Artisan du Chocolat Passion Fruit Sea Salt Caramel Balls Review

Nothing could possibly touch Chef’s salty chocolate balls but that is what I think of every time I see this sea salt caramel range.  I wonder how many others hum the tune as they bite into the gooey, liquid interior.

I had a chance to try these sea salt caramels as part of the Artisan du Chocolat range for the holidays.  Artisan du Chocolat is a chocolate maker that started small and grew from artisan chocolate producer through to major manufacturer whose products have now been spotted in Marks & Spencer.

This journey has not been without its ups and downs and changes in the quality of chocolate as recipes have been adjusted and manipulated.  I’ve been a fan of the sea salt caramel balls (original) for awhile but even this fan has noticed constant changes in the quality of the chocolate encircling the delicious gooey interior.  However we’re not here about the chocolate, we’re here about the sea salt interior!

The first thing you always notice with an Artisan du Chocolat sea salt caramel is how liquid the interior is.  This is part of the process and has been deliberately designed to flood your mouth with sea salt caramel flavour (or your fingers if you try to eat it in more than a single bite).  With the addition of the passion fruit, there is an additional tart edge which stays just this side of sour to make it pleasant but not too overpowering.  The passion fruit flavour seems overly pronounced within the caramel though, as though somehow the essence of passion fruit flavour had been added without the fruit reduction which would give it a thicker, stickier consistency.

Whatever the reason for it, these sea salt caramels were much nicer for me than the fig I tried (and gifted) at Christmas.  I enjoy these acidic, sour, tart flavours balanced with sweet as that is my personal taste.  If you enjoy that type of flavour combination you’re likely to enjoy these – otherwise you might want to try one of their other flavours which tend towards the more savoury.