I drive past Coco Chocolatiers most Fridays and always think ‘I must go in there sometime’ but never do. Last Friday I finally did, and as soon as I entered the shop there was the most delicious, unmistakably gorgeous smell of chocolate, mmm. There’s nothing quite like it is there? Coco Chocolatiers had plenty of chocolates in the counter for me to choose from. The friendly assistant waited patiently whilst I came to a decision. I chose 9 altogether – mostly truffles – and it came to less than £5 which I thought was rather good. I remember a few years ago that Coco had a cafe a bit further up Marmion Road in Portsmouth from where their chocolate boutique is now. It was the best place I have EVER had a chocolat chaud. It came in a cup, hot, thick liquid chocolate which I couldn’t resist having a few sips of before adding some of the hot milk served on the side. I’ve not come across another one quite like it, not even in Paris.
Coco are a small family artisan business who trained with Callebaut and Paul A Young, London. They make their own chocolates on the premises and have been doing so for over 4 years using pure and natural ingredients, sourcing local producers where possible and adding fillings made with fresh cream, nuts, alcohol and fruits, no additives or preservatives. They also produce a pure water ganache range of dairy free chocolates suitable for vegans and gluten too. Aside from the chocolates they sell novelty items such as chocolate shoes and offer wedding favours, fountains, fondous, and other chocolatey delights. Here are some of my favourites.
Salted Caramel Truffle
The truffle is fairly small and coated in a light dusting of cocoa powder, but not too much thankfully. It smells quite delicious and there was certainly a whiff of caramel. It was the correct texture, not too ‘squidgy’ and not too hard. There was no outer shell of chocolate so when you bite into it it’s straight into the truffle.
It melts wonderfully in the mouth and contains little chunks of caramel. I liked to suck the truffle leaving the caramel pieces to crunch on. You can taste the salt but it was nice and subtle. I would definitely choose this flavour again.
Champagne Truffle
I couldn’t resist having a champagne truffle as along with salted caramel they are quite popular at the moment and I’m rather partial to them. This is a dark chocolate truffle, round in shape with a shiny purple sheen covering it to make it look quite pretty and possibly to identify it of course.
After biting into it the outer shell wasn’t too hard nor too thick and you come across the truffle centre which is cream in colour and quite smooth with a soft, buttery texture. You can taste the alcohol, but again this wasn’t overpowering and I enjoyed it very much. Another one I wouldn’t mind trying again.
Strawberries and Cream
This was one of my favourites, although truthfully it’s difficult to choose one overall winner as they were all equally as good. This truffle is white chocolate, round with a drizzle of strawberry chocolate. It smells sweet and of white chocolate.
Biting into it you can taste the strawberry straight away, it’s soft, creamy, buttery texture is delightful. Distinctly strawberry but not overkill. I couldn’t help but make noises of ‘Mmmm, mmm, mmm’! It all melts deliciously in the mouth. More please!
I also tried Bailey’s truffle which was just as yummy, marzipan (which wasn’t a truffle), caramel ganache, cappuccino cup and three truffles of dark, milk and white chocolate.
I can’t believe that these chocolates have been available practically on my doorstep and I’ve only just experienced them. As Arnie says “I’ll be back”.
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Living life, loving cake (and chocolates)
A x