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Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???My trawl through the Hotel Chocolat Summer 2011 Peepster range finishes today with me taking a look at their new Tiramisu slab offering. Long time readers of the site will know that I make very little effort hiding my love for coffee flavoured chocolates. You only need to look at my previous reviews of bars such as Lindt's Excellence Coffee Intense See HERE (now shockingly out of distribution in the UK!!!) to understand just quite how much I love coffee chocolates. Suffice to say the prospect of Hotel Chocolat finally having a go at this terrific combination had me literally salivating. The on-pack description of 'milk and mocha chocolate, cookie pieces and enrobed coffee beans only further fueled my excitement. My expectations for this slab were sky high, it was always going to be hard living up to them.
Just as all the rest this Tiramisu slab came in a 100.0g portion that I consumed slowly over the course of a few days. I would love to say that I had some second opinions on this one but this was a chocolate that I wasn't going ever going to be sharing with anyone haha :D In terms of aesthetic impression the slab looked attractive on the eye with the two tone milk chocolate and decorative white chocolate swirls complimented nicely by the biscuit and coffee bean pieces. Again the same issue about breaking the slab into smaller pieces reared its ugly head, however I was too overcome by the glorious roasted coffee scents being emanated by the chocolate to really take much notice of that.
I feel in no mood to beat around the bush today, so I will let the 'cat out the bag' straight away by revealing this was every bit as great as I hoped it would be. The majority of the bar was comprised of Hotel Chocolat's 40% milk chocolate which of course brought all the usual cream based, fresh cocoa flavours to the party. Across the entire slab, generous portions of lighter coloured, speckled milk chocolate signified the presence of the mocha chocolate - gosh was it nice! The mocha chocolate built upon the base cream flavours with a smooth, roasted coffee influence. The coffee element surprised me with it's strength - it certainly didn't hold back in getting the coffee across in the taste. Whilst the taste was to be marvelled at, the differentiated textures created by the smooth melting chocolate and crunchy biscuit and coffee beans pieces were also fantastic. Speaking of the devils, both the biscuits and coated coffee beans were tremendous additional flavour enhancers. The biscuits brought a lovely shortbread flavour input, whilst the coffee beans brought further big bursts of coffee in every bite where present. Altogether this all made for a delicious and moreish coffee chocolate - at times I just couldn't put it down.
Overall this wasn't the perfect coffee chocolate but it definitely came mighty close. The mocha flavoured chocolate included in this slab was nothing short of phenomenal. It almost became a game breaking off chunks of the plain milk chocolate around it, just so I could save those 'best bits' until last (yes I am one of those weird people haah :D). The other coffee element to this slab, was also inspired - Hotel Chocolat should seriously look into releasing a stand alone coated coffee bean product they are that good! Do I have any minor criticisms!? Well of course I do :D First off I think the 'Tiramisu' name given to the slab is slight misleading given that the chocolate lacked the cheesyness of mascarpone and the boozie influence without any liqueur. Secondly I think it would have been better if the embedded coffee beans had been more spaced out across the slab. Lets not dwell on the negatives :D ... this was one heck of a delicious chocolate that I would recommend to anyone who considers themselves a coffee flavoured chocolate fan. This one gets a big ChocolateMission thumbs up.
8.9 out of 10
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61 comments:
Sheer class from Hotel Chocolat yet again it seems.
This one doesn't match my tastes but I would still give it a try. It would probably be the one in the pack I would fob off on other people who want to nick the others lol.
Your not alone being 'weird' hun don't you worry :) I always love saving the best until last as well. I do it with every meal I eat almost, it drives my friends and parents crazy. Lol the last bite of toast with the most spread on, the last bit of ice cream with the most bits in it ... you name it I do it :) As for this choc ... hmmm not for me I'm afriad. Your review was still lovely to read though :)
Rxxx
Oh well what a surprise the Hotel Chocolat love in continues then
Is this going to go on all summer? It feels like groundhog day. Monday morning, Hotel Chocolat, big score lol. It all goes hand in hand. I'm not going to be one to dispute any of this mind you. I don't think I have ever tried a bad chocolate from Hotel Chocolat.
It doesn't look like you got many coffee beans on that slab mate. If you look at the one of the website it looks like you are supposed to get way more than that. You was robbed lol.
Its great to see this tiramisu do well but I'm sad because it's the last one :( I don't want Hotel Chocolat Mondays to end. Make sure you find something else from them you haven't reviewd. You must be near having done their whole range.
