Tartufi dolci neri, sacchetto

Fourteen chocolate truffles wrapped in blue paper, packaged in a clear bag with a ribbon—a souvenir that would look exactly the same in a Langhe pastry shop as it does here. The Tartufo dolce nero is the classic version: less bitter than the Extranero, but with over 40% Tonda Gentile hazelnuts from Piedmont (IGP) and high-quality cocoa mass.

The hazelnuts arrive unshelled at the producer near Alba, where they are shelled and gently roasted in-house. The result is a grainy, melt-in-your-mouth texture: crunchy hazelnut pieces in a cream made of cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and pure hazelnut paste. It's the most obvious pairing with espresso —the bitter coffee enhances the balanced sweetness of the truffle.