Whittard of Chelsea - Vanatu 44 Milk chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Vanatu 44 Milk chocolate
Main ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, milk powder, vanilla flavouring
Cocoa content: minimum 44% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Belgium for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped and sealed in shiny plastic wrap. This package of 90g in then placed in a cardboard envelope.

Look

The chocolate is middle brown.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear "snap" sound.

Smell

The smell has aromas of cream and hints of roasted hazelnuts.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate initially feels soft and melts into a creamy liquid. A small amount of crumbles is in the chocolate. After melting the chocolate leaves the sensation of a very fine powder on the gums and tongue.

Taste

The chocolate has a milky sweet flavour with little hints of roasted nuts and caramel.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by caramel and cream flavours.

Summary

This is a creamy milk chocolate with balanced sweetness and some caramel and hazelnut flavours. It leaves the sensation of a very fine powder after eating.

Verdict

The main body of the chocolate is not well conched and there are some noticeable sugar crystals or some sort of crumbs in the chocolate. The flavour is mainly attributable to cream and (caramelised) sugar. There are hints of hazelnut. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: L15258, best before September 2016, tasted 13 February 2016

Whittard of Chelsea - Uganda 80 Dark Chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Uganda 80 Dark chocolate
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla flavouring
Cocoa content: minimum 80% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Belgium for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped and sealed in shiny plastic wrap. This package of 90g in then placed in a cardboard envelope.

Look

The colour of the chocolate is very dark brown and black.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear "snap" sound.

Smell

The smell is surprisingly light with sweet, nutty aromas and an earthy note.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate quickly melts into a liquid that feels slightly floury and also has a very few larger bits.

Taste

The initial taste is bitter, earthy and perhaps charred. This is added by some bark flavours but also sweetness from the sugar.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by bitter and earthy notes as well as some lingering sweetness.

Summary

This is an earthy, bitter, very dark chocolate but also with a noticeable sugary sweetness.

Verdict

The chocolate is not well conched resulting in a partly floury mouthfeel and some small bits in the chocolate. The flavour is bitter, earthy and has hints of something charred but there is still some marked sweetness in the chocolate to counter the cocoa. 1 Star.

Dates

Lot number: L15258, best before September 2016, tasted 13 February 2016

Whittard of Chelsea - Cantucci biscuits with figs & almonds

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Cantucci biscuits with figs & almonds
Main ingredients are wheat flour, sugar, dried figs (18%), eggs, almonds (10%)

Manufacturer

Manufactured by Amari in Carmignano s.a.s., Via Guido Rossa, 81-83, 59015, CARMIGNANO PO, Italy for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 200g load of biscuits is sealed in plastic. A cardboard label is attached above the seal.

Look

The biscuits are dark yellow with a light brown crust. Whole almonds and figs are visible in the fluffy dough.

Sound

The biscuits are hard as cantucci should be. They make a thud sound when broken and are especially soft around the figs.

Smell

The biscuits smell like sweetened eggs and vanilla with a very strong fruity aroma and a light hint of roast.

Mouthfeel

These biscuits are light and crisp. After chewing the first bits, the crunchiness is lost but the dough is still light.

Taste

The initial taste is a sweet biscuit dough with butter and egg flavours, and some vanilla notes. The almonds are lightly roasted supporting their flavour. The figs come with a flavour of dark molasses combined with ripened plum and a little tartly and peaty note.

Aftertaste

The biscuits have a sweet aftertaste with a light buttery and egg-ish note.

Summary

These biscuits are crisp and sweet with a nice butter and egg flavour with lightly roasted almonds and richly flavoured figs.

Verdict

These are nice cantucci style biscuits. In particular, the baked figs add an interesting and rich flavour to them. However, their moisture makes it very difficult to have a crunchy cantucci. These biscuits are less crunchy than possible and they have a little a bit more dough.

Dates

Lot number: 151115, best before 04 October 2016, tasted 06 February 2016