Hagensborg Chocolates Ltd

For Easter I treated myself to a few Dark Chocolate Truffle Pigs. I normally don’t do the whole sugar and candy thing (I am a desserts person), however, being Easter and the attempt to have something different that isn’t a bunny, I went for a pig instead. Each pig truffle is $$, however, for an 11.5g serving it is very rich and high in calories. It is Easter so it’s a once in a while indulgence.

Yum yum yum, I found these Truffle Pig little bites from Whole Foods, near the check-​out line. I tried the standard Milk Chocolate and it was quite delicious — nice and creamy, and not overly sweet. They also have Milk Peanut Butter & Raspberry Jam, Dark Mint Chocolate Chip, Peppermint, Peanut Butter, Caramel, Dark Chocolate, and Hazelnut. These originate from Vancouver, CA and are in cute pig-​shapes. They also have bars and such, too, but I really like the individual-​bite sized ones!
+Truffle Pig: D

It’s time to place this local chocolatier on the map. This Vancouver company is located at Burnaby, BC. I saw their ad plastered on the side of a transit bus recently and thought it had cute illustrations of pigs promoting chocolate truffles.
A few days later they were featured at a Living Social group coupon. The option I saw at that time was a $ 12.00 shipping fee within Canada. Seeing they were local, I emailed to inquire about the shipping rate and the possibility of a local pick up. The next business day I got a positive response.
Although they’ve been in existence since 2004, this year it looks like they’re finally ramping up their marketing.
In fact a few days after my inquiry, they must have realised the $ 12.00 shipping for local orders may have been too high that their website now promotes a FLAT $ 5.00 rate for the Lower Mainland.
For a local company, they have world-​class packaging.
Their customer service is fast and they listen to customer feedback.
As for the chocolates themselves. The proprietor is obviously trained in the French method. I ordered a variety of their Truffle Pig Bar and Truffle Pig’lets (mini bite-​sized versions of the bars). Looking at the chocolates the surface is very shiny. Biting into them and there definitely is a snap. The products are velvety smooth to the feel and melts in the mouth like high quality chocolates should.
My pick: White & Dark Chocolate Raspberry, Dark Chocolate Orange, and Milk Chocolate Mocha bars. Of course you can opt for the no fail flavours of Dark, Milk, Caramel, Hazelnut, and Peanut Butter.
This is absolutely not your typical mass-​produced chocolate candy bars. And they shouldn’t be. At $ 3.30 for a bar and $ 1.00 for a bite-​size version, these are as pricey as they can be.
So for that I give 4 stars. Apart from price and at that level, I was looking for more complex flavours to linger in my mouth after the chocolate has melted. I was yearning for something unique to pop out of my taste buds and tell me that this is Hagensborg chocolates. The flavours are subtle. Very classy indeed. At the moment I can taste fine French chocolates, but I can find that elsewhere upscale chocolatiers can be found.
I wanted to taste something distinct. Perhaps a blend of herbs or a flower to tantalize the buds.
But as I said, it looks like they’re just getting started. I’d keep my eye out on this and see how big they may become.
Don’t forget, if you are in the Burnaby area and still want to skip the amended and already low $ 5.00 shipping charge, order over the phone and tell them you’ll pick it up yourself.