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You may recall that in my review of Choc Affair's summer chocolate bar flavours, I mentioned I bought three Christmas flavours too.
This year, Linda opted for warming and comforting flavours, and quite honestly, the brutal year that 2020 has become deserves a dose of such flavours.
While tempted by the dizzying choice of chocolate hampers and hot chocolates, I ultimately opted for the vegan Winter Fruits & Cinnamon dark chocolate bar, the Spiced Poached Pear milk chocolate bar, and the vegan Christmas Pudding chocolate bar.
Packaging
As I said last time, these bars arrived tightly packed inside a letterbox-sized cardboard box. Delivery took just a few days.
Each chocolate bar is safely wrapped inside thick, textured silver foil which is very tactile. This also means the entirety of the packaging is 100% recyclable.
Unlike the summer bars, the paper sleeves surrounding the foiled bars boast darker and richer colour schemes, with the exception of the snow white Christmas Pudding bar that is!
The flavour name and Choc Affair logo appears on the front of the sleeves. The dark chocolate bars - Winter Fruits & Cinnamon and Christmas Pudding - also carry the Vegan Society's Vegan trademark.
The wrappers also explain that each bar is made in the UK using couverture that supports CasaLuker's The Chocolate Dream programme, which backs local projects in cocoa growing regions in Columbia.
Choc Affair Christmas 2020 Chocolate Bar Reviews
I look forward to limited-edition Christmas chocolate flavours each year, and these bars caught my eye while browsing Choc Affair. What do they taste like? Read on...
Winter Fruits & Cinnamon
Choc Affair Winter Fruits & Cinnamon Dark Chocolate ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), natural flavouring. Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.
- 39% sugars.
- Suitable for vegans.
The aroma of this bar is dark and mysterious, with tart berries and redcurrants at the forefront.
Juicy redcurrants burst into your mouth as the chocolate begins to melt. Picture a warming winter crumble and you'll get the idea.
The vibrancy of the tart fruit masks the hint of cinnamon in here, but the rich cocoa notes in the chocolate come through clearly. There's a hint of bitterness but that's quickly stopped in its tracks by the sweet and creamy properties.
If you like berry flavours and rich dark chocolate, you'll love this one as it delivers on both aspects.
Spiced Poached Pear
Choc Affair Spiced Poached Pear Milk Chocolate ingredients:
Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), natural flavouring. Cocoa solids: 45% minimum; Milk solids: 20% minimum.
- 42% sugars.
This one has an interesting aroma, with the milk chocolate jostling with the spices and pear notes. It's borders on a similar fragrance to a buttery piece of Stollen cake.
Upon hitting your tongue the pear reveal itself with full force. There's a strand of red wine or mulled wine in there that runs in parallel, adding body and depth while steering the flavour. The flavour of the milk chocolate itself doesn't shine through but the sweetness and creaminess does show itself.
The aftertaste is that of spiced pear and that lingers for a long time afterwards.
This one's an interesting one, and I think it's my favourite from this collection.
Christmas Pudding
Choc Affair Christmas Pudding Dark Chocolate ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavouring), natural flavouring. Cocoa solids: 60% minimum.
- 39% sugars.
- Suitable for vegans.
Dense, rich caramel notes waft from this dark chocolate bar, alongside a sweet and slightly spicy thread. While I don't picture a Christmas pudding, it does conjure up vivid images of a sticky treacle toffee pudding.
On tasting, it does the same. It reminds me of a dense chocolate pudding rather than a steaming hot Christmas pudding. There's gentle spicing in the mix, and notes of redcurrants and berries in a similar vein to the Winter Fruits & Cinnamon bar.
This bar tastes quite sweet too, with the rich cocoa notes of the chocolate coming through clearly.
While it doesn't evoke Christmas pudding imagery for me, it still tastes festive and wintery. I think this one will be heading to a hot chocolate shaker near me very soon, as I reckon the flavours here would work better in hot chocolate form.
Choc Affair 6 Bar Letterbox Gift Box Review
RRP: £15.95 | Choc Affair | Shop now
These are great value chocolate bars made with minimal ingredients and natural flavourings. The festive flavours here are warming and comforting. Flavours pack a strong punch and sit above the chocolate notes. If you like bold flavours in your chocolate then you'll love these bars.
Where to Buy Online
You'll find the current range of Choc Affair chocolate bars on their website here, including these festive bars. Winter Fruits & Cinnamon is available as a drum of mini bars (£6.95). Christmas Pudding is available in a drum of hot chocolate flakes (£5.95).
Which flavour is top of your Christmas list? Let me know in the comments below.
