Lux Truffe Truffino

This one's come all the way from Turkey. Lux Truffe by Truffino is made by a Turkish company called Cagla Cikolata. Established in 1992 as a one-factory unit, Cagla Cikolata has grown to be one of the largest confectionery manufacturing companies in the region. It exports products to several nations in the world, and in India, they are imported by KK Importers in Navi Mumbai.

But imported doesn't necessarily mean good. Calling something limited edition doesn't mean it's good either. These here are extremely average truffles and we certainly make better chocolates in India. For example, the Alpino truffles by Nestle are better, although I don't like them much.

As you can see in the picture, the real deal isn't anything like the one on the packaging - the outer layer has no beautiful texture. The chocolate creme inside is decent and there's a whole hazelnut in the centre. But the taste experience is underwhelming and as always, I find the milk chocolate too sweet. If it is truffles you want, there's nothing to beat Ferrero Rochers for an everyday treat.

This box is priced at INR 60 and has just three individually-packed truffles, which is 20 bucks apiece and it's definitely not worth it.

RATING: 2.5/5

Hintz Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

There's very little to glean from their basic, unpretentious website, but here's what Hintz is all about. A German company, based in Bremen, Hintz has been producing food (and non food) products for over 25 years. They export products like Cocoa, Coffee, Drinking Chocolate, Honey, Jam, etc. to many countries the world over and are known for their quality. I recently spotted a Hazelnut Chocolate Spread by them, and wanted to know how it would fare as compared to the formidable Nutella.

Turns out the Hintz Chocolate Hazelnut Spread is as good if not better than Nutella. Before Nutella fanatics scream 'SACRILEGE', let me help you compare the products:

1. Packaging - Hintz comes in a glass jar like Nutella, although the label design may not be as attractive
2. Price - Hintz is relatively cheaper than Nutella
3. Consistency - Hintz has the same creamy, smooth consistency as Nutella
4. Taste - Hintz has a taste very similar to Nutella with the perfect balance of Hazelnut and Chocolate; I think I prefer Hintz to Nutella

I make these points, having used this product for quite a while. It is oh-so-spreadable and goes wonderfully with breads, crepes, pancakes, dosas, and what you will. What's more, it dissolves very well in milk, thereby making beautiful chocolate milk/shake. It costs INR 225 for a 400g jar and is totally addictive. I recommend.


RATING: 3.75/5

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

Nutella Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread

What can I say about Nutella that the world does not already know? The chocolate spread comes from the house of Ferrero and was first made in the 1940s by Pietro Ferrero, a patisserie maker and one of the original founders of the company. To compensate for the cocoa shortage during the second World War, Ferrero started experimenting with chocolate products with additions like nuts. He used roasted hazelnuts and substituted cocoa butter with hydrogenated vegetable fat (palm oil) and eventually gave us the chocolate spread Nutella as we know it today. It was introduced in the market in 1964. Since then it has become insanely popular; so much so that people actually celebrate World Nutella Day on February 5.

Because the main ingredients of Nutella are sugar and palm oil (followed by hazelnuts, cocoa solids and skimmed milk), it is a rather unhealthy product to have at the breakfast table. Sample this bit of info from Wikipedia: Nutella contains 67% saturated fat and processed sugar by weight. A two-tablespoon (37 gram) serving of Nutella contains 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, 3.5 of which are saturated and 21 grams of sugar. To put that into perspective, a typical chocolate and nut candy bar has 250 to 300 calories and 12 to 16 grams of fat.

That said, I continue to buy my jars of Nutella pretty regularly like a million others, although I'm not a fan. Before I started this blog, I hadn't paid it much heed to it. It was only when I tried the Pillsbury Choco Spread for the blog did points of comparison start cropping up between it and Nutella. Apart from its taste, it is Nutella spreadability that makes it such a popular product. See how wonderfully it glides over a slice of bread or any other carb things you want to load up with chocolate!

Nutella is smooth, creamy, sweet and everything one can possibly want in comfort food. It is both very chocolaty and hazelnutty and makes it impossible for you to stop digging in that spoon and eating it straight off the jar - the gym be damned! Yes I do that even though I claim not to like it too much. Basically, there is no hope for those who actually do and will probably polish off this 180 g jar much sooner than I will.

RATING: 3.5/5

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

Ferrero Rocher

I still maintain that Ferrero Rocher is an overrated product, but they've slowly grown on me. My 3-yo is especially fond of them and you can imagine what happens when chocolates lie around in a chocoholic's house. What makes the chocolate so appealing is its trademark golden packaging. The round, uneven chocolates are wrapped in matt gold wrappers with a brand sticker on the top, and a mini brown paper cup at the bottom. The gold wrappers are ingeniously stuck to the brown bases so that they come off in one easy sweep. 

The chocolate is also popular for its multi-layering, a signature Ferrero concept. We've reviewed Raffaello here, and that too has four similar layers. Ferrero Rocher's outermost layer has chocolate mixed with nuts, giving it the uneven texture; the second layer has crunchy wafer; the the third has gooey chocolate and the fourth innermost layer a hazelnut.

The makers pride themselves on this original recipe, which takes into account all processes including the roasting of the cocoa to the picking of the hazelnuts. They claim that only the best hazelnuts, including the Tonda gentile from the Langhe area in Piedmont, are chosen for Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

I am not one of them, but since its introduction in 1982, Ferrero Rocher has earned millions of fans the world over. What I want to try, however, is the dark chocolate variation of the Ferrero Rocher called the Rond Noir. Haven't seen them around; don't think many places in India sell them, if at all.

Ferrero Rocher is immensely popular as a gift, and since it is available in many kinds of packs - starting with three pieces - it is very convenient. Priced INR 275 for a 16-piece (290 gm) pack, I find them a tad expensive, but I'm sure there are many Fererro Rocher zealots who don't mind it one bit.


RATING: 4/5

Frey Coffee & Cocoa Milk Chocolate

Since I've started chocolate blogging, airports have become a special place. Small kiosks stock the most unusual and wonderful of brands and varieties, and I picked up quite a number on a recent trip to Chennai. One of them was a bar of Frey's Coffee & Cocoa Milk Chocolate. I was drawn to it for three reasons: its attractive packaging, the fact that it was Swiss and most importantly, the coffee component in it. So, while I'm not into milk chocolate, this had stuff in it that could make me happy. Besides, I wanted to try a Frey product, because the brand claims to be the largest-selling (and by that measure, the number one) Swiss chocolate brand and is over a 100 years old.

So, this is an 'extra fine milk chocolate with a touch of ground hazelnuts, coffee & crispy cocoa nibs'. The hazelnut part is not really detectable, because the cocoa nibs part is so prominent. The chocolate, as you can see, is densely packed with these nibs and linger in your mouth towards the end. The coffee is blended well in the chocolate, but the aftertaste is mostly sweet. I ate this 100 g bar over four days, and despite trying to slowly savour it, the strongest gustatory memory of it is sweet.

At INR 270, this isn't too great a bargain according to me, but if you are a lover of milk chocolate, it might be a great pick for you.

RATING: 3.5/5