Chocolate Product Testing

It is a tough job but someone has to do it. Why not me.

The first product we tested (for some odd reason I got a lot of volunteers to help me with this assignment) was chocolate covered cocoa nibs. Here are the details:

Sweetriot
flavor 50 and flavor 65 (there is also flavor 80 but we couldnt' get our hands on that to try it)

flavor 50 is 100% cacao covered with 50% dark chocolate, flavor 65 is 100 % cacao covered with 65% dark chocolate and... well you get the idea.

The candies come in a fetching little tin. The copy on the label is hip and kind of trying to be interesting and fun. The only problem for us was that the pieces are so small - think chocolate covered pop rocks here - that we were not experiencing the intense burst of chocolate flavor we were expecting. The little pieces have a nice crunch, but surprisingly the flavor was just not there.

If you want a little chocolate kick you'd do better carrying Hershey's kisses in your purse than a tin of these. I know that is the ultimate in chocolate heresy to admit, but in this case I'm afraid it is the truth.


Next we went on to test out some new Single Source Drinking Chocolates (that's fancy talk for hot chocolate) by Allegro coffee. These babies are expensive - let me get that off my chest. A package - containing six servings - cost $13 at Whole Foods.

Here are the details:

Allegro coffee
Single Origin Drinking Chocolate
Peruvian 64 and Columbian 53 (there is also a Costa Rican one that I have yet to try)

First off, I expected that this was a marketing gimmick. I thought we'd try these hot chocolates and find them good, but not discernably different from each other. Boy was I wrong. Even the color is different. The Colombian is very dark in color and flavor - it is the chocolate equivalent of espresso. The Peruvian was a lighter shade and a sweeter lighter taste. Both of them were completely delicious and energizing (I was zinging around for a few hours after this testing session). Will I buy them again? Yes, probably. Will I buy them often? Not likely. The cost (in dollars and in calories - each serving contains about 13 grams of fat and that's not including the milk or cream you use) is just too high for me - this is a wonderful and delectable chocolate excursion - a chocolate vacation even - that I might go on once or twice a year. On the other hand, if you are looking for a gift for a chocolate lover in your life these might be just the thing.