I'm not saying this was predictable ........ it was TOTALLY PEDICATABLE lol =)
There wasn't a chance that you were going to rate a coffee flavoured chocolate from Hotel Chocolat badly. This was almost as certain as Andy Murray not winning Wimbledon.
Come on Jim. A sneaky Hotel Chocolat competition is what masses want. You gotta give the people want they want m8.
For once I'm not going to complain about the price here. I think the value of the four slab pack is awesome. Getting the four in one is such a novel idea, I would of thought they would have charged more if anything.
I think the big slabs are overly expensive but this is very reasonable I think. Top review Jim. You have me convinced at least.
I've had chocolate coated coffee beans before but I've not been able to find a reliable source for them. They are so nice, if anyone knows of any good brands that make them I would love to hear where they sell them.
I had the nicest coffee flavoured ice cream last weekend. It was so so nice.
Its not new idea basing a chocolate on a dessert is it! Lindt, ritter and milka have all been doing it for ages. Its just new in this country I think you will find. Only the smaller companies have been the ones making them so no one has ever really noticed them. Good on Hotel Chocolat for making a good fist of them.
It must be so much better for you when you get to write about chocolates you like rather than the ones you don't. I don't suppose that happens much with Hotel Chocolat anyway does it. I can't remember the last time you said to us that you didn't like something you got given from them. I would stir up trouble and say that you work for them, but I know full well where you work now ;)
Dx
p.s. before anyone says i'm a stalker Jim sent me a prize once with a note on headed note paper lol.
Not quite a 9!!! Under my rules I don't need to buy this one now ..... lol I will probably still end up doing so at some point.
Gee whizz this is something I thought we would never see.
I'm half convinced I should buy one of these for my girlfriend. I know if I do she will be distracted by the Eton Mess one so in the mean time I can make good work of this tiramisu :) This makes me sound really bad lol. Im a sneaky guy.
I think this might be a chocolate I would like even thiough I don't like coffee as a drink lol.
It's not that I don't like it as a drink, its more that I prefer other hot drinks like tea or hot choc. My favourite coffee thing ever was that ice cream they used to do in the ben and jerries scoop shop at the cinema. Mmmmmmm that was so lush.
Why have you given them such a good mark if they missed out a fundamental part of the pudding?
If this was any other company you would have lambasted them for leaving out the alcohol. Just because its Hotel chocolat you let it slide. Try denying you are biased now.
Hey J
You got to stop doing this to us all matey. There is only so much resolve one guy has you know ;) I think before the summer season is finished you are going to crack me and make me place an order. I 100% can't afford it at the moment so there is no way I can right now. That will all change at the end of the month when I get paid though lol.
You looking forward to the transfer funny business starting up again for the week today? Nani to Milan? Adam to Liverpool? They could both happen you know!
Cheers
N
God if only I had the money to spend on chocs like this. I just have to dream for the time being.
Jim have you tried some of the new thorntons ice cream yet? I had some yesterday, it was just perfect for the sweltering weather. Give the triple chocolate one they do a review if you get the opp.
We want ice cream :p
They should have gone for a Creme Caramel theme chocolate and not tiramisu. Everyone knows that CC is by far the better dessert ;)
This is just getting ridiculous. It's like these people can do no wrong lol. I'm not doubting you or anything, it would just be nice to see they are still human and make rubbish chocolates every so often. They must have some humdingers amongst it all.
Sorry I haven't posted much lately jim I have been on holiday.
I have a lot of hotel chocolat mondayss to catch up on ..... brilliant! Just the way I like it!
Jim I love the pics but next time can we have a shot that looks straight down on it. Its cool seeing whats inside but I think when doing these slabs its always best to see the top view cause then you can see what they've put in and where. Its just a suggestion.
Nothing beats hotel chocolat mondays. I read your site on my way to work on my kindle everyday without fail. I'm a big fan of yours Jim congratulations on such a great website. I wish I had this idea lol.
9.5 for taste!!! Thats unheard of isn't it?
You have such a marvellous archive of Hotel Chocolat reviews now. I just looked at the label on the left and it says you have done 119 posts on these people alone. Thats just incredible. A lifetime of chocolate alone there!
p.s. COME ON ANDY MURRAY
Well its taken them a while but at least they got it right once they did it lol. I know you've been waiting a long time for them to make a coffee choc like this one Jim You must be pleased that it was as good as you could have hoped it had been - 8.9 is pretty Whatoutstanding as a rating from you. Am i right in thinking you are just waiting for the extra strength one now? An espresso one has to be in the pipeline if they have any sense.
