Ottawa Foodies

I'm going to start off by saying that I LOVE chocolate. Every since I was pregnant with my first I've been on a search for the best truffle/chocolate in Ottawa. Up until now I've always enjoyed Truffles Treasures, although I always found them to be a bit sweet, which doesn't showcase the chocolate as it should.

Today, I was able to try out Koko Chocolates. I purchased a box of 18 for about $24 (which I find is VERY reasonable for the quality).

So far I have tried the:

Raspberry Truffle: the ganache was absolutely amazing! By far the best raspberry truffle I've had to date. It's a combination of tart sweetness and dark chocolate.

Margarita: I LOVE the hint of line, and the subtlety of the alcohol

Italian Lover: At first I was a bit hesitant to try this one as it boasts two separate liquers and I'll be the first to admit that I tend to dislike most chocolates made with liquers because they're just too darn strong tasting. I was surprised by the balance Lori was able to achieve between the chocolate, cognac and amaretto. They are absolutely devine!

Neopolitan: I love the light lemon flavor
incorporated into this one. One again a perfect blend

Koko Roche: Although I enjoyed this truffle, I would consider it to be my least favorite. At first I was most excited to try this one, as I typically love hazelnut and chocolate together. However, I think I had just eaten the raspberry one before this, so I was still a bit hung up

Thai Chili: Surprising good. A bit hot for my tastes, although it does leave the palette rather quickly, which is good

That's as far as I've gotten so far. On a more broad note...I found the ganache fillings to be made wonderfully. Absolutely melt in your mouth! I've had truffles elsewhere that had such hard centers I practically had to chew :P

I'll be back once I try the others!

Oh.

My.

God.

We ordered a box of 32 truffles the other day so that we could get at least two of every flavour. (You know, for research purposes.)

And the new seasonal offerings are fantastic.

That pink circly one in the middle of the shot? That's Neapolitan. Lemon white chocolate ganache with raspberry milk chocolate ganache, all dipped in dark chocolate. The lemon hit me first, with the raspberry creeping up later. Exquisite.

The one that looks like a little faceted gemstone directly to the right of the Neapolitan? That's strawberry daiquiri. Dark chocolate, strawberry, rum, and a bit of lime. It's lovely, with just the right hit of strawberry.

Don't tell anybody, but the next time I have a dinner party I'm ordering a box of Koko Chocolates for use as petit fours. I want to keep it a surprise!

…Should I have said that out loud?

okay
that was a teaser
and I need to check the white balance on my cam for the box is actually a beautiful lime green
now for the goods
top L - R
triple choco
raspberry
Grand Marnier
Margarita

bottom L - R
Thai chili
Italian lover
White vanilla rum
Passionfruit

we tried them yesterday to celebrate our first anniversary
we got the modest small pack but lordie it went far! and came up HUGE!
yes, by far the best truffles I've had in Ottawa perhaps even Seattle, San Fran and Phoenix
my 3 faves were the Thai chili (perfectly balanced)
the Maragrita, the salt was perfect and the balance again made me wish for another bite or ten
and having some Jamican roots, the White Vanilla Rum...made me whish mum and granny were still around to have tried them

I sense alot of my splurge moneys will be going to up Marc's profits
betwen the truffles and Art-is-in olive and cheddar & jalapeno breads and freshly sliced cold cuts, I may have to offer to work a shift or two in lieu of payment
lol

I finally have gotten to try koko chocolates and WOW! They lived up to everything I had read here. I think my favourite (it was really hard to chose one) is the margarita...lots of flavour..sour and salty. Also wanted to say that the presentation is beautiful. You can tell that care is taken in making these truffles.

I have nothing to compare to since I have not tried any of the other ones in the city, but these ones certainly are exceptionally good. Now I guess I'll have to go buy some from Stubbe (Stubbe) to compare with the market leader.

Oh, lordy. I totally forgot to take a picture of the box, which is sad because they'll all be eaten very soon.

They're absolutely delicious. Flavourful, decadent, *chocolate* chocolates. Mark's right: it's nice to have a truffle that tastes like chocolate, rather than sugar, for a change.

