BRIK Tiles – Industrial Chocolate But Not As You Know It

Think of terrazzo and you'll picture the composite construction material, studded with marble, quartz or granite chips that adorn the floors and walls of swanky million pound apartments. The last thing you'd picture is a slab of chocolate.

Yet Raffaella Baruzzo and Kia Utzon-Frank at London's BRIK have created a mesmerising collection of beautiful, industrial, and tactile chocolate art. Termed 'tiles', these chocolate slabs feature patterns mimicking industrial terrazzo to delight the eyes, and a medley of unusual flavours to tickle your taste buds.

I had the pleasure in meeting Raffaella on a trip to London, and was interested to discover the role Chantal Coady OBE played in kickstarting her career at Rococo. There, she explained how Kia and Raffaella have enjoyed great success, with incredible commissions from huge multinational brands for bespoke terrazzo sculptures and extravagant art installations. There's also a community of 11,850+ students learning from Kia on the Domestika platform.

On Domestika, Kia describes herself as a designer and creative director, seeking "to create unique experiences with chocolate." She seeks to create chocolates that look like industrial materials, to create a wow factor and amazement when recipients realise they can eat it. Crucially, she designs experiences for all the senses, and that's key here. The beautiful terrazzo tiles seek to delight all of your senses. This is culinary and artistic expression, all rolled into one experience.

Raffaella kindly sent me home with a selection of edible wood, terrazzo and terrazzo so I could better understand their proposition.

Packaging

The duo have opted for an industrial design of packaging, befitting of the chocolate within, yet it's tactile and curiously elegant in its simplicity.

Each craft board box is wrapped in a coloured sleeve, with a teaser image of what's inside along the bottom edge.

The BRIK name proudly stands out on the front in black, with the product name and recipe code number at the bottom. On the reverse is a list of ingredients and the nutritional information.

Pull the sleeve off to reveal a brown craft board box, together with its own craft board sleeve. Think Russian dolls in packaging form! The sleeve is simply decorated with the BRIK Chocolate logo and is standardised across the range.

Pull this off and you reveal the edible work of art, sealed inside a clear biodegradable and compostable wrapper. You'll also find a handy card, with tasting notes and a flavour profile map for the chocolate.

BRIK Chocolate Tile Reviews

There's no denying that these 55g chocolate slabs look amazing. But how do they taste?

To find out, I reluctantly had to destroy these beautiful art pieces. You know a chocolatier has nailed their design when it's mortifying having to destroy it in order to eat it!

001 Salted Caramel & Passion Fruit Chocolate Terrazzo Tile

• What is it? Caramel chocolate with salted and freeze dried passion fruit chips.
• Sugars: 50.3%.
• Tasting notes: Sweet, buttery caramel complimented by tangy busts of passion fruit and hints of salt.
• Flavour profile: Sweet and salty, with a hint of sourness and umami.

BRIK Salted Caramel & Passion Fruit Chocolate Terrazzo Tile ingredients:
White chocolate with caramel (cocoa butter, sugar, whole milk powder, milk sugar, whey powder, skimmed milk powder, caramelised sugar, emulsifier: (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), salt, white chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), passion fruit powder (passion fruit pulp, maltodextrine), natural yellow colour (safflower, lemon), natural blue colour (spirulina, apple). Cocoa solids: 30.1% minimum (gold chocolate); 25.9% minimum (white chocolate).

Sweet, buttery caramel notes dominate the aroma, with lactic undertones. Immediately on tasting, there's a zesty tang to it. Whereas the Gold (caramel) chocolate flavour is eager to dominate, the tropical passion fruit strand is leisurely, developing more so in the aftertaste, where it lasts longer than the chocolate notes. A touch of salt adds an almost savoury twist to the who affair.

I'm not a salted caramel fan, but I loved the playfulness of this tile, combining two very distinct flavours into one bite that delivers long into the aftertaste.

002 Sesame, Charcoal & Orange Chocolate Terrazzo Tile

• What is it? 70% dark chocolate with activated charcoal, orange essential oil and sesame oil chips.
• Sugars: 35%.
• Tasting notes: Dark and bitter, cut with sweet orange and a slight nutty edge.
• Flavour profile: Sweet and bitter, with a hint of umami.

BRIK Sesame, Charcoal & Orange Chocolate Terrazzo Tile ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, fat-reduced cocoa powder, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring)), activated coconut charcoal, orange essential oil, white chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), sesame oil, cacao nibs. Cocoa solids: 66.4% minimum (dark chocolate); 26.3% minimum (white chocolate).

Bitter orange dominates the aroma, but there's an almost earthy and nutty quality that sits very slightly beneath this.

The chocolate has a dry, matt texture to begin with, but softens up as it melts. The orange flavour is prominent, but makes way for the rich dark chocolate strands to develop.

There's a faint earthy quality with a mildly gritty texture, and I guess that this is the charcoal, which also imparts its jet black hues into the colour of this tile.

It's not particularly bitter, although a touch of this develops towards the end of the melt. That's also where the sesame flavours become alive, just as the orange fades. It's a lovely combination and again, is a playful pairing that works well together.

