Misco’s Chocolates, Leek

Handmade chocolates were once a rarity, but there’s been something of a boom in recent years. However, I’ve found none that can top those made by Misco’s and sold from their charming shop in Leek, Staffordshire. In this post I tell you all about this great, local producer and, in a taste-test of some of their goodies, discover a new favourite.

When I moved to the Staffordshire Moorlands, one of the first local businesses that caught my attention was Misco’s Chocolates and Truffles. We initially spotted owners Meg and Cisco on their stall at one of the monthly Sunday Supplement markets for local independent companies. These markets, which are now enormously popular, were initiated by Totally Locally Leek, a fabulous campaign that’s helped to transform the market town into a hive of independent businesses.

Although drawn to Misco’s chocolates as they looked so beautiful, on tasting them we found that they really were something out of the ordinary. Misco’s insist on using only top quality chocolate, fresh cream, fresh fruit and natural ingredients without added artificial flavouring or preservatives. This commitment to the integrity of their product is reflecting in their outstanding chocolates.

Meg and Cisco started out making chocolates just for friends and family, but once word got out and they started selling to the public they were soon able to open their own shop and then, just one year later, move to larger premises.

Misco’s is situated in Leek’s Getliffe’s Yard, home to a community of wonderful independent shops plus cafes such as the delightful Tea-Cake and also Gallery Twenty run by local artists, makers and designers. Dating from the early nineteenth century and with its original cobblestones, Getliffe’s Yard is full of intriguing one-offs and with its glass and ironwork roof you needn’t worry about rainy British weather spoiling your browsing.

On my last visit to Misco’s, on a surprisingly busy Easter Sunday with the Totally Locally Leek Sunday Supplement market in full swing, walking through the ornate entrance to Getliffe’s Yard I heard at least two groups of people excitedly saying things like ‘isn’t this where that chocolate shop is?’ and ‘I wonder if that chocolate shop’s open?’. The enthusiasm of their customers was further demonstrated once inside when, pondering which of their giant chocolate cake truffles to buy, someone sidled up to me and said, ‘the rum-soaked one! You’ve got to try the rum-soaked one’.

The first thing you notice when you enter Misco’s is the heavenly aroma of chocolate that fills the air. Lined up on the counter are glass cases displaying their colourful range of forty or so flavours of fresh chocolates and truffles. Below the counter and around the walls you’ll find bags of chocolate buttons, chocolate lollies, chocolate sticks and just about anything else chocolatey you can think of. On the shelves are their own blend of hot chocolate powders, including ones suitable for vegans, and the cup Meg brought us from the kitchen attached to the shop was sensational.

As we were there at the end of what must be the most hectic week in a chocolatier’s life, Easter, some of the shelves were looking a little denuded after the rush of customers they’d had during the preceding days – although we did manage to get a photo of the very last, hand made Easter egg to be collected. I’d thought it would perhaps be a quieter day but no, the customers kept on coming and filling the little shop. What struck me was the real joy and excitement you could sense as people smilingly eyed up the sparkling display cases, carefully making their choices: Cherry Vodka or Damson Gin chocolates? Blueberry or Dark truffle? Friendly as ever, Meg and Cisco patiently helped customers make those all-important choices. It’s tempting to use the phrase ‘like kids in a sweet shop’, except that these were all adults who knew a good quality chocolate shop when they saw one and were thrilled to be getting the very best.

THE TASTE TEST

I’ve enjoyed many Misco’s chocolates over the years and, after selecting some chocolate bars and two of those enormous chocolate cake truffles I decided to let Meg select which of the eight chocolates and truffles I’d include in my review. I should say that I did get help with my taste test; greedy as I am even I couldn’t eat all of these wonderfully rich, fresh chocolates on my own in a reasonable space of time. So, really not needing any persuading, my partner (who’s also responsible for the photography in this post unless otherwise credited) ate along with me.

Conducting the taste test over several days, we started off with the box of mixed chocolates and truffles before moving on to the chocolate cake truffles and finally the chocolate bars.

Chocolates & Truffles

Piña Colada Chocolate: I love pineapple. I love coconut. I love white rum. I love a good cocktail, including piña colada. I love Misco’s chocolates. So, guess what, I loved this Piña Colada chocolate. The initial aroma was of pineapple and then, biting though the crisp, thin shell of dark and white chocolate which was both sweet and bitter, we found its pleasantly tart, fruity flavour combined with the creamy deliciousness of coconut. All together, a miniature masterpiece of flavour and texture.

