aroma of figs that emanated enticingly from the packet. Then I broke off a piece and tasted. It was just right with a good balance of fig to salty pistachio, although the pistachios were a little too salty for my palate. The mild 64% dark chocolate showcased the flavours beautifully. A delicious Christmassy chocolate bar.
English Garden (64%)
cacao mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, French candied violets, basil, Meyer lemon, olive oil, thyme, salt.
Thyme was the dominant flavour here, but I could certainly detect the others too. The rich dark chocolate had subtle violet overtones, a sensation enhanced by the crunchy candied violets. I didn’t feel there was a need for salt in this bar. I was, however, heartened to find leaves of thyme contained within the chocolate – a nice authentic touch.
Orange Passion (60%)
cacao mass, sugar, cocoa butter. soy lecithin, vanilla, orange zest, passion fruit powder, sea salt.
This bar had a strong zesty orange scent which livened up my tastebuds, even before it passed my lips. The chocolate was almost smooth and had a good snap. It tasted of real orange with bursts of tart passion fruit. As with the English Garden, I would have preferred this chocolate without salt. It really wasn’t needed.
Salted Almond Toffee (60%)
cacao mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, almonds, pure cane sugar, butter, sea salt.
I think this was my favourite. Not too salty, and with a nice crunch from the chopped almonds punctuated with little bursts of toffee. The dark 60% chocolate was more noticeable for some reason and felt quite luxurious. It melded well with the caramel flavours. For some not entirely obvious reason, it reminded me of a sophisticated Snickers bar.
Raspberry Lime Espelette (65%)
cacao mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, espelette chilli powder, raspberry powder, sugar, limes, sea salt.
The only word to describe the scent of this bar is gorgeous. It’s a seductive mix of rich chocolate and fruity raspberry that really had my mouth watering. It had a really good snap to it and was smoother than the other bars I tried, although it still had some bits in it. It had a nice level of heat, not nearly as powerful as the Satay bar, but there is no mistaking its presence. The raspberry and lime was a nice combination with neither flavour overwhelming the other, nor indeed, the chocolate. Really quite delicious.
Orange Ohso Chocolate Bars
Following on from my review of Ohso last month, the company sent me some orange Ohso to try. CT and I sat down to savour our daily dose of probiotics. These little 35g bars contain masses of good for your gut bacteria.
CT is very fussy about orange chocolate, which often tastes artificial and makes him feel ill. He liked this one though and thought it tasted like real oranges. Combined with the 53% plain chocolate, they had a sufficient complexity of flavour to make them interesting and pleasant to eat. As with the plain Ohso though, we both found them a little too sweet for our palates.
Like their plainer cousins, they are available to buy online and at many health food shops.
Other Reviews Of Chocolate Bars You Might Like
- Chocolate and Love
- Chocolate Naive
- Cocoa Runners
- Divine chocolate
- Pacari
- Seed and Bean chocolate bars
Let Us Know
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try any of the chocolate bars featured here, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do share photos on your preferred social media site and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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Choclette x
Thanks to the brands for the chocolate bars to try. I was not required to write a positive review and as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for your support of the brands and organisations that help to keep Tin and Thyme blithe and blogging.
Maya Russell says
What an interesting flavour. It’s a shame it’s not organic.
JaynesDen says
An interesting flavour. The zestiness of the lime should give the chocolate quite a kick !
Choclette says
Hazel – the classics are the best (maybe)! If you like margaritas I’m sure you’d like this. Now I’m intrigued to now what new flavour your brother discovered and what did he think of it.
Hazel says
I am such a great fan of Montezumas! I think my favourite is the Dark Chocolate, Orange and Geranium (I am just addicted to anything with flower flavours!) but I heard that my brother tried a new bar recently and this is new to me as well. When I get back to England I must check them all out!
At first I thought lime and salt to be unusual but suddenly remembered my favourite drink – a margarita! I’m so excited to try this chocolate! With a hint of tequila it could easily be margarita chocolate, no? This has just sparked an idea in my head – thank you for that!
Choclette says
Oxslip – it’s fun to have a little of the wicked temptress in my profile.
oxslip says
Oh I’d like some of that. Off to buy some online now, all your fault…
Choclette says
LF – now the crisp and chocolate thing is a new one on me. I do have a recipe somewhere for chocolate cake made with potatoes though!
