Delysia Chocolatier

Delysia Chocolatier

So not too long ago I was bored and looking for something free to do in Austin and stumbled across a free tasting session for Delysia Chocolatier. On a whim I decided to give it a shot, and I am I ever glad I did. For any of you who have followed us at all you may know that it has been a long while since we last posted an actual review. Like three years ago type long. This place was significantly good enough that I was convinced I had to tell all of you about it.

One thing that surprised me about Delysia is its location. I would expect a place like this to be on the south side of town where all of the foodie type stuff seems to be located, but Delysia is on the exact opposite side of town in Cedar Park. Personally I’m glad to see this not simply because I happen to live on that end of town but because it is nice to see a seriously good, locally owned place in this part of town instead of the usual frozen food, overrated, chain type places that we get on this side of town. I don’t care if you do have baby devil hovering over your restaurant or how many former presidents and other celebrities have been convinced to go to your establishment, you are overrated….Was that out loud? Sorry, I digress.


Here is a quick rundown of what I tried:

Delysia Chocolatier

Lavender chocolate bark. It was smooth, rich, and delicate with a very nice depth of flavor. I enjoyed it so much I that finished it before I could take a picture of it. Sorry about that. The next thing I tried was the Orange Toast truffle. While I certainly enjoyed this one it was my least favorite. It was a very rich dark chocolate with a still-crisp piece of toast in the middle, unfortunately I didn’t get much of the orange flavor I was looking forward to. I don’t know if it was just my particular piece or if it was just my palette as I don’t always pick up the more subtle flavors. Curse my inferior olfactory sense!

The last one I tried was a real gem. No doubt many would say this next one seems like the sort of thing that would be absolutely nasty but I do not kid when I say it was an awakening for me. My next selection was the Vegemite apple truffle. For the uninitiated among us Vegemite is a type of yeast paste. In fact it’s the Australian cousin to Marmite. While I’ve never been able to find Vegemite at any stores around Austin I have had my share of Marmite and personally I love the stuff. It is salty, bitter, and savory all at the same time. It is the sort of thing that people either love or hate. I am most assuredly in the "Love it" category. It goes great on buttered toast, eggs, or as an add-in add in to soups and stews in controlled amounts.

Being familiar with the general flavor profile for yeast paste my hopes were high but I was also a bit wary. The salty/bitter/savory combo that the stuff naturally has could either be the perfect complement to a very dark chocolate or the absolute ruination of said confection. The key here is not simply balancing the amount of Vegemite in the chocolate but in making sure that the chocolate itself is first balanced correctly. If the chocolate is too sweet or light the Vegemite would dominate. If the chocolate is too dark then you just end up with a bitter mess. If too much salt is added to the initial mix then you end up with a salty mess in your mouth. It makes me a little queasy to think of all of the trial and error it must have taken to get a thing like this correct.

Delysia Chocolatier

In this case the balance was absolutely spot on. The bitterness and savoriness of the Vegemite paired nicely with the same elements in the chocolate and the level of salt was just right to bring out the flavors without being salty. The yeasty flavor of the Vegemite was also present but it knew its place was in the background as an accent and the sliver of apple added a nice, bright counterpoint the richness of the truffle. The result was a very rich, very deeply flavored (or should I spell it flavoured since we're talking about an Aussie condiment?) morsel of chocolate.

Again, when I say this was an awakening for me I am not joking. This piece of chocolate is what convinced me to dust off my keyboard and write a new review after over three years of silence. While I am sure this particular morsel of confectionery perfection will be a topic of dispute just let me come out and say I love it. I wouldn’t want a whole box of Vegemite truffles but one every now and again would be perfectly fine with me.

In addition to the samples I broke down and got a mixed box for wife and kids which they seemed to genuinely enjoy. Needless to say I will be back. Delysia, I am glad to have you on our end of town. Thanks for the great treats.

Official AFJ Rating: 5 points of the Lone Star