Disclosure: Chuao Chocolate sent me product to facilitate my review. All opinions stated are my own.
Chuao Chocolatier (pronounced chew-WOW) recently sent me three of their popular chocolate bars to sample. Strategically, I chose not to share this information with my DH! I waited for the right moment (created by turning on the Food Network and watching him run back downstairs to the man cave) and dove into a little bit of paradise!
First off, Chuao is the first Venezuelan chocolatier base in the United States. Founded in 2002 by Chef Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard, the Chuao Chocolatier is known for creatively blending ethically sourced cacao and the finest all-natural ingredients into gourmet handcrafted chocolate. As ancestors of legendary Venezuelan cacao farmers from the 1900s, the Antonorsi brothers have a deep-rooted connection to, and love of, chocolate.
On with the chocolate expedition! I have to say that I was very impressed and pleased to find the thought and care that went into the shipping. The bars were wrapped in bubble wrap, and packed with an ice pack, INSIDE a larger reflective bubble wrap bag.
The chocolate arrived safe and sound with absolutely no signs of any melting, despite being delivered to my front porch in Atlanta in late May. Additionally, these bars had no portioning in little squares “a la Hersheys”. They were instead created with a beautiful cacao bean and the Chuao logo design. I appreciated this extra pretty touch.
Contestant Number One: Firecracker – sultry sea salt, smoky chipotle, and popping candy exploding in dark chocolate.
The Firecracker bar is a dark chocolate offering that is 60% cacao, so that automatically earns it brownie points with me. This is a rich dark chocolate with a bit of a tiny crunch reminiscent of Nestle crunch. When the chewing stopped, I felt the the popping candy in the back of my mouth. just like good ole Pop Rocks you probably ate as a kid. It is a brilliant move to include this in a spicy chocolate to produce a “firecracker”-like effect. This bar isn’t too hot and spicy, but the heat builds slowly after the popping stops. Really cool…uh, hot…well, you know what I mean!
Second on the tasting block is the Potato Chip bar – Crisp kettle cooked potato chips and a hint of sea salt, mix and mingle in milk chocolate. “Creamy milk chocolate, a sprinkle of sea salt and that irresistible potato chip crunch. The Potato Chip bar combines two of the most crave-able creations on the planet for total taste bud domination.” While I was most excited about this bar, I was a little underwhelmed. The milk chocolate was creamy and delicious, but I didn’t get a lot of the potato chip part. There were definitely tiny shards of chips, but they only seemed to add crunch, no flavor.
Finally, Honeycomb – luscious amber honey caramelized into crisp bits and enrobed in dark chocolate. It just sounds like it will be incredibly delicious! “Crunchy bits of golden, caramelized honey embrace deep dark chocolate, like secret lovers meeting on a warm summer night. Sweet and decadent, the Honeycomb bar will charm you… one nibble at a time.” This flavor turned out to be my favorite of the three! The honey flavor is very subtle but delicious, and I loved the creamy texture of the chocolate.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it through my “private” tasting session before my DH snuck back in, so I played nice and shared with him. After that, he was in such a good mood that he gave the dog a bath AND washed a load of towels without being asked. Clearly this chocolate has super powers and I intend to use them for good (not evil!), by picking up the next fun flavors on my Chuao list – Maple Bacon and Pop Corn Pop.
I appreciate that all-natural ingredients are used by Chuao’s Master Chocolatier, Michael. The chocolate bars I sampled were all gluten-free, and I could pronounce every ingredient on their labels, which is always nice. You can find Chuao products at Whole Foods, World Market, Target, Crate and Barrel, REI, HEB, and Ralph’s among others. There are a ton of products online, as well, at www.chuaochocolatier.com
Those are fun sounding flavors, I love the pop rock effect idea!
I would love to try the Honeycomb one that one stuck out the most to me, yummo!!
Those would be good for Teacher gifts.
Wow I’ve never seen chocolate in flavors like those! I think the Firecracker bar would be interesting to try but I think I’d LOVE Rocky Road!
Super powers? I could use some of those to get a little extra help around here! Seriously though, these look so delicious!