Holiday is well and truly over! Back to blogging after a few weeks off...lack of WI-FI is my excuse. Well, it only seems like a few days ago that Mr Murdoch was front page news, as his wife literally flew to his rescue saving him from being splattered with a foam 'custard pie'. How things change and how quickly, even catching our holidaying Prime Minister and London Mayor napping. No sooner had they donned their 'kiss me quick' hats and felt the first rays of continental sunshine then they found themselves being whisked away on the next third or fourth available flight home. Not only have there been air-traffic controller strikes in Germany but apparently they've had them in Canada as well. That's a lie. Whilst I'm no master of crowd control I believe the British police should purchase a few 'water cannons' from the French as soon as possible. They, the French, certainly know how to quell an unruly crowd.
Police were certainly out in numbers today and I for one found it very disconcerting to see smoke rising high into the early morning dawn just miles from the Olympic stadium. I can't even begin to imagine how terrified people in those areas must have felt. Remove Police, cut support services and job opportunities, equals civil unrest. Scratch the surface of UK society and it bleeds surprisingly quickly. Even with all the awful events that have been occurring there are signs that the British 'stiff upper lip' is alive and kicking. Quoted from the London Evening Standard, "Mrs Yang, a diner at the Ledbury, having been mugged of both her wedding and engagement rings considered finishing the rest of her tasting menu but decided the overturned tables and broken glass not conducive to a nice dining environment". Priceless!
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| We're Popping! |
Ok, lets talk about mundane things like chocolate. According to Thorntons summer has most definitely arrived and many of us will probably be drinking gallons of home-made cloudy lemonade. So, why not make a chocolate bar which champions great British flavours. White chocolate from Dominican Republic loaded with lemon oil and popping candy for a twist.
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| Cloudy Lemonade |
The Chocolate: The lemon oil aroma is strong and images of lemon cheesecake instantly spring to mind. Considering sugar is top of the ingredient list the chocolate is not very sweet and the popping candy is a great addition as it rebounds off your fillings (if you have any) like electric static. I would suggest that it needs a touch more lemon to help cut through the slightly cloying white chocolate. However, overall I think this is a good attempt at making a 'fun' piece of confectionery. A score of 6/10 for imagination is reasonable and priced at 3 bars for £5.00 is money well spent.
To buy online click here...
Posted by Richard
I have to admit this is a bit of a strange one. The name "Seeds of Change" conjours up visions of loamy soil, well tendered allotments with row upon row of onions, new potatoes and runner beans. It says nothing about chocolate! According to the information provided on the inside of the wrapper and on their website chocolate was a happy accident. Seeds of Change started life in seeds, with a mission to create strictly organic seeds for like minded gardeners and farmers. Not only did they want to created organic seeds but they wanted to retain and preserve heirloom seeds which were rapidly disappearing from the allotments of England's green and pleasant land. Apparently "Seeds of Change" is a division of Mars Food UK famous for brands such as Mars, Galaxy, and many more. You learn something new everyday!
Not only do they sell chocolate but they also provide pasta, pasta sauces and cooking sauces. The business was originally started in 1989 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. The presentation is good and I like all the information provided inside the wrapper.
They provide 4 different bars including Dark Chocolate Orange and Fig; Dark Chocolate; Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut and Walnut; Milk Chocolate with Hazelnut and Cashew. An interesting selection. The chocolate is from the Dominican Republic and they state that they help their farmers protect their crops and achieve higher prices. They have also teamed up with Conservation International in Brazil, supporting projects on sustainable cacao growing and sharing practices that protect forest biodiversity. 1% of their revenue is set aside for research into sustainable organic agriculture and the preservation of biodiversity.
The Chocolate: As already stated the chocolate is from the Dominican Republic and is organic made from Trinitario cocoa. Chocolate contains 59% cocoa solids.
The chocolate has a lovely soft aroma and the orange oil seeps through your nostrils with a hint of cocoa in the background. The bar is well made, shiny and has a great snap as I break off the first square.The Chocolate melts quickly to reveal the firm and crunchy figs and there are plenty of them in each square. The chocolate is a little lost with the figs and zesty orange which I have to say is a strange combination but it works to a certain degree. At the end you are left with an orange/fig flavour in your mouth which isn't unpleasant.
The presentation is good but the flavours of orange and fig are a bit odd and I probably wouldn't run out to buy another bar straight away but it is not a bad bar of chocolate and I've already eaten most of it! Even though this is an organic bar the price is fairly reasonable at £2.09 for 100g. I purchased this bar from Waitrose.
