As mentioned in a previous post I recently discovered that there is a good possibility I have an allergy to soy and soy products. Since then I have been trying hard to avoid all products that contain soy. Since then I have found out that soy in some form is in almost everything!

This evening I wanted to have a warm drink after dinner so I decided to have some hot chocolate. I was going to have my Nestle Carnation hot chocolate but after reading the ingredients I was put off it. One of the 17 ingredients listed was hydrogenated vegetable oil (which may contain coconut, palm kernel, and or soybean oil). Why does a hot chocolate powder need to have oil in it?

I was pretty annoyed to learn  that my stand by hot chocolate even has soy products in it. I decided to check out the ingredients on my gourmet hot chocolate that was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend a year ago. I was very happy to learn that there are no soy products in my most treasured hot chocolate flakes. These chocolate flakes came from the Chocolate Trading Company over in the UK. There are only 4 ingredients in this hot chocolate! It contains: fine dark chocolate flakes 72% cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and bourbon vinilla pod. I made myself a mug of hot milk immediately and had a lovely cup of my favorite hot chocolate. In the past I often had the Nestle hot chocolate instead of my chocolate flakes because I only have a limited amount of my gourmet hot chocolate so I like to save it for special occasions.

Here is my gourmet hot chocolate from the Chocolate Trading Company

Each mug of hot chocolate requires 1-2 heaped dessert spoons of chocolate flakes. I find that this is the perfect amount of chocolate. I love this hot chocolate because it’s not too sweet, it’s a little taste of chocolate heaven. Best of all it doesn’t have any soy products in it!

I don’t have much left in my package of chocolate flakes, but I am pretty sure I’ll be buying some myself from the Chocolate Trading Company when they are all gone!

Today I was in the mood for chocolate. Since I still have a lot of the chocolate my boyfriend gave me for Christmas I decided to have some of that. I chose to have a Mister Booja Booja Organic, Dairy Free Champagne Truffle from the Chocolate Trading Company.

Before tasting my truffle I cleared my mouth with some cool filtered water.

These chocolate truffles are made with dark chocolate (cocoa solids 56%, cane sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla), coconut oil, corn syrup, and organic French champagne (9%).

Here are my impressions on these truffles.

Upon opening the box I smelled rich dark chocolate. Visually each truffle is lightly dusted in coco powder. Upon tasting a truffle I tasted pure luxurious dark chocolate. The texture is silky smooth. As the chocolate gradually melted in my mouth I tasted the pure champagne. The champagne was a distinct yet not overpowering flavor. It was the perfect amount of champagne to tantalize the taste buds.

The experience of sampling a Booja Booja Champagne Truffle was that of pure ecstasy.

Its was like taking a trip to a world of sensuality. It’s melt in your mouth joy.

I would recommend these truffles to all truffle lovers! If you are a lover of chocolate with a hint of alcohol of any kind you will likely love these amazing truffles.

To learn more about these truffles check out this website www.BoojaBooja.com

Indulge your senses in a little taste of heaven.

As mentioned previously I received a variety of different chocolates from my boyfriend, for Christmas. These chocolates were from the Chocolate Trading Company (which be bought online since we don’t live in the UK.).

Today’s review is of 64% Single Origin Madagascar Superior Dark Chocolate.

Before I started this tasting, I cleared my mouth with pure filtered water. It was cool, but not cold. I sampled this chocolate between breakfast and lunch.

This chocolate is made with pure coco butter and real vanilla. It contains no preservatives, artificial flavors or vegetable fats.

The ingredients in this chocolate are as follows: dark chocolate, 64% cocoa min. Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, natural vanilla, emulsifier, Soya lecithin.

This chocolate is made in France.

For this review I sampled three pieces of chocolate.

Here are my impressions from my tasting.

Initial Impression: This chocolate has an earthy aroma. It has a very dark brown, slightly shiny appearance. It also may have a scant amount of coco butter bloom. This I learned is a white, powdery-looking coating on chocolate. It occurs when the chocolate is improperly stored. I learned this from a book I recently bought called: Discover Chocolate; The Ultimate Guide to Buying, Tasting, and Enjoying Fine Chocolate by Clay Gordon. The chocolate has a crisp snap to it. This is characteristic of a high quality chocolate.

Taste Impressions

Initial

When I first put a piece of chocolate in my mouth, I let it melt for a few seconds. The initial flavors I tasted were; earthy, and wood flavors.

Middle

As I let the chocolate melt in my mouth the earthy, wood flavors were intensified. As I started to chew the chocolate I noted that it was slightly crunchy but then super smooth. It tasted very pure, and not too sweet.

Long

The chocolate left a pleasant short after taste in my mouth, and no long term after taste.

My over all rating of this chocolate would be an 8/10 ( 10 being the highest possible score). It is was exqusite chocolate experience.

There was tons of snow on the ground, and it was sunny. However despite the sun, it lightly snowed on and off though out the day.

I had a quite Christmas at home with my parents (and dog). My brother and sister-in law stopped by for a short visit in the afternoon. They dropped off gifts for us. This is what they gave me. It is stylish.

Since it was a beautiful day and the roads were good, I decided to do some picture taking. I went to one of my favorite parks: Piper’s Lagoon, and took a few photos. There was very little snow there compared to where I live.

Here are a few photos I took.

For Christmas I received a few very lovely gifts. The first one is my favorite. My boyfriend gave me a huge selection of chocolate from The Chocolate Trading Company. Here is a link to their website if you are interested: http://www.chocolatetradingco.com/mainpage.asp?

I am head over heals in love with this chocolate. I have yet to try some of the varieties but from what I have tried, the Booja-Booja organic truffles are my favorite by far. Each time I eat one of these I am taken to another place. It is pure delight. It is a sensual experience like none other. This is one chocolate that is a must try for all chocoholics.

Below are some picture of my chocolates. Stayed turned for more up close profiles of each chocolate variety.