If anything will teach you to slow down and enjoy a deliciously gorgeous piece of chocolate, this certainly will.  This creamy milk chocolate won’t allow you to rush it – it will demand you to slow down and enjoy it slowly.

The flavour of the chocolate is subtle – so subtle that it is almost lost to the flavour of the dark sugar and creamy milk.  These flavours are so strong as to almost overtake all chocolate flavour.  When it hits the chocolate is delightful and light, with none of the bitterness some other chocolate can have.  These beans have not been over fermented at all.

This bar is a delight and while I might love Askinosie an awful lot, this bar is arguing with my taste buds for supremacy.

Earl Grey Tea chocolate – This chocolate had the lovely scent of dark chocolate but none of the lush bergamot scent.  Biting into this chocolate releases the most lovely delicate flavour of real Earl Grey tea.  It is subtle and delicious and not overwhelming.  I could eat a box of these!

Mulled Wine chocolate – Once again, this chocolate does not reveal its interior from outside with the delicate scent of the Amedei chocolate used the only scent.  Biting in to it releases the flavour of the jelly mulled wine interior with the chocolate ganache.  Yummy and delicious, this is a lovely chocolate.

Sea Salt Caramel – different from other sea salt caramels I’ve tried in the past, this is a thick base chocolate with a liquid caramel interior closest in flavour to Kraft caramels from my childhood.  The caramel oozes out in deliciousness making you gobble the whole chocolate up.

Whoops… looks like I munched these before I had a chance to photograph them!

Laura White, a former pastry chef and 5 year expert chocolate maker, invents some of these innovative chocolate flavours at the front of the shot in full view of the window to the outside tables where people sup on home baked cookies with some of the finest chocolate chips nestled in excellent dough.

Utilising Tuscano Amedei chocolate in her creations, Laura balances the flavour of the base chocolate against the exotic fillings.  Often utilising Belgian style chocolate as a carrier for her more exotic flavours, Laura uses her knowledge of flavour and chocolate to balance flavours off.  Marrying tea and coffee both with chocolate but in very different ways, she is committed to creating delicious and innovative chocolate.

I found her sea salt caramel to be one of the flavours of hers I liked best.  The chocolate did not seem to be the highest quality but the sea salt caramel was lovely. The Earl Grey tea was way more intense than I was used to but it didn’t detract from the overall experience.  The chocolate covered almond dragees were nothing I hadn’t enjoyed elsewhere in the UK but I have a feeling they are a rarity in Toronto.  As such it is nice to see these lovely roasted almonds with caramelised sugar covering them before the delicious chocolate and powered cocoa finishes it off.

Pop by and try the chocolates.  They are yummy and unique and fun at a dinner party.

Stubbe chocolates creates some of the best chocolates by pairing good quality chocolate they create themselves in the back of the shop with both traditional and non-traditional flavours.  The one chocolate which stood out for me was the blood orange chocolate which has a slightly sharp tang without being sour.

The special milk chocolate truffle had a unique sugar fronting which I thought would make the chocolate far too sweet but in fact was perfect when savouring or chewing the chocolate.

The cappuccino was a triumph of coffee flavouring, which was for once not overpowered by the sweetness of the chocolate.  The white chocolate was used masterfully here to sweeten the coffee without it tasting of nothing but sugar the covered in a beautifully balances dark chocolate.

I wish I could get these chocolates more regularly but have to settle for my annual trips to Toronto.

I highly recommend this chocolate shop and would be confidant buying any chocolates from here as a special gift.

Chocolate and heat do not mix.  So too would I say chocolate and a bad attitude or chocolate and the worst directions humanely possible.  Soma may have good chocolate but they have seriously bad attitude.

It is quite possible that Soma does not want new business and is happy to live solely off of the tourist buses and then repeat local custom.  It does not seem to be at all set up for casual visitors. In fact Soma was almost impossible to findin life and online, and only dedicated Soma fans saved me from missing the shop (something I partially wish I had).

I will not argue that of all chocolate in Toronto that I have tried, Soma chocolate was the best.  The complexity of flavour with the high quality of the underlying chocolate married perfectly for me to create a brilliant chocolate.  The complex nature of the base of many of the chocolate was superb.  That is perhaps why they are happy to remain hidden.

When trying chocolates, I always find it helpful to discover the best chocolate by asking the experts – the people who made them.  Chocolate is individual and each person will like different flavours.  Every milk chocolate truffle is slightly different and the best person to ask what their crowning glory is, is the chocolate maker.

I asked here, as I had at many other chocolate shops in the UK, Toronto, Amsterdam and other major cities for their signature chocolate.  The one chocolate of the lot that I, as a reviewer, could take and hold up as the prime example of the mastery of the chocolate makers art.  I was pointed to the sea salt caramel.

At the suggestion for the third time that day that a sea salt caramel was the pinnacle of their art, I did wilt and request an alternate suggestion and was met with irritation.  Upon trying this sea salt caramel, I found the salt on the top of the chocolate to be too intense, the caramel flat and lacklustre and the chocolate of a middling quality.  It was absolutely nothing to recommend.

