Green & Black’s – Organic Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts and Currants
Green & Black’s has earned my trust after delivering tasty offerings in the past. In fact, they were the brand that made me appreciate white chocolate and not instantly write off all types of it as fake chocolate or inferior. While not what I’d consider the best quality, they certainly are very good value for money right now, and they are kind of like if mass market chocolates went to university and graduated and are now looking for a job. The cheaper mass market stuff like Hershey’s would be the nasty high schooler – you don’t realize what you’re missing until you escape the four walled hell that is high school. Green & Black’s is what you realize is possible if you’re willing to sacrifice quantity for quality at the same price point.
Currants, while not grapes, occupy a similar space when it comes to flavours. You’ll find that in the UK and some European regions, the purple flavour in fruit candies and mixes is currant, not grape. I couldn’t tell you why it’s more of an American thing, but rarely will you see currants and grape in the same flavour mix or assortment.
These currants have a very fruity aroma, and taste similar to raisins, with less sweetness and more tartness. Honestly, if I was to be blindfolded and didn’t know these were currants, I might think they were raisins. The flavour is currant for sure, but when dried they aren’t different enough from raisins that anyone would be the wiser if you swapped them. The chocolate itself is of the 60% variety, and is that perfect balance of being not too sweet but still what I consider snackable dark. It has the slightly bitter, deep almost smoky flavour that darker chocolate tends to have, but isn’t dark enough to have any of those qualities on the far end of the spectrum which is actually a good thing.
Similar to any other chocolate bar with dried berries in them, the texture can be polarizing. Either you like the chewy nature of the currants, or you don’t. The addition of hazelnuts gives it another kind of texture so that you have a bit of a hard crunch, and a soft chew. If you enjoy chewing your chocolate, than this is great. It reminds me of an oatmeal cookie, where you add in raisins for a bit of moisture and texture. Again, very much up to preference, but I fall on the side that it adds something if done well. The chocolate itself remains quite snackable, and isn’t overly brittle or melty. A great vector for nuts and dried berries.
The quality of all the components are quite nice, so I have no qualms in recommending this. The currants are nice a tangy, and the hazelnuts add a nice texture to the bar. As always, if you don’t enjoy currants or hazelnuts, this may not be for you, but I don’t see this bar offending anyone or insulting their mother, so this is a good crowd pleaser. Unless you hate fruits in chocolate and cookies, in which case you and I may need to have a little chat.
I find this brand in general to be a good value proposition, especially when it goes on sale. It’s got a price point that’s somewhere between cheap mass market brand to premium mass market brand, while still being cheaper than fancy high end brands. It’s usually of a certain quality so I tend to feel safe trying their offerings out and would recommend them in general.
