Rococo Chocolates was founded in 1983 by Chantal Coady, who has written three books about chocolate. Rococo Chocolates has three shops in London. She and Rococo were awarded a special price for “Changing the way people think about chocolate” by Academy of Chocolate in 2008. In 2007 Rococo and Grenada Chocolate Company started a joint venture in Grenada to produce fair traded ethical chocolate. Now, Rococo’s organic products contain beans from this production.
Rococo Chocolates produces a number of different chocolate gift boxes, chocolate bars, gift bags, confectionaries, and sugar free products. We decided to try some of their Artisan Bars which are made with their special blends of organic chocolate: dark 65%, milk, or white chocolate, and are available with 22 flavors. We decided to try the Orange & Geranium, Basil & Lime, Lavender, and Cranberry & Nutmeg bars; the tree first ones are made with dark chocolate (65%), the latter one with white chocolate.
All bars have delicate spiced flavor and smell, we especially enjoyed the flavored dark chocolates. The lavender bar was unexpected; the delicious fragrance reminded me of perfume. These dark chocolates are absolutely recommede for those who like bittersweet chocolate and would like something different than normal, unflavored chocolate bars.
Editor’s Rating:
Type: Specialty chocolate bars.
Flavor: 
Hal Chocolate brands, Chocolate tasting, Chocolatieres, Specialty chocolates grenada, uk
The chocolate manufacturer L’Artigiano di Gardini, which is located in Forli, Italy, is producing a number of single origin chocolate bars, chocolate praline collections, nougats, and high-quality chocolate bars with pistachios, raisins, puffed rice, almonds, pine nuts, ginger, candied oranges, cocount, pearls of chocolate, dried fruit, or almond sweetmeat.
L’Artigiano is also producing eight types of chocolate with “sweet salt of Cervia”, one with olive oil, and one with liquorice. I love the combination of chocolate and liquorice, and this chocolate bar was excellent. It was composed by a milk chocolate containing 38% cacao solids, liquorice root, and some salt.
Editor’s Rating:
Type: Specialty chocolate bars.
Flavor:
Chocolate tasting, Specialty chocolates italy
Åre Chokladfabrik is a small chocolate factory in a small town in central Sweden. They produce a large number of different chocolate truffles and pralines.
I decided to try their cloudberry truffles (“hjortrontryffel” in Swedish). Cloudberry is a yellow-colored berry which grows in northern hemisphere between 78°N and about 55°N, sometimes further south. It is popular in countries like Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Canada and Alaska. It is mostly used for making jam, but also for making liqueur, wine, juice and cakes.
The cloudberry truffles are made with a filling based on white chocolate and covered with milk chocolate. The filling is sweet and salty, and the flavor is somewhat fruity. It is difficult to recognise the distinct aromas of cloudberries, and the added salt makes it taste like salted butter. I thought, after my first bite, that the filling was a mixture of salted butter and cloudberry jam. So, in my opinion, the end product is not very successful. It should be possible to obtain a stronger cloudberry flavor.
Editor’s Rating:
Type: Chocolate truffles.
Flavor: 
Chocolate tasting, Specialty chocolates sweden
Chocolates Valor was founded in 1881. The factory is located in Villajoyca near Alicante in Spain where they also have a chocolate museum. Their premium chocolate bar selection is made with bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao solids) made with cacao beans from Ghana, Equador and Panama, and flavored with orange, pear, banana, mint, forest fruit, tofee, or plain chocolate. Valor has also a series or more ordinary chocolate bars, drinking chocolate, sugar-free chocolate, and gourmet chocolate. At their chocolate cafés you can also buy hot sipping chocolate (thick, melted chocolate which you may enjoy as it is or with bisquits). Their chocolate cafés can be found in a number of Spanish cities and is absolutely recommended.
We have tried their premium chocolate bars flavored with orange and pear. These chocolate bars have an adult flavor which is not too sweet, with strong, delicious flavor of the fruit. Actually two of the best flavored chocolates we have ever tried.
Editor’s Rating:
Type: Specialty chocolate bars.
Flavor:
Hal Chocolate brands, Chocolate tasting, Specialty chocolates spain
The people of Iceland love the combination of milk chocolate and liquorice. The fairly small icelandic chocolate manufacturers Freyja and Noi Sirius produce several combinations of those ingredients. We have tried three of them: Freyju Hitt, Eitt Sett, and Nizza Lakriskurl. Freyju Hitt (by Freyja) is made with milk chocolate, toffee and soft liquorice. The flavor is delicious combined with a soft texture. Easy to eat, easy to like, and easy to get addicted!
Eitt Sett (by Noi Sirius) is contains a milk chocolate bar with fairly hard liquorice on top. When taking a bite the chocolate bar cracks into several pieces. The flavor is dominated by milk chocolate, the liquorice flavor comes later, but is never strong. The texure of the liquorice is too hard compared to the fairly soft milk chocolate, so in my opinion this combination is not very successful.
Nizza Lakkriskurl (by Sirius) is a milk chocolate bar containing finely ground liquorice. The texture is fine, almost like ordinary milk, chocolate, but the liquorice flavor could have been stronger.
Editor’s Rating:
Type: Sweet chocolate candy bars. Flavor:
Freyju Hitt:
Nizza Lakkriskurl: 
Eitt Sett:
Hal Chocolate brands, Chocolate tasting iceland