I was going to buy this sleekster set but now I think i'm better off just buying a big version of the Mississippi. This one doesn't interest me cause of the coffee, the eton I've had before and the lemon cheesecake wasn't givn a very good score Thanks for the help narrowing them down Jim.
I was in hotel chocolat on Saturday and got given a sample of one of these http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/src/cj/Catch-of-the-Day-Milk-P111125/
It had the most gorgeous praline in them. I think I'm going back to buy some next time i'm up town.
Richard I agree with you about the price being good. It used to be even better you know. This used to cost £12 I think. Its a shame they jacked up the prices a bit but I think all these companies have done so lately.
Are you associated with Hotel Chocolat at all or do you just carry their advertising for revenue?
This sounds like a dream chocolate for me. Thanks for the review, you've confirmed in my mind that this is good enough for buying now. Have a nice day.
Thumbs up for another wicked review Jim. If you ever enlist anyone to help you run the site please let me know. I would love writing a review for you if you provide me the chocolate :) You must get this alot lol.
Oh dear god. You've rated this higher than the eton mess slab. FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL!!!! You call yourself a chocolate reviewer tut tut!
Is it me or does coffee just not feel like a summer flavour? i always associate it with being consumed hot which isn't the sort of feeling I want from a summer chocolate.
i eat far less chocolate anyway during the summer but whenever I do I like it to be light and refreshing. That sort of lends itself much better to the fruit ones you can get.
Hi All,
Hotel Chocolat Monday appears to be another success. I'm glad you are all seemingly enjoying them - just so you are aware they will be continuing next week even though I have finished my reviews of this peepster selection.
I will keep this short today as there is some glorious sunshine out there which we should all be enjoying. I hope you are all making the most of it.
RACHEL - Don't you worry. I think the weird people are the ones that don't save the best bits until last myself :D
NICK - Not groundhog day. Just reality chap :D
DAVID - Well Muzza didn't do to badly today did he :D
RICHARD - Its good to hear about a price that finally meets your approval :D Its been awhile since you have said that I believe.
DAISY - Oh come on :D We all know you are really my stalker.
MEL - B&Js coffee ice cream!? When and where did this happen and why was I never informed :D
ANON - Because it was still very tasty thats why :D I'm getting a little bored of these so called 'biased' comments.
NIGEL - Looks like we signed David De Gea today. I'm very pleased about that, he looks a quality keeper.
JUSTINE - I have seen them instore but not tried them yet. I think with this hot weather that my change if it continues.
KELS - Agreed I do like a spot of creme caramel myself. Either that or panacotta.
SCOTT - Feedback taken on-board. Thanks.
ANON - No way. Some products have got the 10 out of 10 for taste before.
IAN - Indeed the next step is to get an espresso one out of them. I can but hope it comes around one day.
ANON - No association with Hotel Chocolat at all this end.
MYSTERIO - This slab outscores the Eton Mess by 0.2 ... it's hardly like I am saying it's significantly better. It's just my opinion.
LINDA - It's not the most traditional summer flavour no. I think you may have a point about the fruit flavours being more suitable. That would probably be a general consensus amongst most.
Thanks for the feedback to the review today everyone. The Hotel Chocolat Mondays will continue for the time being ... like some of you allude to though, it's getting to the point where I'm nearing having reviewed most the things they make haha!
JIM
The thought of anything to do with coffee makes me feel ill today lol. Its so so hot here in london.
I need some ice cream to cool down.
From my experience i would have ranked them like this
4th mississippi - a bit boring compared to the others
3rd lemon cheesecake - very nice
2nd Tiramisu - I didn't notice it lacked the booze lol. A spot of brandy could have made it better
1st - eton mess - one of the best chocolates I think has ever been made :)
We nearly agree but differ in our top two i think.
My latest HC order should be arriving any day now =) I can't wait to get stuck into my eton mess slab woop!! I only hope it hasn't been melted in the post. That would be a disaster. I hope they have insured this hasn't happened.
I've been thinking and i think it would be the most amazing thing ever if HC did a 'create your own slab flavour' compeition.
Imagine creating a flavour and it actually coming out in the shops. That would be so cool. The bonus is 9 times out of 10 they are going to make it taste nice aswell lol.
They did pick a really good mixture of desserts to base these chocolates on this year. Next year I would like them to take a different tangent on it though They should stick to a British theme and have some of these ...
