When I was at the Chocolate Show the other weekend, I was excited to find New Tree there, a chocolate company with which I am quite familiar! New tree is a gourmet Belgian chocolate company located in San Anselmo, California that not only makes good chocolate, but they’ve added health benefits to it as well!
Each of the different delicious flavors of New Tree chocolates are categorized according to a desired health effect when you eat them. For instance, in their Energizing line, they have chocolates with coffee and ginger to help stimulate you. Or would you rather have something Soothing? They use citrus and lavender for calming effects.
Here’s how they taste:
Forgiveness: dark chocolate 73% with lemon: This one smells sweet with a hint of coconut. It breaks nicely and cleanly. It’s surprisingly sweet for a dark chocolate and the lemon is very faint but provides a refreshing flavor and finish.
Renew: dark chocolate 73% with black currant: Notes of black currant/cherry dominate the chocolate upon smelling this bar and it has a wonderful clean snap. This has very strong floral notes which evolve into the black currant and ends in a slightly acidic tone on the tongue.
Tranquility: milk chocolate with lavender: This smells strongly of dairy and lavender. The chocolate is sweet and smooth with a strong herbal tone from the lavender which starts of sweet and then evolves into an acidic flavor. It’s very unique and not as strange as it sounds.
Pleasure: dark chocolate 73%: I detect hints of leather and sweet tobacco when I smell it. It snaps cleanly and strong. The flavor is mild with notes of butter and cocoa. Very clean finish with no acidity at all. My palate felt very clean and refreshed afterward.
Sexy: dark chocolate 73% with ginger: The aroma is very warm and spicy. The texture is very grainy due to the ginger shavings. The ginger provides a nice spicy kick to it, but doesn’t burn your mouth. It has a very light and pleasing finish, with a slight acidic kick. A good introduction to ginger in chocolate for beginners.
Rejoice: milk chocolate with bitter orange and crisped rice: Smells milky with a light orange essence to it. The texture of this is lovely, lightly crunchy from the rice, but still allowing the smoothness of the milk chocolate to shine. The orange is light and zesty and really compliments the milky notes of the chocolate. Delicious.
Vigor: dark chocolate 73% with coffee: Only a slight coffee scent, but the coffee essence really comes forward in the flavor. It’s not too strong or overpowering like it is in some chocolates, where the tannic qualities of the coffee really override the chocolate flavor. This is much more subtle; you get the coffee flavor but it still blends nicely with the chocolate so you get the best from both. Delightful.
Comfort: milk chocolate with cinnamon: One of my favorites. This smells a tad spicy, but the flavor really blooms when you taste the bar. The milkiness and sweetness of the chocolate are balanced by a nice subtle kick from the cinnamon. Very warming and pleasing and a nice balance of flavors that work so well together.
Blush: dark chocolate 73% with cherry: This smells fruity, but not specifically of cherry. The flavor really comes out with the slightly bitter dark chocolate letting the slightly sour/sweet cherry to take center stage. Nice combination to make one harmonious flavor.
The two newcomers:
Refresh: dark chocolate 73% with mint: I wasn’t expecting much from this since I am not a mint fan, but I was pleasantly surprised. The mint isn’t that typical Andes mint, but really fresh “just picked from the plant” kind of taste. You get floral and herbal notes as the minty flavors develop in your moth. The dark chocolate lends a nice bittersweet flavor and smooth texture base. Very enjoyable.
Crave: milk chocolate with apricot: Wow, this one just blew me away. I was especially excited for it since I love apricot, and they did the flavor justice. It smells fruity and the flavor is that of a fresh, sweet apricot. The milk chocolate just smooths out the flavor with a subtle dairy hint, but still allows the sublime fruitiness shine through. My new favorite.
It was such a blast to see New Tree at the show and to have the opportunity to try their new flavors. I love the fact that they provide nice chocolate with portion control and added health benefits. It’s chocolate you can feel good about eating and that’s reason enough for me to throw more in my shopping cart next time I’m at the store. I recommend you do the same!
Buy NewTree chocolates online:
- at Amazon.com
