Milk Chocolate Enrobed Coffee Beans, from The East India Company.

I know, we usually only review coffees here. But I couldn't resist the temptation when the folks at The East India Company offered to send us some of their chocolate enrobed coffee beans.

Yes, I love coffee. But I also love chocolate just as much. So this is a combination I couldn’t pass by.

First, a few words about The East India Company.

Here is how they describe their heritage on their site:

Since its creation in 1600 by The Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I, the influence of The East India Company has been well documented. Without The Company our world would not be as it is today.

It changed the world’s tastes, its thinking, and its people. It created new communities, trading places, cities and shaped countries and commercial routes.

Singapore and Hong Kong were established by The Company and India was shaped and influenced by it. At one point The Company had the largest merchant navy in the world and conducted and controlled 50% of world trade.

Yes, they were probably the first of the world’s mega-corporations.

While their time came and went, today they are reaching back to their roots and acting as agents to bring fine foods, spices and beverages into the hands of discerning buyers.

OK, back to these chocolate coated coffee beans. Also they describe them in a more fanciful way as “chocolate enrobed coffee beans”.

These aren’t the first chocolate coated beans I have tried, but they are certainly the best.

First, the coffee beans themselves are excellent. They are quite small and, of course, nicely brittle. You get a touch of bitterness and acidity, but not too much.

Another big difference is in the way the beans are coated in chocolate. Usually, with the coated beans you buy locally, the coating is thin and the chocolate isn’t of very high quality.

With these beans, the coffee beans are coated in a thick layer of milk chocolate. And the quality of the chocolate is equal to that of the beans.

The softness and sweetness of the chocolate provides a perfect complement to the brittleness and bitterness of the coffee bean inside.

When you bite into each coated bean, you can understand why they used a thick layer of chocolate. It takes a certain volume of chocolate to provide a perfect balance to the strength of taste in the bean.

Put simply, these are the first chocolate coated beans I have tasted which demonstrate that the creators actually put some thought into creating a perfect, harmonious balance between the chocolate and the coffee bean.

Yes, I love them. In fact, I have already finished them.

About the author: Nick Usborne, aka Coffee Detective, is a writer and long-time coffee enthusiast. Read more…