New Wild Boar Chocolate Bars from Hagensborg Chocolates

Burnaby based company, Hagensborg Chocolate, has recently debuted two new Wild Boar chocolate bars. The Wild Boar line, previously with only three bars, are single origin chocolate bars that uses the finest European ingredients. Single Origin chocolate is a smooth, rich and delicious chocolate with no additives - just the flavour of the cocoa beans from the country where it was grown.

The new bars featuring Italy and Indonesia, while not Single Origin, blend different flavours together to create a new twist on a typical chocolate bar.Hagensborg Chocolate prides themselves in working with suppliers with ethical and sustainable practices, ensuring fair trade practices by working with small farmers. Ingredients in the Wild Boar bars are 85% organic and come from small farming communities.

The first Wild Boar bar I tried was the 39% cocoa, featuring Italy, containing toasted almonds sprinkled with olive oil, Ritrovo rare black truffle and salt. The truffle comes from a small Italian farming community, while the almonds are California roasted. The mold of the chocolate bar itself is adorable, with bites taken out of it, and the words "Chomp, gobble, munch, burp" printed above a picture of a boar. The chocolate was very creamy and I could immediately detect a hint of truffle as the chocolate melted in my mouth. There was a lingering taste of the truffle after the chocolate was gone, which was very pleasant. I'm definitely putting the Italy Wild Boar bar on my favourite list! 

The second bar was 71% cocoa, featuring Indonesia. This dark chocolate bar contains spiced cashews imported from Indonesia (also sourced from a small farming community there), spiced with garlic, chilies and lime. I'm a big fan of dark chocolate so I was excited to try this bar! The slightly spiced ingredients combined with the dark chocolate was a taste explosion in my mouth!

With Mother's Day coming up, some Hagensborg Chocolates might be the perfect gift, no? Make sure to check out Hagensborg Chocolate in stores, follow them on Twitter or Facebook for a full selection of their chocolate bars, and other upcoming deals or their blog for more information on their suppliers.

Disclaimer: The items in this post have been provided free of charge from the company or PR firm for review. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Savvy Shopping, Deals & Reviews and have not been influenced in any other way.

Leonidas Chocolate 100th Year Celebration

Leonidas, a chocolate boutique and cafe, celebrated their 100th anniversary this weekend by hosting a party at their waterfront location at Canada Place. Leonidas is a Belgian chocolate company, with over 1400 locations across the globe. All the chocolates are imported from Belgium and are made with 100% cocoa butter. Along with chocolates, the store also offers other confectionery treats, ice cream and hot chocolate beverages.

Plenty of chocolate eggs in time for Easter!

So many chocolates to choose from.

The colourful macarons are certainly eye-catching!

A chocolate fountain was set up near the front of the store with fruit, Leige waffles and cream puffs for dipping. (I resisted the urge to put a cup under the fountain and just drink the chocolate.) Wine and hot chocolate was also offered as drinks, and small sandwiches and appetizers were brought around.

The hot chocolate was to-die for! I tried the milk chocolate, but they also offer white and dark chocolate drinks.

Turkey, goat cheese, avocado and pesto sandwiches.

Goat cheese and walnut sandwiches.

Tomato and cheese skewers.

Leonidas also carries locally made macarons. I tried the raspberry macaron with chocolate ganache. There are many other flavours to choose from, and they all sounded delicious! The macaron was less sweet than others I have tried, which I really liked.

Jeremy of @FoodGays and store co-owner Aisha about to devour a mint chocolate macaron!

As if a macaron tasting wasn't enough, we also got to try the different chocolates! Because the chocolate is made of 100% cocoa butter, they absolutely melt in your mouth!

The team at Leonidas.

Everyone received a chocolate goody to bring home!

The party was definitely a fun and delicious one. It was very nice to see some familiar faces, as well as meet new friends. Leonidas is a great place to visit if you're ever looking for a treat! Make sure to say hi to Aisha when you're in!

Holiday Gift Ideas: Hagensborg Chocolate for Chocolate Lovers #Giveaway

One of my favorite gifts to give for any occasion is chocolate because let's face it, who doesn't love chocolate? I always enjoy visiting small chocolate shops because they put the love and care into making their chocolates. I recently discovered Hagensborg Chocolates, a local company with their shop based out in Burnaby, BC (103-3686 Bonneville Place).

Hagensborg uses the finest European ingredients to make their gourmet chocolate. Their main line of chocolates are Truffle Pigs, which are adorable chocolates in the shape of little piglets. The name came about because pigs were used to sniff out truffles in the forest. With Christmas around the corner, Hagensborg Chocolates is offering their products in holiday themed packaging in addition to their regular items. These gourmet chocolates would make the perfect gift or stocking stuffer, or a treat for yourself (or several treats, if you're me!). Gift baskets can also be purchased if you're looking for a larger gift.

I made a trip out to their shop to see what they had to offer...

I'm on the right track!

Hagensborg is located in Burnaby, BC, near the Production Way skytrain station.

A cute little shop, with a small seating area included so you can indulge in chocolate right inside the store!

Festive Truffle Pig Mini chocolate boxes. These are great stocking stuffers!

Christmas Truffle Pig mixed pouches.

An assortment of Truffle Pig bars that come in many different and delicious flavours, including mocha,  peanut butter and jam, hazelnut and white bubblegum!

Newest to the Truffle Pig line are Wild Boar bars, made from single origin chocolate.

Gorgeous gift baskets are also available for any chocolate lover in your life.

The store also sells single chocolates if you're only looking for a little snack. Interesting flavours are offered, including chili and more festive flavours like egg nog and peppermint.

A Christmas milk chocolate pouch containing 10 truffle pigs.

Five are regular milk chocolate and the other five are filled with amazingly gooey caramel.

Truffle Pig chocolates are as adorable as it's name - each chocolate is shaped like a pig. I almost didn't want to eat it because it was too cute!

I couldn't resist purchasing some Truffle Pig bars. I opted for the Mocha and the Dark & White Raspberry bars.

Another cute pig shaped chocolate bar! The inside is a dark chocolate with a raspberry flavour.

The chocolate I tried definitely was delicious. The different flavours were amazing, and I'm tempted to go and buy every single bar just to try all of them! I also suggest buying more than one Truffle Pig because you really can't eat just one!

If you aren't able to make it to the store, Hagensborg Chocolates also sells their chocolate online through their website. Truffle Pigs are also found at IGA, Whole Foods and Urban Fare for locals who are interested in trying out these delicious treats. Make sure to connect with Hagensborg Chocolates on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with what's going on with their store, and any promotions they're running.

WIN IT

Hagensborg Chocolates is generously offering an amazing chocolate prize pack for one of my readers! The prize will contain:

1 mixed pouch (includes 10 assorted piglets)
3 Truffle Pig bars
1 Wild Boar bar
3 Piglets

Enter by filling out the Rafflecopter form below! Contest is open to Canadians and ends December 16, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer: The milk chocolate pouch has been provided free of charge from the company or PR firm for review. Any extra products mentioned were purchased on our own.  The opinions expressed in this post are those of Savvy Shopping, Deals & Reviews and have not been influenced in any other way.