003 Ruby, Ginger & Lemongrass Chocolate Terrazzo Tile

• What is it? Ruby chocolate with lemongrass, ginger oil and spirulina powder chips.
• Sugars: 51.1%.
• Tasting notes: Tart and fruity notes complimented by warming ginger and floral citrus lemongrass notes, with an earthiness from green spirulina.
• Flavour profile: Sweet and sour, with a hint of umami.

BRIK Ruby, Ginger & Lemongrass Chocolate Terrazzo Tile ingredients:
Ruby chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), citric acid, natural vanilla flavouring), ginger essential oil, green chocolate chips (white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), lemongrass essential oil, spirulina). Cocoa solids: 45.9% minimum (ruby chocolate); 28.2% minimum (white chocolate).

First and foremost, ignore the colour. When I photograph ruby chocolate, it seems to always bring out its greyish colour tones. It is, in fact, a subtle baby pink.

Ginger and lemongrass notes rule the roost here, both in terms of aroma and flavour, and of the two, it's the aromatic lemongrass that wins.

The lemongrass releases its warming fragrance and flavour throughout the melt, while the ginger adds just a touch of heat to the party.

The choice to use ruby chocolate here is both unexpected and welcomed. It is a slightly tangy, slightly sour vehicle that contrasts against the ginger and lemongrass flavours in a way that doesn't compromise them. There's a subtle white chocolate flavour that creeps through, adding sweetness and a dash of creaminess to the mix, balancing everything out perfectly.

Again, this is another hit for me, striking the perfect blend of flavours and sensations.

201 Caramel, Reishi & Sea Buckthorn Chocolate Marble Tile

• What is it? Caramel chocolate with reishi mushroom powder and sea buckthorn powder.
• Sugars: 47.8%.
• Tasting notes: Tart sea buckthorn meets rich, woody notes of the Chinese reishi mushrooms, balanced in a buttery caramel flavour.
• Flavour profile: Sweet and sour, with a hint of umami.

BRIK Caramel, Reishi & Sea Buckthorn Chocolate Marble Tile ingredients:
Caramel chocolate (cocoa butter, sugar, Whole milk powder, milk sugar, whey powder, skimmed milk powder, caramelised sugar (2%), emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring, salt), sea buckthorn powder, reishi mushroom powder, charcoal. Milk solids 28.3% minimum; Cocoa butter 30.4% minimum.

This one scared me. I'm not overly keen on mushroom chocolate, but the undulating golden hues tempted me in. The aroma is borderline uncomfortable, with a notably savoury, earthy quality jostling with a sweet, creamy, buttery caramel fragrance. Two polar opposites coming together as one.

What does it taste like? Despite my reservations, this one's a curious mix that seems to tick off all taste sensations in one go. There's sweet, and sour, and tart, and tangy and salty, The caramel notes dominates throughout. The mushrooms come through and just before you've had time to process it, the tangy sea buckthorn steps into the light, leading you down a different path. There's a grainy texture (think of raspberry seeds and you'll get the idea), but these 'pips' release pops of tangy flavour as your crunch them.

The caramel flavour sticks around until the aftertaste, where it fades, leaving behind the sea buckthorn to dance away. Thankfully, the reishi didn't dominate here, but it certainly was used in a creative manner with great effect.

302 70% Dark & Black Espresso Chocolate Wood Tile

• What is it? 70% dark chocolate with coffee nibs.
• Sugars: 24%.
• Tasting notes: Rich and robust dark chocolate with caramel and nutty notes from coarsely ground Arabic coffee beans.
• Flavour profile: Bitter, with a touch of sourness, sweetness, and umami.

BRIK 70% Dark & Black Espresso Chocolate Wood Tile ingredients:
Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, ground coffee. Cocoa solids: 70% minimum

I do love myself a good coffee chocolate combo, and this looks like it fits the bill perfectly. An earthy ground coffee aroma dominates, with rich, smokey notes to boot.

The crunchy coffee bean topping adds flavour and texture to this bar, while the 70% dark chocolate adds a rich, mildly bitter background. The ground coffee beans sit front and centre here, with the chocolate fading away into the background. It's powerless to fight against the fruity, rich, full-bodied espresso notes that swirl around in your mouth.

While perhaps not exciting as the flavour combinations above, this one plays with textures the most. If you love chocolate covered coffee beans, this is your chocolate bar equivalent.

Where to Buy Online

Be sure to visit the BRIK website to check out the concrete, terrazzo and marble effect chocolate slabs to see the impressive array of lifelike building material inspired art that you can eat. Each 55g tile is priced at £9.95.

There's plenty of flavours I'm yet to sample, but based on this batch, I'd be mad not to seek them out. That list includes: 005 Rosemary and Lemon; 102 Grapefruit and Black Pepper; and 202 Kumquat and Sichuan Pepper.

Separately, I signed up to Domestika and become one of the 11,850+ strong community, mainly as I'm curious about the techniques Kia and Raffaella have developed. It's been a while since I've played around with chocolate in the kitchen and this is a great excuse to get back in there. The RRP for this course is £59.90, but you should be able to join the course for around £20 when it's on offer.

Which of the slabs would you try first? What do you think of the Reishi slab? Let me know in the comments below.

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