It takes hard work to get noticed amidst the bustle of London's biggest Japan-themed event, with a plethora of stalls and people dressed in all manner of outlandish costumes vying for your attention. However, I met my match in the deadliest weakness of every foodie - free samples. That drew me to Beschle's stall nicely.
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| £20 worth of chocolate. I don't really need electricity, right? |
As I gazed over the shelf of products on display one thing caught my attention. In quietly understated lettering, the word 'Criollo'. Until last year, this wouldn't have meant anything to me - but until last year, I hadn't discovered the delights of the criollo cocoa bean in artisanal Mexican chocolate. The criollo is the king of cocoa beans, far rarer, more expensive and complex than its brethren. Think deep, intense flavour, nuttiness and a complexity that leaves your palate satisfied (exhausted?) after just a small piece. Simply put, criollo is chocolate taken to the next level.
Since finishing my treasured Mexican bars I had been looking without success for chocolate in the UK that uses these incredible beans, to no avail. Now I found that Beschle's bars used these little-known gems. Think how much more they had my attention now, and how high my expectations suddenly were!
First I tried the matcha (a form of high-grade powdered Japanese green tea). I will say this now: You will not find a higher quality matcha chocolate in the U.K. Just take a look at this packaging - detailed, exquisite.
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| A work of art in itself. |
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The contents are suitably premium, with enough matcha to bring out the pleasant bitterness that pairs so well with sweets. Personally, I am a matcha fiend and I would have preferred more matcha and less sugar in the balance to hit the sweet spot, but this is far ahead of anything you will find in import shops.
The pistachio flavour, lightly salted, really brought out the savoury aspects of the bean which is where much of the delicious complexity lies. My favourite of those sampled though was unusually a bar of white chocolate in the lassi (an Indian yogurt drink) flavour. I love dark chocolate but this knocked my socks off. Creamy and mellow with the grounding, satisfying depth of cocoa, mildy citrus and lightly spiced with cardamom all at once, it was everything an adventurous flavour should be.
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| Brand Manager David with his treasure. |
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The U.K. manager of the brand has a clear passion for the brand, and I can see why. I have no hesitation in recommending it, especially for criollo first-timers. Pay them a visit at Hyper Japan, or pick some up at Fortnum & Mason's. You might find your chocolate matcha made in heaven.
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