Mad for Chocolate

Anyone who knows me knows that I run on chocolate and caffeine, so being picked by BzzAgent for a chocolate campaign was pretty cool. I am a chocoholic, I freely admit it, and I know that I share that particular passion with many of my friends and coworkers. Heck, I bring dark chocolate in to motivate the staff at my library, because chocolate cures all.

I live near NYC, so I get to visit some of the most incredible US chocolatiers. I don't always have the money (who does?) but I do try to get a nice variety. When I'm in a supermarket/drugstore/warehouse store I'll get Dove Dark Chocolate Promises or Lindt Truffles. When I'm in Manhattan, I might visit:

• Charbonnel et Walker
• Debauve & Gallais
• La Maison du Chocolat
• Pierre Marcolini
• RichArt Design & Chocola
• Jacques Torres
• Black Hound
• Li-Lac 

In Brooklyn I'll hit:

• The Chocolate Room (amazing desserts)
• NuNu Chocolates
• JoMart

That's not to say that I only like expensive chocolates, some of my favorite places are actually family-owned businesses, like Al Richards in Bayonne, NJ or Lepore's in Hoboken.

So, BzzAgent asked me to try Pure Madness Chocolate, an upscale, designer chocolate with somewhat exotic truffles. If you're not used to the confections coming out of the NYC shops, then yes, they might seem exotic, but I'm kind of used to these combinations.

My Bzz package contained Smoky Almond Bar, a 9 pc. set of truffles, and a bunch of 15% off coupons to be used online.

Bzz Guide!

My Eagerly-awaited Bzz Kit!

I have to admit, my husband and I broke into the Smoky Almond bar immediately. It was good, a decent milk chocolate with almonds. I didn't notice them being particularly smoky, but the slightly salty taste was good. My husband said "it's chocolate" and asked me more about it. The bars are 8.50 each, which seems high. This didn't seem like a spectacular designer chocolate, it compared more to the Lindt or Ghiradelli bars which are much more readily available.

I held off on the truffles knowing that I had friends coming the day before Easter. Well, wouldn't you know it, our dinner party had to be canceled due to illness, so we held off on that party until Friday, April 12. I had a group of friends over that evening, and decided to let each one try a truffle to get their reaction.

When I said I had chocolate truffles to share, everyone was happy to partake. I asked for comments on each one and this is what I was told:

Classic - a decent milk chocolate, but not an absolute favorite
Chili Lime - a nice combination, a little different, good.
Vanilla - boring
Sea Salt Caramel - doesn't stack up to other Sea Salt Caramels they've tried
Hazelnut - a mild hazelnut, not bitter.
Raspberry - a little bit of a fruity bite.
Rum Raisin- didn't taste like rum raisin to the person who tried it.
Espresso - good, rich mocha flavor.
Dark Classic - a decent dark chocolate.

Most of the people  who tried them liked them, but felt that they didn't compare favorably with other offerings. One person suggested that they should be a more interesting shape, which is funny, because the shape really has nothing to do with taste.

I gave everyone the opportunity to take the 15% off coupons.One friend asked "so how much is a set like that?"  9 pieces are 27.00. There are also shipping charges, and during warm months (May - October) they charge an additional $10.00 for ice packs.  My friend remarked "I can pick up a 12 pack at Jacques Torres, in a nicer box, with prettier shapes, for less and I wouldn't have to pay for shipping." I argued that she'd have to pay the toll but she said she's always in New York, so that wouldn't matter.

Pure Madness also offers sipping cocoa, as do many other top-end chocolatiers, but I haven't tried it.

I am honestly surprised by this campaign. It seems very high-end, yet the product kind of fell flat, and coming from a confirmed chocoholic, that ain't good. It's a marginal purchase at best, not something you'd buy just to satisfy a sweet tooth, and I think there are better gifting options out there in chocolate land.