Chocri: Create My Chocolate

In a world of freeze-your-own ice cream and top-your-own hamburgers, it was only a matter of time until someone swept in to fill the need for customizable chocolate. Enter Chocri, a German-based company that has just launched operations in the U.S. The concept is simple: you choose your chocolate base (milk, dark or white), add up to five additional toppings, and your designer chocolate bars are shipped to you faster than you can say "Meine Schokolade!"

The most exciting part is undoubtedly choosing your toppings. M&M's and rice crispies in a candy bar? Yawn. With Chocri, your options range from apricot bits to spicy volcano cashews. Though you could stick to classic chocolate add-ins, like nougat and coconut, haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to add coriander to your chocolate? No? Well, here's your chance anyway. For chocolate bars intended as gifts, you can also add in decorations and labels, such as "Thank you!" or "Happy Birthday!"

With a purported 10 billion+ possible combinations, I had to put some serious thought into concocting winning chocolate combinations. After much agonizing (marshmallow or muesli? Do I need gold flakes in my chocolate??), I ended up with the following bars:

 

Pistachio, papaya and mango cubes in white chocolate: this was my bid for a safe, unintimidating chocolate bar, filled with nuts and tropical fruity goodness. It was by far the most popular option amongst the kid testers.

Wasabi peanuts, ginger and chives in milk chocolate: Let it be known that the wasabi peanuts have a hefty, sinus-clearing kick to them, which is just the way I like them. Combined with the warmth of the ginger pieces and creamy milk chocolate, this was my favorite bar of the bunch. The addition of the chives was slightly odd; I thought it might add a certain onion-y je ne sais quoi, but next time I think I'll just leave them out. All in all, this is an adventurous bar, perfect for those who like a little spice with their sugar.

Flower mix, hazelnut brittle and orange pepper in dark chocolate: Dark chocolate has an understated elegance and beauty of its own, so I tried to keep the toppings a bit more low-profile. Here, I added some hazelnut brittle for crunch and a sprinkling of flowers for color. The floral notes and orange pepper accented the dark chocolate without overpowering it.

Chocri is currently in soft-launch, with the invitation-only password released in their newsletter yesterday, but I'm guessing the site will be completely public soon. (Or perhaps you could score the password by asking Carmen nicely.) For the environmentally conscious, chocolate bars are fair trade and organic products, and a number of the toppings are organic as well.

Chocri

http://www.createmychocolate.com

Comments

[Amy]

This looks delicious, but my question is what on earth is a spicy volcanic cashew. I'm sure it's good, but to be honest, it sounds kinda gross. Maybe they should think about marketing that topping a little differently

[Carmen from chocri]

Hi,

This is Carmen from chocri. Thank you for the nice review!

The site is open to everyone this Monday, January 11, and I invite everyone to check it out! And yes, if you email me, I will give the password to you

@Amy: Thank you for the feedback! What would you call it? Honestly, I just translated its German name, but sometimes just translating doesn't do the trick. What it is is cashews are coated with chili and cayenne pepper, making those who order this hot topping very brave chocolate eaters!:)
Feel free to email me an idea for better names (see the link above) or tell us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/chocridotcom) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/chocri). Thanks!

[Women Supra Style]

Virtue never grows old.

[caloricandcrazy]

That wasabi chocolate looks pheomenal!