Wohlfahrt - Roasted cocoa nibs

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Roasted cocoa nibs.
Ingredients are just cocoa nibs.
Cocoa content: minimum 100% cocoa solids, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Wohlfarth Schokolade, Choriner Straße 37, 10435 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany

Packaging

The cocoa nibs are wrapped in a transparent plastic bag of 50g (other sizes available).

Look

The nibs are dark brown. Some parts are darker, others are lighter with shades of red. The edges are much lighter coloured and almost white and appear to be almost powder.

Sound

When breaking the nibs, they emit a clear crackling sound.

Smell

The nibs smell of a mild cocoa and hints of roast aroma. They also have chocolatey aroma to them that is similar to milk chocolate.

Mouthfeel

Initially, the nibs feel cold when they touch the lips and tongue. Their surface feels surprisingly smooth and even. Chewing them feels similar to chopped almonds.

Taste

The taste unfolds slowly. It starts with a mild bitterness and roast flavours. This combines with an intense cocoa flavour that resembles very dark chocolate. The bitterness is very light, resembling that of lavender or roses. There are also hints of bark and roasted nuts.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste lingers for quite a while. It is mainly cocoa and the mild bitterness and an impression of very smooth chocolate.

Summary

These cocoa nibs taste very intensively of cocoa with a mild bitterness and hints of roast, nuts and petals.

Verdict

These cocoa nibs offer an intense experience. Given the size and amount, they are very rich in flavour. Their bitterness is immediately detectable but not overly hitting. They are not sour and leave an intense aftertaste of dark chocolate. 4 Stars.

Dates

Tasted 30/10&01/11/2016

Wohlfahrt - Milk chocolate with lemongrass-olive oil

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Lemongrass - Milchschokolade mit Lemongrass-Olivenöl (Milk chocolate with lemongrass-olive oil)
Main ingredients are raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, lemongrass-olive oil.
Cocoa content: minimum 41% cocoa, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Wohlfarth Schokolade, Choriner Straße 37, 10435 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is wrapped in white sandwich paper.

Look

The chocolate is middle brown with some red. The surface is a bit rough with very thin lines and slightly shiny from oil.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with clear sound but it is thuddy.

Smell

The aroma is mainly milk and something that reminds of light oriental spices like cinnamon and cardamom.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate is soft and smooth. It dissolves quickly into a very fine liquid.

Taste

The chocolate initially tastes of a very light sweetness, cinnamon, grass and some milky notes. The flavour quickly becomes richer. It unfolds into a warm, lightly spicy flavour that combines hints of cinnamon, cardamom, and a hint of little bitterness from dried flowers and some spice that almost tickles at the rear of the mouth.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by a milky sweetness with hints of the complex spiciness.

Summary

This is a warming, complex milk chocolate with notes of cinnamon and cardamom.

Verdict

This milk chocolate is very well made. It is soft, smooth and dissolves nicely in the mouth. It has nicely warming spicy flavour. I have no clue whether the oil introduces the warming flavours but it is an extraordinary chocolate. 5 Stars.

Dates

Best before 12/2016, tasted 01&18/10/2016

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog - Whole milk chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Whole milk chocolate (Vollmilchschokolade)
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, whole milk powder, vanilla, soy lecithin.
Cocoa content: minimum 38% cocoa

Manufacturer

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog, Mittelstraße 89, 32805 Horn-Bad Meinberg, GERMANY
It's a bakery with a café and small chocolate outlet.
(The typo in "Café" is not mine but is everywhere on the packaging.)

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped in single aluminium foil and covered with a printed paper sleeve. The packaging says 100g but it actually was slightly above that mark.

Look

The chocolate is light middle brown with a shiny surface. There are some open bubbles of air on surface.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a thud sound.

Smell

The chocolate smells of milk and sugar with hints of cocoa and caramel.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly in the mouth. It initially melts into a sticky paste before dissolving into a fine and very smooth liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is a light sweetness with caramelly note. The chocolate quickly releases a more intense sweetness and milky flavours. There are notes of caramel, tiny hints of cocoa and traces of some cold metallic flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly sweet with some milky flavours that persist towards the rear of the mouth.

