Mariebelle: Aztec Hot Chocolate

Mariebelle, out of New York City, makes a beautiful line of chocolates, hot chocolate mixes, and other sweets. Their chocolates are decorated to look like miniature works of art, and the company's packaging is just stunning. I love the teal and truffle colored tin my hot chocolate came in! I'm sure I will be able to find a use for it once the mix is gone (...or just fill it up with more chocolate).

I tried the Aztec Original Hot Chocolate (60%). The mix is made up of tiny shavings of a light brown chocolate, and shards of dark chocolate. The shavings almost look like bark; they have a lined texture to them (as if a very small animal had dragged its claws through the chocolate pieces).

I found my favorite way to prepare the hot chocolate was a mix of the "American" and "European" directions, combining a cup of milk with about 3/4 cup chocolate. This produces a very rich and creamy hot chocolate, with a thick (almost pudding-like) consistency. If you use a ratio of 1:1 (or with a larger part chocolate), you can refrigerate the chocolate to actually make a pudding. I much preferred the chocolate hot, however. I think maybe whipping the hot chocolate with cream would could a really tasty frosting for a cake, too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this hot chocolate. However, I think because of the price (and how quickly I was able to consume it all) I will only be drinking this chocolate in the future if it is given to me as a gift.

I purchased my tin of Aztec Hot Chocolate from Harney & Sons, $25/20 oz. tin.

($22.50 with a 10% off coupon.)

Amella: Cocoa Butter Caramels

Artisan Cocoa, out of El Segundo, CA produces Amella Cocoa Butter Caramels. Amella caramels contain pure cocoa butter and real fruits and vegetables. They come in three flavors: Carrot Cake, Black Forest, and Passion Fruit. The caramels are coated in chocolate and come in boxes with three pieces each.

Passion Fruit: This caramel is coated in milk chocolate. The caramel has a distinct passion fruit flavor, but it isn't too strong. These are good, and I would suggest them specifically to fans of passion fruit.

Black Forest: This caramel is coated in dark chocolate. I am a big fan of cherries, so I had high hopes for this flavor. However, I don't think it really delivered. Two out of the three caramels had a flavor that vaguely hinted of cherry, but not enough to satisfy. One of the caramels had a definite cherry flavor (I got a bite with a real cherry in it) and was very good. Should Artisan Cocoa up the amount of cherries in their recipe for the Black Forest I would certainly buy these again. However, as is the Black Forest was my least favorite.

Carrot Cake: The Carrot Cake caramel is coated in white chocolate. This caramel contains real bits of carrot and pecans. The combination of carrot, pecans, cinnamon, and caramel is a home run! These are absolutely delicious...even better than a slice of carrot cake! I can already see the Carrot Cake caramels becoming a staple in my candy stash.

In all, the Amella caramels are quite tasty. The caramel is soft (but not too sticky), and pairs well with the chocolate coating. The Carrot Cake caramels are a must!

I ordered the Cocoa Butter Caramels Sampler (3 of each flavor) from Foodoro, $9/9 pieces.

Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Honey

The Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon Honey is hand collected and jarred in Mexico, and primarily sold in the Bromberg Bros. Blue Ribbon restaurants in New York. Their honeys are completely raw and come in several varieties (depending on the season and area where it was collected).

I had the privilege of sampling two of their honeys, the Golden Reserve and the Mesquite Blossom. Both honeys are very thick, with a slight granular texture. I found if they are warmed slightly (like spread on fresh toast) they will become the consistency of a non-creamed honey, and the Mesquite Blossom will become completely liquid when poured on hot oatmeal.

The Golden Reserve honey is made by skimming the layer of honey that rises to the top after gathering the Autumn Flower honey. According to Bromberg Bros. this honey is rich in pollen and propolis (beehive resin). This honey is smoother, and more liquid than the Mesquite Blossom. When it arrived it had settled into two layers (a thick, light golden at the bottom, and a darker liquid on top), however after churning it with a butter knife the honey became more uniform and then remained that way until I finished the jar. The Golden Reserve has a very light, floral taste to it. This variety is now my favorite honey paired with peanut butter, and because of its thickness it will not make your bread soggy if you spread it in the morning and pack the sandwich for lunch. This honey is also excellent on toast, ice cream, and drizzled (or spread with) cheese.

The Mesquite Blossom honey is gathered from bees pollinating Mesquite trees, and is especially thick because the climate is so dry during the Mesquite's blooming season. This honey can be scooped out almost as a solid, and is near impossible to drizzle. The texture is much more grainy than the Golden Reserve and the flavor is mild and sugary. I especially enjoyed this honey mixed into tea, and even more so straight from the jar! While I recently got over a cold, this honey was the perfect replacement for cough syrup. It's so thick it coats the throat and stays there, easing the sore throat and allowing the sweet flavor to linger. This honey would also probably make a great alternative to sugar in baking recipes.

Overall I really enjoyed these two honeys and will certainly be purchasing them again. I am hoping the other varieties of Blue Ribbon honey will be available soon, so I can try them, too!

I bought the honey from the Blue Ribbon Restaurants website, $7.50-8.50/12 oz. jar.

Neococoa: Taster's Truffle Box

Neococoa is a company out of San Francisco, producing what they refer to as the "hearts of chocolate truffles." They hand make what would be the ganache center of a typical truffle, but without the hard chocolate coating.

I was intrigued by the idea of a naked truffle, so I ordered a five piece taster's box. Inside were one each of: crushed bittersweet nib, toasted coconut, almond butter topped with smoked sea salt, mocha cinnamon, and freshly zested lime.

All five of my truffles had a dense, almost chewy consistency. The ganache is just the right balance of bitter and sweet, with a delicious and rich chocolate aftertaste that lingers.

The toasted coconut featured a sprinkling of coconut on top, and a bit of cocoa on the bottom. This truffle was good, but nothing special. The almond butter truffle was topped with a pinch of smoked sea salt, and again cocoa on the bottom. I enjoyed the bit of salt with this truffle, but had a hard time making out the almond flavor. The mocha cinnamon truffle was coated in a cinnamon cocoa, which was delicious! The warmth of the cinnamon melded really well with the rich ganache center. Quite tasty! Next, the zested lime truffle was coated in cocoa, and was the only round truffle in the box. This one lasted the longest in my mouth, and had the silkiest texture. I really liked the mix of lime with the deep chocolate taste, and this was probably my favorite flavor combination out of the box. Finally, there was the crushed bittersweet nib. This truffle was my favorite. Although it is billed as a bittersweet truffle with cocoa nibs, the truffle was not overly bitter (as I had expected it would be). The texture of the melting truffle contrasted beautifully with the crunch of the cocoa nibs. As the lingering taste of chocolate dissipated, I was sad I didn't have another to enjoy.

Overall I enjoyed these truffles. I believe if I were to try these again I would leave out the coconut, and order extra bittersweet cocoa nib truffles. I'd also like to try the ginger root truffle (that is on their menu, but was not in this box) should I get the chance.

I ordered this box from Foodoro, $12/5 pieces.