Dandelion Small Batch Chocolate

70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2012 Harvest

Before tasting my latest chocolate diversion lets take some time for a little reflection.......

For those of you who enjoy a little flutter, you will understand and perhaps have some sympathy for those, including me, who put all their hard earned cash on Battle Group, who decided enough was enough and planted his hooves firmly into terra ferma. Not liking what he saw ahead he failed to venture any further preferring to watch from the stands of Aintree. From that moment on I knew all my horses were destined to fail and indeed they did. Fortunately, they and their brave jockeys made it round in one piece. Betting....it's a mugs game! 

Continuing this theme. Our lovely politicians are still taking us all for mugs as David Cameron fails to sack his Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, for not declaring all her expenses, apparently she should have paid back £44k instead of £5.8k. I'm sure if we did this in the real world our bosses would be moving us swiftly to the exit marked 'P45'! C'mon David show some backbone! Ok, enough ranting....

Me (on the left) in San Fran 1970's

Dandelion Chocolate is a company I've heard so much about and at last I have managed to secure a few bars. Fortunately, my eldest son visited San Francisco recently and thoughtfully stashed a few bars in his bag for the return trip. 

When I visited San Francisco in the 70's chocolate wasn't on my mind and Dandelion Chocolate certainly wasn't in existence! The day I travelled to the States the captain of the flight announced that Elvis had just died. Not a great start!

Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District of San Francisco. Opening their business in 2010, following extensive research and experimentation, they predominately focus on making small batches of chocolate and as it 'states on the tin' they do everything by hand. They use two ingredients, cocoa and cane sugar to ensure you can taste the nuances of each bar.

70% Mantuano, Venezuela, 2012 Harvest, originates from beans harvested by a female-run co-op nestled in the tropical hills of the Caribbean coast of Venezuela. To quote what's on the packaging, "For Norah's first batch, she chose a roast profile inspired by a coffee roasting technique: higher temperature for a shorter time. We taste notes of fudge brownie and espresso with a lovely cinnamon finish'. 

www.dandelionchocolate.com

Well, I'm delighted to tell you that this is a delicious bar of chocolate and even my jaded taste buds can pick out the espresso. Beautifully packaged and presented and how good is that thick gold foil...sumptuous to the touch. A deep mahogany colour, chocolate melts quickly on the tongue, full of fruity zest typical of chocolate from Venezuela! If only all 70% dark chocolate tasted this good. And there was me thinking the only good thing to come out of the States was Elvis! 9/10 guys.

If you can afford the postage you can buy online for $8, click here. 

Perhaps, you're heading to San Francisco then visit this blog, Chocolate Travel Diversions, for some ideas on other places to visit in the area.

Great British Apple Crumble Pudding Bar

My only picture from the opening ceremony!

And the crowd go wild.....Love it or hate it the Olympics have arrived in London and they're here to stay for the next few weeks. It is only Day 2 but our transport system seems to be coping with the additional load, business is booming, if only at Westfield in Stratford and Team GB are even winning a few medals. So far I have cried on three separate occasions during the Olympics. Once in frustration as my camera decided not to work during the opening ceremony. Doh!  That was the rehersal not the final version.  Secondly, when I witnessed the awsome, wonderous and simply jaw dropping opening ceremony and thirdly when I nose dived off my orange hopper at a Gamesmaker's event on Richmond Green at the weekend.  What a difference a few days make to the mood of a nation. A week ago everybody and I generalise, was feeling down about the Olympics and now even the most hardy and dogged of commuters is looking longingly at the Olympic arena, whishing they'd coughed up a few quid to see those beach volleyball babes, as their train passes through Stratford.  Britain is collectively holding its head up high and bursting with pride!

It has been a while since I tried a piece of chocolate from Montezuma and I couldn't help noticing the 'Great British Pudding' theme for their new range of bars. Montezuma, based in West Sussex, trading since 2000, have introduced a wide range of handmade English chocolate bars, truffles and novelty items to help celebrate 2012 and all that is great about London and the UK. Inspired flavours include Spotted Dick, Summer Pudding, Treacle Tart, Lemon Meringue and Apple Crumble. Can they really be as good as they sound?

Venezuelan milk chocolate with a cocoa content of 43%.  'Apple Crumble' is produced using freeze dried apple and biscuit pieces. Unfortunately, this chocolate bar is a case of style over substance. The anticipation that I'm going to taste my mum's apple crumble is blown away immediately. The flavour of apple and biscuit is disappointing and if I'd been tasting this bar blind I'd find it hard to come up with the words 'apple crumble'. To be fair I did taste the apple but this was only after eating half a bar. I think they needed to be braver and go for a tarter apple, perhaps this product is just too hard to source but it was a let down.

Apple Crumble

The chocolate itself was tasty if slightly sweet. Marketing and presentation was excellent. At £2.49 for a 100g bar this is good value and overall 5/10. Click here to buy now!

Great concept but it didn't have me reaching for the custard!

