Lockdown Treats: Chocaletta

Getting delicious things delivered to your door has to be the best way to stay sane during lockdown. I’ve written about Noni’s Family Kitchen handmade scotch eggs plenty of times in the past. This weekend we got a cask ale delivery from my favourite corner pub The Salmon. We had a very enjoyable IPA from Salopian (currently they are updating this Facebook post with stock availability.) However, for us Leicester types, getting great, ethical chocolate is not so easy. Like most people there is a limited selection at the supermarkets or the local ‘chocolatiers’.

Ethical Chocolate Delivery

It was nice to hear about Chocaletta (such a canny name) through the Guild of Food Writers. Unfortunately my sweet tooth from my pregnancy has not abated. A good quality dark chocolate is just the thing to satisfy the sweet craving without consuming too much! They are a new business started during Covid to make ethical chocolate more accessible. Your order comes in a letterbox friendly box. You can choose not to have this if you have a dog that might try and gobble up your treats and get sick. They have seriously thought this through!

Letterbox Gifts

My order arrived quickly and safely. All the bars were in tip top condition and all the packing was recyclable and sustainable. This included the film on the Ocelot chocolate, which can be composted at home. The Ocelot black cherry is actually my favourite that I have tried so far. The dark chocolate is rich and velvety as it enveloped your mouth. The fruity notes in the cocoa mass are accented and heightened with the addition of black cherry extract. The ingredients list says it includes organic dried cherry too. To be honest I only found one teeny tiny piece in the whole bar!

I also really enjoyed the Cox & Co bee pollen & honey dark chocolate. Again this is up my alley as the bitterness of the dark chocolate finds a delicious counterpoint with the pervasive honey flavour that isn’t too sweet but is given complexity, interest and texture with the addition of the pollen. A real ambrosia this one!

So treat yourself with a beautifully presented gift, packed full of some of the world’s most cocoa farmer friendly treats! Delivery is free over £30 and they will be branching out into a subscription service in the future if you want to embark on a bit of a gustatory adventure along the chocolate belt!

Thank you to Chocaletta who sent me a complimentary box to try with no expectation of coverage or a review. This post reflects an honest account of my experience.

Edit 29.01.21 – I got an email from Chris at Chocaletta today who had shared my review with Ocelot. Apparently there had been an issue with one of the machines at their small family business and so there weren’t many cherry pieces, but we can expect to see far more as new stock filters through. Good excuse to go and try some I reckon!