Damson Grenada Buffalo Milk

This chocolate is an interesting one, made from Grenadian cacao from Crayfish Bay, buffalo milk from Laverstoke Park Farm and a touch of Halen Môn Anglesey vanilla sea salt. But what adds to the interest is that I moulded this particular bar at Damson's kitchen!

The aroma was gherkin, dill, peppercorn - long live Polska! This was unexpected as I have experienced Crayfish Bay cacao before, but mostly because I tasted the melted version and a tempered version of this batch of chocolate and both had more of a dairy profile

The taste started very tannic, then came sherbet straws, goats cheese with that slight tanginess, and very creamy mascarpone and cream cheese. It reminded me of the chocolate baked cheesecake I made once. There was acidity, creaminess and that gherkin passes by again

Particularly for a milk chocolate the thickness of the mould is really good. Oh, and this Laverstoke Farm buffalo milk tastes great! I enjoyed this chocolate, mostly for its showcase of creaminess and acidity combining

This bar isn't for sale online, however it may be able to be found at the Chocolate Show (Oct 16-18, London)

Pump Street Bakery Grenada 70%

This Grenadian chocolate gets its 'exclusivity' from Pump Street being the sole producer of single estate chocolate from Crayfish Bay estate's cocoa beans

The pouring of the tempered chocolate gets some attention with this particular bar of batch no. 5105, as the back had a border, i.e. it was not flat. The colour, the feel and overall look was very nice, the sheen was like "polished mahogany". I like the seal-bag packaging, as it saves the chocolate's volatile aromas and flavours

The aroma was floral tea leaves, chocolate, smokiness, bamboo (grassy) and blackberry

The taste is one that impresses. In the mix was tea leaves, lots of sweetness, butter, blackberry, nut/wood and acidity. A wave of chocolate then rides the palate, succumbing to wheat. The texture was smooth and buttery

This chocolate has recently won few awards, including gold in the 2015 International Chocolate Awards for 'micro batch'. And overall, an impressive bar - £6.95 seems respectable 

Amedei

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla

Toscano Black 63%
The Toscano Black range is made from a blend of Trinitario and Criollo beans. The aroma was chocolatey, some acidity. The taste was smoked tobacco, hazelnut, Italian chocolate

Blanco de Criollo

A Peruvian Criollo bean blend. It had the classic Peruvian acidity, which yielded to a robust wild mushroom (oh wow, authentic). There was chocolate too and overall it was very mellow

Grenada

Finally, chocolate from Grenada - only my 3rd Caribbean cocoa (if I include the Venezuelan Rio Caribe). It had a chocolatey and floral nose. The taste was coffee (mocha) and coconut

n.b. having only one each of these napolitains (small square tablets-intended to be served with a cup of coffee) meant that I could not sufficiently pick up each nuance, but I imagine each in bar form offers up so much more. For example, the Blanco de Criollo was said to have dried plums and toasted almonds 

Rococo Chocolate

The artsy yet simplistic design of Rococo's packaging is admirable. Each of these three bars are labelled organic and artisan, and are made from fine cocoa beans (including some sourced from Rococo's farm, Grococo, in North Grenada) with a little extra added cocoa butter

The whole experience of Rococo was mesmerising. From the beautiful and authentic print designs on the paper packaging, which on the inside had faint illustrations, to the chocolate bars themselves. And spoiler alert: words can not describe the mouthfeel of the dark chocolate and the aroma of the white!

The design upon the chocolate looked very similar to the Duke of Delhi chocolate bar range which I liked as it gave the chocolate character, BUUUUT I think Rococo wore it best!

Basil & Persian Lime Dark Chocolate

65% cocoa solids

A medium brown colour with reddish tint. Its thin form, soft touch, delicate hold and glossy finish gave a satisfying clean snap. The lime and basil were competing in aroma, with lime seeming to be the foundation of the chocolate with the herby aroma being the stronger overtone, however it took a few moments to actually get the sense of it actually being basil. A soft bite lead to an incredibly smooth, soft texture

In taste the basil mastered the lime. But the lime pieces gave a zesty burst when bitten and also had a soft gritty-like feel

This chocolate remained calm at all times. The most impressive texture and melt I've experienced (yet), and I wonder if that was down to a long conching time or a high percentage of cocoa butter, but either way it was exceptional. The long-length finish was a soft basil

Sea Salt Milk Chocolate

Rococo have used their house blend 37% milk chocolate and infused it with Halen Mon Anglesey sea salt. After one bite, you realise why this chocolate was awarded an Academy of Chocolate Gold Award. It also is known to be a favourite of Sophie Dahls!

The light brown colour, with its glossy finish and creamy, vanilla aroma gave the impression of a rich and warm experience. And it was. The salt enhanced the sweetness of the caramel tasting milk chocolate. It always amazes me how salt does that. The only bad thing I have to say about this chocolate was that I could taste the paper packaging at times, but apart from that all was good. It seems as if Rococo are persistent with their smooth textures... could the white chocolate complete the trinity?

Cardamom White Chocolate

Well, it certainly looked good. The aromatic cardamom made itself present as soon as the paper was opened, and I loved how I could subtly smell the vanilla white chocolate coming through. I've had cardamom and dark/milk chocolate before, but after trying this I think white chocolate works so much better

Sugar is sensed in the aftertaste but thankfully the cardamom distracts away from that. The two distinct contrasting flavours (the strong fragrant cardamom and creamy vanilla chocolate) really complement each other, and for a white chocolate this bar was ever so sophisticated

Each chocolate bar was excellent. The flavour pairings were perfect. And out of the three, for taste I'd recommend the Cardamom White Chocolate, it was perfectly balanced and for the texture it would have to be the Basil & Persian Lime Dark Chocolate. £4.50 for 70g is far more expensive than your average chocolate bar, but with Rococo you are paying for quality