Chocolatepalooza: Talento Brazil Nut, Cleo’s Peanut Butter Cup, Milka Yoghurt

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Hannah

There is so much shimmering happiness in my life at present that I can’t yet even start squeezing it into typed words. Not only do I have more tales from SoCal and #VVC2013 to share, I also spent last week with the magnificent Alayna and, right now, am perched at Gena’s table in Washington, DC wearing a borrowed pair of so-comfortable-I-may-never-give-them-back pyjamas, drinking a matcha latte made with hemp/rice/quinoa milk, feeling simply beyond.

So let’s talk chocolate.

Talento Milk Chocolate with Brazil Nuts

This Talento Milk Chocolate with Brazil Nuts marked not only my first experience tasting Brazil nuts in chocolate, but also my first taste of Brazilian chocolate. The block was an unexpected gift from Maíra upon her return to Toronto, and my heart received it with glee.

Shall we pause for a moment to acknowledge the cuteness of the little embossed Talento/Garoto logo boy? Moment. Cuteness. Acknowledged.

The aroma of the milk chocolate put me in mind of Cadbury with its sugar-forward sweetness, but there was also a hint of sweetened condensed milk to it.

As I took my first bite, though, I knew that Talento was going to far trump Cadbury. The chocolate was firm to the tooth, and the nubbins of Brazil nuts so plentiful that they contributed both a unique buttery-savoury flavour and great textural contrast, too.

The overall flavour had notes of vanilla milkshakes and Bulla ice cream, but also something a little resiny, a slight tannin and herbalness. This, of course, makes no sense within the framework of milk chocolate and Brazil nuts, but it was tasty and moreish nonetheless.

If this is the standard for baseline Brazilian milk chocolate, then I want more.

Cleo’s Peanut Butter Cups

You would think, seeing as the oh-so-generous Shen sent me four entire packets of them, that I’d have taken photos of the actual gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan Cleo’s Peanut Butter Cups by Go Max Go, and not just the blue wrappers.

Alas, no. These confections became so deliciously melty-squoodgy-not-quite-the-salty-kick-of-Reese’s-but-incredible-in-their-rich-smooth-natural-peanut-buttery-filling-goodness-and-oh-hey-there-thick-rice-milk-chocolate-coating as soon as the weather warmed up in Toronto that I found myself gobbling them down quicker than a dolphin on a tricycle*, and so all I have to say to you is: gooooooooood.

* Made that up.

Milka Joghurt/Yogurt Milk Chocolate

Last but not least (for today’s chocolatepalooza, at least), we have Milka’s milk chocolate with yoghurt filling, which Carolyn bought for me during a grocery store adventure in SoCal. I remember enjoying Ritter’s yoghurt chocolate bar, so was excited to dive into this one.

Here be the thoughts, direct from the tasting notes:

Aroma: WOAH tang cardboard candle what? Tangy like vanilla yoghurt, the kind from little plastic tubes for lunchboxes, the kind my friends had in primary school and I didn’t. Taste: soft WOAH so creamy inside… mild, silky-oily, I think Ritter was tangier? This is more like, again, a mild marketed-at-kids vanilla yoghurt. Also it is melting because it is very warm here in Orange Country HOLLA SUMMER yeah I’ll take this.

The end.

Pana Chocolate: Rose, Lucuma Gold, and Blue-Green Algae

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Hannah

Pana Chocolate is raw, vegan, and organic chocolate, handmade in Melbourne, Australia, using high quality ingredients such as raw cacao, virgin cacao butter, agave nectar, carob, Himalayan crystal sea salt, 100% essential oils, and organic add-ins. It uses no soy or added sugar, no preservatives, and is gluten-free. It has the cutest mascot I’ve ever seen on chocolate, perhaps the most creative flavours of any Australian chocolate company yet, and it is better for you than broccoli.

The entire last line of that paragraph is open to debate, of course, but until I’m proven wrong… I ain’t wrong.

I received the above three bars of Pana Chocolate from the company after they found my review of the wonderful Pana Chocolate Coconut + Goji Dark Chocolate. However, Pana couldn’t ship beyond Australia, so a big thank you to my dad for acting as the middle-man and sending this on to me without stealing a single bite.