Chocolate Union Jack Egg - Chococo

Just got back from a tour of the beautiful Essex countryside which is doing its best to move away from winter. I was trying to find a good farmers market but without much success. I've never organised a market myself but it makes sense to ensure that you have a good balance between craft and food stalls with similar stalls kept to a minimum. You can understand why stallholders throw their hands up when they arrive at a market and there are 4 others selling the same produce. If you come across any good markets in Essex let me know. Ok, lets get back to the main attraction.......


Chococo - I haven't featured any of their award winning handmade chocolates  before and I couldn't resist buying one of their chocolate eggs when the opportunity was presented. Based in the lovely town of Swanage, Dorset, Claire and Andy Burnet started their business in 2002. I believe that in a previous life Claire was a big shot in marketing, this really shines through today. What I like about this company is their passion for producing excellent chocolate confections. I've never met either of them but it's interesting how a website and a product can exude confidence, trust and passion all at the same time. They have cleverly tapped into the truly local aspect of their business. Innovatively bringing local peoples ideas and recipes to life and incorporating these into their range. At the same time the use of colour and eye catching packaging has made it an instant winner. Their business is about provenance, purity and freshness and I'm sure this has paid dividends in their growth.  Whilst many Chocolatiers around the country have huge highs and lows in terms of income Chococo have diversified. I believe they now have their own coffee shop and even supply to the likes of Harvey Nicholas and Selfridges. Will we see Chococo stores in other parts of the UK?

Chococo is not just about good chocolate as the picture above demonstrates. Their packaging is some of the best I've seen in the UK for a long time. It's fun and colourful adding to the enjoyment of giving somebody a superb and hopefully delicious gift. Chococo the brand.


The Chocolate: This egg is stunning to look and I don't really want to break it but I know I have to at some point. To make this egg 41% Venezuelan milk chocolate finished with a layer of white chocolate and decorated in naturally coloured white chocolate. Inside the egg has been studded with crunchy dried strawberries and raspberries. The white chocolate is of good quality and is probably Icoa with a 34% cocoa butter. As you would expect all the colouring used to make the Union Jack is 100% natural no nasty preservatives here! 

Ok, I'm going to smash it now! It actually takes a bit of bashing to break this egg. The best way is to turn it on its side and Karate chop along the seem. I'm sure you'll work it out!


The thin white layer of sweet chocolate mixes well with the thicker layer of milk chocolate which has been studded with plenty of dried raspberries. These provide crunch and zing at the same time help to offset the sweetness of the chocolate. I've just eaten half an egg without even thinking so back in the box for you. My only request would be that their should have been a little bag of milk chocolate buttons hidden inside. But that is me just being greedy and harking back to my youth.


I really like this egg and would have eaten all 175g in matter of minutes had I not had more self control. I enjoyed everything about this egg and it scores maximum points for me in terms of presentation and taste. I was lucky to buy this egg at a discounted price but it normally retails at £12.95 including postage and packing. Money well spent in my opinion. 


To treat your friends and family this Easter visit their website here.

Giant Milk Chocolate Buttons from Chocadores

Light snow has turned to blizzard conditions so will not be venturing out. Plus, I've been a busy bee this morning and all the Christmas decorations are now up so I thought I'd treat my self to a chocolate moment and review some chocolate buttons from Chocadores.

The Packaging: Nicely presented in cello with a great looking picture of a cocoa pod. These 150g bags will make good stocking fillers for some lucky person. Chocadores feature four varieties of chocolate buttons: a milk chocolate from Venezuela 43%; a dark chocolate from Peru 64%; a dark chocolate from Madagascar 67% and milk chocolate buttons from Ecuador 39%. 


The Chocolate: These particular buttons are from Venezuela and have a cocoa content of 43%. According to the information provided they are made using a blend of rare Criollo and Trinitario cocoa beans that are grown on plantations in Venezuela. The Criollo bean is the rarest and most expensive variety of cocoa. Prized for its exceptional flavour and intense aroma. The Trinitario is hybrid of Criollo and Forastero trees that originated from Trinidad. Apparently 90% of the cocoa produced in the world is from Forastero beans. Criollo chocolate has a distinctive reddish colour.


There is nothing wrong with this chocolate but the intense cocoa flavour that you expect is not there. A 43% milk chocolate will usually give you a rich chocolate flavour and this is just not coming through. The flavour is short and almost thin in comparison to other milk chocolates that I've tasted from Venezuela of the same % cocoa content. Maybe this is due to the blend? I didn't actually detect anything that really stood out in this chocolate. Maybe my taste buds are frozen! 

Venezuela 43% Milk Chocolate Buttons

These particular milk buttons score 5/10 as the lack of flavour is letting them down a tad. But if you're somebody who enjoys a more subtle chocolate then these will be ideal for you.


Priced at £3.75 for 150g plus postage and packing. To buy, click here.

Milk Chocolate Minted with Crunchy Peppermint

Once again we've had zero time to do any blogging as chocolate bar production has been the main focus of my attention for the past week! I made several hundred bars this week only for the snow to fall and the function to be cancelled. Fortunately it was only postponed which in the end turned out to be a bit of a god send. Have also made a decision to put the online website back up in the New Year...chocolate truffles will be making a come back! One thing I'm pleased about this week is that I do not live in Three Bridges! Those poor people who were stuck on that train all night! At least they had some heat. For those of you living outside the UK we had some snow and everything stopped. Simple!