Of the 18-box I picked up we've tried the passionfruit, raspberry, and margarita. I can't get the margarita one out of my head. It's tangy and salty, with a bit of a kick.

Picked up some tonight for my work (prize for a Valentine's Day game) and some for my wife and I to celebrate THAT day. Funnily, we couldn't resist taking a sneak preview. We had the Koko Roche and the Raspberry... wowsers... divine!! So rich and flavourful. We will definitely be back. It also helps that they are a 10 minute walk (7 if I'm going fast) from my house. Highly recommended. The packaging is simple but cute. Great gift and ridiculously well priced. Kudos.

These are currently the best chocolates available in our city by a good margin. Rich and flavourful, they are more about chocolate than sugar, a trait that sets them apart from local competitors. Try them if you want to see how authentic European chocolates are supposed to taste.

They reminded me of the amazing chocolates my uber-foodie uncle in Switzerland made when he was into this as a hobby. This is the guy who keeps chickens for eggs, grinds his own spelt flour to make bread, and is known for preparing meals superior to those found in local gourmet restaurants.

Of course I enjoyed some Koko chocolates more than others due to personal preference but what impressed me was how perfectly balanced all the flavours are. The chocolate is never overwhelmed by other ingredients and there is no cloying sweetness. When you bite into one of these chocolates you can tell the ingredients are top notch!

My absolute favourite is the Koko Roché, with its delectable Gianduja-like center and shell of dark chocolate with roasted almond. If you think you like Ferrero Rocher or Nutella or any other combination of nuts and chocolate then this will raise the bar. I expected to like this one the most because I'm partial to nutty chocolates.

Second favourite is the Margarita. The balance of lime, tequila, and salt is just perfect and a particularly refreshing accompaniment to the excellent chocolate.

I tried several others but haven't given them all a chance yet. I keep using the word "balance" because it's so rare to find chocolates that have it. The Thai Chili truffle is quite an experience. The chocolate flavour hits you first, then the heat of the chilis creeps up on you. If you've ever dreamed of being whipped while eating premium chocolate ice cream then this just might be the truffle for you! After you swallow, the rich chocolate and the burn of the chili make their exit hand-in-hand, all sins forgiven. :)

What is clear to me is that Lori is a perfectionist and those who benefit from this are her customers.

Yes they are good here! In the photo you can see what I handed out at work in lieu of cigars when my kids were born. Of course, these little boxes are typically used for wedding favours and the like. Anyways, the chocolates were fantastic!

One thing that might not be obvious when you visit the stores -- the chocolates are not made in-house.

I received some chocolates from this place for Valentine's Day this year. They were delicious. If you like Belgian chocolates (especially truffles), it's worth checking out.

These truffles and ganaches are, to me, able to go against anything else in this city without feeling outclassed. I have sampled many offerings last autumn, and somehow managed to restrict myself to these few portrayed this time to get re-acquainted. (It took me 20 minutes to decide on so few.)

While the flavours can be just slightly bold at times, they aren't aggressive, and the texture of the ganaches always seems appropiate to the savoring.

The honey and Espelette pepper, for example, is wonderfull unctuous, due to the honey more than likely, and melts around your tongue as you suckle it, the honey saying hello as it passes by, the pepper only making itself known several seconds later, and overly so. (I have to take pauses between bites to let the flavour linger and soothe off...)

I guess you could say that the flavours are epxressive, not aggressive. They tend to be one major flavour per ganache; not many blends of two or more flavours.

The cassis here has the consistency of a fruit paste, but it's still a chocolate ganache. You can see the grains on the inside. Mmmm.

There's more than one type of truffle; the one picture is the basic one (truffle moëlleuse). As I pointed out in the chocolates section, there's over 30 varieties of ganaches and truffles. For anyone who likes chocolate, there's bound to be at least three to like.

4

..and the award for 'Person Not Clear On The Website Concept' goes to...

Mousse, truffle and I am not exactly sure what the last one is.
The chef came out and advised my boyfriend which to eat first and how. We had a mini-lesson in dessert eating I guess. Rich in taste and experience!

Despite their overly sweet ganache, I do enjoy these truffles. Unfortunately for them however, you can find much better in Ottawa for a fraction of the cost. Definitely NOT worth almost $2 a piece.

