Ritter Sport Mini Bunte Vielfalt

Once you've tasted this popular German brand of chocolate, it is impossible to not keep going back to it. My first two 'encounters' with Ritter Sport were memorable with Marzipan scoring 3 and Whole Hazelnuts scoring 3.5 and I couldn't wait to taste the many other flavours the brand makes. This assorted pack called Bunte Vielfalt, which is 'colourful variety' in German was the perfect option.

The pack offers seven of their 25+ varieties and includes Fine Milk Chocolate, Butter Biscuit, Hazelnuts, Yogurt, Cornflakes, Praline and Marzipan and may I say they're all fantastic. What I like about is the brand is the complete lack of fuss and focus on quality. Their simple packaging design in bright colours and robust flavours underlines this.

Of the seven, I found the Yogurt flavoured chocolate the best with the slightly sour filling complementing the sweet milk chocolate oh-so-brilliantly. The next in line was the Butter Biscuit. Might I use Amul's line to describe this one? The biscuit was 'utterly butterly delicious'. Cornflakes came a close third with its perfect crunchiness. The Praline, Hazelnut, Marzipan, and Fine Milk chocolates fared similarly with no real surprises. However, the chocolate quality was ace for them all.

The 150g pack with nine pieces costs just INR 325, and is imported by Dugar Overseas. It is easily available at all fancy supermarkets and is a great buy.

RATING: 3.5/5

Chocolate hampers at Godrej Nature's Basket for Rakshabandhan

Listen, if you've been looking for excuses to buy chocolate - lots of chocolate - Rakshabandhan is coming up. What's better than gifting it to your sibling for show and then eating them all up yourself? So yeah, where exactly do you get these nice hampers of wonderful, assorted chocolate? Godrej Nature's Basket, that's where.

Rather than picking individual items to create a gift, a hamper becomes an ideal choice as the shopping becomes completely hassel free. Each of these includes imported chocolates such as Lindt truffles, Guylian, Hershys , DueO etc . The gift hamper also includes protein biscuits, oatmeal, organic tea, Weight watcher snacks etc. An attention-grabbing gift hamper can also be custom-made incorporating one’s choice of products in it.

You can also log onto  www.naturesbasket.co.in to surprise your sibling (or yourself!) with that perfect hamper.

The Cocoa Trees, Mumbai

Focus Network Agencies (FNA), the Singapore based branded consumer lifestyle group, has partnered with Cosmo Fine Foods Pvt. Ltd., an Indian organization offering the widest range of international chocolate brands, to launch the boutique store range, The Cocoa Trees in India. The Cocoa Trees is a retail concept store which offers the widest range of international brands under its umbrella. Conceptualized in 2000, it has now grown into a retail chain of 36 boutiques across Asia with presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Cocoa Trees in India are currently in the cities of Mumbai, Pune and Goa. In Mumbai, the first store was opened at Breach Candy in 2011, and they have recently expanded with two new stores - in Nature's Basket, Bandra and at R City Mall, Ghatkopar. When I was invited to check out their new outlets, I felt exactly like Charlie must have in the chocolate factory. Upon entering the Nature's Basket outlet in Bandra, one is greeting with these huge banners to the left, which announce the presence of a dedicated chocolate section in the basement.

Down a flight of stairs, one sees gift baskets of chocolate things and exclusive shelves of mostly imported chocolate, but these are Nature's Basket properties.

The Cocoa Trees is bright section up front and unmistakable with its happy yellow interiors. Row upon row of the world's best chocolates is quite enough to drive a chocolate aficionado like me mad. In a perfect dream, I would have unlimited money and a super sized shopping cart inside The Cocoa Trees! :)

The Cocoa Trees stocks the best international and indigenous brands including Anthon Berg, Cadbury, Celebrations, Chupa Chups, Cote d’Or, Daim, Droste, Duc d’O, Fazer, Ferrero, , Gavottes, Goldkenn, Haribo, Hawaiian Host, Hershey’s, Jelly Belly, Jules Destrooper, Kagi, Kinder, Lorenz, M&M’s, Maltesers, Mars, Mentos, Merci, Milka, Ritter Sport, Snickers, Starburst, Storz, Swiss Delice, Taveners, The Belgian, Tic Tac, Toblerone. The Cocoa Trees also stocks rare brands like Frey, which are exclusively licensed to be sold only at their stores. Besides, new brands like Zaini which have all Disney characters in their edd-shaped chocolates, have been added.

I saw these cute Zaini chocolate boxes shaped like the Disney character, Lightning Mc Queen from the movie Cars and thought, THIS! my 3-year-old will love! Other kiddy touches like the Chupa Chups lillipop stand with giant lollipop-shaped containers, teddies holding candy and M & M stands shaped like their popular animated avatars make the store an altogether delightful place for young customers.

But there are plenty of things to get not so young customers like me excited too. For example, some unbelievable flavours like the Frey Lemon Pepper Dark chocolate! Lemon Pepper? But that's what one puts in their soup, right? I HAD to pick a bar up. Review will be up soon!

And then there were these Oreo boxes shaped like giant cookies that totally make you want to forget your diet and container after container of different chocolate flavours from Sorini and Ritter Sport Minis that are sold by weight. Mind-blown as I was, there was some space for heartbreak too when I noticed that the store did not have any Toblerone dark chocolate. Are you'll taking note, dear store owners?

After walking around and gushing over all these beauties, it was time to leave. I was presented with a gorgeous hamper from The Cocoa Trees that comprised a box each of some delightful Belgian Pralines, Jules Destrooper Belgian Chocolate Thins (biscuits) and Merci assorted chocolates. I was a little disappointed to find most of these melting by the time I took them home, but then these delicate exotic things can hardly be expected to withstand Mumbai summers.

