Artisan du Chocolat - Dark chocolate 100%

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Dark chocolat 100% cocoa
Main ingredients are cocoa beans.
Cocoa content: 100% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is sealed in transparent plastic wrap and wrapped in a cardboard.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown with a red hue.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear 'click' sound.

Smell

The chocolate has only a little smell. The aromas are reminiscent of the roast of nuts or oak wood and have hints of fermented tea and metal. As the chocolate warms in the hand, it releases warming, intense cocoa aromas.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate initially feels cold with a solid, smooth surface. The surface of the chocolate becomes softer and creamy as it slowly dissolves. It melts into a very fine, velvety and creamy liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is a slightly astringent bitterness. As the chocolate melts slowly, it unfolds very dark cocoa flavours with an edge of nuts and roast. They are accompanied by an intense but mild bitterness. Despite its intensity, the chocolate has little astringency, almost no acidity and the warm flavour of dark roasted nuts.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste lasts very long and is mainly a central flavours of cocoa and roast. A mild bitterness lingers in the mouth.

Summary

This chocolate is as intense as get it gets. It has a mild bitterness, rich flavour of cocoa and dark roast nuts. The flavours are very intense, the melt is very fine and creamy without being sticky. However, this is not for the faint-hearted, there is no sweetness, milk or dairy creaminess about it.

Verdict

This chocolate is well crafted. It has intense cocoa flavours, an intense but yet mild bitterness and a dark-ish roasty edge. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 36728, best before 12/2019, tasted 09/12/2018&22/04/2019

Artisan du Chocolat - Date Milk

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Date Milk
Main ingredients are dried date (date, maize starch, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin), cocoa butter, dried whole milk, cocoa beans, emulsifier: soya lecithin.
Cocoa content: minimum 44% cocoa, 21% milk, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is sealed in transparent plastic wrap and packed in card board.

Look

The chocolate is light brown with white shimmer at its edges.

Sound

The chocolate initially feels softly as if won't break at all. But it does so with a snappy sound.

Smell

The smell is sugary and milky. There are light notes of cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate feels soft in the mouth. It has a somewhat sticky surface when melting. It melts into a fine liquid.

Taste

The chocolate has a very creamy flavour with some darker notes of fermented milk. As chocolate melts, it develops the flavour of caramelised fruit sugar with a tiny hint of bitterness. This makes the cream really heavy and dominating a slowly emerging flowery fruitnote and hints of cocoa.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly an intense creaminess with some dark fruity and caramel notes.

Summary

This is a really creamy milk chocolate with caramel, fruit and some flowery notes.

Verdict

This milk chocolate has very rich cream flavours and it also develops complex flavours of caramel, fruit and hints of flower. It melts nicely without getting too sticky. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 27469, best before 08/2018, tasted 22&28/04&05&06/05/2018

Artisan du Chocolat - Black Cardamom Dark Chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Black Cardamom Dark Chocolate
Main ingredients are cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, black cardamom, green cardamom, emulsifier soya lecithin and vanilla extract.
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is sealed in transparent plastic wrap and packed in card board.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown. After breaking the chocolate, the edges have a distinct red hue.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a very clear snap sound.

Smell

There are intense cocoa aromas as well as some vanilla and fragrant citric green cardamom aromas.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate develops a surprisingly soft surface and melts quickly into a very fine and smooth liquid.

Taste

The chocolate initially unfolds a cocoa flavour. As soon as it melts, the cardamom adds a fresh, green lemony note that evolves into the warm and more spicy cardamom flavour. The spicy cardamom and cocoa  combine into an intense warming cocoa-chocolate flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is characterised by both the cocoa and the cardamom. There is a tendency for the spicy cardamom to be more present on the tongue whereas the cocoa and spice is more present in the rear of the palate.

Summary

This is a cardamom flavoured dark chocolate with an intense cocoa, spice and light citrus flavours. It melts very smoothly and evenly.

Verdict

This chocolate has a very smooth structure and melts very finely. It comes with a rich and warming combination of cardamom and cocoa. It also has some lighter citrus flavours from the green cardamom. The spice can be quite intense on the tongue but this really combines into a very rich cocoa-chocolate experience. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 22121, best before 03/2017, tasted 04&05/03/2017

Artisan du Chocolat - Goat milk chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Goat milk chocolate
Ingredients are cane sugar, full cream goat milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa beans, soya lecithin.
Cocoa content: minimum 40% cocoa, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate is wrapped and sealed in transparant wrap and a printed card board envelope.

Look

The chocolate is middle brown with a light orange and grey shade as opposed to  red hint.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear snap sound.

Smell

The bar smells of milk and a hint cocoa. There is no strong goat-like smell as in goat's cheese but a sweet-ish, grass-like hint.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate feels initially smoother than expected and melts slowly into a thick liquid. It remains slightly chewy without dissolving into a liquid.

Taste

The first flavour is surprising note of goat's cheese. This quickly pairs up with sweetness, milky flavours and light hint of cocoa.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly milk with a mild sweetness and some notes of goat's cheese.

Summary

The chocolate's smell does not prepare for the surprising goat's cheese flavour. The smooth milk chocolate balances a mild sweetness and cocoa with the goat milk flavour.

