Vasalissa imports all of its chocolates straight from Belgium, so it has a much more European feel to it than the other chocolate brands, although for that feel it also charges at least three times as much. I paid higher prices for this chocolate than I would in Belgium. It’s VERY expensive by Argentine standards and even by American standards (I forget exactly how much, but my bill for 12 pieces came out to at least $30). That being said, it’s known for having the best crafted chocolates and some of the most unique flavor profiles, especially emphasizing fruits and liquor, and it tends to have far more truffles than other stores. The selection, though, is very limited, with only 8 different truffles and 8 different domes, or typical assorted chocolates.

A strong point of the chocolate is that it makes a great gift, with a fantastic presentation. All the chocolates are spheres or domes and often have odd colors because of the type of sugar used or a process of dying—it’s quite nice. The chocolates also come in very nice, sturdy boxes, stuffed with colored paper, and each box is wrapped with a ribbon, like a gift. It is very classy chocolate, as it should be for the price, and it has a nice touch of the old-fashioned.

The chocolate quality, though, does not justify the price. It is true that the chocolates were quite good in general, especially the truffles. The mousse inside the truffles was fantastic, with good texture and creaminess to it. However, Vasalissa tries to be too innovative, merely for the purpose of being innovative. The flavor profiles were just off at times—they were unique but clashed too much with the taste of the chocolate itself, often overshadowing it, or they were just boring.

Pieces I had:

Must try: Cappuccino truffle (Crunch exterior, rich, creamy), Dome filled with sour cherry (perfect bitter fruitiness to balance sweetness)

Hits: Simple dark chocolate ganache truffle (rough start and a bit bitter, but very good), Sugar-covered truffle with coconut and alcohol (nice balancing of sweetness with alcohol), dome with dulce de leche and nut (very creamy, nice crunch)

Mediocre/Decent: Dome filled with passion fruit (fruity and strong, but just an odd flavor), Dark chocolate truffle with ginger (too strong on bitterness, overpowering), dome with chocolate ganache and cassis? (boring flavor), Chocolate crystal with chocolate ganache.

Misses: Sugar-covered pink truffle w/ strawberry and liquor (liquor is citrusy, acidic, and so strong it destroys/overpowers the truffle), raspberry dome, white truffle with liquor

Overall Score: 2.5/5.0. Adjusted for value, more like a 1.0/5.0, especially in consideration of how overpriced it is by Argentine standards. Go to Mamushka or Viejo Oso instead. If you do buy Vasalissa, stick to the truffles, which are less readily available throughout Argentina.

Overall, way better than most chocolate in Argentina, rivaled only by the likes of Mamushka. There are interesting, unique flavors, but not at the cost of chocolate quality. Truffles are outstanding especially—flavors aren’t big, but very well-made, with delicious ganache and mousse. Bonbons are also good, though they don’t stand out as much. The tempering of the chocolate is solid, and the sugar tends to be just right. Just avoid the liquor pieces and you’re golden.

Pieces I had:

Must Try: Raspberry cream, Cherry truffle (So smooth, creamy, and rich!), Chocolate mousse truffle, Spicy dark chocolate mousse truffle topped with powdered sugar, Caramel Truffle

Hits: Bonbon with caramel (solid, sweet, simple), Bonbon w/ cream (almost a must try), Raspberry cream (Must try!), chocolate mousse bonbon with peanut butter (almost a must try),

Mediocre/Decent: Ginger bonbon (just an odd flavor), dark chocolate bonbon (a bit too bland), Bonbon with rum (too strong), coconut truffle (bland)

Misses: Bonbon with sour cherry and liquor (liquor just destroys the taste)

Overall score: 3.7/5.0

Great milk chocolate and second only to Mamushka and Viejo Oso in that department. Milk chocolate is almost flawless, and I would almost exclusively buy milk chocolate from this store, since the other types of chocolate tend to be horrible. This isn’t so much of a problem, since Abuela Goye itself tends to emphasize milk chocolate, lacking a large selection of white and dark. I also recommend avoiding the liquor pieces altogether, which taste far too much of alcohol and very little of chocolate. Finally, Abuela Goye loses points for a lack of variety. Almost all of the chocolates are milk chocolate mini-bars topped or filled with a different nut or fruit, and all are rather simple combinations. The reason so many are good, then, is that they are basically the same milk chocolate piece, and there are no truly unique pieces.

