I came across this random chocolate called Cacao by an Indian brand, curiously named Choco Swiss at Landmark (Andheri), Mumbai. It had a curious-er website name that has a missing 'S' - www.chocoswis.com. No matter how dubious it all sounded, it was a new name and it had the impossible-to-resist deal of Buy 1, Get 1 Free. So, the Chocosopher had to give in.
Since the brand is completely home grown, with a Delhi-based company called Buttercup Confectionery making them, this 'misuse' of nomenclature didn't sit well with me. I was prepared to trash it, but I was surprised. The product wasn't half as bad. In fact, I was surprised that it even had a website. And if the website is to be believed, they supply chocolates to multinational corporations such as American Express, Standard Chartered Bank, Jet Airways, Blue Dart, Hutch, Grasim and IBM among others as part of their corporate chocolate gifting solutions.
The box quality was average, but the gold Egyptian design on a brown casing made it look quite lovely. One could easily ignore the juvenile name chosen for the product. Inside, uniquely enough, a plastic wrapper contained a foil-wrapped bar. The dark brown foil printed with the brand name gave way to a lovely bar of plain dark chocolate. Although the cocoa percent is not mentioned in the pack, I'd peg it at around 60%, going by its semi sweet taste. The texture was smooth, thanks to the cocoa butter it contains.
The quality is a notch higher than most Indian dark chocolates; although it might compare well with say, a Bournville. Given that plain semi sweet dark chocolates that are affordable are very difficult to get among Indian brands, Choco Swiss is a great find. Although this was a promo pack priced at INR 100 for two packs of 60 g, I daresay single packs will be priced around INR 50. I'd say they are worth it.
RATING: 3.5/5
