While back in Edmonton for the Christmas holidays, I picked up one of my favourite Edmonton treats at one of my favourite Edmonton haunts: a Kerstin’s Chocophilia chocolate bar, fetched from Transcend Coffee’s Garneau café. I’d never tried the Pumpkin Pie flavour, so, as it always does, curiosity got the better of me.
The Pitch: “Venezuelan milk chocolate with spices and graham crackers.”
The Look: Like other Kerstin’s Chocophilia bars: A bar of chocolate, wrapped in a clear plastic bag. On this one, you can see the little bumps of crushed graham crackers poking through the back of the chocolate. White lettering on a yellow background makes it hard to read the label.
The Taste: A quality milk chocolate base with the usual pumpkin pie spices. I love pumpkin pie, and I love milky chai spice lattes, but this isn’t doing much for me. It’s peppery, with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger notes, but the intensity is a bit overwhelming. The graham crackers add a crunchy texture to the bar, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a pumpkin pie with a graham cracker crust.
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RATINGS AND DETAILS
Cost: $5 for a 43 gram bar at Transcend Garneau in Edmonton.
Value for cash money: Good – it’s a premium, handmade chocolate bar from one of Edmonton’s finest chocolatiers.
Availability: Not widespread, sadly. Transcend Coffee shops around Edmonton carry the Chocophilia line, but I don’t know how many bars make it out of town. You can order various Kerstin’s products online, but not the individual Chocophilia bars. Another reason to keep going back to Edmonton, I suppose.
Nutrition?: Per 1 bar (43 grams): 255 calories, 14 grams of fat, 48 mg of sodium, 5 grams of fibre, 4 grams of protein. Also, 10% daily value of iron.
The verdict: Good, but a bit too oddball for me. The spices are nice, but they’re a tad much. That said, I can see a whole lot of people loving the combo. Well executed, but not my cup of tea.