Pieces I had:

Must try: Milk chocolate topped with almond (Milk chocolate is perfect), Milk choc w/ nuts inside, Milk with cookies inside, Chocolate Mousse filling (Even better than the rest!), Milk chocolate with rice crunch, Milk choc with dulce de leche filling,  the truffle(Chewy, rich, balanced filling of choc mousse in a perfectly sweet exterior),

Hits: Milk chocolate with almonds, Milk chocolate with cashew on top, Dark chocolate mousse with white chocolate glaze and rum?,  Milk with gianduja, Dark chocolate with banana, White chocolate with millefeuille filling

Mediocre/Decent/Bland: Almond-filled white chocolate, Pure dark chocolate, White chocolate filled with strawberry (too rich), White chocolate with nuts (almost no sweetness)

Misses: White chocolate with strawberry and rum (Liquor is way too strong), Mocha (no flavor), Coconut, Dark chocolate mousse with liquor, any liquor-based chocolate in general, dark chocolates in general

Overall score: 2.3/5.0
-  3.5 on milk chocolate quality and taste.
-  1.0 on the liquor piece
-  1.0 for white and dark chocolate pieces.
-  1.0 on the selection of flavors

Very good overall. Flavors, especially the creams and dulce de leche are just right. Good bittersweet chocolate pieces, and great use of nuts and swirls. The main flaw is in the sweetness. There is so much that it’s cloying. Also, the pure chocolates are bland.

Pieces I had:

Must Try: Chocolate mousse, dark chocolate with nuts and dulce de leche, milk chocolate with a peanut cream

Hits: White with almond (nice balance), Semiamargo/bittersweet bar piece (nice to savor, though a little sweet), Milk chocolate with dulce de leche in bear shape (great balance), swiss chocolate (almost a must).

Mediocre/Decent: date, white rama/branch, milk chocolate rama/branch, white chocolate bear with dulce de leche (way too sweet), milk chocolate bar with nuts, milk chocolate with chocolate mousse, dark chocolate with coconut

Misses: milk chocolate with jam (odd mix), milk chocolate in general

Overall score: 2.5/5.0

Good pieces with chunks/nuts in them, but horrible quality in general. The chocolate is overly sweet, to the point of being cloying, especially in the case of the milk chocolate. Only good for fruity/unique pieces.

Pieces I had:

Hits: Frutilla con yogur/strawberry with yogurt, cherry with dark chocolate (nice fruit and balance), white chocolate with raspberry, milk chocolate with hazelnuts

Mediocre/Decent pieces: Chocolate mousse, dark chocolate with nuts, white with peanut, white with dulce de leche

Misses: dulce de leche, raisin, dark/white chocolate mix, most all of the rest of the chocolates in general

Overall score: 0.5/5.0

Hands down, my favorite brand of chocolate in Argentina. It is so good that I would say it’s comparable to, if not better than, most all of the brands I tried in Europe, including the ones in Belgium. There are no misses at all. Every piece has its charm. There are a couple of iffy flavors, but that depends mostly on the person’s individual palate. Each piece, though, is well-tempered and has a very balanced sweetness. I can’t complain at all, though I would recommend the caramelized pieces and the ones containing fruits.

Pieces I had:

Must Try: Caramelized date, White chocolate with dark chocolate filling, Dark chocolate with dark choc mousse, Milk chocolate with dulce de leche and nuts

Hits: Rum with grape? (warms you very nicely), white chocolate bear with dulce de leche, caramel walnut, chocolate mousse, orangette (a dried orange peel covered in chocolate), Milk chocolate with hazelnut, Milk chocolate crunch with nuts

Mediocre/Decent: chocolate-covered fig, dark chocolate with cookies (very close to being a hit though), dark chocolate with dark chocolate and cherry cream, some of the milk chocolates in general

No misses.

Overall score: 4.5/5.0