If I ever get around to writing this PhD thesis that I’m theoretically working on, I know I’ll have to be up-front about any personal biases that may affect the outcomes of my research. For example, if I were to write 100,000 words on the social construction of “soulmates” and the search for one’s “perfect partner” as reflective of Western society’s emphasis on individualisation and self-projects, I’d have to acknowledge that my conclusions might be affected by the fact that I am tremendously single.

Or if I were to rabbit on about the current trend towards the vilification of feminism (which seems predicated on forgetting that feminism is simply about equality), I would probably admit that while I believe women and men should be treated as fundamentally equal in both the public and private spheres, sometimes I do just want to be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen.

Funnily enough, I have no photos of me pregnant or barefoot. Instead, here are the heels I bought on a whim in New York in April. Sadly, I still haven’t even tried these on, because of my stupid slow-healing toe.

It’s unlikely I’ll be writing on either of the above thesis topics, but I thought it would be a good idea to practise a little self-disclosure now anyway. So here’s the disclosure:

My recent exposures to the bland and cloying one-dimensional sweetness of Cadbury chocolate may have favourably biased my perception of TCHO’s single-origin fancypants dark chocolate, as reviewed below.

But I’m kinda okay with that.

TCHO Dark Chocolate Fruity 2.0

As you can see from these posts here, I’ve already reviewed TCHO’s other single origin dark chocolates (Nutty, Citrus, and Chocolatey). After a false-start with the first version of the Nutty chocolate, I’ve been very impressed with the quality and flavour nuances of TCHO’s organic and Fair Trade blends.

And this Fruity 68% dark chocolate, made with cocoa beans from Peru, was no exception.

Keep in mind that, as with all of TCHO’s chocolates, no flavourings have been added here to create a “fruity” taste. (That is to say, there is no citrus in the Citrus bar or nuts in the Nutty bar, although there is chocolate in the Chocolatey bar… of course.) It’s all in the cocoa beans, baby.

While I’ve found TCHO chocolate to be slightly hit-and-miss when it comes to embodying the flavours it’s named after, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this Fruity chocolate was, in fact, wonderfully fruity. Most fruity chocolate I’ve had has tended towards tanginess, yet this was utterly different and unique.

The aroma hit me with sweet notes of blueberries underpinning the cocoa, and while there was an element of raspberry, it was more like raspberry jam that acidic fresh raspberries. The first bite followed through on these impressions, with the sweetness of cherries and sugared berries playing off the lingering taste of good-quality chocolate.

As each square of chocolate melted in my mouth, fleeting “zings” of tart blueberry flashed by, yet never once did this chocolate veer into sourness or acidity. Other notes I picked up on while savouring this chocolate included pear, demerara sugar, and chocolate fondant.

All told, these flavours made for a rather beautiful piece of chocolate. And while my pleasure might have been heightened by the prior experience of Cadbury’s mediocrity, I stand by my assertion that TCHO makes some mighty fine chocolate. Sadly for me, it’s Cadbury and not TCHO that I have access to in my neck of the world-woods.

Several months ago, I was received a box of chocolate from TCHO. This American chocolate company generously sent me each of their signature chocolates as well as some chocolate-covered cacao nibs and chocolate-covered dried mango. Seeing as part of their reason for sending me such glorious freebies was hearing my opinion of their reformulated Nutty 2.0, I reviewed that one straight away. The rest, however, I saved for a metaphorical rainy day.

After the drought of styrofoam-textured sugar that was Coles Dark Cooking Chocolate and the dust storm of sourness that was Vivani’s 85%, I felt that today was precisely the right day for a rainy thunderstorm of TCHO.

(Wow. That whole metaphor-analogy bit was a bit of a stretch, wasn’t it? I fear the PhD is already sapping my creativity, and I haven’t even started it yet.)

TCHO Dark Chocolate “Citrus”

A thunderstorm is a completely inept way to describe such a bright and sunshine-y package of chocolate. Shame on me.

I have a complicated relationship with citrus. Lemon desserts are a favourite of mine, and yet the slightest hint of orange in sweets makes me wrinkle my nose. I think limes are heavenly in Thai-inspired dishes, but I once told my Tasmanian cousin that I didn’t like grapefruit, only to walk upstairs (it was my first morning of a week-long visit) and find a halved grapefruit, sprinkled with sugar, on my plate.

I would happily have eaten it without letting on, but unfortunately my cousin had already let his parents know that I wasn’t a fan. I still remember the feeling of mortification. (I also remember that my uncle brought me a lovely brioche from a local bakery to have instead of grapefruit the next morning.)

Suffice to say I was a teensy bit wary of this TCHO chocolate, seeing as it’s named after alleged citrus flavours. I wasn’t too worried, though, for while I’ve enjoyed TCHO’s Nutty and Chocolatey bars, I’ve never thought they were exclusively nutty- or chocolatey-flavoured. Moreover, there aren’t any actual citrus ingredients in this chocolate; it’s made simply of cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla.

Once again, TCHO impressed me with a thin-yet-super-crisp snap and glossy dark brown-black colour. When I breathed in, I was surprised to find that I could detect a high note of lemon, with a touch of yogurt, in the aroma.

Could it be? Could I have struck gold? Could I truly have found a citrus bar that played to my citrus-loves whilst steadfastly avoiding my citrus-enemies?

Readers, it could, and I had. I loved this chocolate. The zing of lemon played against the rich chocolate notes without falling into sourness, while undertones of brown sugar meant that every few nibbles, I’d find myself thinking happily of lemon curd and hot chocolate fudge sauce.

Even though there were no roasted or earthy flavours in this chocolate, which I usually tend towards, and though the cacao origin for this bar is Madagascar, which I usually find too tangy, I found myself unable to stop nibbling TCHO’s Dark Chocolate “Citrus”.

It’s vegan, organic, and consistently moreish in its combination of assertive cocoa, sweet sugar, and zesty lemon notes. TCHO, I think this is my favourite of your line-up so far.