Rose Pana Chocolate

Pana Chocolate’s 60% Rose dark chocolate, made with virgin cacao butter, dark agave nectar, raw cacao powder, virgin coconut oil, wild carob, cinnamon, maca, pure Himalayan crystal salt, and pure essential rose oil, was the flavour I most giddily anticipated trying.

The bar was dark and shiny, and absolutely blossomed (pun intended) with the heady perfume of rose as soon as I’d unwrapped it. The rose aroma didn’t seem artificial like it is in mass-market Turkish delight, or off-putting like potpourri in a dusty old antique shop. No. It was like breathing in a springtime garden.

I took a bite and my mind swirled in delight, losing itself in flavour-memories and dreams. Pana Chocolate’s raw vegan rose chocolate was rich, unctuous, smooth like fudge, the rose lingering, tangling with incense, a smoky church in Italy, clotted cream richness and a scent of cinnamon, sexy gorgeous chocolate, gooey brownie centres, buttery fudge rolling on my tongue, so smooth, so rich, floral petticoats chiffon lightweight dresses skipping bare legs, Persian fairy floss and true Turkish delight, falling asleep in a rose garden, enveloped in petals.

I guess you could say I loved this Pana Chocolate Rose Dark Chocolate.

Lucuma Gold Pana Chocolate

Now this, my friends, was an interesting bar. Like a raw vegan version of white chocolate, Pana Chocolate’s Lucuma Gold bar is made of 30% lucuma fruit, cacao butter, and agave nectar. That’s all.

I had no idea what to expect with this chocolate. I’ve had lucuma before, but always integrated into other treats, not as the sole flavour. The aroma was a bit like malt, a bit like custard, with something fruity that wasn’t quite citrus but almost, like passionfruit marmalade (teehee, I just wrote “passionate marmalade”).

The flavour did have some fruitiness, a very subtle pineapple hint. The texture was firm but easy to bite through, and a little grainy. There were vanilla notes, something that reminded me of pandan, but all very subtle. Like a whispering custard apple buttercream, with the oily richness of cacao butter. Very intriguing.

Blue-Green Algae Pana Chocolate

I definitely waved my hand around for this Blue-Green Algae dark chocolate bar when Pana asked which flavours I’d like to try but, alas, it turned out to not be my bag, baby. So let’s just look at pretty pictures of the chocolate, because it turns out that I don’t feel confident in my ability to describe the tastes and quality of algae.

One great thing about this chocolate is that 20c of every bar sold is being donated by Pana to Sea Shepherd, a marine wildlife conservation organisation. So there, you have two reasons to buy this one! It helps save animals! And you get to tell everyone you ate algae chocolate! Hurrah!

And anyhoo, maybe you’ll like it. After all, we know that I can’t stand orange chocolate, which many of you love, so maybe by the same token you’ll enjoy this creative flavour.

I, for one, will be dreaming of endless boxes filled with Pana’s rose bar.

Chocosol Hemp Gold and Sinfully Raw Vanilla Chocolate

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Hannah

While I’m off filling my heart and soul with vegan food and friends at Vida Vegan Con, it feels right to leave you with a review of vegan chocolate (from Toronto, no less!).

I’ve mentioned Chocosol in passing a few times now, once when I showed you its owner making hot chocolate via a bicycle-powered blender, and again when I attended its three-hour chocolate workshop. I can’t describe the company’s ethos any better than the website does, so:

“ChocoSol is a learning community/social enterprise that uses artisanal dark chocolate as a symbolic product that incarnates the values that we make part of our art of living and dying with dignity. [It is made] using organic, forest garden, shade-grown cacao, sourced directly from indigenous communities in the Lacondon Jungle of Chiapas and the Oaxacan mountains of Southern Mexico. Our horizontal trade relationships go beyond the exchange of commodities and bring symbolic products, whose story is as important as the product itself. Our relationships are based on reciprocity, friendship, respect and mutual learning.”

Chocosol Hemp Gold

The first Chocosol bar I bought was the Hemp Gold, because if there’s anything I can’t resist, it’s chocolate with maple sugar. (You thought I was going to say something else, didn’t you?) The bar is made from cacao, hemp seeds, maple sugar, cacao butter, and sea salt, and boy, does the quality of the ingredients sing out.

