Cafe-Tasse Blanc Citron

A massive chemistry set!

Before tucking into a bar of Cafe Tasse I thought I would start with another passion of mine, Southwold.  

I can honestly say that the town and its surroundings have remained unchanged for over half a century.  The herring fleet may have gone and the high street may have seen a variety of shop fronts with retailers coming and going over the years but essentially the place has remained pretty much the same.  

Perched on the Suffolk coast just above Ipswich and below Lowestoft this picturesque seaside town has remained relatively unknown.  House prices have gone through the roof over the years as the tendrils of celebrity reach Southwold.  There have been numerous TV programmes and films set in this lovely coastal backwater including, "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "East of Ipswich" to name just two. 

The town has a a pier with arcade machines provided by Tim Hunkin,  a lighthouse, a picture palace, a Summer Theater and it also boasts its own brewery. Adnams, renowned throughout the UK, providing beer and now their own spirits produced from their distillery in their own innovative style. 

They've even begun to make their own whiskey which will be available to the general public towards the end of 2013. Distillery Tours of this totally modern facility are available for £10 per person, over 18s only, includes gin and vodka tasting at the end.

Ok, enough of beer and spirits lets talk chocolate. I actually plucked this next bar of chocolate from a shop in Southwold so, my introduction has some sought of credible link.

Blanc Citron, produced by Cafe Tasse, a Belgium chocolate maker. I have no idea where the white chocolate comes from as information is fairly limited. However, the bar is made with sugar, whole milk powder and candied lemon peel. The aroma is very lemony and a vision of a huge lemon cheesecake immediately pops into my head! The chocolate is smooth, not too sweet or cloying and the pieces of lemon peel provide an extra dimension almost making it refreshing. 

There is some aftertaste but overall this is genuinely an enjoyable bar of chocolate and I could happily munch the lot. A great improvement on the Extra Noir bar and scores a respectable 6/10. £1.49 for a 45g bar.

Cafe Tasse Extra Noir 77%

Cafe-Tasse produced in Belgium and that is probably all I can tell you about this company whose website is very minimal in terms of information.  Of course, I am being slightly unfair however, their website is very one dimensional and I assume this is because they're selling directly to shops and hotels rather than the general public. 

Cafe-Tasse (French for Coffee Cup) is a well known Belgium brand, found throughout Europe but probably little known in the UK.  Renowned for its fine chocolate bars of various sizes, chocolate covered fruits, and drinking chocolate to name just a few from the companies extensive range of chocolates. 

I do like these slim bars as they're ideally made to conceal upon your person especially if you're a chocoholic like me.

Once the brown and gold wrapping has been removed a shiny hunky bar of chocolate is revealed, something akin to a Kit Kat Chunky. The chunks are fairly deep but they break off relatively easy. The cocoa aroma wafting up from this bar is not very strong considering it has a cocoa content of 77%. Biting into a chunk is fairly difficult so if you value your gnashers be warned!  Nibble with care.  Information about where they buy their cocoa is sketchy which I always find a bit frustrating.

The mouth feel is smooth but the overall feeling your left with is a chalkiness. Taste is disappointing, very short,  with just a hint of bitterness and there is absolutely no fruit.  Strangely, once you've swallowed a chunk the taste of tobacco lingers on and on as though you have just put out a cigarette!  Not exactly pleasant.  Overall a pretty disappointing piece of chocolate and I don't think I'll finish eating this little bar either. Perhaps it will work better with a fiery chili con carne later this evening. 

I paid £1.49 for a 45g bar which makes it a fairly expensive, top end, treat and scores a lowly 4/10.  Sorry, but my cup does not runneth over for this little morsel! Hopefully the Blanc Citron bar of chocolate will be better.