Summary

This is a light and sweet milk chocolate. The hazelnut flavours are almost entirely covered by the sweet milkiness of the chocolate. The chocolate is very soft and smooth but becomes slightly sticky when it melts in the mouth.

Verdict

The chocolate is very sweet and there are almost no reminders of the cocoa flavour. The chocolate is very smooth but goes through a period of stickiness before melting properly. 2 Stars.

Dates

Best before 27/09/2016, tasted 01&27&28/09/2016

Wohlfahrt - Raw dried cocoa pulps

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Raw cocoa pulps (dried cocoa beans with flesh)
Ingredient is dried cocoa beans.
Cocoa content: minimum 100% cocoa, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Wohlfarth Schokolade, Choriner Straße 37, 10435 Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany

Packaging

The dried cocoa pulps are wrapped in transparent plastic bag. Depicted is a 100g bag.

Look

The dried fruit flesh is pale yellow. Some areas are more pink in colour others are more brown-ish. The cocoa nibs inside are dark brown, some are light brown. But the colour variety ranges from pink or blue-ish, white to brown and dark brown.

Sound

The flesh is tough and dry such that it does not really 'break'. The flesh crumbles to some degree. The cocoa nibs are very crumbly. In sum, the sound is similar to crisps.

Smell

After opening the bag, the cocoa flesh smells lemony with a distinct sharp fruity sourness. There are aromas of roasted nuts. There is also a flowery note.

Mouthfeel

The fruit flesh is very dry. It becomes a bit softer in the mouth and feels slightly sticky but it remains quite chewy. The cocoa nibs are crumbly and crisp.

Taste

The initial taste is of fruity sourness and a fruity sweetness. Chewing a little releases nut and roast flavours. This is accompanied by more or less intense cocoa flavours. The variance between the pulps is huge. It ranges from fruity, strongly flowery notes to earthy, bitter flavours. Some also taste of freshly cut wood with roast aroma. The larger ones have a more intense cocoa and chocolate flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste varies heavily. In most cases, it is a nutty roast aroma with hint of earth and a mild bitterness. But the pulps can also have a flowery flavour, some can be quite bitter. The odd one can be also be a bit like soap.

Summary

The dried cocoa pulps have a huge variety in flavours and vary in shape and colour. The commonality seems to be an initial fruity sour flavour, fruity sweetness and nuts and roast flavours of the nibs. Most of the pulps are comparably small. The larger ones have more nibs compared to flesh and a more intense chocolate flavour.
The flavour appears to be perceived very differently between people, too.

Verdict

This is really an interesting product. It probably illustrates how difficult it is to select a good and consistent quality of cocoa. Some people really like its flavours while others really do not. Nevertheless, it's an unusual product that can be very satisfying as a little snack and comes with a variety of flavours. No rating at this point.

Dates

Tasted: 22&23&24/07&03&04&05%30&31/08/2016

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog - Whole milk chocolate with hazelnuts

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Whole milk chocolate with hazelenuts (Vollmilchschokolade Haselnuß)
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, hazelnuts, whole milk powder, vanilla, soy lecithin.
Cocoa content: minimum 38% cocoa

Manufacturer

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog, Mittelstraße 89, 32805 Horn-Bad Meinberg, GERMANY
It's a bakery with a café and small chocolate outlet.
(The typo in "Café" is not mine but as presented on the packaging.)

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped in single aluminium foil and covered with a printed paper sleeve. The packaging says 100g but it actually was around 130g of chocolate.

Look

The chocolate is light middle brown with a shiny surface.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a thud sound.

Smell

The chocolate smells of milk, sugar and some notes of roasted hazelnut with light hints of cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly in the mouth. It melts into a sticky paste before dissolving into a fine and very smooth liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is a light sweetness. The chocolate quickly releases fresh milk flavours with a more intense sweetness and a mild notes of cocoa flavour. The typical roasted hazelnuts flavours are covered by the sweetness and leave a very light roast and hazelnut flavour.