The aroma first hit me with true chocolatey goodness, and then my mind went: PANCAKES! pancakes PANCAKES! Roasted sunflower seeds? PANCAKES. Must be the maple sugar. What is this tomfoolery?

The first bite was firm and slightly grainy (due to the cacao being stoneground), and the taste was astoundingly complex and lovely. Fruity but not sour, fruity like tropical fruits, like custard apple with a twang of pomegranate… toast, the crispy edges of pancakes, pancakes with melting ice cream and berries… why is it than I can’t taste maple syrup but I can taste pancakes? I can taste sitting at my friend’s kitchen table, age ten, rolling up freshly-made crepes drenched in maple syrup and eating them as quickly as we could because her mother was cooking more on the stove all the while. I can taste that memory hidden in the chocolate.

Chocosol Sinfully Raw Vanilla

It’s hard for me not to comment on my abhorrence for words like “sinful” (see also: “guilt”, i.e. “guilty pleasure”/”guilt-free”) being applied to food, because I do not and will not countenance moralistic values being applied to food or, more insidiously, the person eating said food. Oh hey, lookee here! I did comment on it!

With that out of the way, let’s again talk taste. (And aroma and texture.)

As soon as I saw that Chocosol’s Sinfully Raw Vanilla vegan chocolate was blue-black-dark, firm, and covered on its underside with cacao nibs, I knew I’d like it.

The texture was, like the Hemp Gold, firm and slightly grainy, with the aroma so strong in true vanilla bean headiness that I almost wanted to breathe it in without eating.

Ha! That’s not true; I definitely wanted to eat it. This chocolate is restrained in its sweetness, with the cacao notes speaking of lychees but also smokiness, ash, bourbon and whisky, all with the intense bitter crunch of cacao nibs. Goooood.

Chocolatepalooza: Raw Shakti, Justin’s, Madécasse

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Hannah

Writing this blog has brought many, many wonderful people into my life. Glorious people, shining people, inspiring people, talented people. One such ~~people~~ person is the lovely and hilarious Alayna of Thyme Bombe.

Alayna recently published her first cookbook, The Japanese Pantry, which showcases approachable yet dinner party-worthy Japanese (and Japanese-inspired) recipes. Believe you me, Alayna’s recipes look, sound, and taste as good as many of the dishes I ate in Japan several years ago.

When Alayna offered me a copy of her cookbook, I was breathless with gratitude and joy. A few weeks later, I moved beyond “breathless” to “squealing” because, along with her cookbook, Alayna sent me the dazzling array of goodies you see above.

Alayna, you are a wonder and a song. This is your chocolatepalooza post. Thank you.

Raw Shakti Chocolate 85% Cacao

A part of me is tempted to repeat the words on the Raw Shakti Chocolate package then proclaim “voila! My review!” After all, Shakti proclaims that its chocolate is: 85% cacao, raw, stoneground, handcrafted, sustainable, [made from] single origin Ecuador[ian cacao], [using] all organic ingredients, [and has] deep fruity notes with a complex floral finish.

Need I say more?

Perhaps not, but I will anyway. This Raw Shakti 85% vegan dark chocolate had one of the crispest snaps I’ve ever encountered in raw chocolate, as well as an unwavering aroma of twangy redcurrant and unripe plum mixed with bitter raw cacao.

The taste followed suit with red fruit acidity, but thankfully not in a puckeringly sour way. The flavour was strong in tannins, merlot, lemon, and (again) unripe plums, but it also had notes of cigarette ash and the coolness of underground caves. Yes, I just said this chocolate tastes like caves.

I’d like to see that appear in the marketing blurb one day.

Justin’s All-Natural Milk Chocolate Peanut Candy Bar

Have you ever wanted a Snickers bar but not its plethora of dodgy ingredients? Well, Justin’s has your back. Justin’s All-Natural Milk Chocolate Peanut Candy Bar is comprised of milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, and nougat, but no hydrogenated oils or multisyllabic chemical components. Just pronounceable nuts, sugar, and chocolate.

The caramel was firmer than is found in a Mars Bar or Snickers, and had a lighter sweetness too. The nougat was malty and the peanuts well-roasted, balancing the sweetness of the caramel and milk chocolate. At times, the overall texture and flavour reminded me of fudge.

