Socola Chocolatier

Update Review, 2024 Tastings

Socola chocolates have always looked great, and sounded like they'd be complex and fascinating, but generally have let me down.  I stopped seeking them out, despite the storefront being steps away from my house.  But I received a gift of an assorted box of chocolates, so I gave them yet another try.

For the most part, I enjoyed these more than previous items, and really do like the shells.  But I still don't find the fillings exceptional, and their price is fairly high normally.

Stout Beer.

"Guinness Extra Stout beer, dark chocolate."

Well, I don't like beer, so I certainly would have not picked this piece, but it was in a gift I received.  That said, I barely tasted beer in it.  There was just a bit of a hoppy complexity to the dark chocolate ganache inside.  The ganache was smooth and rich, the shell also deep dark chocolate.  Overall, a very deep dark chocolate piece, it felt, um, hearty, which I think is what people say about drinking a Guinness too?  Interesting, but not one I'd pick again on my own. ***+.

Earl Grey.

"Earl Grey tea with bergomot, vanilla."

Another piece I wouldn't have gravitated towards on my own, earl grey.  But much like the beer piece, I barely tasted the namesake ingredient.  There was a bit of bitterness to it that I suppose could be earl grey, but really, I didn't taste tea, even when I tried.  That said, it was still a nice piece of chocolate: again, a very smooth, creamy, rich ganache inside, snappy shell outside.  Another that I enjoyed, but wouldn't pick again on my own. ***+.

Candied Ginger Peanut.
(Lunar New Year Special).

"Ginger pâte de fruit with milk chocolate and peanut butter, in dark chocolate."

I like ginger.  I like peanut butter.  I like dark chocolate.  I'd never think of putting these together however.

I really liked the bit of candied ginger on top. Really great zing from the ginger, and new bit of chew. The dark chocolate shell was good quality.  Under the chocolate, the top half of the piece was the ginger pate de fruit, which was pleasant enough.  More mild ginger flavor than the candied piece on top.  Again a nice chew to it.  The base half was the peanut based component, which had some bits of peanut for a nice crunch.

Overall, this was certainly unique, and I liked some parts of it quite a bit, but I wouldn't likely combine the ginger and peanut butter again.  Low ***.

Sông Cái Floral Gin.
 (Mid Autumn Special).

"Việt Nam Floral Gin (flavored with 5 flowers) dark chocolate ganache, in dark chocolate."

This was a fairly boring piece.  The dark chocolate shell was decent, the filling fairly smooth but a bit grainy.  The flavor was extremely subtle though ... I truly didn't taste the gin, nor even any floral notes.  It was a fine piece of chocolate, but simple. Low ***.

Matcha.

"Japanese matcha, white chocolate, powdered sugar."

And last, a non-chocolate piece, matcha, which uses white chocolate.  The matcha flavor was strong, the white chocolate not really noticeable.  It had a firm but crumbly consistency, almost like a fudge.  It was tasty matcha fudge, but not what I was expecting. ***. 

Update Review, July 2021

After receiving a gift box from Socola Chocolatier, which I reviewed in April, I was eager to try more of their chocolates, as they seemed really high quality, and, well, are located less than a block from my house.

Too Good To Go Mystery Bag. $5.99.

My assortment this time was a mystery bag from Too Good To Go, a service that allows merchants to sell leftover items (e.g. pastries at the end of a day from a cafe, pre-made deli salads at a deli, about-to-expire packaged snacks from a corner store, etc) at a reduced price.  I paid $5.99 to my bag, expecting to find chocolate blemishes, you know, that didn't look quite right and couldn't normally be sold, but are perfectly edible.

I was pleased to open the bag to find 6 pieces, and all looked totally normal.  No idea why these were the "discards".

My assortment was:

• 2 Give it to Me Guava.
• 2 PB & J Truffles
• 1 Pho
• 1 Cognac Truffle

I had only had one of these varieties before, so I was eager to try the rest.

4 pieces is usually $14.95, plus a cognac truffle ($29.95 for 16) , so value is $20.50, and I paid only $5.99, so definitely a good value. 