The balsamic vinegar chocolate was much more pleasurable with a tangy bite and yet not too much acidity balanced by a darker fruity chocolate.  The cocoa chosen married well with the balsamic vinegar to create a subtle and pleasurable combination of flavours.  Not so for the douglas fir but what can one expect from a chocolate named after a pine tree.  It was intense and overpowering and I could not finish it.

All in all I found Soma well worth the trip but I would avoid engaging the staff in conversation.  They have little to no knowledge of the product they are selling.

After being a pastry chef for 25 years at Michelin starred restaurants, including a stint in Spain for 5 years, Damian was an expert at working in chocolate.  Spain forced him to rethink how people made chocolate, and combined with his realisation that British palettes were changing he decided to run his own chocolate based business.  He realised that cream changed the flavour of chocolate and rather than seeking a dairy-free alternative to existing chocolates, he created new flavours, new experiences and a new way of enjoying chocolate.  He knows that chocolate changes flavour as ingredients are added and that is why he doesn’t use milk or cream.

I remain fairly conservative in my chocolate outlook but Damian had me as a somewhat captive audience and as such, he went through the full range of mouth experiences with me.  He believes that our tastes in the UK are changing.  His chocolates are at the forefront of that change and he’s working hard to create delicious tastes for everyone.

We started with a ‘pistachio with acidic yogurt’ morsel.  It was an immediate hit of sour then went through to sweet then you got the pistachio nut flavour at the very end.  Surprising and extremely more-ish.  I can see people having to eat many of these at a party.

Salted Crunchy Peanut was the next surprise.  Completely overwhelming the scent or flavour of the chocolate, the salted peanut flavour was the first hit through the nose, then the saltiness hits as you bite and it is finished off with that massive peanut flavour which almost nothing can beat.

The Cloud was next and talk about heavenly.  Blueberry and violet it was a crunchy yet chewy middle light as a cloud.  The flavours are subtle but pleasant and without the harsh artificial flavour sometimes encountered.

At this point, Damian reminds me that with his chocolates, the actual chocolate is not the ‘ego’.  Rather, the filling is the most important part and the chocolate adds that extra rounding dimension.  He uses Amano chocolate and assures me that his use of high quality chocolate enhances all of them – including the flavours which overwhelm.

Jasmine Tea was a delight and I may have to simply buy myself and everyone I know a box of these.  The jasmine tea is not synthetic, as it so often it.  Synthetic, or even essential oil jasmine, has a distinctive flavour that is immediately obvious.  Not so this chocolate, made from a tea which is left for 5 nights next to the blooming jasmine flowers, infusing it with the flavour of the pollen of the jasmine flower, not the essential oil.  The tea is cold infused and this is what gives it the unique flavour.  That and the fact no cream is used and so the delicate jasmine flavour can blossom on your mouth

The penultimate chocolate was a delicious fresh mint.  A chocolate made with fresh mint has an added dimension of the chlorophyll clearly flavouring the chocolate.  It is easy to destroy the flavour and bruise the mint and so to get that flavour in to a chocolate is quite a feat.  This mind chocolate was subtle but delightful.  An added dimension to mind for mint chocolate lovers.

Passion fruit and Coffee rounded off the tasting trial. Having bravely withstood the crowd, I was rewarded with a unique blend of strong coffee and sweet passion fruit.  Coffee flavour outside, strong and sweet passion fruit inside, then another hit of coffee as you chew the grinds.  Strong but pleasant.

The chocolate used is a favourite of chocolate makers in London – Valrhona. The choices of caramel and ganache flavouring were not typical and with a dizzying array of both caramel and ganache chocolates everyone is sure to find something they would enjoy.  I suspect everyone will find something they will enjoy.  Just the shopping experience was pleasurable, looking over the variety of lovely red boxes of chocolate bars and the colours of the various chocolates.

I let the staff member behind the counter select the three chocolates for me and she let me try the sea salt chocolate in the shop.  I also purchased some truffles and a blended chocolate bar.  The sea salt caramel was pleasant – not too intense and balanced.  The chocolate was OK and the caramel did not overwhelm the chocolate and the sea salt balanced off the sweetness of the caramel.

The first chocolate I tried from the selection was an Arabica coffee chocolate ganache.  The chocolate was lovely but slightly bitter off against the coffee.  The filling has a slightly grainy texture which could have been coffee grounds. Not unpleasant and very yummy it was a delicious chocolate.

Blanc manger des Antilles was selected for me.  A spicy mixture with coconut and rum it wasn’t quite to my taste.  There was an odd aftertaste I had detected in some of the truffles – like a chalkyness flavour that is hinted at.  It’s almost like the taste of very hard water.  This has bits of coconut in it was well, adding some texture to the chocolate ganache.  Not my favourite but still demonstrates the high quality of the chocolates.

The raspberry sea salt caramel was interesting but there was not much caramel in it. It was mostly chocolate which was nice but I didn’t get to experience the caramel as much.  There was a hint of raspberry to the caramel lending it an interesting flavour and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

The lavender caramel in the shape of a flower was overpowering.  The extreme floral flavour, which tasted like an essential oil added to caramel, was completely overpowering but might be nice for someone who enjoys floral flavours.  The caramel was sweet but the lavender seemed to be a separate addition rather than a steeped part of the caramel.

