Van Der Burgh Chocolaad - 72

72% Fairtrade Cacao

If you're looking to escape the busy canals and hedonistic but picturesque streets of Amsterdam then a trip to the historic town of Delft on a Monday is surely the place to go. Where clearing the beautifully kept canals of discarded bikes is probably the highlight of the day for most inhabitants and for that matter most visitors who unfortunately find themselves in this situation. This is no fault of the town or the good townsfolk of Delft its just what happens when you visit out of season.  

Delft is about an hour away by Intercity train from Amsterdam's central station. Double decker trains run every 15-20 minutes and are speedy, fairly tidy and reliable as they whisk you through the flat, yet to be filled with tulips, countryside. 

A bonus of travelling by train in Holland is that as long as you 'touch in and touch out' you can stop off at every station without paying any additional fee which is not necessarily the case in the UK. Stop off at The Hague or continue onto Rotterdam if you choose. A visit to the Royal Delft Potteries is well worth a trip located outside the town centre. If you fancy a stroll alongside the canals and into residential Delft, allow 20 minutes for an easy walk from the town centre.

Where many bikes and even cars end up!

To my surprise one of the few shops that was open for business was a chocolate shop that of Van Der Burgh Chocolaad. A the time of our visit the occupants were busy making and hand wrapping big bars of chocolate. Unfortunately, my Dutch isn't what it used to be and we just had to gaze at the 00's of bars that were being wrapped for sale. 

Historical Chocolate Shop

According to their website the business was founded in 2011 by Richard and Joyce van der Burgh as a result of an extensive search for handmade chocolate bars. No boring packaging for them! Their bars are indeed resplendent and made in one of the most picturesque locations of town. 

Using only Fairtrade cacao they make a variety of bars including milk and dark either on their own of mixed together with nuts, Ethiopian coffee or dried fruits such as cranberries. It was difficult to tell whether they actually make their chocolate from scratch but they do seem to imply this in their message? 

Handmade in Holland

Their chocolate bars are certainly beautifully packaged and have the wow factor. Unfortunately, in terms of design there is no inkling as to where their inspiration came from.

I picked out a 72% dark chocolate bar with whole hazelnuts. These are certainly hefty bars weighing in at 100g and the fact that they have used whole nuts makes the packaging feel even bulkier and almost fit to burst. 

Personally, I thought the dark chocolate was too thick and if you are worried about your dentures take a hammer to the bar before you get your pearly whites around this little bruiser of a bar. The chocolate itself is not particularly big on flavour and whilst it is well made the depth of flavour is somewhat lacking with little fruit or acidity....all a bit flat, like the landscape, in my opinion. The hazelnuts provide extra crunch. To buy click here.

Chunky Van der Burgh

Artisan du Chocolat Tobacco Dark Chocolate 72%

Well I treated myself today and dropped into Selfridges and took a quick tour of the chocolate concession area which was surrounded by Halloween costumes and paraphernalia - it's amazing what the average 'trick or treater' requires. I had gone with the intention of buying some American chocolate but was sucked into the Artisan du Chocolate section especially as free chocolates were being handed out! 


I was surprised to see that they produce chocolate bars and what a range! There were so many that I didn't take in all the flavours, very impressive. Famous for their salted caramels and handmade truffles it was good to see that they now provide bars. I'm probably way behind the times however I picked out a couple of bars and the dark chocolate with tobacco intrigued me. Was I allowed to eat this bar in a public place? Would I be ostracized from crowded venues? Was there a health warning on the package? Enough, I hear you shout.


This particular bar is part of their Fusion range. To produce this bar, they conche and refine ground Trinitario cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic with cane sugar in their atelier in Kent. The warm chocolate is then infused with a blend of tobacco made of sweet fire cured Virginia, spicy Kentucky and Cyprus Latakia. This is not the first time that I've experienced tobacco in dark chocolate and on that occasion I had to find a bin. Lets hope this is going to be better.


The Packaging: The packaging is great and each bar has a different approach and feel to match the ingredients. There are plenty of helpful tasting notes from Gerard on the reverse. The chocolate itself is enclosed in cellophane which I know will upset some of the purists. I'd love to know from somebody whether there is any difference between foil and cellophane in terms of quality, etc.

The Chocolate: A 72% cocoa content for a dark chocolate is just about fine for me. As soon as you open the cellophane wrapper tobacco wafts straight up your nostrils and it's not unpleasant or overpowering. There is also a strong woody smell which is very appealing. The chocolate is beautifully tempered and melts quickly. The addition of sugar compliments the tobacco flavours that flood through your mouth. A word of caution this bar is not for the feint hearted as it has big, big flavours and having shared a few pieces with a friend they immediately pulled a face and found a receptacle. Once the chocolate is finished you are left with the taste of tobacco in the mouth but what else would you expect! It will probably have the same effect as marmite and you will either loath it or lap it up.

Overall this is a great bar of chocolate and I give it 8/10 for pure nerve, good chocolate and presentation of the packaging. The flavour is not going to be for everyone. You've been warned! This bar weighs in at just 45g which is underweight in my opinion considering the price. I took advantage of the deal, '2 bars for £5.00'. To buy it online will cost you £2.75 plus postage and packing.


To buy this bar follow this link Tobacco Dark Chocolate 72%