Chado Chocolate Chai @ The Gourmet Company

After sampling the Sain's Market Chocolate Peanut Butter, I had some lovely chocolate chai to look forward to, courtesy The Gourmet Company. For those who don't know, The Gourmet Company is a delightful online store that stocks some of the finest gourmet foods. You'll find  hand-made gourmet pasta, organic honeys and jams, cheeses, healthy cereal bars, muesli, baking things and exotic and rare teas and coffees. From their selection of fine beverages, I was sent some funky chocolate tea to sample.

Chado (pronounced Sa-do; the Japanese way of tea) is a product of the Chado Tea Room, an LA-based tea room which serves and produces a vast range of exotic teas. The Gourmet Company stocks some of their finest and the Chocolate Chai is easily one of the most unusual things on their site.

The tea is extremely aromatic and the scent of chocolate equally potent when you first open the pack. You can actually see the chocolate chips if you look carefully among the tea leaves. The pack calls for 2 teaspoons per cup, steeped for 4-5 minutes. I tried that with the first pack, but it turned bitter. The black brew looks like regular tea, but it was definitely not my cuppa tea! :D

I tried the second sample with milk and sugar, having steeped it for a about 3 minutes, and it was an entirely different story. Full-bodied and distinctly chocolaty, the Chado Chocolate Chai is one of the most unique beverages I've ever had. For tea purists, it might seem a little odd,  but a chocolate lover can easily get used to it. Full marks for this lovely product to Chado for making it and The Gourmet Company for keeping it.

RATING: 4/5

Sain's Market Chocolate Peanut Butter @ The Gourmet Company

Going by my social media network, everyone seems to be hooked to Masterchef or some such culinary show, whether they are cooks or not. The show is surely inspirational but more so aspirational, as everyone from novices to seasoned cooks seem to want to churn out exotic cuisine in their kitchens. But exotic foods demand exotic ingredients, and that's where The Gourmet Company comes in. Established in 2009, this online store is your answer to many gourmet product questions, as they stock the finest things from around the world. You'll find  hand-made gourmet pasta, exotic and rare teas and coffees, organic honeys and jams, cheeses, healthy cereal bars, muesli and of course CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER!

Actually, a tweet by the Gourmet Company (@gourmetcompany) about chocolate peanut butter and chocolate chai (Yes! There is such a thing, but more about it later) caught my eye. I expressed interest in reviewing them and they were kind enough to send me some samples. The chocolate peanut butter is by Sain's Market, a brand owned by The Gourmet Company and contract manufactured by Mumbai-based by i2cook.

There was everything to look forward to this product, since it was peanut buttery, chocolaty AND organic! The ingredients, including (dark) cocoa solids, raw sugar, and cinnamon among other things, looked different and promised to be exciting.

I am used to peanut butter from brands like American Garden and more recently, Sundrop, and the I'm a big fan of the chunky variety. So the thing I found unappealing at first was the grainy texture of the butter. The peanuts are finely ground; so it's neither like the smooth peanut butter, nor like the chunky one. It is also very viscous when one tries to eat it plain (isn't that how peanut butter is eaten?). The chocolate bit is also a little disappointing. It is so subtle, that one barely registers it.

The chocolate adds a measure of sweetness and colour to the product, but it clashes with the natural flavour of peanuts and the end result is a bland-tasting product. That said, one must remember that this is an organic and healthy product and does not have those criminal amounts of sodium our dear FMCG companies shove into their goods.

The Sain's Market Chocolate Peanut Butter takes a little getting used to, and tastes much better when had on toast. Priced steeply at INR 295 for a 200 g jar (as all health foods must; sigh!), it is a great alternative to those looking for healthy things in their kitchen, but it is not something a chocolate aficionado will delight in.

RATING: 3/5