Verdict

This is a well-made, smooth milk chocolate. It frames the goat's milk surprisingly well with cocoa and sugar. But the chocolate melts very slowly and remains a thick-ish liquid. 4 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 21934, best before 11/2016, tasted 09&12/06/2016

Artisan du Chocolat - Trinidad & Tobago dark chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Trinidad and Tobago dark chocolate
Main ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa content, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom
in Partnership with: Fine Cocoa Company Ltd, La Réunion Cocoa Estate, Centeno, Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago

Packaging

The chocolate comes in a tin in the shape of a steel pan drum. Inside is some packaging paper and 125g dark chocolate sealed in plastic wrap.

Look

The surface is smooth and a bit shiny. The chocolate is dark brown but more red-brown than black-brown.

Sound

The little chocolate sticks snap with a clear, distinct "click" sound.

Smell

The chocolate has a warm and rich smell with aromas of wood, earth and notes of guava and flowers.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate is initially very hard and solid and melts quickly into a very fine liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is pure cocoa with a note of bark, oak tree and wet wood. It almost instantly unfolds a full body of fruity notes of raisins, guavas and honey dew. It has a distinct, very light, unobtrusive sweetness. The dark cocoa flavour is present all the time and combines with the fruitiness into a comparably light chocolate which is still very complex and rich in flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by darker cocoa flavours of the chocolate at the rear of the mouth whereas some fruity notes linger in the front.

Summary

This pure dark chocolate is comparably light but it has a rich cocoa flavour and complex, fruity flavours that are all sourced from the special cocoa bean. It deserves your full attention when eating.

Verdict

The fine dark chocolate lives of its specially sourced cocoa. It is immaculately crafted. The pure dark cocoa and yet fruity flavours are lavishly complex. This makes the chocolate very unique and outstanding. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 23557, best before 13 April 2017, tasted 13 & 14 February 2016

Artisan du Chocolat - Sea salted caramels N25 Spiced figs

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Sea salted caramels - №25 Spiced figs
Main ingredients are dark chocolate, caramel and cocoa powder.
Cocoa content: minimum 72% cocoa solids in the dark chocolate

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The cardboard box contains a round plastic container with a screw cap. A package contains 130g pralines.

Look

The little pralines are dusted with cocoa powder with a light-ish brown colour.

Sound

The chocolate body is not intended to be broken outside of the mouth as the filling could spill. However I did so anyway, there is a snap sound of the chocolate body when broken apart.

Smell

Opening the little plastic container releases a warming cocoa aroma with aromas of wood, roast and a hint of floral fruit.

Mouthfeel

The cocoa layer does not feel dusty or powdery but rather almost solid. It is still powder, thus breathing in in the first moments can make you cough as the cocoa powder settles on the back of your mouth. Rolling the chocolate makes the outer cocoa layer melt until the dark chocolate body is exposed. This quickly melts until it is unstable, breaks and releases its filling. The fig filling is similar to a soft jam with little fig kernels.

Taste

The cocoa powder layer tastes like very dark chocolate with flavours of wood, roast and bark. These flavours intermix with the dark chocolate body and become slightly lighter with hints of dark molasses. Finally, the fruity filling tastes like a rich, sweet fig jam with spices that nicely mix without a single one standing out noticeably. There is also a hotness as in ginger or chili which is just enough to engage the taste buds. It is merely a sensation at the rear of the tongue rather than an actual flavour and it does not interfere with the filling's fruity sweetness. When the three layers mix, a finely balanced spiced sweetness and fruitiness gradually adds to the dark chocolate flavours.

Aftertaste

Initially, the spicy sensation dominates the aftertaste. This quickly disappears and gives room to the dark chocolate with its roast and bark flavours combined with the fruity sweetness of the fig filling.

Summary

These are rich filled dark chocolate pralines. Their layers provide a complex change of flavours starting with very dark wood flavours and gradually adding sweet and fruity flavours.

Verdict

The chocolate pralines are very well designed and executed. Eating through each layer is almost like attending a show with different acts. The Chanel №5 styled packaging makes quite a promise. Nevertheless, the product lives up to the expectations without a shadow of doubt.

Dates

Lot number: 21942, best before 07 November 2016, tasted 06 February 2016

Laverstoke Park Farm - Buffalo Milk Chocolate by Artisan du Chocolat

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Laverstoke Park Farm Milk Chocolate Made with Buffalo Milk, conched and refined by Artisan du Chocolat with 35% cocoa solids, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Laverstoke Park Farm, OVERTON, Hampshire, RG25&nbsp3DR, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard envelope and sealed in plastic wrap.

Look

The surface is shiny and smooth. Its colour is dark brown which is much darker than usual with milk chocolate.

Sound

The bar is comparably soft and does not snap.

Smell

It smells surprisingly lightly like cream and soft cheese with a mild sweetness.

Mouthfeel

It starts melting quickly and dissolves into a rich creaminess.

Taste

I expected something very strong and earthy. However, I was surprised to find it tastes more like cream. As the flavours unfold, they become stronger changing from fresh cream and soft cheese into a hint of ripened cheese. This is accompanied by a mild sweetness and a hint of hay/grass.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is perhaps like a ripened cheese but creamier and lighter.

Summary

The buffalo milk chocolate is much lighter than I expected and comes with a nice creamy mouthfeel. The flavour starts in fresh cream and develops towards light cheese note.

Verdict

This chocolate is definitely worth the experience and comes with unexpected flavours.