Chokola Nut Studded Dark Chocolate

Thanks to their extensive media buying on Facebook, many will be familiar with the name Chokola by now. A Delhi-based chocolate boutique, Chokola was started by Vasudha Munjal under the aegis of her brand, Cosmic Kitchen. The idea was to create a 'chocolate culture' in India by offering quality 'all chocolate' fare.

The name Chokola is derived from "is derived from the Mayan verb choko la'j, (pronounced Choko la), which means, "to drink chocolate together. interesting.

The company currently has offices in Guragaon and Mumbai, cafes in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh and retail kiosks at some airports. I spotted one at the Mumbai domestic airport and promptly picked up this Nut Studded Dark Chocolate bar.

With its matte finish and minimalistic design, the packaging looked sophisticated. I wanted to know if the product would hold up to the brand's claims of importing the finest of European couverture and using it for their chocolates.

Under the card paper box, the chocolate bar is covered with a plastic wrapper and a foil. Somehow, plastic and artisan chocolates don't go together, but the Cadbury worms have everyone scared, I guess. Regardless, the chocolate bar was dark, smooth and shiny to look at - the hallmarks of quality chocolate - and smelt good too. It was smooth to eat and melted nicely in the mouth.

The flip side of the bar had halved cashews studded into it, just like the pack suggests. However, the nuts add nothing to the taste or texture of the bar and are there for mere decoration. The pack doesn't mention the percentage of cocoa, but judging by its semi-sweetness, I would peg it around 55-60%. Most Indian chocolatiers don't seem to want to gamble above that point. Overall, the chocolate was passable, and I wouldn't buy it a second time, especially because an 80g bar costs INR 180. It's not as steep as some of the foreign chocolates I review here, but its quality is not comparable either. Try it. Or not.

RATING: 3/5

Nestle Alpino

By now most people will have seen the Alpino TVC, where a husband makes a big faux pas and then appeases the wife by offering her these chocolates. Mush seems to be the selling point of this new product from the Nestle stables. Also luxury. Nestle India makes its debut in the high end chocolate segment with the introduction of Alpino, which is a centre-filled wafer chocolate.

Also called bonbons, Alpino seems to me as the first real competition to the wildly popular Ferrero Rocher. Similarly packaged in golden colours, the product is meant to exude luxuriousness. Inside the plastic wrapper is a card tray printed with the words "mine" and "ours" upon which sit the two bonbons. On opening the gold foil wrapping, one can find 'love' messages printed on plastic strips.

My pack, as you can see, had these two extremely cheesy lines: "Two of us fit together like these two bonbons in the pack", and "Dogs are for you, cats are for me. This is for us." These remind me of fortune cookies or Dove chocolates (the Indian version is called Galaxy), which have similar messages inside their wrappers.

The chocolate itself is ho-hum. The texture is great, but as always, I find it disappointingly sweet. The sweetness of the milk chocolate overwhelms and takes away all finer points. The taste would have balanced so much better had the centre filling been dark. However, most Indian consumers will find it palatable. What they might not like is the price. Two bonbons, weighing 22 g in all, cost INR 25. But because the product is being positioned as a luxury one, people might just buy into it.

RATING: 3/5

Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur

May the Lord give everyone in-laws like mine because they gift me daaru on my birthday and not just any daaru; they give me a bottle full of some sexy Swiss Chocolate Liqueur, babeh! This gorgeous red and gold cardboard box of Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur has been one of the best birthday gifts I've ever got. :D

The box is lined with velvet on the inside and comes with a glass and a cocktail recipes booklet along with the bottle of liqueur. The beautiful bottle holds about 500 ml of the product and contains cream, skimmed milk concentrate, sugar, alcohol (the bottle doesn't mention what kind), water, chocolate (0.9%), essences and food colour.

This light brown coloured liqueur has a creamy consistency, is smooth and sweet to the taste with a sharp bite from the alcohol. It has a distinct dark chocolate flavour, but I didn't find it rich enough. It is quite sweet and will find favour only with people who like their chocolate. Very similar to the popular Bailey's Irish Creme Liqueur, it makes for a great dessert liqueur.

The brand Cresta is produced and bottled by a Zurich-based spirits manufacturing company called Lateltin. It is a family-owned business and they are manufacturers, importers, and leading suppliers for specialty, niche products and spirits.

The recipe booklet has eight odd cocktail recipes that you can make using the Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur. But who has the patience for those, I say! Serve chilled or on the rocks and go Mmmm...!

RATING: 3.5/5

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

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

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

Priyagold Italiano Premium Choco Cookies

Wouldja look that this dandy version of Priyagold!? The brand, to me, has always seemed like the poor man's Britannia, selling similar products at lower prices. Because the brand image, the commercials and the packaging have also been consistently aimed at the LIG, it was surprising to see packaging like this from them. The pretty blue box comes with a fancyass name; although what Italy has to do with chocolate chip cookies is anyone's guess. (Also funny because it is obviously inspired by Hide & Seek's Milano!)