I want Justin’s (vegan) Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups now.

Madécasse Pink Pepper and Citrus

I saved the best for last! Having previously tried and loved Madécasse, I was supremely excited about this mini bar of Madécasse Pink Pepper and Citrus 63% Dark Chocolate. The citrus refers to combava fruit, also known as kaffir lime.

This bar was wonderful. Alayna, you’re wonderful.

The aroma was so strong, so chocolatey, so tangy (in a gorgeously fruity way). As is always the case, Madécasse exemplified perfect tempering in this bar, with a beautiful crack-snap ringing out each time I broke off a square.

The flavour was light yet strong, by which I mean that the lime notes were ever-present but not overpowering. The citrus was like a cloud of perfume dancing through the vanilla-scented heady cacao notes of the 63% chocolate, while the pink pepper added just the barest hint of a savoury twist, broadening and deepening the bar’s overall flavour.

Oh Madécasse. I like you almost as much as I like Alayna.

Chocolatepalooza: Starbucks Caramel Brûlé, Pretzel M&M’s, Cadbury Crispy Crunch

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Hannah

I’m eating so many wonderful (sweet) things here in California that I can’t see how I’ll ever write them all up. Particularly when I’m still plowing through reviews, restaurants, and recipes from my time in Toronto.

Maybe today’s chocolates don’t need to be written about. But, then again, I don’t necessarily want to only post about hard-to-find, expensive, artisanal, and/or fancypants treats, because heaven knows that neither money nor chocolate grows on trees. (Well, cacao pods do…)

Aaaaaand I just managed to drip pistachio gelato down my top. That may’ve been the universe telling me to stop complaining about having a surfeit of treats. Message received, universe. Message received.

Starbucks Caramel Brûlé Chocolate Bites

Firstly, Starbucks spelled “brûlé” in a way I’d never seen before, but Janet has informed me that it is, indeed, correct. Go you good thing, bilingual country!

Secondly, Starbucks spelled “natural” incorrectly. Unless “natrual flavours” are something new and exciting in the chocolate world?

Thirdly, these “milk and dark chocolate surrounding a rich, creamy caramel” bites were pretty in a dappled way, with a caramel ice cream aroma.

Fourthly, the chocolate coating melted easily and the caramel inside was chewy, but initially completely lacked flavour.

Fifthly, no, I really mean that; I spent the first few seconds of every bite wondering why I could taste nothing despite knowing something was in my mouth.

Sixthly, a mild sweetness did emerge after a few chews, reminding me of Werther’s caramels with hints of butteriness.

Seventhly, these were disappointing and I wouldn’t buy them again. Actually, I wouldn’t even eat them again if offered for free. Life is too short to waste on chocolate that tastes predominantly of nothing.

Pretzel M&M’s

Larger than original M&M’s but far lighter when it comes to throwing and catching in one’s mouth, these Pretzel M&M’s were incredibly easy to eat.

The crackly sugar coating gave way to a thin layer of milk chocolate, together tasting like M&M’s. Yes, saying that is redundant, but what can I do? M&M’s have a particular taste, and thus M&M’s have a particular taste.

Beneath the chocolate lurked firm little nuggets of crunchy salty pretzel, thereby creating a fun salty-sweet-sugary-chocolatey-malty-toasty taste.

I hope peanut-butter-pretzel M&M’s are brought into existence next.

Cadbury Crispy Crunch

I’ve been craving Chick-O-Sticks like a fiend for months now.

Butterfingers are like Chick-O-Sticks covered in mockolate.

Cadbury Crispy Crunch(es) seem to be a Canadian version of Butterfingers.

Ergo I had to buy this candy bar.

With an aroma like roasted peanuts, then peanut brittle, then just a hint of sweet cocoa, I had high hopes for the peanutiness of this Cadbury Crispy Crunch bar.

It broke crisply, firmly, with the same peanut brittle-esque layers as inside a Butterfinger bar but less flaky, more solid.

Each bite was a tasty wallop of salt, caramel/burnt caramel, honeycomb, salted roasted peanuts, peanut butter, peanut brittle, nondescript unimportant milky chocolate, toffee sweetness, again salt, again roasted peanuts, again peanut brittle.

I want a Chick-O-Stick even more now.

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