Mars' Twix Cookie Bars

I'm pretty sure the company Mars is aiming at world domination, at least as far as chocolate production is concerned. Every second imported chocolate I pick up turns out to be a Mars product. Can't say I've seen a lot of Twix around in India, but I've 'seen' a lot of it, thanks to global television. And now, because of Chocosophy, I've turned into this compulsive chocolate buyer-eater person and recently picked up a pack of Twix to see what the big deal was all about.

And like an obsessive chocolate blogger, I read about it before I ate it. Never mind my taste experience later, but I was quite blown away by the Twix website. It is most definitely one of the most clever websites (based upon their North American 2012 advertising campaign*) I've ever seen.

So, typically a Twix is a pack of two chocolate-coated biscuit/wafer fingers with some caramel in it. They're called cookie bars and many, many variations and flavours have been made in different countries over the years. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, coconut and coffee (java) are some examples.

Twix also has ice cream bars, which have a milky, creamy filling along with caramel instead of the standard cookie insides. Even Twix ice cream flavours have made a way into the market , showing just how popular they are.

I don't see why, though. I found the classic Twix chocolates to be rather boring. Well, it might have to do with my general dislike of milk chocolate and sticky caramel, but even the whole taste experience is rather underwhelming. Let's say, I feel as much love for Twix as the home-grown 5 Star, which isn't much. I'm definitely not paying INR 50 again for a 58 g Twix pack when I can find similar boring milk chocolate-waffer-caramel combinations much cheaper.


RATING: 2.5/5

Mc Vitie's Choco Cream biscuits

McVitie's is over a century-old biscuit-making company, with a global presence. But they're now part of the UK-based United Biscuits group and are produced and marketed in India by them since 2009. McVitie's has a small-ish range of biscuits in India and I daresay they aren't the best ones around. There has been some aggressive marketing going on with freebies on offer, but a basic lack of quality can't take one too far.

Especially sad are their chocolate cream biscuits that they called Mc Vitie's Choco Creams. Insipid chocolate cream inside equally insipid chocolate biscuits makes for (no prizes for guessing!) insipid chocolate cream biscuits. The pack claims the product has no artificial colours, which might explain the lack of 'character'. While it is a good thing, tasteless and colourless food just isn't appealing.

They make up for it with their packaging, though. Bright colours and yes, Doraemon on the packet make it an easy pick-me-up. The INR 10 pack weighs 63 g and has just about six biscuits and a small Doraemon jigsaw puzzle. Cute, but the pieces and interest are easily lost.

Sunfeast Dream Cream Bourbon biscuits

I've said this before and I'll say it again, ITC's Sunfeast is not the best of biscuit brands barring one or two exceptional products. ITC forayed into the biscuit market almost nine years ago with the brand Sunfeast and has since expanded to include pastas and instant noodles in their profile, but it might never catch up with the Nestles, Parles, and the Britannias of the world. Why? Because they've consistently made below par products like this one.

Sunfeast has replicated all popular biscuit types including Marie, Nice, and Bourbon. The Dream Cream Bournbon Delight is your typical chocolate cream sandwich biscuits with a sprinkling of sugar on the top layer.

As you can see, the amount of cream is quite meager and they don't look too good either. The taste is just as average. There's no reason why anyone would pick up a Dream Cream Bourbon over a Bourbon biscuit of some other brand, except maybe because they were the first things one saw on a supermarket shelf.

Sunfeast is probably worried about keeping the price on the lower side for affordability's sake, but the quality is compromised. At INR 12 for a 75 g pack, they are very easy on the pocket, and also perfectly forgettable.


RATING: 2.5/5

Chocosophy product launches: McVitie's, Valrhona, Tayto

McVitie's launches The Big One - a Jaffa Cake that really is a cake

McVitie's world-famous Jaffa Cakes, that the company started selling as long back as 1927, now has a much bigger twin. Called the Big One, these Jaffa Cakes are really 'cakes' with the characteristic chocolate top coat and orange jelly layers in a sponge cake base. The recipe, named after Jaffa oranges, is replicated and sold by many other brands such as Cadbury's and Tesco. Typically, Jaffa cakes are biscuit sized and are also sold as bars or small packs.

The Big One is priced at GBP 7 apiece and is being sold in the UK in Asda and Morrisons. Importers in India, do you hear me?

