Disclaimer: This E-liquid was provided to me free of charge for the purpose of conducting a review. This fact notwithstanding, I will, as best I'm able, provide an honest, accurate and unbiased assessment of this product.
Cocoa is a by-product of the Cacao tree. To produce cocoa, the beans from this tree are "fermented, roasted, shelled, ground and turned into a paste" which is further processed to remove the cocoa butter leaving a powder. Chocolate is essentially produced in the same manner but is left with the cocoa butter intact. In its natural state, cocoa is quite bitter so sweetener is often added to make it more palatable. The word cocoa is a derivative of the Spanish word "cacao" which in turn is derived from the Nahuatl word “cacahuatl”. http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-between-cocoa-and-chocolate/ (Nahuatl is a language of the Uto-Aztecan people who inhabited and continue to inhabit Mesoamerica, which is a region extending from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica)
Belgian Cocoa and chocolate is known the world over as some of the finest available. "The Belgian chocolate industry became world famous following the invention of the praline, a chocolate shell with a soft centre." "The country's love of chocolate goes back to the 19th Century, when cocoa was shipped home from Congo, which had become its new African colony." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20810103
Halo http://www.halocigs.com/ released their e-liquid, Belgian Cocoa in April 2012 which was received enthusiastically by the vaping community. It's a popular liquid and with good reason; Belgian Cocoa tastes like the real thing. That's no small feat when you consider that cocoa/chocolate is so difficult (apparently) to successfully adapt to vaporous form. The Halo website has this to say about Belgian Cocoa: "Our Belgian Cocoa E-liquid blend offers a robust flavor backed by a good throat hit and great vapor production. With dry cocoa undertones and a sweet chocolate top note, this well-balanced e-liquid blend is a great all-day vape. Unlike other overly sweet chocolate e-liquid blends, Belgian Cocoa E-liquid is engineered to be vaped all day long." http://www.halocigs.com/belgian-cocoa-eliquid.html
Halo are based in the United States and use all American ingredients in their e-liquids. They maintain rigorous standards in quality control and ensure consistency of flavour and nicotine content from bottle to bottle. "Attention to detail in taste and “throat hit” are the top factors which drive Halo smoke juice." (e-liquid) http://www.halocigs.com/why-halo/american-made-smoke-juice.html
Halo offer a range of twenty two juices, divided into the following categories: premium, tobacco, menthol and gourmet. Each juice is available in bottle sizes of 7 ($5.99) and 30ml ($19.99) with nicotine strengths of 0 ("No Nicotine"), 6 ("Low Nicotine"), 12 ("Medium Nicotine"), 18 ("High Nicotine") and 24mg ("XHigh Nicotine").
The 7ml bottle I have in front of me is a clear, easily squeezed plastic with a dropper insert attached. The white plastic screw-top cap is childproof. The label includes the following information: the company name, the name of the liquid, liquid contents in ml, nicotine strength in mg, a batch number, a best used by date, an ingredients list, and cautionary notes that the liquid contains nicotine, should be kept out of the reach of children and pets and that it should not be drunk.
The colour of the liquid seems closest (to my eye) a Chestnut brown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnut_(color) and appears quite aqueous (which would seem to indicate a low VG content). It's only mildly lubricious; when rubbed between my thumb and forefinger, a drop of the liquid is absorbed into my skin within a minute to a minute and a half. The aroma of the bottled liquid is strongly redolent of chocolate.
In vaping Belgian Cocoa I'm using the ever present Igo-L on a mechanical mod running on an 18650 battery an hour or two shy of the charger. I don't have the means to check the ohms of the coil, but I can tell you that there's five wraps of 0.2 Kanthal wire (32 AWG) around three strands of 2mm Silica wick.
On the inhalation there's the immediate recognition of cocoa. The sensation is of a smooth, dense vapour entering my mouth while the flavour almost seizes my tongue in a vice like grip. There's a broad sensation of sweetness with a subtler undercurrent of bitterness as the vapour swirls around my mouth and interacts with my taste buds. My tongue is almost tingling. This is strong, full bodied cocoa that's very reminiscent of a bar of dark chocolate or the type of Chocolate Mousse you might find in a fine dining environment. It's sweeter than the often bitter chocolate one finds in a chocolatier's store, but it has the same dark intensity of the darkest of chocolates. As I finish the inhalation of vapour and follow it with a short, shallow breath of air, the cocoa flavour softens just a little. While I hold the breath momentarily and then proceed to exhale, the flavour transforms into a luxurious, velvety, somewhat creamy hot chocolate. This softer chocolaty flavour follows through into the aftertaste where it lingers and fades... Unless I take another drag on the device, in which case the cycle described above recurs, fortifies and amplifies the residual flavour in my mouth. Alongside the cocoa flavour is a slight metallic tang around my teeth and gums.
The throat hit is mild, but as with many e-liquids with a sweeter focus, (in my experience) there's a mounting sensation of "pressure" at the back of my throat during inhalation. Vapour production is serviceable, but who cares with vapour that tastes this good!
This is the best cocoa/chocolate flavoured vape I've yet had the pleasure of experiencing. I've read somewhere (I know not where) that cocoa/chocolate is notoriously difficult to translate to vaporous form. So Halo, hats off! You've delivered the finest possible cocoa experience as an e-liquid. Chocoholics desperately need apply.
