Volume Hazelnut and Almond Milk Chocolates

Volume Chocolate comes from the house of Cagla Cikolata, a Turkish chocolate-manufacturing company, established in 1992. I've reviewed another one of their seen-often-on-the-shelf brands, Truffino before and after tasting this one, I'm convinced of the substandard fare made by the company.

What the company seems to get right is the packaging. Just like the Truffino truffles, the slim Volume Chocolate bars come in very attractive packaging. Strangely enough, none of their wrappers overtly mention the company name. However, with their lovely packs designed in royal blues and purples, they are rather inviting. I picked up the two available varieties, Hazelnut and Almond Milk Chocolates.

But the moment I saw the 100% chocolate sign, I suspected it wasn't. My suspicions were confirmed when I tasted it. The chocolate was flaky and excessively sweet with a sprinkling of nuts. It was hard to tell the almond from the hazelnut, and both tasted similar. The taste of cocoa was rather weak too... certainly not what '100%' chocolate tastes like.

Sized like a Kit Kat finger, but longer, these Volume Chocolates cost a ridiculous INR 40 apiece (40 g) and definitely not worth the price. Give these average chocolates a miss. Most of our desi chocolates are much better.


RATING: 2/5

Selection Carrefour Pépites De Poire - Noir

Carrefour is a French supermarket chain, and one of the world's largest after Walmart and Tesco. It has a global presence with small and big format stores in metro and tier two cities across the world, including India. In India, there are Carrefour Cash n Carry Stores in Delhi, Jairpur, Meerut, Agra and one is to open in Bangalore soon. The company was founded in 1958, but they started manufacturing their private label of free products (produits libres) like oil, biscuits, crackers, etc. in 1976

This dark chocolate with pear 'nuggets' - Pépites s De Poire Noir - is one of the products from Carrefour's private label for foodstuff. And it came to me as a Christmas gift! For a brand this big, I was surprised I had never heard of it before. I was absolutely charmed by the package design and OMG, the smell! Few chocolates I've had have such a powerfully rich scent.

The texture is smooth and its abundant cocoa butter makes it melt in the mouth oh-so-easily. In addition to the bits of pear, the chocolate also has caramelised almond pieces, which make for a delightful combination. The bar contains 64% cocoa, which is what I like to call the 'enjoyable' range. (Anyone professing love for 90% cocoa chocolate is just a snooty liar.) The bar could have been a little less sweet, but I love it and recommend it all the same. This 100g bar costs around INR 200 and is among the better dark chocolate options around.

RATING: 3.5/5

El Almendro Turron Almond Crocanti with Chocolate

The website for El Almendro doesn't work, but from what I gauge from the box and their inactive Facebook page, it is a very old Spanish company, having been established in 1883.Their products are apparently exported to a number of countries, judging by the number of languages of information there are on the packaging. The brand El Almendro seems to sell many versions of the Spanish tourron. Turron is basically a nougat confection typically made of honey, sugar, egg white and almonds or other nuts. Spanish tourrons come in hard and soft varieties. The soft variety has oil in it, which makes it stickier.

The El Almendro Turron Almond Crocanti with Chocolate is one of their many variants. The Spanish word 'Crocanti' roughly translates to 'crisp' in English. This 'crispy' bar has almonds and nougat on one side and a layer of milk chocolate on the other. However, the chocolate does nothing for the product because the taste of nougat and whole almonds is so dominant. I also am not a fan of the sticky texture of nougat, so this combination didn't work for me at all.

In India, El Almendro products are imported and marketed by Mumbai-based Tree of Life Pvt. Ltd. This 75g bar costs INR 160 and may be found in specialty confectionery stores in and around Mumbai. It isn't anywhere on my preference list, but nougat fans might enjoy it.

RATING: 2/5

Droste Holland Almond Milk Chocolate XXL Pastille

With a heritage of over 150 years, Droste is one of the better known names in the world of chocolate and confectionery. I first came across it at The Cocoa Trees, a multi-brand specialty chocolate store in Mumbai. However, a good friend and colleague brought me this to sample and review for Chocosophy.

Droste was founded by Gerardus Johannes Droste in 1863 in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The company prominently sold drinking chocolate in the beginning and its ads with a lady holding a Droste pack and a mug on a tray become very popular. The ad shows the Droste pack with the same image as the ad, creative a visual recursive effect. This effect was named the Droste effect after this company and its iconic ads.

Over the years, the brand changed many hands and is currently owned by German company, Hosta. However, it continues to operate as an independent business unit ans retains the famous brand name. Droste's products can be found in over 60 countries. One of its most famous products is the Pastille. A pastille or troche is a type of sweet (or medicinal pill) made of a thick liquid that has been solidified and is meant to be consumed by light chewing and allowing it to dissolve in the mouth. In this context, it means a round centre-filled chocolate, usually sectioned into four quarters.

The Droste Holland Almond Milk Chocolate XXL Pastille weighs about 50 g, and costs INR 125 per piece. As you see in the picture, it doesn't have much of a 'filling', but has abundant almonds. The milk chocolate, with 34% cocoa, is smooth but much too sweet and of a rather mediocre flavour. It is quite forgettable and I'd even go as far as to say our Indian Cadbury chocolates fare better if sweet, milky chocolate is what you want. This one's an easy miss.

RATING: 2/5

Sweet Passions assorted chocolates

This beautiful box of assorted chocolates was a birthday gift from an uncle-in-law. Although he is an old bachelor boy, he knows best what makes women happy. And that chocolates will please yours truly is a no-brainer. This beautiful card-paper box with gold stars and a gold ribbon is so festive-looking, I'm sure it'll cheer up even the grumpiest.