Give It To Me Guava.

"Tropical guava pate de fruit layered with our signature 72% bittersweet ganache, glam with a picture of Harriet the flying alpaca."

The guava is the one that I had previously, and, alas, I didn't really like before.  I still tried one of this batch, but felt pretty similar - the dark chocolate shell was snappy and quality chocolate, as was smooth dark chocolate ganache inside, but the guava and chocolate flavors just seemed muddled to me.

I gave the second one to a guava-loving friend, and she enjoyed it.

**+.

PB & J.

"Strawberry pate de fruit + dark chocolate + peanut butter + feuilletine."

I had some reservations about the PB & J flavor, not because I dislike pb & j, but because, much like the guava piece, I was worried about the fruity nature of the pate de fruit combined with the deep dark chocolate not working out well.  That said, well, I love pb & j, and adore feuilletine, so, obviously I was thrilled to try this one.

This was ... ok.  On the plus side, I didn't dislike the pate de fruit and chocolate combination, but that is largely because I just didn't taste the strawberry flavor at all.  I could see it visually, but no fruity quality came through.

But that doesn't mean I was tasting just chocolate either.  The only chocolate was the thin shell, unlike the guava piece that had a dark chocolate ganache within.  So I barely tasted chocolate either.

What did I taste?  Well, a little bit of peanut butter, which was nice, but it too was not a strong taste, weighed down by the feuilletine mixed with it.  

I liked the textures of the piece, the firm gel of the pate de fruit and the crispy pb layer, but the flavors were really quite lost.

**+.

phở #1.

"An aromatic blend of all the spices in this iconic soup: star anise, black cardamom, fennel, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorn. beef and noodles not included :)"

Ok, I was overjoyed to get one of these in my box.  It sounded like the most interesting flavor *ever*!  A phở ... chocolate?!

I'm not quite sure how I felt about it, to be honest.  It was certainly an "interesting" piece.  The chocolate was smooth and creamy.

The flavors were complex, although slightly dominated by the peppercorn, and as I don't really like clove, that undertone was a bit strong for me as well.  Mostly the flavors somewhat tasted muddled, but also, it left my stomach kinda feeling funny.  My brain tasted ... uh, beef and broth, and mixed with the strong spicing AND chocolate, I think it just didn't settle quite right.

I'm glad to have tried it, but I certainly wouldn't get another.

**+.

Cognac Truffle.

"Velvety rich dark chocolate truffles infused with Remy Martin VSOP cognac and dusted with 99% dark cocoa powder."

Now this, this I was thrilled to try as well.  I actually like cognac, so the appeal of a smooth, rich, boozy truffle was high.  I saved it for last, intentionally, hoping to, well, "Save the best for last".

It was a good piece.  A totally different style from all all Socola chocolates that I tried, as it had no outer shell, rather, just a firm, thick, rich chocolate ganache, slightly boozy, and covered in the dark cocoa powder.  The booze wasn't quite as strong as I was hoping, but, it was certainly present.

The only thing I didn't quite care for was the cocoa powder, there was a lot of it, and it left my mouth coated.  As it is quite bitter (99%!), it dominated the flavor, and eating experience, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth, rather than boozy one.

***.

Update Review, April 2021

"Based in San Francisco, Socola Chocolatier handcrafts artisanal confections with modern flavors and a fantastic taste of fun."

I first had chocolate from Socola Chocolatier back in 2012, at the SF chocolate salon, as you may have read about back then.  I was impressed by the flavors, but never sought the chocolates out again. I remember being impressed that they used Straus Creamery® cream and butter in their truffles (and, still do).

And then I moved just several blocks away.  I literally walked by more days than I didn't.  And I still never sought them out.

After years of not paying attention to Socola, I was given a small gift box, and realized how much I had been missing out on.  These are quality chocolates!

Catalyst Collection - 4 Piece. $14.95.

"Feast your eyes on The Catalyst Collection. The Eastern flavors are hand selected by Caroline Ticarro of the Catalyst Foundation (www.catalystfoundation.org). 10% of sales will be donated to the Catalyst Foundation which provides vital support to programs that provide access to education, increase economic opportunities and promote empowerment to children and families in Vietnam."

