Once more, I’m jumping my chocolate review queue to talk about yesterday’s chocolates rather than, for example, the chocolates I had five weeks ago in New York. But what can you do? The first of these was quite delicious, and the second constituted another shock to my dark-chocolate-loving system, so I decree that they deserve speedy recognition.
Also, they both have pretty packaging.
The Tea Room Organic Milk Chocolate Bar Infused with Black Masala Chai Tea
I had never heard of this chocolate company prior to two days ago, when I spotted a few of its bars at a Wegmans in Virginia. As the charming L.FoodieFulbright and L.MiteMaster can attest, I did my little chocolate-happy-dance, right there in the aisle, whilst popping two flavours (the second of which will be reviewed another time) into my shopping basket.
In 2009, The Tea Room won a Fancy Food Show Silver Award for Excellence for its Green Earl Grey Dark Chocolate, yet as I’m not a fan of Earl Grey tea, I’m here reviewing the Milk Chocolate Bar Infused with Black Masala Chai Tea. Along with black tea, the spices “infused” into the bar are cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and clove, with each of these components being certified organic.
Theo Hazelnut Crunch
This is amazing. Buttery crispy caramelly toffee salty crispy nutty buttery toffee salty nutty roasted salty amazing. I wish I could write something cleverer and more in keeping with the literary skills of someone who just wrote a 28,000-word thesis, but I have looked back at my tasting notes, and they’re all but illegible. Moderately inappropriate for any potential younger readers, too.
In fact, it makes me feel better about the whole scenario, as I can keep my dark chocolate allegiance intact by justifying that my love here is all about the “hazelnut crunch”. Everybody wins!
Both sound greaaaat! I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that, after too much fence-sitting, I’ve finally lost my balance and fallen onto the ‘milk chocolate’ side of the fence. I never, ever imagined I would be a “MILK CHOCOLATE PERSON”…even as a really little kid, I loooooved super dark chocolate. I just seem to have developed more of a sweet tooth as I’ve got older, which is odd. I think the Curious Chocolatier’s pecan & caramel bar pushed me over the edge, for pretty much all the reasons you described about the Theo’s bar
Beautiful photos – such gorgeous packaging. And chocolate sounds nice too…
Now being a huge tea fan and an Earl Grey tea lover I think I would love these chocolates! Do you think that perhaps the spices should be ground more fine to avoid the strong taste of some of the spices? Although it looks pretty finely ground from what I can see
Two more amazing sounding products! I am exceedingly jealous and becoming more so by the day. Driven mad by these intoxicating sounding and highly unattainable delicacies I blogged a response to your blog today……
L-Izzle: Did The Curious Chocolatier one have a salt hit to it? That’s what made this one stand out so much; I think it would have been too sweet otherwise for my tastes. But we’ve got to have people like you maintaining the milk love, so that bars like this can keep getting made for dark chocolate lovers like me to occasionally enjoy!
Whisperinggums: Thanks, but I’m still very clearly of the point-and-click school of photography! I do wish I coudl share some fo these with you
Lorraine: Actually, I was amazed at how smooth the chocolate was – there was no graininess at all (unlike Dolfin’s chocolate tea bars, which have visibly and taste-able tea leaves in them). I’m sure you’d love the Earl Grey, particularly if it was good enough to win an award! I myself want to find the white chocolate, chamomile and honey bar and the dark chocolate with raspberry rooibos…
Louise: Oh, I just clapped my hands in glee! That post was such a compliment – my family and friends can tell you that I get ridiculously excited when other peole start to join me in searching for/analysing/appreciating new chocolates. I do feel a little guilty, because in my 20 page document of chocolate tasting notes (I kid you not) I have several bars that I know will make you envious… but really, I’m just trying to help you in the future!
Nah, no salt in that one. But the pecans were very ashy/smokey tasting, and crisp, and so provided that necessary contrast to the SUGARRRR MILLKKKK CREAMYYY SUGARRRRR SWEEEEET CARAMELLLLL. So it worked very well, I thought.
And yes, what can I say? I just think of myself as a milk chocolate quality-control officer
Love the description of the spices “poking their head out”. Very evocative! And Hazelnut Crunch does seem like a very ordinary name that undersells the product. Perhaps they should use your “salty crispy toffee hazelnut goodness” instead
Helen: Why, it looks like we might both be heading into food marketing then!
(I’d prefer they use me as their taste-tester, though…)
Yeah, it’s all about the caramel and hazelnuts. Who cares what kind of chocolate is between them?
more gorgeous packets – I want to eat them just because they look so beautiful
Croque Camille: You’re a woman after my own heart, clearly. I’m in half a mind to fly to the Seattle Theo factory and beg for a bag of the “crunch” component…
Johanna: The packaging does make the chocolate seem even more appealing, doesn’t it? Hurrah for clever marketing/design decisions!
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