Way, way back in Australia, back in the land before time*, back when I was still waking up each morning feeling like an elephant seal was sitting on my throat, back before I took a deep breath and stepped on a plane to The Overseas, my beloved friend Helen (whom you likely know as the magical queen of Grab Your Fork) somehow managed to notice the quiet humming of my emotions through the internet ether and sent me a care package filled with wonderment and joy.
* Why is it that even though I haven’t seen The Land Before Time since I was a tiny tot, and can barely remember the movie as a whole, the thought of it still makes me want to cry? So much more devastating than Bambi, y’all.
Helen, you are a true gem. The flavoured sweet coffees and Teh Tarik packets brightened up my final days at work immeasurably, and the Ovaltines took me right back to primary school. Thank you.
However, the most exciting element of your perfect parcel was the camel milk chocolate. (Even though, no, I couldn’t quite tell if it was one hump or two.)
Al Nassma Camel Milk Chocolate with Spices Arabia
Before you ask, yes, this Al Nassma chocolate truly was made with camel milk. And yes, this did give me moderate heebie-jeebies. For those interested, the ingredients involved were sugar, cocoa butter, whole camel milk powder, cocoa mass, honey, spice blend, and bourbon vanilla, and the marketing blurb described the chocolate as “the ultimate flavour of the desert and the quintessence of sweet delight”.
The aroma of Al Nassma’s camel milk chocolate was heady in spices, sugar, and something… different. Tangy, almost, like cultured butter or goat milk, but not quite either of those things. In terms of the spices, I picked cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. Chai spices, I thought, but after perusing the website I found that this particular bar is called “Camel Milk Chocolate with Spices Arabia”. So Spices Arabia then, not chai spices.
Once I plucked up the courage to take a bite of this camel milk chocolate, the flavours I noted were warm spices and a light floral sweetness. And then, and then, ever-present, I tasted the not-quite-pin-downable tanginess, the cultured yoghurt flavour that might be the hallmark of camel milk.
I have to say, though, excitement of camel milk aside, I did write “a bit like apathetic fudge and insipid hot cocoa” in my tasting notes. Overall, this chocolate was too sweet, too lacking in cocoa strength and depth, to be something I’d go out of my way to buy again.
However, the novelty of camel milk chocolate was brilliant, and both my mother and E.Moonbeams were heard to cry “I taste camel!” upon taking a nibble. It’s probably worth being able to yell that at least once in your life, right?
I have to say that of all of the chocolates E. Moonbeams mentioned in her review, camel milk chocolate is the one I least expected to be real! Now, how long are you going to make me wait to find out about the one that Napoleon would have eaten …?
It gives me such inexpressible joy that you remember that from her guest review! It amused me to think that a lot of people would think she was joking about that
Mmm….chocolate, now with 100% more camel.
INdeed! Geeze, camel milk…really? *shivers* LOL
But yes, you gotta try things at least once in your life….except for bugs. I ain’t eating any bugs, spiders, any form of insect, snakes or anything along those lines. *more shivers*
At the petrol (“gas”) station in Las Vegas, they were selling lollypops with caterpillar-esque critters in them. No thank you.
Camel! I thought I read Caramel because I have never heard of camel milk but must be quite handy in the desert (if your travels take you there) – and a new dairy free milk too!
Would camel milk be dairy free? I honestly don’t know if it affected me as a lactard.
Seriously? I’m not sure that’s what they really meant. Thought of you this weekend when I took cherry tomatoes filled with pesto to a potluck!
Aw yay, the pesto cherry tomatoes! I should make those while I can still find summer tomatoes here
HAHA what an interesting one! I had a camel ride once in Egypt and if someone were to ask me to drink camel milk, I’d would!!
hmm.. not sure if my tummy would agree though…
I remember loving camel rides as a kid purely because of the bumpy way they get up and down.
Camel milk chocolate? It sounds so awesome I am willing to try
All for exotic chocolate!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I really never expected that camel milk would feature in this camel chocolate! How very cool, even if slightly creepy. And I was thrown back to childhood with your picture of Ovaltines, and of course The Land Before Time makes me sad too even though I can’t remember it at all. Clearly my subconscious remembers something, and that something is traumatic!
SO TRAUMATIC OH MY HEAVENS WHY WERE ALL THE CARTOONS SO SAD?! Mufasa! Dumbo! So much sadness!
