Chocolate Trends For 2014
7 Chocolate Trends to Taste in 2014
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Puffed grains, bean-to-bar chocolates, and bacon: these are just a few of last year's chocolate trends. But this year, chocolatiers have stepped it up, unleashing a whole batch of wild, chocolate-covered concepts. Whether they sound revolutionary or repulsive, these flavors are officially trending in the choco-sphere.
Gen Y Branding
We've seen Campbell's try to appeal to a younger audience by introducing Campbell's Go Soups. The packaging design looks like a handwritten, bubble-letter-filled note you might have sent a friend in middle school, and the wacky, international flavors captivate young, adventurous palates. The same applies to chocolatiers — Lindt's new Hello line of chocolate bars ($5) and Tcho's TchoPairings ($8) have flashy flavors and whimsical packaging to young-up their brands.
Blonde Chocolate
Roasting white chocolate takes a too-sweet confection and transforms it into caramelized bliss. Food52 shared Valrhona's technique for caramelized white chocolate, but now you can buy it ready-made: Dulcey Blonde Chocolate ($8). San Francisco-based bakery Craftsman and Wolves offers Blond Chocolate Raspberry Bars using Valrhona's chocolate. Even hot chocolate's getting in on the fun, like in The Kitchn's caramelized white hot chocolate.
Asian Ingredients
Matcha green tea, ginger, and edamame: just a few Asian ingredients that we're seeing enrobed in lush chocolate. Our favorite samplings include Vosges Super Dark Matcha Green Tea and Spirulina ($8), Jcoco Edamame Sea Salt in Milk Chocolate ($8), and Theo Ginger 70 Percent Dark Chocolate ($4).
Superdark Chocolate
If you thought 70 percent was dark, try 90 percent . . . even 100 percent! Guittard 100 Percent Cacao Unsweetened Baking Bars ($84 for 12 bars) and Videri 90 Percent Cocoa Chocolate Bars ($8) manage to taste ultrasmooth and chocolaty without any chalkiness or bitterness.
Inverted Granola Bars
Granola bar companies have been drizzling chocolate atop their products for years, but chocolate makers are just now getting the memo that granola and chocolate are a winning combo. Clairesquares Caramelized Oat Bar ($8), buttery granola clusters tucked in a dark chocolate bar, and Lake Champlain Chocolates Crunchy Granola ($5), a crispy, crunchy, cinnamon-y bar, are editors' picks in this department.
American Alcohol-Infused Ganaches
Liqueur-spiked ganaches are so old-school. These days chocolatiers, more specifically American chocolatiers, are making use of beer, bourbon, and hard apple cider. Note these boozy bites: Coco Délice Bison Black Magic Beer-Infused Chocolate Ganache (13), Lake Champlain Milk Chocolate Apple Cider Caramels ($15), and Fruition Chocolate Brown Butter Bourbon Caramels ($18). For the record, yes, these all actually taste like the intended alcohol.
Chili-Spiked
Mole sauce must have been the inspiration for the influx of chili-spiked chocolate bars. Wild Ophelia New Orleans Chili Dark Chocolate Bar ($4) and Theo Chili 70 Percent Dark Chocolate ($4) are two worthy finds.
