Vivani Praliné
I’m having one of those days. Trying to write software that runs on different versions of Windows – and I’ve hit a stumbling block in Vista. As it seems, one does. The Chinese curse applies doubly so to Windows Vista: may you live in VERY interesting times.
It was a welcome diversion then, to head out to the local Foodland supermarket to stock up on a few things we’ve run out of. It’s been a while since I checked out their oddball chocolate section, which sadly seems to have less variety than it used to. I was however, pleasantly surprised to find this: Vivani Praliné.
Who the heck are Vivani? They, it turns out, are another European manufacturer who export to the entire whole humungous world – at least judging by the ingredients list on the back of the pack – in seven different languages! There is so little room left that I can barely (by using a microscope) read that this is an organic milk chocolate with 50% hazelnut nougat. A quick read of the web site shows that this is from a small German family company, which has been making organic chocolate for only 10 years.
Anyhow, this one… the chocolate is milk based – with 33% minimum cocoa solids and 19% minimum milk solids. Actually, 33% cocoa is doing a lot better than some of the milk chocolate we get around here. The filling is the hazelnut nougat.
The chocolate is quite soft (their web site recommends eating it straight from the fridge – something I did not do), and very very creamy. Eating it and letting the chocolate melt away, its hard to tell where the chocolate outer ends and the nougat begins – then gradually the hazelnut flavour begins. The nougat is soft, creamy, hazelnutty, and generally very yummy.
There are two aspect that are not quite so wonderful – the first is the price. At over $5 for a 100 gram block, this really is a luxury indulgence. The other: this is very sweet. If you like your chocolate sweet, you’ll swoon over this one. If like me, you prefer a bit less sweetness, then you’ll like it but might struggle to scoff the entire block in a single sitting.
Don’t get me wrong, though, this is good. Very good. I’m impressed, and with milk chocolate it takes a lot to impress me. And some of the others in the product range look very interesting indeed. I might have to see if I can track down a local supplier who carries more of the product range.
Information
- Contains milk chocolate (33% cocoa solids).
- Filed under germany, hazelnut, milk chocolate, organic, vivani.
I like this brand; they use quality ingredients, all of which are organically sourced. What’s nice too is you can often find Vivani chocolate in better supermarkets and grocery stores. I just saw they added dark chocolate with matcha and mango to their product range – I will definitely have to try that next!
I haven’t tried this one, but if you see the dark chocolate with caramel pieces, snap it up! It’s like the Lindt Crunchy Caramel Excellence only a squillion times better, because it’s dark 🙂
Interesting,I was just rubbing in front of Vivani chocolates in our market after a long time today but then picked G&B with peppermint oil instead.l like their 70% dark bar with orange flavor since l don’t buy milk chocolate and l hope some dark soul here will review that one soon.Simon?
I love Vivani 85%. It is smooth and rich and not bitter. I like it better than the 72%.
I have a hard time finding different flavors in the Boston area, but when I went to Berlin last fall, I tried white chocolate crisp and several other yummy flavors!
I just love the quality of Vivani. Especially due to the fact that virtually all of their chocolates are soy free and don’t use emulsifiers. I’m allergic to soy as well as coeliac so these have been a huge find for me. I really like the fact that at least someone around here still uses pure cocoa butter as soy was never meant to be in chocolate, yet finding a chocolate without -derived ingredients is SO HARD!! I cook all the time with their milk chocolate when making cakes and layering our traditional british toffees and people keep telling me how much they love it!
Their praline is to die for. I’ve always had a slightly sweet tooth so these are great! 😀 Their dark varieties aren’t too bad either
Thanks for starting a great discussion!