The chocolates are from a Chembur-based bakery called Sweet Passions. It is a very popular place and rightfully so, given the quality of their products, and (surprise surprise!) customer care. I'm a big fan of their cakes, which are absolutely moist and lovely and their blueberry cheesecake is to die for. But before this assortment, I hadn't tried their chocolates. I obviously had high hopes. 

The 250 g box had an assortment of roasted almond (dark) chocolate, dry fruit (dark) chocolate, hazelnut supreme (dark) chocolate, orange surprise (dark) chocolate, crunchy caramel (dark) chocolate and milky bliss (milk) chocolate and a very helpful label to help identify what is what. Although the colour blind among us (and most men) would have difficulty distinguishing between the beiges, browns and coppers. [Sorry, couldn't resist that one!]

Each of the chocolate pieces weighs around 10 g and have pretty ridges created by the chocolate moulds. They look quite homemade with the elementary foil packing for individual pieces, but the quality is professional. The chocolates are remarkably smooth and rich in ingredients. However, the dark chocolates are a little too sweet for my taste.

The Roasted Almond was my absolute favourite because the nuts were roasted to perfection. The Crunchy Caramel came next with a gooey caramel filling with rice crisps for the crunch. The Dry Fruit Delight came a close third. The other three I'd pass because the Orange Surprise and Hazelnut Supreme are artificial flavour based and milk chocolate (Milky Bliss) has always been my unfavourite stepchild.

Since this was a gift, I cannot be sure about the price, but I will totally recommend it for gifting or indulgent purposes!

RATING: 3.5/5

Cadbury Bournville Cranberry

Mondēlez International is a busy company and constantly trying to make the people of the world fat with its new creations. It is, afterall, the world's largest chocolatier and candy maker and among other hugeass brands, it owns Cadbury. The latest product they've been making a lot of noise about recently is the Cranberry Bournville. I've tried the Bournville Almond variety before and wasn't too impressed by it, but then a chocolate reviewer's gotta do what a chocolate reviewer's gotta do.

I still find it laughable that 44% cocoa is proudly sold as dark chocolate in India AND has takers. But then anything above 35% qualifies as dark chocolate according to EU regulations, so it's okay. Another thing that caught my attention was the Queen's seal on the packet and it turns out Cadbury is a multiple Royal Warrant holder.

According to Wikipedia, Royal Warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of the royal warrant, so lending prestige to the supplier. Royal families of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden, among others, allow tradesmen to advertise royal patronage.

Anyway, coming back to the new Cranberry Bournville, when their FB page started rubbing in product posts relentlessly in my face, I had to pick a bar up. Although, I must admit their chocolate pairing suggestions in these posts are quite useful. The dark-ish bar is apparently made from the finest Ghana chocolate and is fairly smooth. It has cranberry AND almonds in it - something nut allergy people need to watch out for.

The sour dried bits of cranberry make for a wonderful contrast to the sweet-ish chocolate and the almonds lend it desirable crunch. I must admit that this Bournville experience was somewhat better than my first. The 80 g bar costs INR 80 and mostly your money's worth. Go try it.

RATING: 3.5/5

Heidi Grand'Or Florentine

Ever since I started Chocosophy, life has been throwing varied chocolates at me. So much cooler than lemons, no? Nah, I guess these were always around; only my eyes are open to them now. So, I spotted this baby at a local supermarket and whispered a silent prayer for these Gujju bhai-businessmen who get so many imported goodies into their shops.

Owned by the Läderach Group, Heidi Chocolat is apparently one of the "top chocolate brands in selected premium chocolate markets worldwide and is present in 45 markets throughout 6 continents." The company is fairly young, having started in 1993 in Romania, but it has grown due to its emphasis on innovative recipes.

Innovation it sure was that caught my eye. I mean, who could possibly resist what looked like a chikki-chocolate (yeah, yeah, florentine-chocolate) combination? The gold embossed beautiful packaging only helped. Aesthetics obviously is important to this brand, for the chocolate bar is as attractive as its packaging.

The most distinguishing characteristic of this milk chocolate bar is the crispy layer of caramelised almonds on the flip side. The Florentine layer makes the bar a little difficult to break, but that is hardly something to complain about. At just 30% cocoa and 18% milk solids, the product is as milk chocolate-y as it can get, but one ought to buy and savour it for its unique Florentine.The combination tastes delightful; the taste of almond and caramel is just right, and the crispy almond flakes serve as the perfect foil for the smooth chocolate. Although it is a little too sweet for my liking, and some may find the caramel sticking to the teeth bit a little bothersome.

At INR 205 for a 100 g bar (yeah, ouch!), it feels a little prickly on the pocket, but it is a must taste experience for a chocoficionado.

RATING: 3.5/5

Ferrero Confetteria Raffaello

Frankly, I've never understood what the big hoo-haa about Ferrero chocolates is. Their most popular product, Ferrero Rocher, is as average a chocolate as there can be as far as the taste experience goes. I suppose it is the fancy layering that people like so much.

I spotted a lesser-known (at least in India) product by the same company at the Mumbai airport and promptly picked it up for a review. Confetteria Raffaello is a white chocolate-based confection and comes in these handy 3-piece packs.

Like its better-known cousin, Raffaello too is made of three layers; a top layer of desiccated coconut, a thin crunchy wafer-like middle layer and soft, creamy white chocolate on the inside. Quintessentially, it has a whole nut in the centre, an almond, creating a profusion of textures and flavours as you pop one in your mouth. Wholly, the taste is mildly sweet, but not memorable.

These Poland-made chocolates were introduced in 1989, according to the company website, and cost INR 49 for a pack of three. While I don't quite fancy them, Ferrero Rocher fans will like it, and white chocolate fans more so.

RATING: 3.5/5