Monday, June 22, 2015

Royce’ Pure Chocolate Venezuela Bitter & Ghana Sweet

DSC_9063rbWhen I was in New York City earlier this year, I wanted to take advantage of the chocolate. I saw online that the Japanese chocolate company, Royce’, has several locations in Manhattan and offers tastings of the chocolate and Nama, truffle-like product. I don’t know that much about Royce’, but my experience with Japanese chocolate up until then was with mass-produced brands like Meiji, so I wanted to see what a single origin upscale brand might be like.

I stopped by a location on Madison Avenue, and was greeted promptly and offered some tastings. It’s a standard panel of tastings that focused on the Nama but also a few pieces of their plain chocolate disks. The chocolate was exceptionally smooth, flavorful but not intense. Since I was traveling and the fellow insisted that the truffles must be refrigerated, I bought a box of the Royce’ Pure Chocolate Venezuela Bitter & Ghana Sweet. This box contains two rows of rippled chocolate disks, one of 68% and one of 60% of two separate origins.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor

I wasn’t thrilled when I read the ingredients, finally after I left the store. I didn’t realize that a dark chocolate product would have milk in it, as if it were some Ghirardelli or Dove product. But it was really the artificial flavor that I thought was odd ... I can only assume them mean vanillin, in addition to real vanilla.

DSC_9181rb

The little disks are individually sealed in cellophane. They’re a little over 1.5 inches across. It’s a nice, two bite piece.

The Ghana is quite sweet, very smooth and with a typical chocolate flavor profile. It’s brownies and chocolate milk and cocoa. There’s a little acidic note to it, but for the most part it’s woodsy and smoky and toasted. The melt is good, very smooth with an odd grit every once in a while.

The Venezuela has an immediate green note to the scent, a little like olives or boiled peanuts. The melt, again, exceptionally smooth. This is a bit more buttery though. The flavor is more acidic, less sweet with some stronger tannins. There are some red berry notes, more olives, black tea and tobacco.

I absolutely preferred the Venezuelan over the Ghana.

The box was price at $17 for only 7 ounces. The packaging is pretty spare looking, though the reality is there’s a lot of it. The paperboard box is wrapped in brown paper, but inside the box is a plastic tray for each of the chocolate disk rows. Then there was the individual wrappers. It all traveled well, and stores nicely. It’s been months and they’re still fresh and shiny, though there are only about 5 left.

Royce’ also makes chocolate covered potato chips, chocolate covered nuts, and chocolate bars with inclusions.

Related Candies

  1. Willie’s Cacao - Venezuelan Gold 72%
  2. Meiji Dark Rum Chocolate Sticks
  3. Kauai Chocolate Tour plus Nanea & Madre Chocolate Bars
  4. Fujiya Look Wafers & Crepes
  5. Six Kilos of Felchlin Arriba 72% Chocolate
  6. Meiji Milk Chocolate
  7. Amadei
  8. Hanahiyori - Green Tea White Chocolates


Name: Pure Chocolate Venezuela Bitter & Ghana Sweet
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Royce’ Chocolate
Place Purchased: Royce' Chocolate (Manhattan)
Price: $17.00
Size: 7.1 ounces
Calories per ounce: 170
Categories: Candy, Chocolate, 7-Worth It, Japan

POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:12 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewChocolateSingle Origin7-Worth ItJapan

Comments
  1. I like Royce’s macadamia nuts covered in chocolate and their gianduja truffle. Both are in small boxes. I also enjoy their chocolate covered potato chips. I don’t have any other to compare them with here in my country so I think they’re pretty good.

    Comment by Angelica on 6/22/15 at 9:13 pm #
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