Aftertaste

The milky aftertaste is mainly present at the rear of the mouth and sugary sweetness more central to the mouth.

Summary

This is a light and sweet milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts. The hazelnut flavours are almost entirely covered by the sweet milkiness of the chocolate. The chocolate is very soft and smooth.

Verdict

The sweetness of the chocolate almost entirely covers the roast and hazelnut aromas. The chocolate is very smooth but goes through a period of stickiness before melting nicely. 3 Stars.

Dates

Best before 27/09/2016, tasted 11&16/08/2016

Hotel Chocolat - Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
Main ingredients are hazelnut paste (65%, hazelnuts, sugar, sorbitol, soy lecithin), cocoa solids (cocoa mass and cocoa butter), sunflower oil, sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla.
Cocoa content: The manufacturer lists 70% in the dark chocolate but it is not mentioned in the ingredients list. The amount of cocoa solids is not mentioned, thus no ratio is reported.

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 150g chocolate spread is in a plastic jar which is sealed with the label.

Look

The chocolate spread is middle brown with hints of read.

Sound

Not applicable.

Smell

Opening the pan releases an intense hazelnut aroma which is mixed with roast aromas.

Mouthfeel

The spread is very soft and disperses immediately in the mouth. Once it has reached a surface it sticks to this briefly as if the spread had become mire dry once it arrived in the mouth. However, this sensation quickly disappears as the spread dissolves again. The spread is smooth but occasionally has some small particles.

Taste

The initial taste is a light sweetness that quickly merges with roasted hazelnut aromas. The sweetness remains present throughout. This makes the roasted hazelnut flavours comparably light.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by a light sweetness and some hazelnut flavours.

Summary

This is a light and smooth, sweet hazelnut spread. It does not emphasise the roast and cocoa flavours but appears rather light and sweet.

Verdict

The hazelnut spread is well made towards the light and sweet flavours. It disperses velvety in the mouth and initially almost feels fluffy to the tongue. But it some very small particles in it. Not taking into account that the label argueing that there is more cocoa, less sugar and makes a statement about 'dark chocolate' which is not in the ingredients list, it is nice hazelnut spread. 4 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 16108, best before: 11/2016, tasted 31/07/&02&05/08/2016

Hotel Chocolat - Lime Truffle

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Lime - Dark truffle with a hint of lime (Lime ganache sealed in a dark chocolate shell, decorated with naturally coloured white chocolate)
Main ingredients are cocoa solids (cocoa mass, cocoa butter), sugar, sorbitol & glycerol, glucose syrup, butter oil, lime puree (3%).
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa in the dark chocolate shell.

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 12 truffles (55g) are in a black plastic tray, wrapped and sealed in transparent plastic wrap.

Look

The chocolate shell is dark brown with hints of red. The filling is of slightly lighter brown and shimmers glossily.

Sound

The chocolate shells break with a clear snap sound.

Smell

Opening the packaging releases lime and cocoa aromas. After opening the shell, vanilla aromas noticeably add to the mixture.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts relatively slowly into a fine, smooth liquid. The filling is very smooth and disperses very quickly in the mouth.

Taste

The chocolate shell has an earthy and somewhat bitter cocoa flavour with some sugar notes. It has also taken on some lime flavour from its filling. The lime truffle has an initially very sweet flavour. The lime flavour is released slightly later and mixes with the initial sugar flavour. The flavour becomes lemony before turning towards lime.

Aftertaste

The truffles have relatively little aftertaste. This is dominated by the cocoa notes of the chocolate shell towards the rear and the side of the mouth. After a while, the cocoa flavour has disappeared and a sugary aftertaste becomes noticeable.

Summary

These lime truffles are made of an earthy dark chocolate shell and a very sweet lime filling.

Verdict

The dark chocolate and the lime flavours combine and complement each other. However, the truffle filling is very sweet. This hinders the lime and the earthy chocolate to produce a 'hint of lime' but results in an experience of dark chocolate, interrupted by sweet lime and returning to dark chocolate. 3 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 160483, best before 09/2016, tasted 17&23/07/2016