MINTED from Montezuma's. Peppermint with chocolate is not usually my cup of tea but I've tasted several bars now with mint and I'm strangely looking forward to tasting this bar...perhaps I'll even whip out the After Eights this evening. Now I'm really getting old.


The Packaging: I really like Montezuma's new range of bright packaging and this shade of green is fantastic! I know it's a bit sad getting excited by packaging but its good. It also makes me feel slightly festive. They do this part very well and full marks to them. I also like the fact that they proudly state that it has been made in the UK.

Minted from Montezuma's

The Chocolate: Usually you expect Peppermint to be combined with dark chocolate so it will be interesting to see how the milk chocolate blends in with the mint. This particular milk chocolate is from Venezuela and is fairly strong with a 43% cocoa content. There is no getting away from that After Eight aroma as you open the packaging. The bar itself is peppered with a few tiny holes which is my pet hate. The peppermint has been broken up into very small  pieces and there is a good crunch. The peppermint is not overpowering and blends in well with the chocolate. I like this bar of chocolate but I prefer mint with dark chocolate and therefore less sugar. There is a slight aftertaste but it is not off putting.

Overall I give this bar 6/10 for subtle flavour of the peppermint. As always the price is great value especially for a 100g bar. Montezuma's are selling 3 bars for £7.17 plus p&p. If you know somebody who likes peppermint in their chocolate then I'd have no hesitation in recommending this bar.


If you'd like to buy this bar visit their website here.

Jungle Fever - Montezuma

Keeping with the Montezuma theme this weekend. We enter the jungle with just this little bar of fruit and nut to keep us going. Something I'm sure the contestants on "I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Here" would rather be eating than those delicious grubs that are on offer.


I think you'd agree with me that the name "Jungle Fever" conjours up spice and heat, I don't think this bar is going to deliver any of these flavours or tastes. According to the packaging this bar contains, sultanas, apricots, walnuts and coconut. Which I'm sure you agree is not your usual offering when thinking about traditional fruit and nut bars.


The Packaging: Bright pink certainly catches your attention! Nothing more to say about this really. Let's not waste any more time and get on with eating the chocolate.

The Chocolate: Venezuelan milk chocolate (43% cocoa solids) has been used to make this bar so it should be powerful enough to cut through the various ingredients that have been added. There is a good cocoa smell when you open the packaging and the taste is not lost as the chocolate quickly melts on your tongue. I love the organic look and feel of this bar and the way they've just blended in the crushed nuts and sultanas. The coconut is a great alternative to the usual mix that you find in other bars. The balance between chocolate and ingredients is just right and you don't feel as if you've been short changed. I guarantee that this bar will not last long. I've made short work of it this afternoon and there goes the last piece....oh no!

Jungle Fever

Overall this is a delicious bar of chocolate that is not pretentious, apart from the name, which doesn't make sense to me but I think I know what they're trying to do? Therefore, I score this bar 8/10 for flavour and 9/10 for value for money at £2.39 when you buy a pack of 3. Order a big stack now before it snows and the postman can't make it up the path! Sundays were made for this bar or is it the other way round?


To buy this bar just click here!

70% Dark Venezuela Chuao Purist Bar

Well, that week certainly sped by and what a crazy busy week it has been! 


This is the last of the Purist bars from Hotel Chocolat that I'm featuring this year as it will take me another year to save up to buy three more! If you've seen my price survey you'll be aware that these bars are top the price charts. 


The Chocolate: No need to repeat myself about the packaging as the picture below tells you everything you need to know. However, it does make you wonder how something so expensive can be in such mediocre and simplistic packaging. Clever marketing I suppose?

According to the tasting notes provided Hotel Chocolat managed to obtain some of the most prized cocoa on earth! Criollo cocoa beans have been used to make this bar of chocolate producing mellow flavours of roasted nuts, cream and caramel, raisins and malt. For those of you new to chocolate Criollo trees are notoriously difficult to grow. Not only do they produce fewer pods containing even fewer seeds but they are more susceptible to disease. Why would anyone want to grow this seed variety? Well, the flavours and aromas that the Criollo producers are far better than those of the hardier Forastero, which accounts for more than 80% of the world's cocoa crop. 


The word "Chuao" actually refers to a small village on the north coast of Venezuela. Founded in the 16th century it was famous for its cacao plantations, producing very high quality cacao.

The aroma from this bar is certainly less intense to the Purist bar I tasted recently. However, for a 70% dark chocolate it has a certain intensity and there is a fruity acidity to the chocolate that lasts for a long time. It's also creamy and doesn't dry your mouth out which is so much more agreeable than the "With a Dash" Purist bar. I'm not picking up the nuts, caramel or malt flavours that are listed.


Overall it is a good bar of chocolate that is full of flavour. Unfortunately the price is very high and even though this is good quality chocolate £3.00 for a 35g bar is excessive. For that reason I'm going to give it 8/10 for flavour, 4/10 for price and 2/10 for packaging.


If you'd like to buy this bar click here.