chrisurban.com

The more chocolates we try, the more I seem to think that the further north (colder) they come from, the better the chocolate. Case in point: B.T. McElrath’s Chile Limón bar, from Minnesota. This is a chocolate bar that wants to be a truffle. In terms of our rigid criteria in meeting awesomeness, this one [...]

[Read more →]

Picked this interesting chocolate up while down in Cancún, Mexico. Marketed as a traditional, Aztec-style chocolate, this massive 200g bar had me at “Chile.” “It tastes sweet and a little bit spicy. And, it feels smooth and good.” – 5-year-old. This really is quite interesting, both from taste and consistency perspectives. The mouthfeel is not [...]

[Read more →]

This chocolate is a tantalizing conundrum. If we look at this from the chocolate point of view, then this dark Swiss chocolate is what one would hope to have for a mass-market gourmet chocolate: it’s silky smooth, with a tantalizing mouthfeel. It’s dark – not sure exactly how dark since no cocoa percentages are on [...]

[Read more →]

Heaven in a bar? here it is: cocoa, cinnamon, spices, chilies perfectly blended together. Short and sweet: perfect sweetness, creamy chocolate, complex character from cinnamon and chilies. These guys from Carlsbad, California make a damn good chocolate. We picked this up in Wegman’s, where it was significantly higher in price than other bars, but I [...]

[Read more →]

This is helluva nice bar – great balance between the chili peppers and the intensely sweet cherries. If you’ll recall, these guys from Boulder made an Almonds & Cherries bar we reviewed (and liked), so our first question is: are these Michigan cherries? Or they from somewhere else? Never mind the cherries – it’s the [...]

[Read more →]

One look at the bright red wrapper of this bar and you would think we’ve finally found the end-all of spicy chocolate bars: two chili peppers and a piece of chocolate are pictured with “Extra Fine dark chocolate with chili.” However, after trying it, we’re sorry to say that this isn’t it. That isn’t to [...]

[Read more →]

Nice dark chocolate (72% cocoa), made by Redstone Foods in Texas. Infused with chipotle chili pepper, this has a methodically increasing heat level as the chocolate washes away out of your mouth. The heat is pretty even and strong, and hits its peak about half a minute after the last bit of chocolate is gone. [...]

[Read more →]

Turn up the heat! Finally, a dark chocolate with some teeth. Dry chilies that kick it up a notch. Frey chocolates, a Swiss chocolate company (the only one left?) recently introduced to the American market via Target stores. And all we can say is: thanks, Target! Here’s a dark chocolate with oomph. The chili creeps [...]

[Read more →]

So I’m reading this label and wondering what the heck ‘nibs’ are. Are nibs to cocoa beans what giblets are to turkey? Turns out, it’s probably what you expect it to be: roasted cocoa beans, broken into smaller pieces, essentially a purist’s version of chocolate chips. Back to the chocolate – like the Lemon-Ginger chocolate [...]

[Read more →]

Another freezing weekend, another opportunity to try hot chocolate mix… When you open this can of mix, the first thing that strikes you is the consistency of the mix itself. There’s nuggets of chocolate in the mix. Once you’ve made it – the instructions note to bring water to boil, add mix, keep boiling and [...]

[Read more →]

First, a little mystery. This chocolate bar mysteriously appeared; from where I do not know. I set it aside for several minutes, providing ample opportunity for any rightful owners to appear, but alas, they did not, and thus this particular review appears… Anyone who know me knows I search endlessly for a chocolate that blends [...]

[Read more →]

Chocolate intended for Aztecs. Delicious. Dark chocolate with a slow-building ancho and chipotle chili undertone. Cinnamon nicely bridges the spice with the chocolate, and fills the gap on flavor between the burnt caramel chocolate and the crescendo of the chilies. 4 yr. old: “I don’t like it. It’s too spicy” (Note: she also feels candy [...]

[Read more →]