Anyhow, what's a little melted chocolate when they're so darned beautiful and mmmm...-inducing? I tried German-made Merci first, which is a collection of 20 fine assorted chocolates. The flavours include Milk Chocolate, Coffee & Cream, Hazelnut-Almond, Hazelnut-Creme, Marzipan, Dark Cream, Dark Mousse and Praline-creme. They are ideally had at room temperature, but I had to keep them in the fridge to save their form. Even when hardened, they chocolates melt quickly in the mouth and lose none of their rich delightful flavours.

At INR 550, this 250 g pack of 20 assorted chocolates makes for a wonderful gift idea, and if it is a chocolate aficionado you are trying to impress, look no further. You will say 'merci' to me for this one.

Next up was a pack of four Belgian pralines, so amazing I would have been happy only kissing them. Too bad they had melted a lot as well and needed refrigeration and eventual eating. I know, what a hard life I have. :D The Belgian pralines from... duh, Belgium, are crafted to perfection and are almost worth their price (almost 50 bucks apiece!). For those who don't know, regular pralines refer to a confection made of nuts and sugar, but Belgian pralines have a hard chocolate shell with a soft (sometimes liquid) filling. They are also referred to as chocolate bonbons or Belgian chocolates.

The four pralines in this box included a white chocolate, a milk chocolate, a dark chocolate and a dark chocolate with nuts. Delicate doesn't even begin to describe these lovelies and they were lapped up before one could say 'Bless The Cocoa Trees'.

And finally, there was a chocolate-biscuit pack from a brand that's completely new to me - Jules Destrooper. The Belgian biscuiterie (my favourite new word!) is over a hundred years old and if I've never heard of it, that must be because very few, if any, places in India import it. But that's changing, of course, because of The Cocoa Trees. The best, most exotic chocolate brands of the world are now available under one roof.

The 100 g Jules Destrooper pack of Belgian Chocolate Thins are nothing but chocolate coated crispy biscuits. The kinds of chocolate are the usual dark, milk and white, only Amazing with a capital A. The biscuits are of just the perfect hardness and crunch and taste unbelievably good in combination with the chocolate. Because these babies melted too, I have no idea whether there are 10 thins or five in that pack - they got stuck, I think. Nevertheless, they are well worth their INR 275, and I most definitely recommend it, as I recommend a visit to The Cocoa Trees.

Seriously people, whether or not you are a chocolate aficionado, make one trip to experience the unique concept of this store. Also, people who are clueless about gift ideas, The Cocoa Trees is the answer to all your prayers.

Address: The Cocoa Trees, @ The Nature's Basket, Hill Road, Bandra, Mumbai
Website: http://www.thecocoatrees.com/
Phone: 022 - 26425050, 26421122
FB: www.facebook.com/CocoaTrees

Ritter Sport Hazelnut

Soon after my first tryst with Ritter Sport, which happened to be with marzipan, the Universe sent some more Ritter Sport my way. This time it was a dear colleague, who brought back some chocolate from abroad (mostly because I threatened to let him not enter office if he didn't). I had heard good things about Ritter Sport Hazelnut, so there was much cheering and happiness for his choice of chocolate.

The now-familiar block was eagerly opened and done correctly this time as should be with Ritter Sport's trademark Knick Pack. The single-layer packing is ergonomically designed and comes apart easily with one flick, provided the chocolate is firm at the time.

The Whole Hazelnuts variety is just one of their mind-boggling range (29 in all!) and I found the quality as great as the last time. I am beginning to see why German chocolates (like most German things) are known for their consistency and quality. The perfectly smooth chocolate bar is characteristically square with 16 (4X4) sections. I learnt recently why Ritter Sports bars are square. Apparently, the Clara Ritter, one of the founders, suggested making a chocolate bar that would fit easily into any sports jacket without breaking. Hence the name and the shape.

The chocolate bar has lovely roasted whole hazelnuts (23%) and a generous number of those too. They are perfectly crunchy and one wonders about the marvels of packaging that help keep them fresh for so long. The chocolate is of the milk variety with 30% cocoa and 18% milk solids.

The 100 g bar costs INR 150 and is definitely on my favourites' lists.

RATING: 3.5/5

Ritter Sport Marzipan

I am ashamed to admit it, but this is my first Ritter Sport ever. Yeah, it is shameful that a self professed chocolate aficionado shouldn't have tasted even one of the forty million flavours that this brand seems to make. Well, not *those* many, but Ritter Sport has lots and lots of variations.

 I spotted this at my favourite supermarket cum stockist of imported maal, Chandan Stores on Sion-Trombay Road, Chembur, Mumbai. There were other flavours too, but when you're married into a Catholic family, it's like an ethical code to show favouritism to marzipan. Yup, I didn't know what it was before I got married, but five Christmases past, marzipan's become almost sacred. Who those who don't know, marzipan  is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal. Commonly used as chocolate filling a la Ritter Sport or turned into variously-shaped and coloured sweets, they are a great festival favourite in Western nations, and of course, the pao community here.

Coming back to Ritter Sport's Marzipan, it is a regular German chocolate, and by regular German, I mean good chocolate. They are better, at any rate, than regular Indian chocolate. The marzipan is encased within the squared plain chocolate bar. The bar has 16 squares. Their plain chocolate has 50% cocoa solids; nearly as much as most Indian 'dark chocolates' have. 

The filling, as you can see, is quite generous. It is also quite flavourful, with the taste of marzipan coming through quite strongly. However, it is not overpowering, and the marzipan and chocolate complement each other well. 

These addictive things cost INR 150 for a bar of 100 gm and are fairly easily available in metros. They are also comparatively affordable and make for a great occasional treat, if you like flavoured chocolates.

RATING: 3/5