Review ~ Amella Caramels from Artisan Cocoa

Whenever I think of caramels, I think of the chocolate covered caramel squares you normally find in a box of chocolates. Well, no longer since experiencing Amella Caramels sent by Artisan Cocoa.

These caramels have no preservatives, have all natural ingredients and come in three flavours: Passion Fruit, Black Forest and Carrot Cake. Not the usual names when you think of for caramels. The names do grab your attention to further discover what these are all about. Each flavour comes in a box of three caramels with a peek-a-boo window on the top.

The first one I tasted was the Passion Fruit as it’s a favourite flavour of mine. I had never seen this combination together so I wasn’t sure what to expect. You can taste the tang of the passion fruit right away. It had a sour/sweet blast of flavour: the very fruity sourness of the passion fruit combined with the sweetness of the caramel and milk chocolate. The caramel is very smooth and buttery, not sticky and stringy like some caramels can be. It was all good but wondered what it would taste like topped with bitter dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Next up was the Black Forest Caramel. The classic black forest cake combines chocolate and cherries and these caramels carried on that tradition even including shaved chocolate on top. I thought these would be heavy on the dark chocolate but it’s the Amarelle cherries that stand out both in taste and in texture. There must have been a whole cherry in that caramel. As the chewy sour cherry mixes with the bitter dark chocolate and the smooth sweet caramel and white chocolate, it provides a symphony of flavours and textures in your mouth. I was expecting a strong chocolate flavour but the other ingredients hold their own and share the taste equally. You can’t go wrong with this flavour combination as it has something for everyone.

The final flavour was Carrot Cake. Yes, carrot cake. I thought this was odd and wondered how this would turn out as a caramel. Well surprisingly, even to me, it turned out to be my favourite. A mix of fresh carrots and pecans with a white chocolate top reminiscent of cream cheese icing. These tasted just like a morsel of carrot cake indulgence. Again texture came into play with real carrot strands mixing with the rich smooth buttery caramel and white chocolate. I’m not even a fan of white chocolate but the Carrot Cake caramels won me over.

In the end, all the caramels were very unique and were quite a different caramel experience than I’ve had in the past. Unique is good because it makes you stand out however with any new business, it takes a lot of work to get your new brand out there. I felt a little confused with this branding as Amella seemed to be the brand but equal weight was given to the company name itself, Artisan Cocoa. In my opinion, if Amella is the name people should remember, use it predominantly throughout your packaging, print and online and use the other very sparingly.

I thought the graphics on the packaging were lovely and suited the product well. I was a little confused when I saw the brand name upside down on one end of the package and the printing on the lid opposite to what it should be when opening a box. I understand now when I view how your counter packs are displayed but may be perceived as a printing error if receiving a box on its own. I wish people could see the sides of the caramels, as they look scrumptious stacked and out of the box. Is there room for a photo of stacked caramels on the counter displays? A turn on the Packaging Launch website may provide feedback on packaging ideas for future options.

Amella Caramels is a fairly new company that has proven to me that they offer a unique and delicious product that will get you rethinking what a caramel is. They may even have created a new category within the confectionery industry. With so much excellence and creativity presenting itself, only goodness can follow them.

Tagged as: caramels, chocolate, chocolate curls, milk chocolate