Update Review, July 2021
Too Good To Go Mystery Bag. $5.99. |
- 2 Give it to Me Guava.
- 2 PB & J Truffles
- 1 Pho
- 1 Cognac Truffle
Give It To Me Guava. |
PB & J. |
phở #1. |
Cognac Truffle. |
Update Review, April 2021
"Based in San Francisco, Socola Chocolatier handcrafts artisanal confections with modern flavors and a fantastic taste of fun."
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. |
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."
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.