Runolist

Runolist is one of the more exotic chocolates I've reviewed, at least from the perspective of an American living in Seattle. This chocolate comes to me all the way from Zagreb, Croatia, thanks to the thoughtful efforts of my godmother.

Runolist

The full name of this chocolate as printed on the label is "Mlijechna Chokolada S Alpskim Mlijekom". (Note that the first word really starts with a character that is a C with a caron--like an inverted ^--over it, but there doesn't seem to be an html entity for that character.) For a milk chocolate, its ingredient list is not especially remarkable: Sugar, Milk Powder, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Hazelnuts, Vegetable Fat, Lecithin, Vanillin. The only odd thing about that list is the addition of hazelnuts. That almost kept me from reviewing it at all; you know my policy about only reviewing plain chocolates. However, after sampling it, I decided to review it anyway, mostly because the hazelnuts do not, in my opinion, really contribute much to the overall flavor. And also because these are my reviews, and I have the freedom to be as irrational about these things as I like; these are the joys of being self-published, and of not having to pander to the editorial whims of advertizers. But I digress.

I am almost sorry to give this chocolate the rating I have, because it did come such a long way to reach me, but I must be fair about these things. This really isn't particularly great chocolate. Perhaps the experience of eating it in its native enviromnent, surrounded by the sights and sounds of Croatia, adds to the experience. I cannot say. But I can say that I was rather unimpressed. For one thing, it is very sweet. If you've read any of my other reviews, you know that isn't what I like. It does have a nice creaminess to it, which probably comes from the wide variety of fats it contains (cocoa butter, milk fat, vegetable fat, and hazelnut oil). The chocolate flavor itself is neither very strong nor very complex. It actually tastes a lot like many varieties of chocolate milk I have had (in case chocolate milk is not common in your area, it is what you get when you combine approximately 10 parts milk, 2 parts sugar, and 1 part cocoa powder). The hazelnut influence can be detected if you wait for the sweetness to subside, and if you know what to expect, but as I said it is a minor influence. The texture of this chocolate was like many milk chocolates I have had. It is quite comparable to the American variety of Cadbury's milk chocolate.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say about Runolist's milk chocolate. I would be interested to try any other varieties manufactured by that company, if I ever come across them or if anyone feels like sending me some.