CityHippy – I think you’d like this one. But with your newly (ish) acquired chocolate skills you could try and make your own?
cityhippyfarmgirl says
Love the packaging of this… actually and the name. Anything with lime in it would get my vote, I’d love to try this little number.
LF says
How intriguing.. trying to imagine how lime chocolate tastes. I do like sea salt and dark choc though..mmm.. it kind of keeps your taste buds alert that every now and then you detect a salty taste. Remind me of when I was a kid and ate milk chocolate and ready salted crisps every other bite, sweet – salty 🙂
Choclette says
SewHappy – ha ha I am by no means as restrained as I used to be, but I do like to savour the unusual and am a hoarder by nature. Waitrose sell Montezuma’s as well as many independent shops. You can also buy online – not that I’m trying to tempt you or anything 😉
Baking Addict – amazingly, I haven’t yet tried the butterscotch.
Kath – normally I can only manage a small amount of dark chocolate at a time – which is probably just as well. But that’s why I was so surprised by this one – I just couldn’t help myself :-S
Phil – I never think of grating chocolate over ice-cream, sounds just right for a good vanilla. And the apple crumble flavour sounds intriguing – another one I haven’t tried.
Phil in the Kitchen says
By an odd coincidence I bought a bar of Sea Dog for the first time just a few hours before reading your post. I’ve just tried it and I like it a lot. I’ve often grated other Montezuma flavoured chocolate bars over fruit or ice cream desserts and that may be a good option here too. My wife insists that the Montezuma apple crumble milk chocolate bar is even nicer, but I’m not so sure.
Kath says
I know I should! But you have to admit 100g of dark choc takes some eating – or is it just me?
Baking Addict says
One of my favourites from Montezuma. The butterscotch one is the best!
SewHappy.Me says
I shouldn’t have read this blog today. I have just returned to my strict healthy diet regime yesterday and reading this almost made me falter. Luckily, I wouldn’t know where to purchase this chocolate bar. It is new to me. I will have to keep an eye out for it though.It sounds delicious. BTW I didn’t think eating a whole chocolate bar was excessive. Certainly not by my standards! I was also very impressed that you had kept it so long. I don’t have that sort of will power.
Choclette says
Chele – I’ll drink to that 😉
Kath – surely you know me enough my now to know I like my food and especially my chocolate. Looks as though you may be tempted though 🙂
KatesCakes – ha ha, thank you, it’s so nice to know I’m not the only one.
Nic – it’s well worth a search.
Jay – thanks for stopping by.
Celia – I’m wedded to dairy, so I like milk chocolate best. But I don’t like sweet chocolate. This means I have a difficult time finding a milk chocolate with a high cocoa content – 50% to 60% is good.
Gillian – it’s a great flavoured bar. It was only in writing this post that I discovered it wasn’t organic.
Brittany – I am an inveterate reader of ingredients.
Giggling Wombat – it is a fab flavour. Yes, I have tried that but wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. Peppermint and vanilla is pretty good though. Many I have still to try – good to have things to look forward to ;-0
giggling wombat says
we’ve talked about Salt Dog before and as you know I LOVE it – could be my No 1 Fave after Mayan Gold. Have you tried the Orange and Geranium one?
Les rêves d'une boulangère (Brittany) says
You are so pro when it comes to chocolate..I had no idea to look for lecithin.
Also, I thought they were organic too. It must be because of the packaging? Either way, it’s good chocolate!
Kath says
Fair point by Katescakesandbakes now I think about it 😉
Chocolate Here says
I loved this bar but you know I just assumed it was organic. Never even checked :-0lo
celia says
You’re not really a lover of dark chocolate, Choc? That’s surprising! That’s an interesting flavour combination in the block, glad to know it worked well!
Jay says
this is one gorgeous chocolates..the flavor is just amazing.
Nic@Daydreamaboutfood says
Love Montezuma chocolate – definitely looking for this one!
katescakesandbakes says
Its a bad day for me if I don’t eat a whole bar in one sitting…
What a great name for a chocolate though!
Kath says
You ate the whole bar in one sitting? You must have been having a bad work day! It does sound as if it should be eaten in one sitting though.
Chele says
I too love the packaging and the flavour combo sounds awesome … not unlike a certain beverage almost ;0)