Eton Mess (keep this one lol)
Spotted Dick (have fruit bits and custard ice cream)
Treacle Tart (syrup flavoured white chocolate swirled with custard white chocolate and toffee bits)
Summer Pudding (white chocolate but with all sorts of dried fruits like blueberries, cranberries etc)
Lol you might be able to tell I like white choclate. What you think guys?
Jim you still haven't done those cherry pop or lemonade slabs for us. Chop chop pal we need to hear if they are are any good before the stock runs out. Can you post them next please.
I'm starting to think these people are a bit of alright making this chocolate stuff :-)
LMAO HC are just terrific aren't they. I'm so proud they are a British firm. I would love for them to get more popular so that the rest of the world can start seeing how brilliant they are. I don't think we have the best reputation when it comes to our chocolate anymore what with Cadburys being slowly americanised by Kraft. Go Hotel Chocolate GO!!
Thanks for the review choccie man. I said this last week to you but I do love that you start each week with something from Hotel Choc. It makes sure there is something decent for me to read when I get in to the office all depressed about the week ahead lol.
I thought my roommate loved coffee chocolates the most... however I now know that is not true. That's some intense chocolate passion! I don't care for coffee chocolates (don't hate me) but I respect this chocolate! Keep up the good reviews!
As predictable as this was I still enjoyed your review mate lol. Whenever coffee comes up I always think you are going to give out a good mark. Its only very rarely you don't. We all have our favourite things I suppose.
This would have gone perfectly with the starbucks iced latte I just had :)
Are you ever going to review the cherry pop or lemonade slabs? I've been wanting to hear your thoughts on them for yonks.
This settles it for me now. Rather than buy the whole peepster selection I think I'm jus going to buy one big slab of mississippi and one big one of this tiramisu flavour. The thing is I've had the eton mess before and the lemon cheesecake isn't one that interests me all that much. I think I would much prefer just having more of the two I just said.
We have such different views on chocolates Jim. Lol im looking back at your review of the lemon cheesecake and I know for starters that would be a favourite for me. Now you rate this one the best of the lot and I hate coffee =)
I respect all your reviews but sometimes I have to take them with a pinch of salt
Tiramisu without booze? Thats not right at all!!!!! Thats like making an eton mess but without the strawberries. How can you give a good rating for that.
You aren't going to stop the HC monday reviews now you have finished these are you :(
I can think of a few other desserts I would have rather have seen them have a go at (key lime pie!!!!!) but I'm glad they had this one in there. Nothing beats a well made tiramisu. I tried making it once but it didn't come out as I hoped it would. Lol I out a little too much rum in the bottom and it overpowered the sponge for people. It was quite funny though because it was so potent it got my nan a bit drunk lol.
I've tried so many so called tiramisu chocolates before and none of them have ever 100% captured the essence of the dessert. Its got to the point where I just don't bother with those gimmicky sounding chocolates anymore. They never end up tasting like they should do so I just prefer plainer chocolates now.
You need to show everyone the new summer desserts J. I got the small 8 pack of them and I will be going back for one of the larger boxes now. Out of ten I would give it a 9. Some of the chocolates are the best I have ever tasted.
I created a list of chocolates I've seen on here lately that I want to buy and 9 out of 12 of them were made by hotel chocolate LOL. Its silly really because I never end up getting any of their chocolates because they don't have a shop near me. The silly postage costs and the thought of them being handled by the idiots at the royal mail put me off online ordering. I would imagine chocolates would get ruined in the post, they aren't the best thing to send are they.
Well it appears you have been having a lot better time with these hotel chocolat summer chocolates than I had with the latest thorntons summer collection. Have you seen it yet? Its the one in the yellow box, im sure you would have as you can buy it anywhere lol.
Trust me Chocolate mission readers Its not worth your time. Just save your pennies for something more special.
+1 to the people asking for the lemonade slab review please.
RALPH - It was exceptionally hot today wasn't it.
MARTIN - Create your own slab? Hmmm I can't see Hotel Chocolat being in a position to do that soon.
LAUREN - This sort of idea has been mentioned before! I like your spotted dick one :D that would be a cool one to see.
LOUISE - I'm glad my reviews bring happyness to your Monday mornings :D
KP - Look out for those reviews soon chap! They are on the way I assure you!
TIM - See above. Hotel Chocolat Mondays will continue for a while yet.
YASMINE - Haha that story about your nan made me chuckle :D
JK - I got a review of them coming up soon chap.
PATTRA - I'm not at all surprised to hear a lot on your list are Hotel Chocolat. They have been coming up with the goods recently.
Thanks guys and girls
JIM
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