After my recent review of Pump Street Chocolate’s Eccles bar, I was contacted and asked if I’d be interested in writing about some of their Christmas collection. And so it was that a few days later, a delicious delivery arrived on my doorstep. This year, Pump Street Chocolate have several Christmas themed items, which they’ve organised into different collections to suit various tastes and budgets. Each collection comes gift wrapped with a Christmas card. I really like this approach, as it simplifies the process of finding a beautiful gift, while adding variety and giving the whole thing a tou ..read more

Pump Street Chocolate are one of Britain’s best known and best loved bean-to-bar chocolate makers. Started by father and daughter Chris and Jo Brennan in 2017 as a sideline to their village bakery in Suffolk, they have quickly grown to be one of the world’s most respected makers. Being a spin-off from the bakery, they are well known for combining baked goods with their chocolate. In particular, their Sourdough and Rye bars take bread from the bakery and refine it into the chocolate itself. To combine bread and chocolate is no easy task, but Pump Street consistently manage to capture the flavo ..read more

I never much cared for marzipan as a child. I think it was a combination of the texture and flavour that didn’t appeal to me. Although it could simply have been the fact that I was only ever offered bad marzipan. Looking back at some of my old marzipan reviews, it’s clear I wasn’t much of a fan, well into adulthood. But over the years my tastes have changed. I’ve also been lucky enough to try much higher quality confections, and it’s fair to say I’ve come around to the marvels of marzipan. Recently, a representative of Niederegger, one of Europe’s best known marzipan producers, got in touch t ..read more

I don’t get a chance to review a lot of bean-to-bar chocolate these days. That’s partly because I don’t get sent chocolate for review quite as often as I used to, but also because a maker has to be pretty special to catch my eye in a world where new chocolate companies are popping up every week. I’d heard of Fossa Chocolate when my friend Jess offered to send me a few bars, but I’d never tried them for myself. Fossa are a small maker based in Singapore. They work closely with farmers, co-operatives and local ingredient suppliers to produce some extraordinary and unusual flavours. I’ve just ..read more

A year is a long time in blogging, but it’s a whopping thirteen years since we last looked at a product from Summerdown Farms in Hampshire. Back in 2008, Simon looked at some Summerdown peppermint creams. I confess I hadn’t gone through the complete Chocablog archives when they got in touch to ask if they could send a care package, but given the time that has passed, I’m happy looking at them again. As well as Peppermint Creams, Summerdown Farms sent some Peppermint Thins, some Peppermint Tea (not eligible for review on Chocablog, of course!) and a rather lovely mug. Just a side note to PR pe ..read more

It’s fair to say that 2020 hasn’t been the best year for most of us. I’m sure you’re looking forward to it being over as much as I am, and what better way to celebrate the end of a terrible year than by treating yourself to some great Zotter Chocolate. When I’m looking to cheer myself, I’ll usually go for filled or flavoured chocolates more than single origin, high cocoa percentage craft chocolate. It’s quite easy to end up just buying cheep chocolate and feeling guilty, but Zotter is one chocolate maker that lets me satisfy my cravings in the knowledge that I’m getting the best quality, ethi ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve done a full-on chocolate review, but when Kate and Janet from The Mallow Tailor got in touch and asked if I’d like to try some of their filled chocolates, I couldn’t say no. After all, it’s 2020 and I deserve a little more quality chocolate in my life. As is often the case, it turns out that saying yes to chocolate was a good decision on my part. Based in the Brecon Beacons area of South Wales, The Mallow Tailor specialise in beautiful chocolates filled marshmallow, caramel and fruit ganaches. And as you can see, first impressions are very good! Filled Chocolates ..read more

Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of Jennifer Earle’s Chocolate Ecstasy Tours; walking tours of some of London’s best chocolate shops and sweet treat establishments. Unfortunately, the current pandemic has meant that these tours have had to go on hold, and Jen has had to look for other ways to keep the spirit of the tours going, while giving a much needed boost to some of the smaller chocolatiers and chocolate makers who have struggled during the lockdown period. To that end, she has come up with a couple of great ideas for finding great chocolate without ever leaving the comfort of you ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve looked at any mass market confectionery chocolate, but these new Galaxy Vegan chocolate bars really caught my eye when they were announced recently. In theory, creating vegan chocolate is easy. All dark chocolate should be dairy free and therefore vegan. But if you want to replicate the sweetness and creaminess of a milk chocolate, it’s a lot more difficult. There are a few options that manufacturers can use to replace the milk in milk chocolate, but they all have drawbacks. A common one is rice flour, but if you’d ever tried a pure rice milk chocolate, you’ll kno ..read more

Until a few days ago, I didn’t realise how much I needed a hot chocolate shaker in my life. This little plastic cup from The Chocolate Society has changed the way I make hot chocolate for good. What is a hot chocolate shaker? Put simply, it’s just a cup with a lid that allows you to make a perfectly smooth hot chocolate by shaking chocolate with hot milk or water. The simple act of shaking helps the drink form an emulsion much more effectively than stirring or whisking. If you try to shake a hot drink in a normal jar or bottle however, you’re more than likely going to be faced with an explos ..read more