If you're still wanting to take the plunge I would suggest the Raspberry or Milk Chocolate truffle.

Thanks for the support, Pete. I can take a bit of flack though -- especially when guilty of waxing melodramatic in a review.

Your points are all quite valid! Except maybe for the 99.9% statistic. ;-)

I can't comment with the same conviction as FreshFoodie, but I have tried truffles from this place. I agree with FreshFoodie that even when they 'should' be chocolatey, the flavour was very sweet, and not very chocolatey. Actually my favourite one was the Cranberry Cardamom, as it seemed to have the most punch. In my box, I'm sure that I had soem liqueur based ones, but I cannot remember a single one that had the zing of alcohol content. Perhaps I need to try more, but I would be very happy if Truffle Treasures offered some truffles that were more on the savoury, versus sweet side of the taste spectrum.

As for New User 907, in case you don't know, the person you are arguing with is the owner of this website, and beloved of 99.9% of the people here. You might be better off not arguing, or trying to cast aspersions, but rather offering to treat him to a tasting at Truffle Treasures where his observations can be measured, and if needed refuted in a civilized manner. Who knows... maybe, just maybe, his observations (whether factual regarding corn syrop, which can be called by the way a natural product) are shared by others. Fixing the problem in this case is not necessarily about the ingredients, it's about the experience, and the perception.

Also, it would be better if you gave yourself a name, because everyone here will just assume that an anonymous user complaining about a review is really just the owner of the establishment.

i would not say that you would have ahd a fluke batch, the only person who prepares the truffles, is lara herself, and they are all made with a ganache center, and yes the creme brulee does in fact have more to it that caramelized sugar, but the "syrupyness" you encountered would be cause by that caramelized sugar, all the truffles are made with a ganache in the center, all of which are made with all natural ingredients and NO corn/glucose syrup. i do not believe stating that they must be made with a corn syrup center, is strictly an opinion, it was stated as a fact which you did not truely know.

Thanks for the interesting information. I don't believe I've ever claimed to be a qualified food critic and of course like everyone else I am simply sharing my own impressions of the foods I encounter.

You mention traditional truffles but the ones I sampled were not traditional in the strict sense. To my knowledge, any filling other than a simple ganache is non-traditional. The ones I tried had more of a caramel filling and that is not to my taste. There's more to creme brulee than caramelized sugar. I guess it's possible that I just had a fluke bad batch, perhaps prepared by an inexperienced employee. This seems even more likely given your statement that Truffle Treasures fillings are more like traditional ganache and less like corn syrup.

Anyway, it's nice to know that the ingredients are usually good quality!

i happen to have worked at truffle treasures in the past, and i would just like to explain that there is NO corn syrup or glucose syrup in any of the truffles, they are made with the same respects as any traditional truffles, they do include fat, in the form of butter. so i would take another look into your own food critic ability, seeing as how you clearly do not know the difference between a traditional ganache, and somethig filled with corn syup. oh and the reason the creme brulee would have resembled syrupy sweetness, is because it containes caramelizes sugar(kinda like a real creme brulee)

Being a lover of fine chocolates I was excited to try these. I started with the hazelnut one but found it to be too sweet, not chocolately enough, and with an almost syrupy center. Disappointed, I bit into the creme brulee and was again overwhelmed by syrupy sweetness. I jammed the green tea truffle into my mouth and chewed it. More of the same! Then I picked up the last truffle in the box. Coconut, one of my favourite flavours -- maybe this one would redeem the whole batch! I bit down and found my tongue once more enveloped in cloying, syrupy sweetness. At two bucks a pop I expected these cute little morsels to appeal to my palate more than Pot of Gold.

Now, even though these weren't at all my style, I can tell they are well made. The chocolate layer is super thin and delicate, which makes them so tender (yet unfortunately means less chocolate). The filling was new to me, in that it seemed to contain no cocoa and little or no fat. In fact I'd guess it was made with a base of corn syrup. If you like those Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs (I can't stand them), you'd find these truffles amazing!

They were packaged up really beautifully. Very careful presentation!