Chocolate

La Maison du Chocolat are chocolatiers that I have a sense of guilt about. When I first started reviewing chocolate a few years ago I caught up in the swell created by their funkier alternatives. The Banksies of the chocolate world pushed from the underground closer to the mainstream and naively this seemed more exciting. [...]You may also like: Laurent Gerbaud Yuzu 75% Dark Chocolate Bar La Maison Du Chocolat Tastings and Ganaches for Chocolate Week 2010 Michel Cluizel 99% and 85% Ganaches

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ??? It has been way, way to long since we last got our hands on some chocolate from Zotter but thanks to @Cybercandy we this week got our chance to be reaquainted with the crazy Austrian chocolatiers. Cybercandy are probably best known for their sourcing of American snacks and treats but they recently made us aware that they have also recently added Zotter to their copious range. Not wanting to let the opportunity to take advantage of this slip by, we duly requested some samples and they aknowledged our love for coffee chocolates with some of Zotter's Handscooped Strong Coffee bars (Review See HERE) and also this Zotter Mitzi Blue Coffee Malt. We have previously tried out some of Zotter's Mitzi Blue range (See HERE) and we were again impressed with the attention in the aesthetic detail and presentation. The packaging and format of the chocolate was highly unique with the decorative cardboard sleeve hiding in the dual toned, wheel shaped chocolate piece within. The 65.0g chocolate piece looked slender in size, though it broke apart with a loud sounding snap which signified freshness. If you hadn't clocked by the name this was a coffee flavoured chocoalte offering and this was immediatedly apparent from the gorgeous roasted bean aromas that wafted out as soon as the cardboard packaging was opened. Jim was literally drooling at the prospect of trying this so we gave him the task of obliging with the ChocolateMission taste test. His high expectations were met with what he described as a 'delicious chocolate' that 'progressed magnificently in flavour as the melt developed'. The outer portion of the piece was the strong of the two chocolates and offered crisp, sweet cocoa flavours that delivered blasts of roasted coffee flavours with the presence of crispy coffee bean fragments. At the centre of the 'wheel' a caramel noted chocolate ensured the taste ended with a well rounded cream flavour development - a pleasant end to a bold flavoured chcoolate. Overall it will probably come as little surprise we have a high performing coffee flavoured chocolate grace the scoring system but we can do little but report the truth. Zotter may go off the tracks sometime with their crazier flavours though when they do things 'right' they often do them very well indeed. This Zotter Mitzi Blue Coffee-Malt is an instance where they aren't trying to hard and have kept it simple with great reward. Coffee flavoured chocolates normally split people right down the middle like Marmite - you either love them or your hate them. This bar isn't going to change any of that but if coffee chocolates are your thing be sure to check it out. 8.4 out of 10

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Food & Wine's Best Chocolate in the U.S. What a spotty list!  It's good that they have Askinosie, French Broad, Dandelion, and Woodblock on their list.  But other top quality b2b makers like Rogue, Fresco, Manoa, Ritual, and Dick Taylor are conspicuously absent while Lindt makes the list!  Makes one question the experience and the judgment of the editors. For me it is just another in a long string of examples showing why the "quest for the best" is doomed to failure.

Sisters and Brothers, how many of you would love to experience chocolate from around the world, meeting the creators, and tasting the uniqueness of each culture?  Doreen Pendgracs has done this and she continues to do this for her multi-volume book series, Chocolatour: A Quest for the World’s Best Chocolate.  The first book is due out later this year and we hope to bring you a book review of it

