J'adore Chocadores - chocolate review and giveaway

I said that my next few posts were going to be food related, but I'm sure you'll forgive me for this one, especially as it involves chocolate.  Even better than that, I'm giving you the chance to win some of this delicious chocolate!

Sometimes blogging is such hard work.  I have been waiting for the right moment to be able to concentrate fully on this important review task, and finally the scene is set - I have the house to myself, all is quiet, I am sat at the dining table with a nice cup of tea and surrounded by gorgeous looking individual chocolate samples.  This feels a bit illicit, I'm thinking perhaps I should draw the curtains and take the phone off the hook.

So, a few weeks ago the lovely people at Chocadores sent me some of their wares.  I am not just saying they are lovely because they gave me free chocolate - they genuinely do seem very nice!  I've exchanged many lovely messages on twitter with Sarah and she is warm, friendly, generous and charitable.

Based in Derbyshire they bring together artisan chocolatiers producing high quality chocolate, with full traceability and adhering to strict ethical standards.  Bringing you names you will have heard of such as Artisan du Chocolate; Jean Galler and Amedei together with chocolate from companies I am less familiar with.  One thing you can be sure of, Chocadores is passionate about chocolate.

I am trying some of their Giant Chocolate Buttons, and I have been sent both dark and milk chocolate.  It feels incredibly decadent to eat something shaped like my daughter loves to scoff by the packet load, but don't be fooled - these are no ordinary chocolate buttons!  They are the sort of thing that the sultry Nigella would have by the kilner jar in her copious pantry, ready to whip up a ganache or chocolate souffle.  In fact I think I'm going to use mine to make some cupcakes. 



150g dark chocolate buttons £3.75


The Peruvian 64% Giant Dark Chocolate Buttons are dark and shiny (pops one in my mouth). The website describes the taste as:

An overall delicate smoky and fruity bouquet give this chocolate a very rich well rounded dark chocolate, with no bitterness. The best dark chocolate you’re ever likely to taste!

Mmmmm, I think I agree. I'll just try another to make sure.... yes, no arguments here.  Dark chocolate is my favourite, and often it can taste bitter, but not these buttons (tries another to make doubly sure).

Moving on the the Venezuela 43% Giant Milk Chocolate Buttons, again, I'm going to bake with these, so I'll just try the one (in the name of research).  Mmmm, smooth, creamy and very grown-up.  The taste notes for this one say:

This blend gives a fresh & lively milk chocolate, resulting in an exclusive creamy milk chocolate. A true gourmet milk button!



150g milk chocolate buttons £3.75

 
Let me just check again (pops another in mouth)... yes, truly a fantastically grown-up button.  I'm just going to check back with the dark ones to see which I prefer (pops one more of each in).

Next up is the Toscano Brown chocolate from Amedei of Tuscany.  Another milk chocolate this one tastes fudgey and buttery.  Delicious, but I still think I prefer the buttons (pops another in mouth).



Box of 6 individually wrapped squares - £2.50



If you want more chocolate titillation, just take a look at the website. Some of the individual pieces are pure works of art.  With a huge array of flavours, one of the best things about the site is you can custom-make a box of chocolates to suit your tastes- no more unwanted flavours!  There are also dairy-free options.




Box of 6 chocolates - £6.95


So, onto the competition.  I have a beautifully gift-wrapped box to give away which contains a 150g bag each of the milk and dark buttons (that reminds me, I might just have another one...mmmm); a bar of Galler chocolate, and some individually wrapped Toscano Brown chocolates.  You could either give this as a Christmas gift; scoff the lot; or take your time, savouring the fine ingredients and use the Chocadores tasting notes on the website to educate yourself and your palette.

To win this amazing prize, you need to do the following:

1. Follow my blog. Then visit the chocadores webstite and return here to leave a comment saying which one is making your mouth water the most.

For additional entries, you can

3. Follow Chocadores on twitter
4. Tweet "I'm entering @missielizzieb 's blog competition to win mouth-watering chocolate treats from @chocadores http://bit.ly/9FFhhP "  

Please make sure you leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry (maximum 3 entries).

This giveaway will close at midnight on Saturday 20 November 2010.  Sorry, due to weight this is open to UK only.  If you are having problems leaving a comment, please get in touch with me via twitter (@missielizzieb) or email and I will comment on your behalf.

Now, I'm off to bake some chocolate cupcakes...Oi! Who ate all my buttons??!


Sample products were recieved in order to produce this review, however the views are entirely my own.