Pistachio Truffle: This is one of Misco’s newer flavours, combining rich and creamy milk chocolate with an outer layer of crunchy pistachios. The texture inside the truffle was a little grainy too, but we liked it.

Passion Fruit Chocolate: I’m a recent convert to passion fruit. After having it in various very good desserts lately, my former prejudice of thinking that passion fruit is too perfumed and sickly sweet has been roundly trounced. This attractive-looking chocolate, with a bold red stripe along the top, completed that turnaround. Within the dark chocolate cup, the perfectly smooth filling was incredibly fruity and tart with passion fruit. The red powder across the top (raspberry, I think) was lovely and sharp too and we loved the contrast between the thin, lightly bitter chocolate and fresh-tasting filling.

Milk Chocolate Truffle: I was surprised to learn that the milk chocolate truffle is a relatively new addition to Misco’s. I’d assumed that such an apparently simple and obvious product would be a staple of the chocolatier. However, upon tasting the truffle it became clear that I’d seriously underestimated just how good a ‘simple’ milk chocolate truffle can be. Biting through the flaky exterior and into the soft, creamy centre, my other half summed it up when he exclaimed, ‘now that’s milk chocolate’. The truth is, until you taste the real thing, you don’t realise just how inferior mass produced, bog-standard, milk chocolate is. I don’t know the ingredients of Misco’s milk chocolate, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include palm or other vegetable oils unlike the big brands.

Prosecco & Galliano Chocolate: What you might not be able to see in the image of this chocolate, below left, is the shimmer of gold across the top of the cream coloured sphere. This elegant touch was absolutely fitting for what turned out to be a real treat. I find that inferior white chocolate can be a little sickly, but this quality specimen combined a thin shell with a soft, creamy inner that was perfect. The prosecco was not overdone and the herby Galliano liqueur gave the chocolate an intriguing, perfumed air that avoided any cloying sweetness.

Salted Caramel Chocolate: Salted caramel is one of those flavours that we’re very familiar with these days but, all too often, I find the salting is either underdone to the extent of being virtually undetectable or else is so pronounced that it wipes out everything else. Happily, this was not the case with Misco’s salted caramel. Between the thin, dark chocolate shell and the crisscross of white chocolate on the top, there nested soft, gooey caramel with a mildly salty tang – just enough to lift the sweetness without overwhelming the toffee’s character.

Blueberry Truffle: I had great hopes for this, another of Misco’s relatively new additions. The blueberry truffle looked so inviting with the distinctive bright purple colour this fruit lends to everything it touches. The surface was very intricate with different coloured speckles and the more we looked at it the more colours we seemed to see. On the basis of the other chocolates and truffles we’d eaten, we expected the flavour to be a combination of creamy chocolate and sharp fruit. However, nice as the truffle was, we’d have liked the taste to be more distinctive with a definite blueberry flavour.

Raspberry Chocolate: Happily, the final chocolate in the taste test lived up to, and maybe even surpassed, the expectations built up so far. There was that lovely, crisp dark chocolate shell again, this time filled with a deep pink concoction topped with pieces of dried, very tart, raspberry. The filling was unmistakably raspberry with the skillful partnering of fruity, sweet and sharp that Misco’s does so well.

Chocolate Cake Truffles

I’d first tasted Misco’s chocolate cake (a four-layered chocolate mirroir mousse cake to be exact) during a ‘cake trail’ in Leek where, as part of the town’s food festival, local shops and cafes competed to make the best cake.  For a small entry fee, members of the public went around the businesses, sampling the cakes and then voted for the one they liked the best. Misco’s cake got my vote and, unsurprisingly as it was phenomenally good, won the public vote.

So, when I saw that they now sold chocolate cake truffles in various flavours I knew I had to try them.

On our last visit, there were three flavours to choose from: Madagascan Chocolate Cake Truffles, Chocolate Orange Cake Truffles and Rum Soaked Madagascan Chocolate Cake Truffles; we went for the latter two, partly at the suggestion of another enthusiastic customer.

These truffles really are out-sized affairs so we decided to ramp up the cake theme and eat them off some nice china with a cup of tea.

Chocolate and orange is a classic pairing, but one that’s not always done well – sometimes because of artificial flavourings, poor quality chocolate or else an imbalance in the flavours. Even before we cut into Misco’s orange cake truffle, we could tell from the aroma that this would be intensely orange-y. The outside was a creamy milk chocolate shell and inside was fabulous, quality dark chocolate with just the right amount of orange which still let the richness and flavour of the chocolate come through.

