When browsing the Chocolate Tree website, one bar in particular leaped out at me. I mean, you can't order treats from a Scottish chocolate maker and not try their Haggis Spiced Dark Chocolate, can you?
Their website teases the bar as organic dark chocolate blended with traditional Haggis spices and gluten-free pinhead oats. It certainly sounds like an unusual chocolate flavour and so is right up my street!
I placed an order, in addition to a Bramble & Cardamom Dark Chocolate bar along with a few other goodies. It was all in a promotional offer that saved 25% on the RRP, so I admit I ordered quite a few bars.
Packaging
The pretty box features a Celtic design around the frame with a window to see the chocolate bar. A tartan band runs across the centre of the box, as if to reinforce its Scottish heritage. At the top, a gold-foiled Chocolate Tree logo glistens in the light. A Chocolate Awards 2013 Finalist badge sits in the top right hand corner.
On the rear of the box, there's a brief introduction to Chocolate Tree, along with the ingredients and nutritional information printed in English, Swedish, and German.
Chocolate Tree Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate ingredients:
Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, gluten-free pinhead oats, Haggis spices (2%) (black pepper, rosemary, sea salt, coriander seed, mace, thyme), vanilla. Cocoa solids: 58% minimum.
Before you panic, there's no actual haggis inside this chocolate bar. This plant-based recipe looks to be suitable for vegans although the website lists it only as suitable for vegetarians. It is produced in a factory that handles nuts and dairy products, so that might explain this.
Sugars make up around 37½ percent of this bar, so it should be quite sweet for a dark chocolate.
Chocolate Tree Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate Review
Unlike the fun and quirky mould used to shape the Marañón and Porcelana bars, a traditional chocolate bar form is used here, with 32 segments marked out. The clean and crisp snap helps to make portioning this bar a doddle. Speckles across the glossy bar reveal some of the inclusions in the recipe.
As soon as you peel open the plastic wrapper, the heady aroma of rosemary mixed with the fruitiness of the dark chocolate hits you, piquing your curiosity further. It's a sweet-yet-savoury scent with a glimmer of spiciness to it.
When it hits your mouth, the chocolate releases its savoury qualities first, alongside a slight saltiness. The black pepper is first to shine, gently warms the back of your throat throughout the melt. Next, in swoops the fresh flavour of rosemary. A hint of thyme comes through in the finish, complimented by the bite of the pinhead oats, which add texture to the bar.
I was worried about the potential sweetness of this bar but it's perfectly balanced thanks to the herbs and spices. The fruity qualities of this 58% dark chocolate are hard to pick out individually over the Haggis spices, but they hum away at a bass level.
Into the aftertaste, the herbs remain for a brief period but it's the black pepper warmth that lingers longest after the chocolate vanishes. There's a gentle sweetness left on the palate which is quite satisfying.
Overall, this is certainly a quirky chocolate bar, blending sweet and savoury in a way that really works. It's unusual, unexpected, and quite different to your typical dark chocolate bar.
This isn't a chocolate bar you'll want a lot of in one go, but is instead ideal as a treat, dipping in now and again to satisfy your cravings. It also makes a wonderful gift for foodies, and would be a great conversation starter when served at a dinner party or small gathering.
Chocolate Tree Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate Review
RRP: £3.95 | Chocolate Tree | Shop now
It sounds like it shouldn't work, but it really does. This deliciously moreish chocolate bar begs you to keep eating it, as the curious blend of flavours is strangely addictive. Park your expectations aside and give this bar a go.
Where to Buy Online
You can buy this Haggis Spice dark chocolate bar directly on Chocolate Tree's website (£3.95). It's also available at The New Leaf Co-op (£3.95) and at The Storehouse (£3.75).
Haggis spices and chocolate. Have you come across any other unusual blend of chocolate and spices? Leave the details below in a comment below.
