Top Pick Of The Week

April 13, 2010

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The chocolates are color-coded, so you always know what flavor you’re getting. All photography by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE.

WHAT IT IS: Molded solid chocolate “bonbons” flavored with spices.
WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: There are spicy chocolate bars and tea-infused chocolate bars on the market, but they’re not fancy or giftable. Here are handsome boxes of chocolate with solid molded chocolates, infused with delicious flavors.
WHY WE LOVE IT: The chocolates are flavorful, different, special and cholesterol-free.
WHERE TO BUY IT: SpiceRackChocolates.com.
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Spice Rack Chocolate
Page 2: Varieties Of Spiced Chocolate

 

This is Page 2 of a two-page review. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.

INDEX OF REVIEW

MORE TO DISCOVER

Varieties Of Spice Rack Chocolates

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and pick the collection of chocolates infused with your favorite flavors. If you want all of them, we concur. If you need some guidance, we suggest, in alphabetical order, En Fuego, Spice Rack and Spiced Fruit.

Each box of chocolate contains 15 pieces of pure 54% cacao (semisweet) solid dark chocolates infused with fresh herbs, spices and oils. Each collection contains a color-coded flavor guide and a tasting guide (the chocolates are hand-painted with colored cocoa butter to both “color code” the flavor and add a splash of Helen Frankenthaler).

Coffee Break Collection. In partnership with Higher Ground, Spice Rack Chocolates uses Fair Trade, organic and shade grown coffees of specialty grade. Coffees include Bolivian Caranavi, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Harfusa, Mexican Chiapas, Mocha Java Hazelnut and Peruvian. You can taste the difference, and there’s a delicate bit of coffee bean crunch.

En Fuego Collection. For those who like things hot (and we love heat and chocolate!), this international tour of heat includes Crushed Thai Chilies, Intense Indian Curry, Japanese Wasabi,  Smokey Chipotle Peppers and Spicy Cayenne and Chili Powder.

 


These chocolates go well with spirits and liqueurs, as well as with tea and coffee. Serve them after dinner or nibble on them anytime.

On The Rocks Collection.  There is no alcohol in these flavors; extracts are used. So feel free to share them with the under-21 set. The flavors include Amaretto, Butterscotch Brandy, Orange Cognac, Piña Colada and Rum and Cola. (This is the one collection we didn’t get a chance to taste.)

Spiced Fruit Collection. Sophisticated palates will enjoy the combinations of Fresh Apple and Coriander, Island Mango and Cracked Black Pepper, Sweet Peach and Dill, Tangy Grapefruit and Lavender and Tropical Pineapple and Ground Ginger.

Spice Rack Collection. The signature collection includes Celtic Smoked Sea Salt and White Ground Pepper, Fresh Lemon with Sweet Basil, Key Lime and Jamaican Curry, Rosemary with Mint Leaves (the original inspiration) and Spicy Cayenne and Chili Powder.

Tea Time Collection. This collection is more about the flavors and less about the tea. Although tea is infused into each chocolate (and you’ll note very tiny bits of leaf in the texture of the chocolate), it’s flavored tea. Thus, pay attention to the flavors—Cherry Rose, Cochin Masala Chai, Orange Earl Grey, Strawberry Tingle and Versailles Lavender—and not to whether you’re tasting black tea or rooibos.

This is an intellectual approach to chocolate rather than a sumptuous one. No creamy ganache or gooey caramel streams onto the palate when you take a bite. No extra cocoa butter is added for a creamier mouthfeel. The chocolates are not sugary—they’re moderately sweet (as chocolate should be) in order to showcase the infusions.

The only challenge, if you order several different boxes, is that each collection uses the exact same shapes and colors. So you can’t put them on a dessert tray or you won’t be able to tell Coffee Break from En Fuego. The solution: Just pass the boxes.


—Karen Hochman

 

Spice Rack Chocolates Overview

Six Collections: Coffee Break, En Fuego, On The Rocks, Spice Rack, Spiced Fruit, Tea Time

  • 15-Piece Gift Box
    $24.99

Purchase online* at
SpiceRackChocolates.com

*Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional. These items are offered by a third party and THE NIBBLE has no relationship with them. Purchase information is provided as a reader convenience.

 

Go To The Article Index Above

 


The handsome, chocolate-colored box opens “book style” and has a magnetic closure. You can repurpose the box when the chocolate is gone.

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