After 8 weeks, loads of applications, and a very tough decision (thanks to all your amazing and creative applications) we are so excited for you to meet our four new Chocolate Tasters!
We are so excited to start working with our four new tasters; from working their super taste buds to tweak the recipes in our current 18-strong range, to looking ahead to new flavours and products we could add to the Seed and Bean family. This is the start of something amazing, and we can't wait to share this journey with you all, and for you to get to know our new team members.
So drum roll please...
MEET SOPHIE
Sophie is a marketing executive living in South London. She is a huge foodie with a big sweet tooth... "if you put chocolate in front of me it will be gone in seconds."
Whilst on furlough last year she spent a lot of time cooking and baking, and experimenting with new recipes outside her comfort zone. This led her to setting up her Instagram page @the_furloughed_foodie which documents her meals and bakes. She recently completed Veganuary, and having been mostly vegetarian for
the past 2 years, she now tries to stick to a more plant based diet.
Her Application Review: Picture the scene, you’re rummaging around In your cupboard pushing aside the bizarre coffee press you bought in lockdown 1.0. The puppy you adopted is tugging at your leg, no longer cute and attracting infinite likes on insta, but currently going through the terrible twos (or whatever the dog equivalent is?). Anyway, after rummaging around in the back of the cupboard you stumble on a small bar of something. That’s right, during your pathetic ‘veganuary’ attempt you’d purchased a bar of Seed and Bean's Coconut & Raspberry Dark Chocolate. Might as well open it and give it a try? Safe to say, the fruity and heady chocolate aromas hit you smack bang in the face. You’ve sworn to yourself that; ‘coconut has a tendency to overpower and become the centre of attention’. But that certainly isn’t the case right now. This deliciousness of a chocolate bar has been expertly crafted to provide a creamy, velvety texture incorporating mellow coconut flavour, counterbalanced with what can only be described as the tart explosion of raspberry crispies to cut through. A true delight on the tastebuds. The bar is consumed in one sitting.
Favourite Seed and Bean Flavours: Sea Salt & Lime, Raspberry & Vanilla, Coconut & Raspberry and Hazelnut
Joe has a lot of experience when it comes to eating chocolate, and loves trying new products on his travels. He fondly recalls the 10-layer chocolate cake from Coin & Candor he devoured in LA before lockdown.
His large teeth are particularly good at breaking down chocolate bars (by his own admission), and his work with a number of FMCG brands and products should come in handy for this role as well.
Joe claims that after a day of relatively healthy eating and/or exercise, there are few things better than a sweet indulgent reward.
His Application Review: I was slightly sceptical when I first saw Seed and Bean’s Coconut and Raspberry flavour at Sainsbury’s, although I was intrigued enough to want to try it. So I did. The first hit of flavour comes from the tartness of the raspberry, bang, very quickly followed by the bitterness of the dark chocolate, boom. This could well be my new favourite double act, as they intertwine in a harmony that reminds me of a dessert from a fancy restaurant. Remember those? Whilst the coconut is subtle and dominated by the other ingredients, this suits my palette to a tee. The chocolate itself, the main reason to indulge in the first place, feels smooth and luxurious, and leaves a very pleasant mouth feel. Overall, in an increasingly crowded market, this is a bold flavour combination that stands out from the crowd, and works perfectly.
Favourite Seed and Bean Flavours: Anything milk or dark... too many favourites!
MEET CLAIRE
Claire is French / American, but currently living in London. She is a self confessed chocoholic and condiment lover!
Her Application Review: While I usually do not love orange and chocolate as a combination, I really enjoyed this Mandarin & Ginger Dark Chocolate bar. I particularly appreciate the choice of mandarin because it gives off more of an orange blossom and herbaceous taste rather than that of a sweet orange. The mandarin and ginger work well together as you get hints of acid and tang from the fruit while you're eating the chocolate, but then end on the sweet spice of the ginger. As a super taster, chocolate is interesting to me as it can contain limitless flavours: it can have a scent that is distinct from its taste and then has the possibility to end on a completely different note. I find the myriad of opportunities fascinating (and as a way to keep tasting the same chocolate over and over!). I completed a course at the Institute of Culinary Education in Baking/Pastry in NYC a couple of years ago and loved learning about the variety of ways chocolate could be used in bakes to contrast with the other ingredients (esp. salt!)
Favourite Seed and Bean Flavours: Sea Salt and Espresso
MEET BARINDER
Barinder is a 30 something mental health professional, with a love for all things sweet and sugary. Captivated by colour, new flavours and textures she spends a lot of her spare time baking and drinking too much tea. She can't wait to get on board the Seed and Bean tester team and ready to try out and think up some great flavour combos!
Her Application Review: Purple packaging & heady aroma (like falling headfirst into spring!) greet me on opening the Lavender Dark Chocolate bar. On the first bite I’m hit by dark chocolate, the chalky snap of the bar testament to the 72% quality. Letting the chocolate sit imparts slight bitter roasted rich flavours on the tongue, as it begins to melt comes the floral, fragrant lavender that takes over & settles in my mouth WITHOUT BEING SOAPY – WIN!. Rich dark chocolate lingers on the tongue whilst herbaceous floral lavender floats playfully around the roof of my mouth, my lips, even my nose – I can smell it, it’s quite a first for me eating this combo, the 2 flavours don’t necessarily initially mix but sit side by side - overall an earthy, floral choccie hit. Seed & Bean - perfect for something unusual, unique and a bit exciting; their colourful packaging & flavours make for great gifts.
Favourite Seed and Bean Flavours: Milk Chocolate as a preference, with citrusy flavours – lemon, lime and orange (all flavours Seed and Bean do so well)
