charles Chocolates
Founded by Charles Siegel, is a San Francisco chocolate brand founded in 2004, however Charles has been part of the chocolate scene since 1987. Many of their bars feature nuts.
The chocolates we have reviewed are: Tres Cajores 65%, Peanut Praline 55%, Cashew 45%, Milk Peanut Praline Butterfly and Darkmilk Peanut Praline Butterfly. |
average score: 6.93/10 |
ALAIN DUCASSE
Alain Ducasse is a French chef turned chocolatier. Like Marcolini, he chooses the beans himself for their unique tastes. He ties with Marcolini as Trinitario's favourite chocolatier. "His chocolates contain many subtleties, a quality which very few chocolates have. Instead of generic flavours, such as woody, smoky, fruity or bitter, they have hints of all sorts of different things, from jasmine to dried fruit and interestingly enough, caramelised coffee." A nice detail is that he always puts the type of bean on the bar, so you can see if it is a Criollo, Trinitario or Forastero (or something else). Their chocolates currently reserve all the top spots in our dark chocolate ratings, and the top two in our milk chocolate ratings. We have not yet tasted their filled chocolates, but are eager to try some!
The bars we have reviewed are: Honduras Trinitario Mayan Red 75%, Peru Trinitario 100%, Fourrée Crunchy Praline & Caramel Mousse 75%, Fourrée Pistachio Marzipan 75%, Fourrée Coconut Praline & Passionfruit Ganache 75%, Brazil Forastero Blanco 75%, Madagascar Criollo Bejofo Farm 75%, Unconched Peru 75%, Fourrée Hazelnut Praline & Fleur de Sel 75%, BARRES À GOÛTER 45%, Unconched Madagascar 45%, Madagascar 55% and Venezuela Criollo Porcelana 75% . |
average score: 8.72/10 |
godiva
Godiva is another Belgian chocolate maker and chocolatier founded in 1926 by Pierre Draps. Their range of chocolates has fewer high cocoa percentage dark chocolates, and focuses more on filled chocolates and truffles. They tend to be sweeter overall.
The bars we have reviewed are: Dark Chocolate Pink Himalayan Salt 68%, Dark Chocolate & Toasted Coconut 68% and 90%. |
average score: 8.06/10 |
Divine
Divine is the only 100% Fairtrade chocolate company which is owned by cocoa farmers and was founded in 1998. Their beans have an excellent flavour and are very cacao-ey, with most of their bars also being very melty.
The bars we have reviewed are: 85% Ginger and Turmeric, 95% and 85%. |
Average Score:
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pierre marcolini
Marcolini is a Belgian chocolate maker and chocolatier who creates unique chocolates, many of them single-origin. Pierre Marcolini's bars are always silky-smooth with great meltiness. The flavour profiles are often quite strong and this is Trinitario's favourite chocolate brand.
The bars we have reviewed are: Venezuela Enivré 78%, Java, Ecuador, Peru, Madagascar, Pierre Marcolini and dark caramel and praline filled chocolates. |
Average score: 8.66/10 |
hotel chocolat
Hotel Chocolat are British cocoa-growers founded in 1993. Their chocolates are not the meltiest, however the flavour profiles are strong and they have an excellent range of darker chocolates. Some of their slabs, which we are yet to review, sound very interesting with a variety of creative flavours. They also have an exciting range of Supermilks, which are very dark milk chocolates going from 60% to 80%!
The bars we have reviewed are: Aracataca Colombia 95%, St Lucia 85%, Salted Caramel Chocolate Puddles 36% and Ghana 85%. |
average Score: 6.65/10 |