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Crisps maker Tayto introduces limited edition chocolate

The more I learn about chocolate, the more I'm convinced that the possibilities with chocolate are endless. Here's an example that may sound like sacrilege to some. Renowned Irish crisps maker, Tayto, has turned their popular Cheese & Onion crisps into a limited edition chocolate bar!

Images such as these of plain chocolate bars with a typical Tayto packaging have been doing the rounds of the Internet for a while now, but the real thing was made and put out in the market for sale only recently. This milk chocolate bar is infused with bits of the company's famous Cheese & Onion crisps.

The company is reportedly making only 10,000 such bars, which are much in demand and are expected to be sold out soon. Would you like crisps in your chocolate?

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Valrhona's Dulcey is world's first blonde chocolate!

Love it or hate this, this is one chocolate innovation you gotta sit up and take notice of. French chocolate company, Valrhona, has introduced the world's first 'blonde' chocolate as the Dulcey bar in what looks like a wonderful union of the sweetness of white chocolate and the smoothness of milk chocolate. Blond chocolate was discovered quite by accident by Frederic Bau when he left white chocolate in a boiler for 10 hours. The long roasting gave the chocolate a unique colour, aroma and flavour. The creamy chocolate smells like roasted almonds and tastes like mildly salted shortbread.

Although just introduced, Dulcey has already won two distinguished awards: Le Grand Prix de l’Innovation (Grand Prize of Innovation), at the world renowned SIRHA food trade show in Lyon, France and the Readers’ Prize from La Toque, a magazine for artisan bakers, pastry chefs, chocolate makers, confectioners and ice-cream makers.

Presently, a 2.99 oz. bar is priced at $7.99. I sure want to try this one.

Chocosophy news: World's first chocolate hotel, stamps and VERY low cal chocolate

The Chocolate Boutique Hotel - the world's first chocolate themed hotel

Bournemouth in the UK has introduced the world's first chocolate-themed hotel - The Chocolate Boutique Hotel. All of its 13 chocolate-themed rooms are fitted with chocolate fountains and there are midnight treats for chocoholics like me. The hotel also has chocolate workshops for guests and a bar which whips up a vast range of chocolate cocktails. The place hosts hen and slumber parties and the room tariffs range from GPB 65 to 170 for the best suite.

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'Edible' chocolate stamps debut in Belgium   

Okay, this was introduced last month, but for the latecomers, Belgium has introduced the world's first stamps infused with rich cocoa oil. The infusion is on the front and back of the stamps, so the sender as well as the receiver can experience the rich taste and scent of famous Belgian chocolates. Belgian stamp collector Marie-Claire Verstichel tried them out and declared that the taste was a little disappointing, but that the smell was good. A sheet of five stamps cost about $8.

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New fruit juice chocolate formula to reduce fat in half

Scientists at the University of Warwick have found a way to reduce the fat content of regular chocolate bar! Super news, right? What's incredible is that this breakthrough formula replaces the fat with tiny droplets of juice of fruits like oranges. A concoction of water and Vitamin C instead of the fat makes the chocolate just as smooth, although it makes it taste fruity. The new process also prevents the unsightly ‘sugar bloom’ which can appear on chocolate which has been stored for too long.


The study, entitled Quiescent Water-in-Oil Pickering Emulsions as a Route toward Healthier Fruit Juice Infused Chocolate Confectionary was co-authored by Thomas Skelhon, Adam Morgan, and Nadia Grossiord at the University of Warwick.

Deliciae Patisserie

The first week of April was a week of many firsts for Chocosophy. After reviewing my first exclusive chocolate store, I went on to review my first patisserie. It was the dessert cafe of the now-famous Out of the Blue restaurant at Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai. While not much of an establishment by itself, Deliciae Patisserie can hold its own with a varied menu and offerings.

Out of the Blue is one of the more popular eateries amidst the throng that lines Carter Road. Their off beat menu has made a name for itself, and going by Deliciae's standards, the desserts are going to be talked about very soon too. The tiny patisserie/ dessert counter if you will, is placed near the entrance of the Le Sutra Hotel building (where OOTB is by the way) and unmissable with its colourful selection displayed in the showcase.

