Happy New Year and Happy January, dear friends!

With early January’s intermittent grey skies in the Lion City, I was looking forward to enjoying a little taste of coffee from one of the world’s most notable coffee cities. This coffee, however, doesn’t come in the form of a hot drink in my favorite mug… it is a block of chocolate with a coffee twist!

For the first foodie adventure of the year, I chose a snack stash member that hails from one of the first places in the world to ring in the new year. In fact, I had been waiting for January’s arrival to have a bite (well, more like a few bites) of it as one of my very first snack stash eats of the year! It’s time to say kia ora to the New Zealand-made Wellington Roasted Supreme Coffee Dark Chocolate by Whittaker’s!

Whittaker’s is a Kiwi chocolate brand that brings a touch of New Zealand to the chocolate aisles in my local supermarkets, through a handful of selections from their various chocolate ranges. Their chocolates are made in Porirua, a city in New Zealand’s North Island.

Upon spotting this chocolate block on the shelf for the very first time a while back, I simply knew I had to taste it. Not only do I enjoy both coffee chocolates and Whittaker’s chocolates, I was intrigued with the inclusion of Wellington-roasted coffee in the chocolate. I’ve heard about Wellington’s notable presence on the global coffee map, therefore, it was rather exciting to spot their coffee in the chocolate realm.

A Bit About Wellington

Wellington is a coffee-loving city where café-hoppers and coffee connoisseurs feel at home. With cafés and coffee roasters aplenty around the city, it certainly sounds like there is something for nearly everyone. This means that each coffee connoisseur has their own favorite places with selections that fit their palates. A fun fact to remember while ordering a cup of joe in NZ’s capital is that coffees in Wellington tend to comprise of double shots rather than a single shot, hence bringing bolder tastes.

The Unboxing & Hello, Chocolate!

Before unveiling the chocolate, I couldn’t help but admire the box’s design, which is absolutely beautiful. Looking closely, it features intricate patterns that celebrate New Zealand’s identity and vibes. A chocolate block that is wrapped in a Willy Wonka-esque gold wrapper sits in this box.

The bold aromas of dark chocolate and coffee greeted my nose as soon as the chocolate was unveiled. Each block is pretty wide, much to the delight of choco-holics like me!

The chocolate impressively holds its shape when it is kept in the Lion City’s tropical room temperature. The solid block of smooth chocolate had nice snaps when I divided the large block into individual pieces. Its consistency jogged my foodie memory of Ritter Sport’s marzipan dark chocolate which I had learnt is vegan, so I had a feeling that this Whittaker’s chocolate might be vegan. It turns out that this coffee dark chocolate is indeed vegan-friendly.

Taste Test!

As 50% cocoa is used in this chocolate, the cocoa shines nicely in the flavor department. It is semi-sweet and it isn’t as bitter as dark chocolates with higher percentages, therefore, its taste would please the taste buds of anyone who adores dark chocolates that are a little milder. My milk chocolate-loving palate detected dark chocolate as the primary note in my introductory bite, with undertones of coffee.

A few bites later, the coffee rose to a level of prominence that was closely shared alongside the chocolate. While the flavor profiles of coffee and dark chocolate are generally known for being bold when each of them are tasted individually, they do make a nice team in their flavorful union.

The coffee used in this chocolate is from a local Wellington coffee brand named Coffee Supreme. Sidamo coffee from Ethiopia is the selected coffee for this coffee-chocolate collab, and the coffee beans were roasted in Wellington, as suggested by the chocolate’s name.

Based on my sleuthing, Sidamo coffee tends to possess citrus, fruity and floral flavor profiles. Coffee Supreme’s sidamo coffee leans towards the fruity notes, according to the description on the chocolate’s box. I reckon this is why the coffee isn’t entirely on the bitter side, even though the quintessential taste of delicious coffee does stand out.

All in all, I enjoyed the delicious flavors from this fabulous chocolate block. It’s definitely a nice treat to begin this year’s new adventures!