Every year I pay a sweet visit to Patchi, our Lebanese chocolate ambassador to the world. Even one piece of delicious chocolate can draw a smile on anyone's face... So just imagine entering a beautiful paradise surrounded by chocolates in endless colors and flavors. Filled with amazingly rich ingredients, Patchi is always reinventing itself and introducing new exceptional bites ...
This Ramadan, Patchi has launched a special selection called the "Tasali". Let's check them out...
- Dates with orange peel embraced with dark chocolate and decorated with colored sugar. Hard chocolate embraces a piece of chewy date stuffed with more chocolate. A mix of several flavors combined, the intensity of chocolate leaving a pleasant after taste in the mouth, the orange sugar caresses the palate leaving a pleasant sweetness while you chew the fruit core. A perfectly balanced piece of chocolate.
- White chocolate with a heart of dried fig and a crown of walnut. A crunch of that wild natural walnut left as is will take you on a journey around the forest. The chocolate explodes into notes of sweetness to balance the savory out. The fig makes it unique bringing freshness and style to the creation. I'm not a fan of milk chocolate but this one is really good.
- Semsmiyyeh with an envelope of milk chocolate and sesame seeds on top. I loved the crunchy sesame croquant and the hint of salt it offers... This piece will remind you of your oriental origin.
- Milk chocolate with dates in the middle and a heart of pistachio. I'm not sure what has happened - a positive - to Patchi but their milk chocolate has improved so much from the texture and taste perspective. This piece feels light and balanced. Inside comes the chewyness of a date and the firmness of the pistachio crumble. It is indeed interesting and tasty.
- A square-shaped piece decorated with crunchy chocolate on top. A dark chocolate envelope, a heart of dark creamy chocolate and crunchy salted biscuits... my favorite one so far with its unexpected kick of saltiness, the crunch, the fine chocolate and how it melts. The Tasali collection is not named but I'd name this one and add it to the permanent collection; I'd call it "The Journey".
- Milk chocolate with a heart of mastika. Non sweet, soft and smooth, this piece feels and looks like mouhallabiya...so I'd call this one "The Mouhallabiya". It feels and tastes like one too... the milk, the mistké, the Lebanese touch.
- The grenadine piece. Red and sexy, the pomegranate adds a certain acidity, leaving a long lasting after note, white chocolate cream mixed with bits of pomegranate and the sumptuousness of the chocolate.
- Caramelized pistachio rocher with a robe of dark chocolate. Crunchy green pistachio, sticky caramel and dark chocolate. A unique creation!
- Milk chocolate, strawberry jam cream, biscuit and dried fruits as a decoration. Milky, sweet and elegant... it's the kind of chocolate you offer to guests - noble. But a bit too sweet for my taste.
- The coffee mix: wow! Rich Italian coffee married with smooth white cream in a shell of milk chocolate and sprinkled with ground coffee. A pleasant taste of coffee, this piece is smoothly and elegantly creamy... a trip to Italy and back!
- Milk chocolate and mango! Take a bite and wait... and feel the mango flavor explode around your palate. Fresh and fruity!
- Smooth hazelnut praline in a shell of milk chocolate with a piece of caramelized hazelnut on the top. If you're a fan of milk chocolate and smooth creamy bites, this piece is for you. The crunchy bits add a certain sweetness to the end note.
- Malban... a chewy creation known in Lebanon is embraced with milk chocolate and stuffed with crunchy pistachio in the middle... an interesting mix!
- Bitter orange on top gives an avant goût experience... milk chocolate and the nougat at the heart. A nice balance.
I'm a big fan of Patchi.