Kcal 0 Fat 0.0g Carbs 0.0g (diet soda) Last week we received a curious package from an anonymous reader asking us to request this Chocolate Cream Pie flavoured soda. There is probably a good argument that you shouldn't be drinking unheard of drinks from strangers that arrive in the post :-) but we are a little more adventurous than that at ChocolateMission so we thought we would give this Faygo branded bottle a try. A little research on the internet revealed the following regarding Faygo: 'Faygo Beverages, Inc. is a soft drink company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The beverages produced by the company, branded as Faygo or Faygo Pop, are distributed in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Central Southern regions of the United States. Aswell available in southern Canada. Faygo Beverages, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Beverage Corporation, which also owns Shasta' .... thanks WIKI Following a sufficient chilling period in the ChocolateMission HQ fridge we shared the largish 591ml bottle out between three of us. Aesthetically the liquid looked no different to your average cola with its dark coloured complexion, aroma wise we were left unimpressed by the chemically sweet smells on offer. Fearing the worst but hoping for the best we commenced the taste test and were pleasantly surprised by our findings. The taste had a strong vanilla flavour base and had underlying elements of coffee and chocolatey syrup. It wasn't exactly the most sophisticated of flavour experiences but it was unique and not like any other sodas we had tried before. Add in to the mix that it was refreshing, easy to drink and on the whole pleasant enough then by our estimation its a drink worth trying if you are a soda fan that gets the opportunity. 7.2 out of 10 n.b. In case your wondering we did survive this 'soda from strangers' experience :-) its a full 48 hours since we drank the stuff

Hi Clay: Thank you so much for your recent email and all your efforts to try and keep us spam free.  This is much appreciated. SGL

Kcal 190 Fat 9.0g (per bag) We've had some fantastic new products developed this year here in the UK confectionery market - Cadbury Dairy Milk Creations, Unilever's ice cream chocolates, the Kit Kat Chunky competition 2013 and the likes of Hotel Chocolat up to their usual tricks with their seasonal lines. What is the response from Mars UK? These all NEW Mars Mix would seem to be the answer. We found this 40.0g bag of Mars Mix sitting on shelf in Tesco priced at £0.60. For a bag smaller than your average chocolate bar we weren't impressed with the price, but in the name of covering everything for you guys we purchased a few bags to take back to the office. Aesthetically the product didn't look a all differentiated from any standard Mars branded product, a black, plastic packet material with red and gold lettering - we didn't expect anything different. Described on pack as ' 'milk chocolate with assorted centres' we were wondering how these were going to differ from the Mars Planets (Review from 2008 - HERE) that have been on the UK market for what seems like forever now. Opening the packet we greeted with small sized milk chocolate covered ball pieces that carried the usual sweet milk chocolate aromas of your everyday Mars bar. Taking handfuls at a time we carried out our taste test and much to our delight we were greeted with some very familiar sweet milk chocolate, buttery caramel and malty nougat flavours - Yummy!! To say we didn't enjoy these would be a lie ... we mostly did! Overall these Mars Mix were great - thumbs up for the taste test!! BUT ... and yes of course there is BUT .... (get ready for the rant...) ... how on earth can Mars substantiate that these are by any means NEW!? They've simply taken out the crispy pieces from the Mars Planets bags ... replaced the word 'Planets' with 'Mix' and slapped on a NEW sticker to entice people in. Thats not impressive - thats lazy innovation!! If someone hands you a bag of these of these don't despair - enjoy them by all means! Just dont go out your way to buy them if you want something different from the norm. A highly disappointing response to a market that is rife with some great new products. 7.1 out of 10

Sisters and Brothers, here is one chocolate related USDA recalls on products that those with dairy or/and tree nut allergies need to be aware of.  Please check out the link for further information. Tropical Valley Foods Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Milk and Walnuts in Next by Nature Dark Chocolate Bananas Contact Consumer: 518-314-7162 Media: Kristain Stone 518-314-7162 Photo from

Normally when I review Paul’s wonderful selections it’d be after they’d turn up on my doormat with the purpose of a review. These, however, were purchased by myself because I’ve been working so darn hard lately. The only problem is that I’m just too keen to try them that I can’t wait the half hour [...]You may also like: Baruzzo Spring Chocolate Collection Paul A Young 4 Piece Selection Box Paul A Young Selection Box