I was delighted when Rococo Chocolates sent me some of their mini "Bee bars" to review recently. I'd heard good things about the company online for ages but never got to try any of their stuff so was very excited...even more so because of the varieties they sent! :-
Raspberry Fizz: a white chocolate bar containing dried rasberry pieces and popping candy, Basil & Persian Lime: basil and lime flavoured dark chocolate,
Morrocan Mint: mint-flavoured organic dark chocolate,
Honeycomb Crunch: milk chocolate containing crunchy honeycomb pieces.
The first two flavours in particular had me very intrigued!
A bit of background: Rococo are a small British chocolatier based in London, who grow their own cocoa in Grenada in partnership with The Grenada Chocolate Company. They were founded in 1983 by a young woman called Chantal Coady who became bored with the stuffy, commercial norms of chocolate retailing and decided to follow her passion and set up her own company. For more on Rococo's background you can check out their website HERE.
So how does their chocolate taste? Pretty amazing, as it turns out! Below are my thoughts on each "Bee bar":
Raspberry Fizz:
Unfortunately this bar had broken apart in the post, which is a shame because it's really quite beautiful - very clean and glossy, with a fantastically moulded bee shape on each piece. The chocolate tasted very light and creamy, and melted in the mouth with ease. The raspberry pieces added a lovely fruity zing whilst the popping candy gave a gentle crackle in the mouth. It wasn't particularly strong - just a light, pleasant fizzing sensastion, which I imagine is welcome news to those who hate popping candy! Overall, a good quality and fun white chocolate bar - highly recommend! 9 out of 10.
Basil & Persian Lime:
This bar was also unfortunately damaged in the post, and on smelling the faint aroma of basil wafting from it I was a bit worried I wouldn't enjoy it at all. Placing a piece in my mouth I was met with a rich dark chocolate with a subtle basil flavour, and at first couldn't decide whether I liked it or not. Then the flavor of lime kicked in, tempering the herby flavor and giving it a refreshing fruitiness. After getting over the shock of eating herb flavoured chocolate I actually rather enjoyed it...the flavours work together surprisingly well! Overall, as weird as this bar sounds it was a revelation to me - highly recommended! 9 out of 10.
Morrocan Mint:
I kind of expected this one to taste of a generic minty chocolate, but it turned out to be a lot nicer than that! The dark chocolate very rich and flavoursome, and the peppermint added a soothing, subtle mint flavor. Overall, a nice balance of richness and mintiness. 9 out of 10.
Honeycomb Crunch:
Last but not least is this Honeycomb Crunch bar. It tasted delicious, with creamy melt-in-the mouth milk chocolate that tasted rich and flavoursome, with the sweet bits of honeycomb giving it a lovely crunch. It's a simple but moreish combination. 9 out of 10.
Overall:
Well I have to say Rococo really surprised me with these bars; each and every one of them was delicious in its own right and all were excellent quality. The Basil and Lime and Raspberry Fizz stood out most thanks to their interesting flavor combinations - they're very unique bars, and I think Chantal Coady has kept true to her vision of producing exciting chocolates that are anything but "stuffy"!
You can check out Rococo's Bee Bars online HERE, as well as many other interesting chocolates from their range.
*These bars were sent to me for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.