Camel milk? Seriously? Who milks camels? I’ve never seen anyone milking a camel. I know there’s more to your post but I can’t get ‘camel milk’ out of my mind. How lovely to be sent a care package xx
My guess is not many people in this world have seen camels being milked.
Woah, aren’t you a lucky gal?!
Camel milk…. hmmmmmm I can see why you needed to pluck up the courage to try it
I’ve heard about this brand before, and it makes me very curious. Curious if there could be things such as rabbit’s milk chocolate, or maybe cat’s milk chocolate. WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN DONE?
Hmmm, you know where I’m going with this.
Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to you. I don’t ever want to hear the words “I taste cat!” come out of anyone’s mouth.
I love that Shocking Popping Candy packaging. So fun! So fresh!
Would Psychic Cat offer herself up to the cause, do you think, Employee #1?
If only Popping Candy didn’t make my mouth feel like it was being assaulted!
The Land Before Time was It for me, best movie, saddest, and so on… until, that is, I started babysitting as a teenager and found out there were sequels. Lots of them. And watching “The Land Before Time Before” as the kids called it (the 4th in the series) kind of took away my emotional connection to the film…
I always made it a point not to watch any of the sequels. Pretty much every Disney (wait, is TLBT technically Disney?) sequel is terrible, although I do have a soft spot for some of the songs in Aladdin 2 and The Lion King 2….
I feel exactly the same about The Land BEfore Time – I’m actually too scared to watch it again. I think I saw it when I was about 7 and I KNOW it is really sad. It must have emotionally scarred me or something.
I almost feel like I should plan a blogger rewatch of that movie, so that we can all hold hands and help each other through the trauma.
Spay Lady, I found myself in the hideous situation of not having any chocolate that I wanted to eat at home. Clearly, as a pro, you would never find yourself in that sort of situation!
Never!! I don’t think I ever let my stash of fancypants chocolate get below 15 bars, and even then there was always some sort of Cadbury from deliveries lying around for utter emergencies…
“I taste camel” hahaha! Nice!
wowwwww that is insane, but so so cool! I’d totally give this a try! Although the “too sweet” bit makes me a bit wary. I love goat cheese but not goat milk, so not sure how camel milk could be. And this is too funny~it reminds me of Meet the Parents when they’re talking about milking cats, lol. Hopefully you know what I’m talking about so I don’t feel like a crazy woman.
I’ve only seen Meet the Parents once, so I don’t really know what you’re talking about, but there’s nothing wrong with being a crazy lady.
I agree – there was definitely a yoghurty tang which was a little disconcerting but I couldn’t think of a better person to provide detailed tasting notes of this desert dessert (ha). I don’t know who had more fun though – you going through the package ["it's a big envelope filled with sand!"] or me devilishly trawling the shops looking for crazy things to add to it!
Bahahaha, I love that I told you that quote and that you remember it! Oh Helen I adore your face.
I’m inclined to think that it wouldn’t be possible for anyone to have more fun than I did opening your present, but then again you are a wonderful being and I would never presume to discount your own measures of happiness.
(That made more sense in my head, but I think you know what I mean.)
I feel, as an Arab, that it should be a requirement for me to take a bite out of this. Amazing find!
I would happily give you more than a bite!
Oh… you had the camel milk chocolate!
I have no idea how camel milk tastes related to cow milk, though.
Just over a year ago, while driving out in the desert in Qatar (where I currently reside), we were invited by a camel herder back to his tent to try fresh camel milk. I admit it wasn’t terribly tempting other than the opportunity for the experience. It ended up not being disgusting as expected. Being freshly milked, it was very frothy, and didn’t have a very strong taste at all. Shortly afterward, I found out about this camel milk chocolate, which is not available here, but we just went to the UAE to visit friends and picked some up. While not the best chocolate I have ever had, it is a unique gift to bring to friends when we return to the US to visit.
P.S. The lollipops in Las Vegas (where I hail from) are tequila lollipops, which have a tequila worm in them. Never tried them, but they are a tourist favorite.
I am in love with this story. High five for adventure, right? I definitely agree that this chocolate is an awesome novelty gift, at the very least
P.S. I’ve seen those worm lollipops all over the US, actually, but have never been inclined to try them. I’ll take straight sugar instead any day