The showcase is quite arresting with cupcakes, mousses, cakes, pastries, tarts and pies calling out to sweet-toothed customers. Some of the sexy things on their menu include Blueberry cheesecake, Tiramisu, Frozen Mud Pie, Meringue and Chocolate Truffle among other things. There is a wide enough selection for pukka vegetarians too with things like Banoffee, Blueberry Lemon Flan, Broadway Brownie, and Choco Cherry Mudcake.

Among savouries, I spotted only sandwiches and what looked like quiches. But who cares for savouries in a patisserie, right? A few chairs are also placed opposite the showcase for those who are looking to quickly dig into a dessert and not go in for a full meal at the restaurant.

My eyes, however, were glued to the showcase, wondering which of these beauties I should sample. I decided upon one egg-based dessert and one eggless variety based on their most popular items. Their highest selling offerings are Death by Chocolate (egg) and the Belgian Chocolate pastry (eggless).

When the first dessert arrived (served with ice cream no less!), I must have looked like the cat that got the cream. :D Who would not want desserts for dinner, afterall!? Death by Chocolate is a heavenly combination of mousse, chocolate, meringue and cake. And if my tastebuds weren't lying to me, there was some awesome liqueur in it too. The rosette on top was made of mousse and tasted like pure heaven. When contrasted and combined with the slightly chewy meringue and soft cake, it flooded my mouth with delightfully varied textures. As if these weren't enough, I scooped in some vanilla ice cream too. The mildly bitter chocolate and the basic sweet of the vanilla took it to another level.

Next up was the eggless (almost sounds racist, no?) Belgian Chocolate pastry, which looked as promising, if not more with dark, sinful chocolate flowing right into my heart and yeah, the waistline. This one came with a scoop of vanilla too and looked like a more fitting complement. I tucked into its creamy richness and nearly died of pleasure at the sight of its gooey insides. Soft, melting dark Belgian chocolate can kill, okay? So, that was a 10 on 10 for texture. The taste was great too, despite the egglessness, but it was one dimensional.

Perhaps, it seemed that way because Death By Chocolate was such a profusion of flavours. But since no mad person will eat these two desserts one after the other like I did, there is no scope for disappointments by comparison.

So, I was saying, don't go overboard like your friendly neighbourhood queen of cacao excesses, but definitely try the desserts at Deliciae. They're ace.

Deliciae also makes customised cakes for weddings, birthdays and all such.

They can be contacted on:

Email: info@deliciaecakes.com

Website: www.deliciaecakes.com

Phone: 9029023000

FB: facebook.com/deliciaecakes

The Cocoa Trees, Mumbai

Focus Network Agencies (FNA), the Singapore based branded consumer lifestyle group, has partnered with Cosmo Fine Foods Pvt. Ltd., an Indian organization offering the widest range of international chocolate brands, to launch the boutique store range, The Cocoa Trees in India. The Cocoa Trees is a retail concept store which offers the widest range of international brands under its umbrella. Conceptualized in 2000, it has now grown into a retail chain of 36 boutiques across Asia with presence in China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The Cocoa Trees in India are currently in the cities of Mumbai, Pune and Goa. In Mumbai, the first store was opened at Breach Candy in 2011, and they have recently expanded with two new stores - in Nature's Basket, Bandra and at R City Mall, Ghatkopar. When I was invited to check out their new outlets, I felt exactly like Charlie must have in the chocolate factory. Upon entering the Nature's Basket outlet in Bandra, one is greeting with these huge banners to the left, which announce the presence of a dedicated chocolate section in the basement.

Down a flight of stairs, one sees gift baskets of chocolate things and exclusive shelves of mostly imported chocolate, but these are Nature's Basket properties.

The Cocoa Trees is bright section up front and unmistakable with its happy yellow interiors. Row upon row of the world's best chocolates is quite enough to drive a chocolate aficionado like me mad. In a perfect dream, I would have unlimited money and a super sized shopping cart inside The Cocoa Trees! :)

The Cocoa Trees stocks the best international and indigenous brands including Anthon Berg, Cadbury, Celebrations, Chupa Chups, Cote d’Or, Daim, Droste, Duc d’O, Fazer, Ferrero, , Gavottes, Goldkenn, Haribo, Hawaiian Host, Hershey’s, Jelly Belly, Jules Destrooper, Kagi, Kinder, Lorenz, M&M’s, Maltesers, Mars, Mentos, Merci, Milka, Ritter Sport, Snickers, Starburst, Storz, Swiss Delice, Taveners, The Belgian, Tic Tac, Toblerone. The Cocoa Trees also stocks rare brands like Frey, which are exclusively licensed to be sold only at their stores. Besides, new brands like Zaini which have all Disney characters in their edd-shaped chocolates, have been added.