Priyagold is the brand under which Surya Food & Agro Limited sells biscuits and more recently, they've ventured into chocolate and candy manufacturing. The company has been around since 1992 and has been a steady contender in the biscuit segment. The Italiano Premium Choco Cookies (*eyeroll*) are the latest from their shed and I must say, they've come quite far in terms of presentation and quality. The card paper box has two separate golden packs of cookies lined on plastic trays. The flimsy trays don't do much in terms of keeping all the cookies intact, but this is standard practice.

The cookies were also rather nice and crumbly, albeit a little on the sweeter side. But if I were to start expecting subtler flavours from Priyagold just because they gold their packaging right, that would be too much. There are a fair number of chocolate chips, but these cannot hold a candle to Parle's Chocolate Chip offerings like Hide & Seek, Milano, etc.

But given that they cost only INR 35 for a 150g pack, they definitely offer value for money and if the brand continues this pretty trend, it should catch up with the rivals soon.

RATING: 3/5

Haldiram's Chocolate Soanpapdi

An Indian mithai debuts on Chocosophy. Finally! Chocolate is taking small, steady steps in this domain thanks to some adventurous Indian sweetmakers experimenting with chocolate. Marrying traditional recipes with cocoa is giving birth to a new genre of sweets, bridging the taste gap between generations. I'm of the opinion that the younger generation of Indians is veering towards chocolate, but the market for Indian sweets is vast. Chocolate has had a hard time growing in India, given the vast variety traditional sweets have to offer.

But when brands like Haldiram's introduce such fusion products, it is an indication of evolving tastes. It could also be that Haldiram is making these for overseas customers, since they are a highly exported brand. Whatever the case, I was one happy puppy when I spotted the Chocolate Soan Papdi. I've always like the regular version and was very curious how well (or not) chocolate would go with it.

Given that Haldiram products are in great demand abroad, their packaging is always great - designed for prolonged freshness. Inside the outer violet wrapping, is a transparent plastic case and under that, foil wrapping. The products are always beautifully presented, and doesn't this almond and pistacchio sprinkling look absolutely gorgeous on the sweet?

The sweet itself was wonderfully flaky and melt-in-the-mouth, typical of Haldiram's quality. I don't remember ever being unhappy with the brand's quality of products. However, it was the chocolate bit that was disappointing.. The only thing chocolaty about this sweetmeat is the colour. It neither tasted like chocolate nor like regular soan papdi. The end result is that this wishy washy tasting product will get a thumbs down from both, the chocolate lover and the purist.

While a 250 g pack costs a mere INR 60, stick to the regular version is what I'd say.

RATING: 3/5

BlackForest Chocolates - part deux

The stash!

BlackForest Chocolates seems to be becoming a Chocosophy staple! Look what I got sent by chocolatier Shilpi Chawla to taste and review. After I raved about her Sugar-free Fresh Apple Cinnamon chocolate in the first review, Chawla decided I ought to taste her sugar-free Belgian dark chocolates and rochers among other things. So the chocolates and some lovely cupcakes made their way to me a few days ago for a review - part deux!

White chocolate cupcakes

The cupcakes were part of Shilpi's cupcake activity that was held at Out of the Blue, Powai on July 14, 2013. This first colourful one was the egg-less white chocolate cupcake, decorated with blue and yellow frosting, some edible glitter and Gems! While I'm not a fan of food colour, these soft, moist and sweet cupcakes may be lovely things to serve at a kiddie birthday party, don't you think?

RATING: 2.5/5

Egg-less chocolate mini cupcakes

The next thing to try from the BlackForest Chocolates' oven were the egg-less min chocolate cupcakes. Because I'm partial to chocolate, I found these better than the white larger ones. The edible sugar embellishments gave them a great look (and my son picked and ate them all up), but again, I would have been happier without them. The cupcake itself was chocolaty and spongy and would I eat them again? Yes.

RATING: 3/5

Sugar-free Belgian dark chocolates

Coming to the chocolates, Chawla sent me the sugar-free Belgian dark chocolates in two shapes - one was shaped like an ice cream cone mounted on a stick (like a lollipop!) and the other was of a regular cylindrical shape. The first was without nuts while the second had some almonds. The chocolate was reasonably aromatic and flavourful as far as sugar-free products go. However, I found them to be a little grainy and they could probably do with a little more tempering. But, they'd make a good option for diabetic or weight-watching chocolate lovers.

RATING: 3/5

Belgian Rochers

The star of this batch of products from BlackForest Chocolates was definitely the Belgian Rochers. I'm guessing, by Rochers, Chawla means nut and rice crisp-filled chocolates, much like the famous Ferrero Rocher. These milk chocolates were delightfully smooth and crispy and Chawla would make a killing if she were to market them well. I absolutely adored them and they're easily one of the best homemade chocolates I've ever sampled.

RATING: 4/5

Visit www.blackforestchocolates.com to know more and place orders.

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