Dallmayr - Cantucci al Cacao e Nocciola

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Cantucci al Cacao e Nocciola - Hazelnut and cocoa biscuits
Main ingredients are wheat, sugar, hazelnuts (23%), eggs, margarine, butter
Cocoa content: 4%

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Italy (hand made according to label) for: Alois Dallmayr KG, 80331 München, Germany

Packaging

The 250g load of biscuits is sealed in plastic. A cardboard label is attached above the seal.

Look

The biscuits are dark brown with a few sprinkles of sugar on the sides. Whole hazelnuts are visible in the fluffy dough.

Sound

The biscuits are hard as cantucci should be. They make a loud "crack" sound when broken.

Smell

The biscuits have a warm hazelnut and cocoa smell.

Mouthfeel

These biscuits are very crunchy. After chewing the first bits, the dough still feels light.

Taste

The initial taste is very sweet when you feel the sugar on the outside. When crunching through the biscuits, they develop cocoa and roasted hazelnut flavours.

Aftertaste

The biscuits have a light cocoa aftertaste with a mild roasted note from the hazelnuts.

Summary

These biscuits are crunchy and sweet with a nicely balanced, mild flavour of cocoa and hazelnut.

Verdict

These are well-executed cantucci style biscuits. They come with solid crunch from start to finish and are nicely balanced between sweetness, cocoa and warming hazelnut flavours.

Dates

Lot number: 070815, best before 07 April 2016, tasted 24 January 2016

Zotter - Weihnachtsknistern (Christmas crackle)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Weihnachtsknistern - Dunkle Bergmilchschokolade gefüllt mit Äpfel, Honig und Zimt (alkoholhaltig) [sic] - Christmas crackle, dark mountain milk chocolate filled with apple(s), honey and cinnamon (contains alcohol)
Main ingredients are unrefined cane sugar, dried apple (15%), cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, apple juice (9%)
Cocoa content: 50% in the chocolate

Manufacturer

zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH, Bergl 56, A-8333 Riegersburg, Austria

Packaging

The 70g chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium foil and a paper sleeve.

Look

The surface is maroon brown, shiny and smooth. There are no pre-shaped pieces moulded in the bar.

Sound

The chocolate bar is filled with two soft layers. After separating the chocolate coating, it is surprisingly hard and makes a clear snapping sound when broken.

Smell

It smells of sweet cinnamon and apple with some hints of nuts. Smelled on its own, the chocolate coating has taken on the smell of its filling with a slightly more earthy hint.

Mouthfeel

Eaten as a whole, the filled chocolate turns into a sticky dough. After chewing through this, apple pieces and finely chopped hazelnuts covered in dough remain. Tasting the layers separately, the chocolate coating quickly melts into a smooth liquid. The apple layer feels almost floury initially but turns into something jam-like with little pieces of apple. The dough (or caramel or cream?) layer feels like sticky dough with small lumps or crumbly peanut butter with a small amount of chopped peanuts.

Taste

I started with each layer on its own. The chocolate coating has a sweet cinnamon taste with a hint of apple probably from the apple filling. There is basically no cocoa flavour to it. The initial contact with the apple layer was like gingerbread. This was probably due to its crumbly surface and the cinnamon. This vanishes quickly and is replaced by a floury taste with hints of sour apple purée, sweetness and traces of cinnamon. The doughy layer tastes sweet with a hint of vanilla. It has also taken on some apple flavour from the other layer. The dough contains a small amount of tasteless chopped hazelnuts. This chocolate bar was probably never intended to be separated into single layers...  The whole thing starts with sweet flavours from the chocolate coating and quickly releases the apple and flour taste of its filling. The sticky mass releases some notes of cinnamon later on.

Aftertaste

There is only little aftertaste. This is mainly a doughy sweetness and some artificial apple.

Summary

This filled chocolate bar mainly tastes of flour, some apple and a tiny pinch of cinnamon. It is sticky and chewy. If you expected popping candy or other sparkling, fizzy, crackling ingredients, you will be disappointed.

Verdict

The chocolate bar was chewy and sticky. The packaging proudly stated "bean-to-bar" but this did not play out in the chocolate. Each layer on its own had little to offer. Their individual shortcomings were emphasised by combining them. The chocolate's name falsely suggested that there would be popping candy.

Dates

Best before 05 April 2016, tasted 23 January 2016

Hotel Chocolate - Nutty Bûche

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Nutty Hazelnut & Pistachio Bûche (42% hazelnut paste, 5% pistachios, 5% hazelnuts and cocoa solids), suitable for vegans

Manufacturer

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

Packaging

The 160g bûche sits in a small plastic tray with a lit covering its cylindrical shape. This package is sealed in plastic.

Look

The surface is dark brown, shiny and smooth. Some nuts are not covered by chocolate but are still inside the cylindrical shape.

Sound

The bûche is meant to be cut with a knife which I did. It is surprisingly solid. Smaller pieces break with a thud rather than a snap.

Smell

It smells like hazelnut, roasted hazelnut and cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts very quickly into a smooth cream. This quickly continues to dissolve into a liquid (with a small bite).

Taste

Directly after melting, it releases a brief note of sweetness. This rapidly changes into hazelnut, roasted nut and dark, earthy cocoa flavours. Despite the initial hint of sweetness, this bûche is much stronger, earthier and cocoa-ish than gianduja or the like.

Aftertaste

Once it has molten to the liquid state, a mixture of nut and earthy cocoa flavours is released which lingers in the back of the mouth and on the tongue for a while.

Summary

This bûche comes with rich hazelnut and roasting flavours combined with an earthy cocoa. It is more like dark chocolate and much less sweet than the initial hint would suggest.

Verdict

This well-executed bûche is a surprisingly dark and earthy cocoa experience with hazelnuts.

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.

Feodora Vollmilch-Chocolade (whole milk chocolate)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Feodora Vollmilch-Chocolade (whole milk choco­late) with 37% cocoa

Manufacturer

Feodora Chocolade GmbH & Co. KG, 28199 Bremen, Germany

Packaging

The chocolate comes in small individual bars wrapped in aluminium and paper.

Look

The surface is very shiny and smooth. It reflects the light on its surface.

Sound

The little bars have a nice snap. They almost sound like plastic when they are dropped on a plate.

Smell

It smells like cream with notes of caramelised sugar.

Mouthfeel

First, the chocolate feels hard-edged. It melts slowly and dissolves into a rich creamy liquid.

Taste

It tastes like milky caramel and sugar. A light but noticeable stingy artificial note develops at the back of the mouth after melting the chocolate.

Aftertaste

Once it has settled down a bit, the taste of sweetened cream lingers for a while.

Summary

The milk chocolate is well conched with a shiny surface and a clear snap. It comes with a rich creamy mouthfeel. Its taste is marked by sweetness and a stingy note.

Verdict

This is an above average, unexcited milk chocolate.