Dear readers, your regularly scheduled review of the rest of the Schocolat chocolates appears below the break. But first, a story. Just scroll down and click “Read the rest of this entry” if you want to skip straight to the review.
The box of chocolates came from Rita’s mom with a request that I pass the reviews onto the proprietors of Schocolat. About a week ago, I sent them the three links to the three reviews, with a note that each link would go live the day that it was scheduled to run. Here’s part I and part II.
Yesterday, I received the following email:
Rosa
Thanks? Maybe you will find chocolate covered fruit gushers more pleasurable.
Regards
Susie
I was initially offended and pretty hurt. Then I thought, maybe I’m jumping to conclusions and being overly sensitive. Maybe she was suggesting that I try another product of theirs, these “chocolate covered fruit gushers”? But I didn’t see those anywhere on their site, so I guess Susie was referring to actual Fruit Gushers after all.
So that’s my story. You can interpret it as you wish, and I’ll bet you can guess how I ended up taking it.
And do click through and read today’s review. It’s exactly what I wrote a week and a half ago – in other words, I didn’t change anything after Susie’s email. As I told Susie when I wrote back, “I don’t have to like anything or everything that I review. I do have to be honest with my readers.”
Today we have the final five chocolates from my Easter box of Schocolat chocolates. We’ll start with the top right molded swirl and work clockwise.
The Dried Tart Cherry is “a rich creamy chocolate ganache mixed with tart Montmorency dried cherries and a splash of brandy finished in a dark chocolate shell.” The dark chocolate shell was quite thin and contained a thin, creamy ganache.
Little pieces of juicy dried cherry (oxymoronic; I don’t know how they did it, but I liked it) floated around the ganache. They gave the ganache a wonderful cherry tinge. The whole thing had a strong brandy finish. It was like a cherry cordial, only way, way better. An OM.
The dark chocolate square with the diagonal wasn’t in the chocolate guide. The ganache inside was strongly flavored with some spice that I’ve had before in a truffle, but I can’t put a name to the taste. I’m going to guess cardamom? It’s a unique taste experience but not a repeat treat. An O.
The fleur de lis is the Bittersweet, “dark bittersweet chocolate with fresh cream finished in a dark chocolate shell.” Like the other molded Schocolat chocolates, the chocolate shell was quite thin. The creamy ganache was quite sweet with a lightly berry finish. Good, but since it’s just dark chocolate without any flash, an O.
Next is the Brandied Pear Caramel, “dried Washington pears combined with brandy and sweet buttery caramel in a milk chocolate shell.” The caramel inside was a thin, runny, and slightly greasy goo. One of my friends got the little piece of dried pear that floated inside, so I don’t feel qualified to rank this. I liked it, even though I found it too greasy.
I saved the best for last. The fan is their Gold Coast Ginger, “Australian crystallized ginger…surrounded by dark chocolate ganache finished in dark chocolate.” My friends and I all agreed that this was our favorite.
I’m not usually a fan of ginger chocolate, but this piece was perfectly balanced. There was no harsh bite, just a fresh, juicy piece of ginger inside the creamy ganache. It struck the perfect note and may make me a chocolate and ginger convert. A ZOMG!
Whew! Three days of chocolate deliciousness, capped off by one pleasant chocolate surprise: if you check out the Schocolat website, you can see that they’re quite reasonably priced: 12 pieces for $17, 24 pieces for $28, and 30 pieces for $34.
Such high-quality handmade chocolates usually run at least $2 a pop, so I consider these a great buy, though they’ll end up costing a bit more with shipping. If you don’t have the good fortune to live close enough to visit Schocolat in person, you can order them online until June 1 (they stop shipping then because of the warm weather).
Varsha