One of the biggest perks of being a reviewer is receiving lovely goodies in the mail to try out. There was much collective oohing and aahing from The Madhouse when this tantalising selection of chocolate bars arrived from the lovely people at Divine for us to sample.
As they explain on their Facebook page, "Divine Chocolate is made with the finest cocoa from farmers in Ghana who co-own the company and because the cocoa is Fairtrade they get a guaranteed income and you get guaranteed pleasure, so everyone’s sweeter!" I've tried several brands of Fairtrade chocolate in the past and, although you get a lovely warm feeling inside from doing some good while you eat your chocolate, I've always thought that you inevitably end up sacrificing some of the taste and indulgence when opting for fairtrade. Divine is the first fairtrade chocolate brand I've eaten where I haven't had this sentiment.
I love the wide range of flavours available, to suit everyone's tastes. We received six bars to try out : Orange Milk Chocolate, 85% Dark Chocolate, Coffee Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate With Strawberries, 70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberries and 70% Dark Chocolate with Ginger and Orange. But the range also includes Dark Chocolate with Fruit & Nuts, Butterscotch, Hazelnut, Mint and plain Milk Chocolate. They also come up with a selection of gifts for Christmas and Easter.
So on to the testing. Now, before I start, I have to admit that I'm a bit of a milk chocolate kinda girl so I wasn't expecting to like the darker chocolates much. I decided therefore to start with the palest chocolate and work through to the darkest, using the theory I use with spicy food that anything too strong will wipe out my taste buds and prevent me from fully appreciating the lighter, milder varieties.
First up was therefore was the White Chocolate with Strawberries. As I peeled open the pack to reveal white chocolate studded with tiny red pieces of strawberry, Juliette gleefully announced "oooh the chocolate's got chickenpox" ! That did it, this variety is now known as Chickenpox Chocolate in our house ! Despite the slightly disgusting nickname, the chocolate was ... well, absolutely divine ! It has a more refined version of that creamy, vanilla, melt-in-the-mouth taste that reminded me nostalgically of eating Milky Bars as a kid, and the slightly sharp, tangy strawberry pieces really complemented the flavour. Enormous thumbs up all round and we will definitely be buying this again.
On to the Milk Chocolates. The chocolate is lovely and smooth and creamy when it melts on your tongue, probably because it contains cocoa butter. The orange one is really lovely and you can tell it's made with natural flavourings. I'm not keen on coffee but could tell that this, again, had a natural flavour, consistent with the fact that it is made with the finest Fairtrade coffee. The taste is mellow and not too harsh, if you're not a huge fan of coffee. Madhouse Daddy Mike, who loves coffee, declared it delicious.
Finally, on to the Dark Chocolates, which - as I mentioned - I wasn't really expecting to like much. I was actually surprised to discover I really liked the 70% Dark Chocolate bars, with Raspberries or Ginger & Orange. I found that the added flavours offset the slightly bitter taste you often get with dark chocolate and made the whole tasting session into a very pleasurable experience. The balance of chocolate and additional flavours is perfectly finetuned, with each part complementing the other without overpowering it.
The 85% Dark Chocolate was a bit too intense and bitter for my tastes, but I can imagine that if you are a lover of dark chocolate, this is the stuff of dreams. It won't go to waste though, as I'll be using it in one of the absolutely delicious-looking recipes from the Divine website, including many from celeb chefs. The only problem will be choosing which one to try because they all look totally decadent and surprisingly simple to make.
Easter is almost here and the shops are awash with cheap, often substandard-quality, chocolate eggs. I can happily say I'd rather have a couple of bars of Divine - especially the White Chocolate with Strawberry -even if it's not egg-shaped !
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £1.75 for 100g (on Ocado)
for more information : http://www.divinechocolate.com/default.aspx
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Good thing there is milk chocolate in the range! Mmmm!
ReplyDeleteThe strawberry and cream chocolate is mouth watering.
ReplyDeleteIve not got any in, and after seeing this post, I WANT SOME!! haha xx
I have to try the white chocolate and strawberries it sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteLove divine chocolate its fab!
ReplyDelete