"Imagine summer at its most idyllic: warm weather with a light breeze; languid moments where everyday concerns make way for a flight of fancy; and long evenings that you never want to end."

And then you remember that you live in the UK. It's cold, politics are going down the drain and it's probably raining. But hey ho, it reminds us to appreciate the little luxuries we still have in life, right?

And one of these luxuries is indeed a box of Pierre Marcolini chocolates. My first encounter with this brand was years ago on a trip to Brussels. One of our friends living there was giving us a culinary (and ok, slightly absinthy) tour of the city and brought us to the Marcolini store there. This was my first taste of chocolate of this calibre. The shop looked like a jewellers; encased in large glass boxes was the spot-lit luxurious black packaging, and the row upon row of perfect jewel like chocolates, almost impossible to choose from. I ended up spending about 50 Euros on a box which seems ludicrous, but with more restraint than I ever thought I had, brought them home where I savoured them one by one over the course of a couple of weeks. Even though this was a good decade ago, I can still remember the taste of some of them. Money well spent.



And here I have a box of the 2017 Summer collection; Les Reves de Pierre. Once you slip off the raspberry card wrap, the familiar matt black packaging with a white foiled logo is revealed. The silky ribbon tab helps you lift the lid to reveal a beautiful selection of small cubes, in whites, blush pinks and lipstick reds. I'm a sucker for all this, and get a thrill out of the whole product experience and the brand story these details help tell. You may mindlessly rip the packaging off a regular chocolate bar and chomp away (what did the Milky Bar Kid know, eh), but these are for savouring not scoffing.

The collection is a series of smooth ganache and cereal pralines, with a base of either quinoa, sesame, spelt or barley and seasonal fruits. In the box you'll find:

• Crunchy chocolate quinoa praline and raspberry ganache, coated in dark chocolate
• Crunchy three cereal praline (sesame, quinoa and spelt), passion fruit and lime zest caramel, coated in milk chocolate
• Crunchy sesame praline, yuzu caramel, coated in white chocolate
• Crunchy spelt praline, vanilla and star anise ganache, coated in white chocolate
• Crunchy white almond praline, lemon and bergamot ganache, coated in white chocolate
• Crunch pearl barley praline, lemon and pink peppercorn caramel, coated in dark chocolate

These may be small but they really pack a punch. Unquestionable raspberry pings right through and its sweetness contrasted with fine dark chocolate and the most delicate quinoa praline, giving a light crunch. The textural contrast is lovely. Mouth-feel is a dreadful term, but this is what these chocolates are particularly successful for. Crunchy sesame praline, with a slight savoury sits underneath a really zingy yuzu caramel, the citrus is vibrant. Across the whole box flavours are bold, unusual and intense but always balanced and exciting.

I love them all as I expected to. At £19 for a box of 18 or £35 for 36 pieces, they are at the top end but for a treat to yourself or a gift, I couldn't think of anything more indulgent.





If you are passing one of their stores you can also experience their Esquimau choc ice bars where you can make-you-own bar, choosing from a collection of toppings and chocolate dips or a tub of their ice cream. Flavours include Matcha Tea Frisson; a matcha tea ice cream with yuzu coulis and candied orange or Rose Pistachio Frisson; rose ice cream, raspberry coulis with Garrigues honey and toasted pistachios. Heaven.

The collection is available from 11th May 2017 in-store and eu.marcolini.com

I received samples for review. Words and thoughts, as always, are my own. 

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a business refresh their identity. Honestly, I absolutely despised the mouthful name and the branding of Chocaffinitea. The name set my teeth on edge and logo looked like a 70s technology TV program for heaven's sake. It's the one thing that actually put me off coming for so long!  I just had in my mind that the products would be as amateurish and unrefined as the outside aesthetic was. Which, as it turns out, is not the case. Anyway, it has been happily renamed Black Mocha with a far less quirky look.



Once inside, you'll find one of Brighton's best single origin chocolate shops with a large selection of bars from quality brands like Marou, Roccoco and the slightly bonkers Lobooko. The glorious packaging alone of all the bars is an absolute feast. They also sell Green Valley honey with some really unusual flavours.

Now, I never thought I'd be saying this but I am fully on board this vegan/raw/gluten free cake train. Not that I have any dietary requirements, just that I find them delicious and nutritious, packed full of energy boosting nuts, seeds and fruits. I think it's a textural thing too, I just find them far more interesting, and often less sweet, than a plain old slab of carrot cake. I even have a constant supply of homemade raw cacao energy balls in my fridge. Yes really.



There is always a good selection on offer and the display is really attractive; vegan salted peanut chocolate "snickers" slices, dairy free cheesecakes, chocolate cashew slices, flapjacks, cookies and brownies. It's all here.



I tried a few things now and loved them all. The vegan key lime cheesecake was particularly gorgeous. Funnily enough, I hate traditional cheesecakes but the silkiness of vegan versions I adore.

Although Brighton has a love affair with Small Batch coffee, it's good to have a change and they serve Monmouth brand here along with a large selection of Tea Studio blends. The single origin hot chocolate here is also remarkable. If you try noting else, try this. You will never catch me with one of those creamy, pumpkin spiced seasonal monstrosities from the coffee chains so this hot chocolate is as close as I get to an indulgent sweet drink. I've not had a hot chocolate like it before, full of flavour with a grown up savoury undertone.

But if you really don't have a sweet tooth they also have soups, quiches, salads and sandwiches that look fresh and inviting as well as toasted granola breakfast pots so it's a really useful address to have for an all day drop in.

Also as there is a high proportion of self employed people in this city there is a really useful working space upstairs too although at the time of writing the plugs were broken!


Black Mocha
103 Gloucester Road
Brighton BN1 4AP