The chocolate truffle was fantastic but it seemed I got box of two halves.  Three had that strange chalky aftertaste and the other half were absolutely fantastic.  The chocolate itself was delicious and the filling a perfectly blended centre.  The cocoa dusting did not detract from the chocolate though the shell was slightly more reluctant to melt than other chocolates I have tried.  This was nevertheless a nicely balanced chocolate.

I would never turn down a box of truffles or ganache chocolates from this shop and expect to visit again

The shop is an experience in and of itself. A wonderful visual feast, it is a bit of a walk from Sloane Square station but everything in life is worth a bit of extra effort. The chocolates though – the chocolates were an absolute treat.

I started with a sample of the sea salt caramel. Now, everyone seems to think that this is their signature chocolate (except for Adam & Eve) and to be honest, I am really fed up with asking for a representative and getting this. I’m going to get violent soon. This sea salt caramel has been made darker and slightly heavier than others. With a more distinctive almost molasses flavour poking through the sweetness of the caramel, only slightly calmed by the addition of salt, it was perfectly balanced off with the Amedei chocolate covering it. This is a flavour in your mouth that you are happy to have linger.

The house dark truffle was a beautiful chocolate flavour. Perfect mingling of the centre with the whiff of cream, it was covered in Amedei chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder. Quite possibly now my favourite chocolate truffle. In face I’ve decided it is

The olive oil and rosemary – chosen for me by William Curley himself, was surprisingly pleasant. Slightly soft and therefore delicate (probably due to the olive oil), the rosemary flavour, which could have overpowered the whole chocolate experience, was a background flavour, letting the chocolate shine through and creating a comforting balance. I could not detect the olive oil but it likely had brought the tone of the rosemary down. The Amedei Chuao, also chosen for me by William Curley himself, was an absolute sex-in-your-mouth pleasure. The silky centre and beautiful Amedei chocolate has been combined together to create a beautiful chocolate.

The focus here, rather than on the quality of the chocolate, was the filling. More than once I’ve had a chocolate maker justify the lower quality chocolate being used by claiming that they wanted the filling to speak more clearly than the chocolate. I don’t agree but I couldn’t help but hope that this would be the case, so excited were these people. The young man in question had won an award for an Amadei truffle so quality was looking encouraging.

The chocolates I was given included one made with goats milk, a unique addition to the chocolate making process which they felt not only made their chocolates unique, but added an additional flavour element. This made a dairy free range available which meant that for the first time, a creamy chocolate was available to people who were dairy free.

The chocolate itself was good. It was somewhat flat but it had to balance off the interiors which were lovely. The care and attention paid to the different flavours was interesting. The range of flavours created which did balance was impressive. The range does not challenge as some do, but there is the occasional interesting flavour combination in chocolate (rosemary & thyme comes to mind).

If you find yourself by one of their shops, I suggest popping in as this chocolate is a treat. I rate it below Paul A Young but above Neuhaus. Go on now, get yourself some for the holidays!

Adam and Eve chocolates are situated a walk away from Wellesley subway on the heart of the gay village in Toronto. Set back from the street, they have a wonderful outdoor area just outside their front door. There is a tree and a quaint hand painted sign which does not prepare you for what you find inside.

For more than any other reason, visit Adam and Eve for the luscious chocolate gelato. This has to be the best chocolate gelato I have ever tried. Smooth, flavourful, delightfully well-balanced – this gelato is an absolute must-try!

Walk in the door and the distinctive smell of Callebaut chocolate wafts out mixed with delightful hints of exotic ingredients. The smiling lady behind the counter is well versed in her chocolates and helps me brilliantly until it becomes obvious from my note-taking that I am no ordinary punter and after perhaps the sixth or seventh question about their chocolate which she handles beautifully, she calls one of the owners down who is later joined by the master chocolate maker himself.

The passion for chocolate is clear with this pair as it is in every inch of the shop. The passion is expressed in the desire to be creative with the fillings and create something divine. It seems unfair in the face of such dedicated passion and effort to give it anything but a glowing review. Indeed had the chocolate used as a base been better I am sure I would have been absolutely raving in my review.

As chocolate goes, this is good stuff. It isn’t great, but it is good. The signature chocolate is robust in flavour with an interesting mix. The old favourites are mixed with new imaginative flavours and the experimentation and boundary pushing is clear. This is a chocolate shop with a desire to be different and to stand out and they do. Their chocolate would stand out even more if they chose to depart from their existing use of Callebaut and moved to something like Valrhona or Amedei. The base chocolate is what lets the flavour down.

The effort here is stunning and the care taken is extreme and the love they have for chocolate is evident in everything from the heart shaped chocolate boxes – perfect for a gift – through to the fractal chocolate they carry. This is a shop for people passionate about chocolate. I recommend it to people who are not as picky as I am about the quality of the chocolate they eat. It is good quality chocolate and well worth the visit.