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Candy Review: Chuao ChocoPods: Good Things Come In Small Packages!

Categories: Awesomely Addictive Candy,Candy,Candy Reviews,Chocolate Candy,Gourmet Candy

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Chuao ChocoPod Boxs

Chocolatiers these days have it tough. Not only are consumers becoming more and more aware of what good chocolate is, but they’re also discovering new flavors to go with it and the potential health benefits. That is partly why I was so excited when I discovered Chuao Chocolatier when I was at the All Candy Expo. They have a product, called the ChocoPod, which combines all three things – good chocolate, new flavors and health benefits.

Each ChocoPod is wrapped in its own brightly colored wrapper which really makes these very portable. Inside, there are attractive chocolates in the shape of a cacao pod with the beautiful lettering of “ChocoPod” decorating the lightly lined surface. The chocolate is a beautiful dark color and it smells rich and sweet. I’d expect no less from El Rey, where Chuao gets all their chocolate. The ChocoPods come in two kinds: solid and filled. On to the tasting!

Spicy Maya: Made with Venezuelan chocolate and containing 60% cacao, ChocoPod Spicy Maya is flavored with spices like pasilla chile, cayenne pepper and cinnamon. This has a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth aspect and smells like rich spices. If the idea of chili in your chocolate makes you nervous, don’t be, since the chili is blended so well with this chocolate that it just kisses you throat as opposed to that uncomfortable burn.

The predominant spice here is the cinnamon, which lends a nice earthy flavor that really rounds out the chocolate. I did try these with coffee, as is recommended, and they are even more fun to eat. The coffee melts the ChocoPod just perfectly so it’s almost like having your very own warm liquid chocolate that you’re licking off a spoon. You know, except for the spoon part.

Nutmeg: Made with Venezuelan chocolate and containing 60% cacao, ChocoPod Nutmeg is spiced with subtle nutmeg and cardamom.This one smells very floral with the nutmeg and cardamom being the prevalent scents. The chocolate is smooth and has a wonderful slow melt on the tongue. The flavors of the spices aren’t as strong as the aroma indicates, but they are nice and subtle and provide a good background for the chocolate. They don’t provide a burn like there is in the Spicy Maya, but more of a nice warm toasty mouth feel. The nutmeg and cardamom work very well with the chocolate and I’m left craving more. A sure sign of a great chocolate.

Chuao ChocoPod Closeup

Passion: Passion fruit caramel. You can easily smell a hint of the passion fruit caramel; sour, spicy and exotic. The ChocoPod snaps beautifully when you bite into it, releasing the soft, lightly flowing caramel. The caramel is intense, it immediately delivers a surge of the distinct passion fruit flavor to your taste buds: sour, mixtures of pineapple, mango and apple and ends with a pleasing sweetness. The caramel is more of a texture than flavor here, as I didn’t taste any burnt sugar in there. The chocolate matches nicely, providing a subtle sweetness once the caramel has dissolved.

Picante: Spicy Cabernet caramel. Smells very robust and earthy and I can detect the chile right away. The chocolate has that pleasant snap to it when you bite in and I was surprised to find it tasted very fruity: cherries, a little apricot and of course the fermented grape. There’s a teeny burn to it from the alcohol and that gives way to the spice that kicks in at the very end. I felt three very distinctive stages to the flavor of this and they were all lovely. I enjoyed it very much.

Modena: Strawberry and balsamic caramel. It smells roasted and spicy. The caramel is very buttery. The strawberry is more of a subtle fruitiness/floral note and I don’t really taste vinegar, but more of the slight acidity it delivers. The caramel flavors work beautifully with the chocolate and, like the others, doesn’t disappoint.

Candela: Spicy macadamia praline. The aromas of the macadamia nuts saturate this ChocoPod and it’s heavenly! The praline smells buttery and nutty and mixed with the chocolate… mmm, perfection! The chocolate takes the backseat in terms of flavor with this one. It happily delivers the rich mouth feel and sweetness so that the nuts can fully be enjoyed. The texture is lovely, it’s more of a filling since it’s a praline and not a caramel, and there’s a little grain in this one due to the nuts. It’s like a microscopic crunch. The spiciness in this one is subtle but unlike the Picante where it didn’t sneak in until the end, you taste the spiciness from the first taste sensation here. The macadamia adds an extra velvety touch to both the texture and taste, lending it’s rich nutty flavor. So good.

Banana: Banana brown sugar caramel. This smells the sweetest of them all with a very rich chocolatey aroma. The soft caramel has the intense flavor of a fresh banana with strong burnt sugar notes which makes it very rich and exotic tasting. It’s incredibly delicious and my favorite of the filled ChocoPods. Please taste this one for yourself!

Overall I can hardly contain my enthusiasm for these and therefore I give them the Awesome Addictive Award. They combine excellent Venezuelan dark chocolate, creative flavors and portion control into one chocolate. A little something for everyone. It’s an indulgence that’s meant for any time of day or any occasion and I’m more than happy to comply. Enjoyed alone or with coffee, the ChocoPod line really stands out and further cements Chuao as one of my favorite companies.

Buy Chuao chocolates online:

coffee, cacao, caramel, dark chocolate, spices, chocolate, Chuao



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7 Responses to “Candy Review: Chuao ChocoPods: Good Things Come In Small Packages!”

  1. 1
    AntFan says:

    Dangit! They are sold-out of Banana!

  2. 2
    Sera says:

    AntFan, I’d consider emailing them about that and checking their stock. They had PLENTY of banana ones at the Chocolate Show. :)

  3. 3
    Alex says:

    Hi, nice article, this seems like a wonderful chocolate, but I have to nitpick: “doesn’t fail to disappoint” probably doesn’t mean what you think it means. Or did you mean it was disappointing?

  4. 4
    Alexandra says:

    I wonder if there’s anywhere I could get those in Canada. I must investigate. And put them close to the top of the chocolate-part of my Christmas wish-list. :)

  5. 5
    stephanie says:

    I found these at my local world market!

  6. 6
    Carrie says:

    I found the Passion version of these at World Market and would agree with your review of them completely. I really want to try the rest of them now!

  7. 7
    Julie Nicolay says:

    Another happy discovery at World Market here in Tucson: Passion Choco Pods! I wasn’t expecting to see these, so got a nice little rush of excitement when I did. I didn’t even look at the price (I always do that being on a budget), I just grabbed the things and kept on moving since they were sold out of the other flavors they carry. I immediately recalled how fabulous this review was and how badly I wanted to try each flavor after reading this. So, I got Passion and it’s just as described: wonderful! Addictive! Delicious and heavenly! The snap of the VERY GOOD chocolate and the subsequent flow of fruity, sour and sweet caramel is the most delightful experience in texture and taste; you have to try these! They’re absolutely worth the slightly higher price tag, and I think you’ll agree.

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