Ghirardelli Dark & Orange

While I remain a purist and love my chocolate plain, orange chocolate is beginning to find some favour with me. And if the brand in question is a gourmet chocolate brand, orange chocolate seems particularly appealing. My first brush with Ghirardelli - Gourmet Milk - Coconut Rendezvous wasn't a great one, but one cannot help but give a reputed chocolate brand a second chance.

When the husband salvaged a few pieces from the American colleague stash and brought them home, I was more than happy to click it, eat it and review it. The Ghirardelli Dark & Orange chocolate was definitely better than their milk chocolate offering, but still did not manage to impress.

The chocolate scored again on a beautiful, rich aroma and fine, smooth texture, but fails again in the taste aspect. Instead of the usual orange-flavoured chocolate, the Ghirardelli Dark & Orange comes with a nice gooey centre filling. However, the taste of this orange filling isn't intense enough, and leaves you wanting. What I expect from orange or orange peel chocolates is a strong citrus flavour with just about enough tang that is countered and complemented by the sweetness of the chocolate. Ghirardelli failed me again on flavour, despite its impeccable quality of chocolate. Definitely not worth the almost 500 rupees you would have to shell out for a 100g bar.


RATING: 3/5

Lindt Excellence Orange Intense

Recently, a reader of my blog commented on one of the blog posts here saying he is anti Lindt because he thinks they are overrated. I couldn't disagree more. There's a reason... no, plenty of reasons why Lindt is one of the best chocolate makers in the world. And God knows the competition is tough with new chocolate brands being rolled out pretty much every month. Lindt has made and continues to make the finest chocolates in the Swiss tradition.

In the past, I've reviewed a number of Lindt variants on Chocosophy, including Chilli, Wasabi, Sea Salt and Premium Dark.and given that Lindt has an amazing range, I shall continue to feature them. This time, as you can see, is Orange Intense's turn. Of Lindt's flavoured chocolates, Chili and Wasabi are my absolute favourites, not so much orange. Frankly, I've never understood the pairing. However, orange chocolate is a very popular flavour, much like the perplexing mint chocolate, and Lindt would have to cater to the demand.

The dark chocolate (a disappointing 48%) comprises orange slivers and almonds to give it a lovely texture. However, the taste is not as 'intense' as it promises to be and I'd have liked it to be zestier. But it is much better than the Cadbury Silk Orange Peel (shit) they make around here. Since the smoothness of all Lindt chocolates is incomparable, I won't say much else about it. If you like Orange-flavoured chocolate, you'll enjoy this, but this is certainly not one of my favourites.

A 100g bar is priced somewhere around INR 230-250, depending on the retailer and it is available pretty much at every decent department or confectionery store.

RATING: 3/5

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

Mi Amere Chocolate Squares

Just how pretty are these? I came upon these recently at a grocer's in Mumbai and was absolutely delighted by the way they look. Mumbai-based company Holvin Foods Pvt. Ltd. makes chocolates under the brand name, Mi Amere and they are responsible for these beauties. In the business since 2009, the company makes artisan chocolates and their products range includes Chocolate Disks, Soft-Centered Bonbons, Semi Soft Centered Chocolates, Solids, Choc-A-Series and Chocolate Modaks. These chocolate squares seem to be a latest addition. They're definitely the first of their kind in India, at least as far as packaging goes.

More than the chocolates, it was the packaging that I was impressed with. At first sight, they look like single large chocolate squares - the kind you would see in a Lindt bar. But the pack mentions four squares, which are revealed once you open it. The size (18.6 g) is just perfect for sampling and ideal for chocoholics like me who like to try different varieties. Priced at just INR 10 per pack, they are absolute pick me ups. Beautifully coloured card paper wrapping , an easy flap, a custom note about the kind of chocolate and matte gold foil wrapping for the individual squares are all quite lovely, and give them an international appeal. The types available are Milk Chocolate, Intense Orange Dark Chocolate, Lemon Pistachio in White Chocolate and Hazelnut Chocolate.

The chocolates, however, are not half as impressive. The lamest of them all was the plain milk chocolate. Insipid, with little or no aroma, this is one product you may want to avoid.

The Intense Orange Dark Chocolate fared a little better, just by virtue of being the dark variant. There's nothing 'intense' about the orange flavour and the chocolate isn't exactly smooth either. But if you had to pick one from Mi Amere's chocolate squares, I'd suggest you go for this one.

While I dislike white chocolate, I appreciated this combination of lemon and pistachio in it. Lemon is a particular favourite and I would have liked it much better without the pistachio. But the two also work well together, and it gets brownie points just for its unusual character.

This last one - the Hazelnut Chocolate - is also pretty lame in terms of taste and texture. Hazelnut in chocolate has been done to death, but I've learnt from this brand that not everyone can do it well. A very weak-tasting chocolate with a few pieces of hazelnut is all that this one has to offer.

If I buy Mi Amere chocolates again, the company will have only the package designer to thank.


RATING: 3/5

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Orange Peel

I am spoilt I am. With every exotic foreign chocolate I sample, Indian chocolates seem to slide a notch lower  on my scale. Not that all foreign brands and makes are good, but Cadbury India's (Mondelez International) mediocrity gets more and more manifest. Disgusted by their innocent (read messy) eating ad pitch, I had kept away from this product for a long time (which adult eats chocolate like that? Ew.). But I decided to give it a shot to see what the big deal was all about.

Cadbury Dairy Milk (or CDM as they like to call themselves on the website) decided to launch Silk as a premium product above their insanely popular repertoire. In fact, popular is an understatement, because no other chocolate brand in India offers any real competition to them.

What makes Silk premium are its shape, texture (apparently), packaging and price. I like the little paper note that is wrapped over the trademark gold foil, that enumerates Silk's finer points. I agree about the dome-shaped squares fitting snugly in one's mouth. But the chocolate DOES NOT melt in it. Even at room temperature, the chocolate does not dissolve in the mouth. Unless, of course, I try my Silk in Mumbai's sweltering summer. To me, the whole 'creamy, silky' chocolate business seems like a sham.

And that's not the only let down. The orange peel flavour is mild and there are almonds in it for no apparent reason. What I expect from a flavoured chocolate is an intense enough scent and taste; a lovely tang in case of orange peel. But the flavour in this is diluted and the nuts don't help. A 65 g bar costs INR 50, which I don't mind too much, but anything seems like a waste when I am given a sweet milk chocolate. All I'm going to say is that I have felt the Silk lately, and what an underwhelming experience it was.


RATING: 2/5