HPP Recommends: Chocolate
By Camilla Garrison
HPP Editor Recommends… Christopher Elbow Chocolates
I received these beautiful and delicious chocolates as a gift from my uncle (Adam Gasner) and they were definitely post-worthy and luckily- I took notes! As I was enjoying these treats, I rated each flavor on the flavor guide. Here are my results:
Strawberry Balsamic 0/10*
caramel made with strawberries and aged balsamic vinegar
Rum Caramel 2/10
caramel spiked with dark rum
Calamansi Mandarin 4.5/10
caramel blended with calamansi and mandarin orange
Passion Fruit 4.9/10
caramel made with tropical passion fruit
Fresh Lemon 6/10
fresh lemon marmalade paired with white chocolate lemon ganache
Rosemary 6.4/10
caramel infused with fresh rosemary
Champagne 6.5/10
milk chocolate ganache blended with French Champagne
Macadamia Praline 6.6/10
caramelized macadamia nuts blended with milk chocolate
Caramel Latte 6.8/10
caramelized white chocolate ganache with ground espresso
Aztec Spice 7/10
caramel with chilis, spices and cinnamon
Butterscotch Bourbon 7.3/10
brown sugar caramel infused with Kentucky bourbon
Lavender 7.3 /10
caramel infused with organic lavender flowers
Raspberry 7.5/10
raspberry pate de fruit topped with dark chocolate raspberry ganache
Earl Grey Tea 7.5/10
milk chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey tea from Hugo Tea Co.
Hazelnut Caramel 7.7/10
salted caramel blended with smooth hazelnut praline
Caramel Pecan 8/10
salted caramel with candied pecan praline
Toasted Coconut 8/10
caramel made with coconut puree and toasted coconut
Vanilla Bean 8.4/10
caramel infused with Madagascar vanilla beans
Ecuador 73% 9/10
ganache made with small batch craft chocolate using cacao from Ecuador
Belize 70% 9/10
ganache made with small batch craft chocolate using cacao from Belize
Ghana 68% 9.2/10
dark chocolate ganache made with cacao from Ghana
Vietnamese Cinnamon 9.7/10
dark chocolate ganache infused with Vietnamese cinnamon
Lime Vanilla 9.9/10
caramel blended with fresh squeezed lime juice and vanilla bean
Fleur De Sel 10/10
caramel infused with grey French sea salt
*This Strawberry Balsamic chocolate was the only bad one in the set, and the only and most disgusting chocolate I have ever had. I told my mom I probably wouldn’t like that one but she said “Who knows, it could be a sleeper hit! (sleep or hit)” Well, I hadn’t heard this expression before then, but tried the chocolate anyway. I spit it out immediately. I guess it could be an acquired taste, but that was the worst thing ever.
The chocolates (all of them except for Strawberry Balsamic) were amazing, and that’s why I recommended them to the readers of the Post (it made for a good story!)