The rum soaked truffle was just as impressive. All dark chocolate this time, again the initial aroma told us that this was going to be good with a generous amount of real rum in the filling. If you’ve ever had those inferior ‘rum balls’ which you could buy, and presumably still can, from sweet shops by the 100 grams (‘by the quarter’ in my day) then you’ll know that the tell-tale sign of artificial flavouring is the unpleasant taste they leave in your mouth. All you’re left with after a Misco’s rum soaked truffle is the taste of quality chocolate, warming rum and a great big smile on your face.

Chocolate Bars

I like very dark chocolate; just the occasional square or two of between 70 – 85% cocoa left to slowly melt on the tongue, no crunching allowed. I’ve tried 90% cocoa but that’s a little too bitter for me. I also like salted chocolate but don’t like that too dark as a lot of saltiness, combined with bitterness, can end up being unpleasant. So I was pleased to see that Misco’s produces a salted 55% dark chocolate. Chocolate like this, largely unadulterated with additional flavours, is of course also a good test of the chocolatier’s mettle.

We found the salt to be largely on the outside so that, once a square starts to melt on the tongue (I’ve got some in now, as I write this) you’re just left with very good chocolate which still tastes creamy rather than bitter. I liked the way it changed from quite salty to a little salty then creamy but not too sweet. Lovely.

For my final selection, I’ll confess that it was actually the wrapping rather than the contents that first attracted me.

The striking yellow-green sleeve of Misco’s Cardamom, Cinnamon & Lemon Myrtle white chocolate bar, with its vaguely Moorish pattern, was immediately attractive to me and it was only after that initial look that I was pleased to see it included two of my favourite spices – cardamom and cinnamon. I hadn’t heard of lemon myrtle, although I was familiar with myrtle from my travels in Spain and the famous Court of the Myrtles in the beautiful Alhambra in Granada, which is of course Moorish. I looked up lemon myrtle when I got home and was slightly disappointed to read that it’s nothing to do with the Spanish one, or the Moors, but actually comes from Australia. Ah well, I still think the universe was telling me to try this chocolate.

And the universe was right.

Of all the chocolate I tasted for this post I think the Cardamom, Cinnamon & Lemon Myrtle was my favourite. Peeling aside the black foil, the initial smell was slightly medicinal, as I always find with cardamom, and I guess that lemon myrtle may have the same effect. Although I could see from the description that it was going to be a white chocolate bar, I was still somehow expecting it to be dark chocolate; in my mind spices being associated with darker, more robust flavours. Well, that shows you what I know, because it turns out that white chocolate, with its sweetness, is the perfect companion to the pungency of cardamom and lemon myrtle. I see now that darker chocolate could’ve made the whole thing too harsh.

I think these creamy squares are another one to let slowly melt on your tongue and allow the different flavours to come through; not just to savour the moment, but because it was only towards the end that warming cinnamon softened the whole effect. I liked the slightly grainy texture that the herbs and spices gave and it was a nice sensation to have it become more noticeable as the smooth chocolate dissolved away.

We’re perhaps used to white chocolate being dismissed as a sweet confection for children with their undeveloped taste buds, but this one is definitely for grown ups.

OLD FAVOURITES & SOMETHING NEW

As I’ve been a fan of Misco’s virtually from the beginning, either buying chocolates for myself or as gifts, encouraging friends to pay them a visit (and maybe buy a little something for me), I was hardly expecting not to love almost everything in this taste test. Consequently, you might be tempted to accuse me of just creating an excuse to eat lots of chocolate. Um… maybe.

However, writing this post did remind me to think outside of the (chocolate) box, because I’ve all too often been drawn almost exclusively to those glittering cases of chocolates and truffles and made my selection from familiar favourites. Undoubtedly, these are excellent, and if you haven’t tried them then you really must. But there’s so much more to try at Misco’s whether it’s chocolate bars, hot chocolate, lollies, chocolate cake truffles or seasonal treats. For me, the star was that Cardamom, Cinnamon & Lemon Myrtle white chocolate which was a revelation: please don’t stop making it Misco’s!

If you can’t get to Leek and visit the friendly, helpful shop, you can buy Misco’s chocolates online. They’ll also undertake commissions and can produce corporate gifts, wedding favours etc.

Still a relatively young company, I consider Misco’s to be one of Staffordshire’s great producers. With their imagination, flair, superb customer service and commitment to a high quality product, I’m sure they’ll continue to delight chocolate lovers for a long time to come. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.

Highly recommended.

Unless otherwise credited, all images in this post © Ian Dakin Photography

Styling by Moorlands Eater