zotter chocolate

Organic, Fair-Trade, and delicious? Yes, it does exist, and it is very, very good. Zotter Chocolate comes from Austria, and I was nearly camped out at Bite Groceteria awaiting their arrival. I called, and emailed, and then once the chocolates arrived I eagerly helped to take them out of the boxes. Pathetic patience, I know. I will go out on a limb and say that these are now some of the best chocolates available in Calgary, if not the best, depending upon an individual's preference, or even mood. I am taking into account the ability to buy different and unique flavours of chocolates, not just pure chocolate, but the hand scooped and balleros chocolates shockingly taste like something, and the pure chocolate is superb. There are so many facets to describing the brand, but I think I'll start with the taste. Love it. The chocolate is smooth, creamy, and silky. Flavourful, nutty, and there are so many unique flavour combinations. The balleros, pictured above, are essentially little ball-like shapes and different flavours of chocolates. I adore the hazelnut balleros, and the chocolate-covered-almond with rose petals (below). But there is also cocoa in cocoa and coffee arabica (chocolate-covered coffee beans). The chocolate covered almonds with rose petals are quite heavenly, although they do resemble rocks in a photograph. Best rocks I've ever had. The photo below reveals most of the stash I bought, and I'm sure that the owners of Bite, Julie and Doug, think I am certifiably insane. I think I took one chocolate bar from nearly every box that arrived, but I didn't take any of the drinking chocolate (with the insistence that it is spring). Don't worry, I haven't eaten all of it yet..... The balleros are on the right hand side, the hand scooped chocolates are mostly in the middle, the labooko or plain and pure chocolate bars are in little folding "books" at the bottom, and the basic or baking chocolate bar is on the left hand side. I felt like it was Halloween!! Zotter invented a few new chocolate varieties, and a new chocolate production technique called hand-scooped. Zotter's website indicates that hand scooped chocolates have developed a cult-like following. He wanted to create distinctive chocolates to create a product that would make his chocolates unique from the usual pure chocolates. Apparently, there are machines out there which will "hand-scoop", but it was misunderstood by manufacturers who attempted to replicate the process, as it should not be pouring chocolate into a mould, but used instead to create layers in which the chocolate and the fillings melt at different stages. This is what the inside of the hand scooped balsamic caramel bar looks like, notice the three distinct layers. Below are a few of the varieties of hand-scooped chocolate bars available from Zotter. I love each of these on their own, but think of the multitude of flavour pairings available to enjoy along with the chocolates. A little wine, a small bowl of stawberries with aged-balsamic, or a little chunk of cheese. Why not? The Labooko chocolates are pure chocolate, and very smooth and silky. They come in pairs, organized like little books with one percentage chocolate on one side, and something slightly different on the opposing side. The sneaky thing with these chocolates is the surprising quality of the chocolate in such fantastically designed packaging. I would be more than happy with the chocolates any which way I could get them, but the packaging is creative, and beautiful too. A nice touch. These are all phenomenally tasty, but for originality, I am drawn to the yogurt and fruit yogurt (on the left with Carmen Miranda). They both lightly chocolatey and feature the use of yogurt instead of milk powder. The fruit yogurt is practically pink! Super delicious. It is also advised to enjoy chocolate slowly, for the ultimate indulgence, to "unveil the secret of the taste of chocolate, we recommend to first let the chocolate “breathe” in an opened state at room temperature and to nibble it afterwards in small pieces. For even a small piece of zotter chocolate contains enough power and intensity to convince." I am sorry to say that I have no idea how much each bar is, as nothing was priced at the time I gathered up my bag of chocolates. I am going into Bite Groceteria this afternoon to pay my bill. I'll keep you posted. Zotter.