The person gifting these to me selected the Catalyst Collection.

The collection features 4 very distinct pieces: 2 celebrating caffine (jasmine tea, vietnamese coffee), and two fruity (give it to me guava, passion fruit vanilla bean), the later of which is a white chocolate based piece.  At $14.95 for 4 pieces (plus tax, shipping, etc), these are quite pricey pieces, but you can also opt for 12 piece or 24 piece box, still with only the 4 varieties, just, more of each, for a slightly lower per-piece price.

Jasmine Tea.

"Rare hand-picked Chinese jasmine tea. Our grandmother's favorite scent. A flowery and pleasing truffle, the hints of jasmine are soothing and subtle."

Tea.  Meh.  Never my thing.  I'm a coffee girl.  And tea and chocolate?  This sounded like a strange pairing to me.

But hey, I had the piece, so, I might as well try it, right?

It actually was a pretty lovely flavor, really, um, yes, flowery as described.  Subtle.  Jasmine.  The flavor was delicate, and I truly did like it.

The chocolate ganache was quite smooth with a deepness to it.  The shell is minimal.

Overall, surprisingly good, and it made me quite excited for the rest of the box.

***+.

Vietnamese Coffee.

"Our Cà Phê Sữa with a kiss of condensed milk garnished with aromatic French chicory grounds."

I have fairly mixed feelings on this one.

The not-so-good?  I honestly forgot it was supposed to be coffee, and didn't taste ... any even as I tried to savor the second bite, searching for it.  Not a hint.

The slightly better? The ganache was dark and bitter, decent.

The good?  The texture, just, so smooth, so enjoyable to actually eat.

Too bad the flavor wasn't there.

**+.

Give it to Me Guava.

"Tropical guava pate de fruit layered with our signature 72% bittersweet ganache, glam with a picture of Harriet the flying alpaca."

Why, oh why, does this have a flying alpaca on it?  I honestly have no idea.  I also couldn't quite tell what animal it was supposed to be, until I read the description.  

I do like guava, I do like pate de fruit, and I adore dark chocolate ganache but ...  it turns out, I do not like them together.

The dark chocolate ganache was fabulous, no question.  Deep, semi-sweet, lovely dark chocolate.  And the guava pate de fruit also good, although, and this is where the problem was, I could barely taste it. Even though there was significantly more pate de fruit than chocolate, the deep rich chocolate overpowered any fruity flavors.  And it turns out ... the slight chew from the pate de fruit was just, well, odd to have inside chocolate.

I wanted to like this, but alas, it just didn't come together for me in a way that worked.

**+.

Passion Fruit Vanilla Bean.

"Tart passion fruit ganache with a kiss of vanilla bean and white chocolate."

Eh.

That's how I feel about passion fruit items in general (not about real passion fruit, I love the actual fresh fruit, particularly when in countries it grows in, but 'passion fruit flavor' things tend to, um, disappoint to say the least).

Which is how I felt about this.

The ganache was white chocolate based, sweet and fruity, but, had that fake passion fruit taste to it.  It was kinda thick.

The shell was very thin chocolate, lost amongst the rest.

Overall, just very "meh" unless you really like fake passion fruit flavor.

**.

Original Review, August 2012

And another local chocolatier from the SF Chocolate Salon.  They source their ingredients locally, using Straus Family Cream and 72% E. Guittard chocolate.  They make two different styles of truffles, western and eastern.  I got to try some of each.

• Western
• PB & J: "The classic peanut butter and strawberry in one bite".  Tasting notes: Nice peanut butter, nice jam, quite successful.
• Eastern
• Sriracha: "Savory chili and roasted garlic in every bite.  The famous rooster sauce has the kick to make any rooster crow." Tasting notes: Nice heat!
• Matcha Green Tea: "A must for any tea lover.  Let the truffle melt in your mouth and feel its milky texture juxtaposed with the dry sensation of powdered sugar on your tongue.".  Tasting notes: White chocolate with green tea.  Reminded me of mochi.