It’s me again – number one chocolate fanatic in Singapore! Earlier this year I fell in love with bean-to-bar chocolate. I started a new video series called My Chocolate Journey on YouTube to share my passion for quality chocolate with you all. Ahem…. okay. The video series is also a convenient excuse to eat more chocolate. So, this month, I indulged in some yummy chocolate balls called Balleros by Zotter.
What are Balleros? Well, it’s pretty simple. They are nuts dipped in organic chocolate. What’s not to like? Have a quick look at these moorish choccies in the video below. Keep scrolling for the details!
Zotter Balleros
Zotter Balleros are nuts dipped in chocolate. Except for the passion fruit pearls – those are more like candy. Chocolate Balleros look like miniature Easter eggs and are absolutely moorish. I can sit at my computer with a cup of coffee and happily nibble my way through an entire box. These are a lighter chocolate offering and are not as rich or indulgent as the Pralus bars I taste-tested previously. If you are a hardcore chocoholic that desires a sickly sweet choccie then you will find the Balleros disappointing. They are delicious but they are not sugar-laden. Nor do they have a melty quality.
I ordered four varieties of Zotter Balleros from online chocolate store, Hello Chocolate: Balleros Pistachios in Almond Nougat, Balleros Peanuts & Salt, Balleros Hazelnuts Classic, and the Balleros Passion Fruit Pearls. Each box cost me SGD$16.
Pistachio
The Balleros Pistachios in Almond Nougat were my favourite. Great things come in small packages! Pistachios are a small yet premium nut that is so rarely found in Asian desserts. It was a real treat to eat them by the handfuls and covered in chocolate! The pistachio Balleros are made with almond praline and mountain milk chocolate. They look like miniature Easter Eggs up until you bite into one of them and behold a beautiful green nut in the center. I’d be keen to order these again.
Peanut
The Balleros Peanuts & Salt were incredibly moorish. I mean, come on! Peanut, salt, and chocolate is an incredible combination. It’s better than chocolate peanut butter! These particular Balleros had a darker and more bitter chocolate coating and contained a touch of caramel couverture. The result was a super smooth and shiny ball with one massive peanut in the middle. I couldn’t stop eating them and I devoured the entire box in a single sitting.
Hazelnut
The Balleros Hazelnuts Classic were just as yummy albeit a little messy. As the name suggests, they are the classic chocolate treat. Hazelnut and chocolate make a wondrous pairing. These Balleros were made with noble bitter chocolate and rolled in dark cocoa powder. They were the chocolatiest balls of the bunch! However, be careful of sticky fingers after eating these!
Passion Fruit
The fourth and final box of Balleros I ordered were the Balleros Passion Fruit Pearls. Buyers remorse alert!! I’m sorry to say, but I was not a fan. They were very tangy and highly acidic as well as sickly sweet. I am not a candy person. Next time, I’ll stick with the chocolate stuff.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of Balleros. Zotter has a huge range of these delicious balls containing all sorts of nuts and fruit. I would like to try the almond, cashew, and raisin Zotter Balleros in the future.
Zotter Single Origin Chocolate
A little bit about the chocolate maker behind Zotter Balleros… Zotter, an Austrian chocolatier, specialise in single-origin chocolate. That is chocolate made from one variety of cacao harvested in one region. Why is that significant? Well, cacao is a bit like wine. The terrain and climate where cacao beans are sourced have a huge influence on the flavour and aroma of the final chocolate produced. When you start blending cacao from different regions, the unique flavours are lost.
Zotter makes over 500 different types of chocolates that are all bean-to-bar, fair trade and 100% organic. Visit the official Zotter website to find out more about this wonderful chocolatier.
So folks, that it’s for my chocolate review this month. If you like nuts, and you like balls, and you like bean-to-bar chocolate, then you will LUV Balleros! Happy nibbling.