Masala chocolate

hot_masala_choco

Being a chocoholic and living in Switzerland can be a dangerous thing. Just going to the supermarket, one is confronted with row upon row of high quality chocolate, the type that you'd have to pay a premium for in the U.S. Aside from perhaps the cheapest brands, most Swiss chocolate bars in the US $1-2 range are delicious.

So, I rarely stray out of the chocolate borders so to speak to the other chocolate producing nations such as Belgium and France. (Sometimes I get a craving for a good old American candy bar like Snickers, but I think that's a craving coming from a sort of a different area of my stomach.) However, the other day I discovered this very intriguing bar made by a Belgian company called Dolfin, that said it has masala in it.

Masala is an Indian spice mixture. I couldn't imagine what it would taste like in a sweet milk chocolate bar. So of course, I had to try it.

One bite, and I was hooked. The coarsely ground spices are just slightly crunchy, and the spiciness contrasts perfectly with the excellent quality milk chocolate. I immediately had to try another one, for the sake of investigative reporting of course. Never mind that a bar of this costs CHF 3.60, or twice the price of the excellent Crèmant from Caillers that is my standard for a good chocolate bar.

Dolfin also creates other chocolate "creations", as they call them, such as Earl Grey tea in dark chocolate, fresh ginger chocolate, and pink peppercorn chocolate. So far I've tried the Earl Grey one and the Masala one again. They were both very intriguing, and delicious.

They are offered by mailorder, though unfortunately not during the summer. See if your favorite gourmet store has them...they are worth searching out. Here in Zürich they're available at Globus.

Submitted by maki on 2004-05-07 23:27.
Filed under:  chocolate

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Comments

Forrest O.

8 May, 2004 - 03:43

Mmm, I wonder if a Masala Chocolate Cake would work. Have you ever had cayenne brownies? My roommate used to make them; they are beautiful.

Theresa

8 May, 2004 - 17:32

Hi there maki,
I am also living in Switzerland (down south in Ticino). Your site is therefore wonderfully close to 'home'!
Chocolate is more than close to my heart - I also enjoy a bar of the rick, dark Callier Cremant from time to time, but I more than often indulge in the Migros 'Frey' brand - especially with their truffles, amarena, and other alcoholic fillings!
Too bad there isn't a Globus in town coz I'm now raring to try that masala chocolate! But I'll look it up the next time I'm in Locarno. Thanks for the tip-off!

Mariko

8 May, 2004 - 23:41

I haven't tried the chai Dolfin bar, but I have had many others! The cinnamon one is particularly good, and I am not a huge fan of cinnamon. I really like Dolfin chocolates--very smooth and tasty!

Reid

9 May, 2004 - 08:07

Hi,

Just dropped by to say wonderful blog you have here. I've been reading it for a while since finding the link to your site at Renee's "shiokadelicious!" I hope you don't mind, but I placed a link to your site on my blog. Keep up the good work!

redfox

9 May, 2004 - 21:21

I've made masala hot chocolate before, and it was dandy. I bet it would work well in a cake or brownies. (Coconut is a good addition, too, as well as a mix of Indian spices like cumin, coriander, cardamom, chili, cinnamon, and turmeric.)

cyndy

11 May, 2004 - 04:26

Hi Maki! Your blog is excellent and very enjoyable. In the US we have Vosges chocolate truffles, who do similar flavorings. Some of the more unconventional combinations include various chiles, tea and flowers. Their curry-milk chocolate is called Naga. My favorite is Black Pearl - dark chocolate truffle flavored with wasabi and decorated with black sesame.
They are on the web and Neiman-Marcus stores carry them. Their physical shop is located in Chicago (another reason to visit) on Michigan avenue.

swans

13 May, 2004 - 18:29

For peeps in the Boston area, you can get Dolfin chocolate at Cardullo's in Harvard Square. I picked up a bar of the Hot Masala yesterday ($2.99) and it was so good, I had to sit down.

maki

15 May, 2004 - 07:48

Cyndy, now you've given me a reason to go to Chicago :)

melissa

15 February, 2006 - 09:33

i bought a some of the masala chocolates and the taste is very intriguing indeed, so i just had to work out what it exactly was...well now i know...thanks.

Another great brand of chocolate i think is Godiva dark chocolate bars 80% cocoa....mmmm...yum

Eye on India

14 May, 2004 - 00:33

TrackBack from Eye on India:
Dolfin, a Swiss chocolatier is selling Masala chocolate. The couple of reviews I have read online make this sound delicious....

IT Digest - Ing...

14 May, 2004 - 03:03

TrackBack from IT Digest - Ingenious Tejas's Digest Blog:
TITLE: Ymmn, now Masala Chocolate
URL: http://geekswithblogs.net/tpatel/archive/2004/05/14/4870.aspx
IP: 66.226.14.70
BLOG NAME: IT Digest - Ingenious Tejas's Digest Blog
DATE: 05/14/2004 02:03:15 AM

Eye on India

2 November, 2004 - 23:11

TrackBack from Eye on India:
Dolfin, a Swiss chocolatier is selling Masala chocolate. The couple of reviews I have read online make this sound delicious....

anon.

11 April, 2007 - 21:14

Here are some greeeeeat chocolates - www.masalachocolates.com

KandyX

14 April, 2007 - 22:29

I had never heard of this product before but now I am itching to try it for myself. I will look into it more and may use this product as the basis of an article myself.
Wonderful subject, thanks for sharing. :)

Matt

6 July, 2008 - 05:17

This is pretty untimely, but I just had a bite of that same Masala chocolate bar... best variety chocolate I've ever tasted. ps, drupal?