I saw these cute Zaini chocolate boxes shaped like the Disney character, Lightning Mc Queen from the movie Cars and thought, THIS! my 3-year-old will love! Other kiddy touches like the Chupa Chups lillipop stand with giant lollipop-shaped containers, teddies holding candy and M & M stands shaped like their popular animated avatars make the store an altogether delightful place for young customers.

But there are plenty of things to get not so young customers like me excited too. For example, some unbelievable flavours like the Frey Lemon Pepper Dark chocolate! Lemon Pepper? But that's what one puts in their soup, right? I HAD to pick a bar up. Review will be up soon!

And then there were these Oreo boxes shaped like giant cookies that totally make you want to forget your diet and container after container of different chocolate flavours from Sorini and Ritter Sport Minis that are sold by weight. Mind-blown as I was, there was some space for heartbreak too when I noticed that the store did not have any Toblerone dark chocolate. Are you'll taking note, dear store owners?

After walking around and gushing over all these beauties, it was time to leave. I was presented with a gorgeous hamper from The Cocoa Trees that comprised a box each of some delightful Belgian Pralines, Jules Destrooper Belgian Chocolate Thins (biscuits) and Merci assorted chocolates. I was a little disappointed to find most of these melting by the time I took them home, but then these delicate exotic things can hardly be expected to withstand Mumbai summers.

Anyhow, what's a little melted chocolate when they're so darned beautiful and mmmm...-inducing? I tried German-made Merci first, which is a collection of 20 fine assorted chocolates. The flavours include Milk Chocolate, Coffee & Cream, Hazelnut-Almond, Hazelnut-Creme, Marzipan, Dark Cream, Dark Mousse and Praline-creme. They are ideally had at room temperature, but I had to keep them in the fridge to save their form. Even when hardened, they chocolates melt quickly in the mouth and lose none of their rich delightful flavours.

At INR 550, this 250 g pack of 20 assorted chocolates makes for a wonderful gift idea, and if it is a chocolate aficionado you are trying to impress, look no further. You will say 'merci' to me for this one.

Next up was a pack of four Belgian pralines, so amazing I would have been happy only kissing them. Too bad they had melted a lot as well and needed refrigeration and eventual eating. I know, what a hard life I have. :D The Belgian pralines from... duh, Belgium, are crafted to perfection and are almost worth their price (almost 50 bucks apiece!). For those who don't know, regular pralines refer to a confection made of nuts and sugar, but Belgian pralines have a hard chocolate shell with a soft (sometimes liquid) filling. They are also referred to as chocolate bonbons or Belgian chocolates.

The four pralines in this box included a white chocolate, a milk chocolate, a dark chocolate and a dark chocolate with nuts. Delicate doesn't even begin to describe these lovelies and they were lapped up before one could say 'Bless The Cocoa Trees'.

And finally, there was a chocolate-biscuit pack from a brand that's completely new to me - Jules Destrooper. The Belgian biscuiterie (my favourite new word!) is over a hundred years old and if I've never heard of it, that must be because very few, if any, places in India import it. But that's changing, of course, because of The Cocoa Trees. The best, most exotic chocolate brands of the world are now available under one roof.

The 100 g Jules Destrooper pack of Belgian Chocolate Thins are nothing but chocolate coated crispy biscuits. The kinds of chocolate are the usual dark, milk and white, only Amazing with a capital A. The biscuits are of just the perfect hardness and crunch and taste unbelievably good in combination with the chocolate. Because these babies melted too, I have no idea whether there are 10 thins or five in that pack - they got stuck, I think. Nevertheless, they are well worth their INR 275, and I most definitely recommend it, as I recommend a visit to The Cocoa Trees.

Seriously people, whether or not you are a chocolate aficionado, make one trip to experience the unique concept of this store. Also, people who are clueless about gift ideas, The Cocoa Trees is the answer to all your prayers.

Address: The Cocoa Trees, @ The Nature's Basket, Hill Road, Bandra, Mumbai
Website: http://www.thecocoatrees.com/
Phone: 022 - 26425050, 26421122
FB: www.facebook.com/CocoaTrees

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