Passion Fruit Chocolate is Back: The Story Behind Our Favourite Flavour
It's finally here.
If you've been asking us, "When is passion fruit coming back?" and trust us, loads of you have—the answer is: This Valentine's Day, it's back.
But this isn't just a relaunch. This is the return of a flavour with a proper story behind it. A story about caipirinhas in Brazil. A story about Porn Star Martinis in Bristol. A story about Steve and Giles finally nailing a recipe that took 20+ attempts to get right.
Let me take you back to where it all started.
The Brazil Story (And Why Giles Was Obsessed With Passion Fruit)
Years ago, Giles lived and worked in Brazil. He was there working with Lacta chocolate a national heritage brand, like Cadbury is to the UK and he absolutely fell in love with the place.
But more importantly, he fell in love with a ritual.
Almost every Friday evening, he and his wife would head to their favourite local restaurant. Sometimes they'd bring friends, local friends Charlie and Paola. And they'd order caipirinhas. Sometimes two if it had been a tough week. Occasionally, three (because, let's be honest, Friday nights in Brazil feel different).
For Giles, a caipirinha became more than just a cocktail. It became the taste of a place he loved. The taste of passion fruit. The taste of Friday nights that felt like a proper celebration.
Years later, when he and Steve started Russell & Atwell, one flavour kept coming back to him: passion fruit. He wanted Steve to develop it. He really wanted Steve to develop it.
It took some time, but Steve eventually agreed.
The Steve Angle (Porn Star Martinis and 20+ Recipes)
Here's the thing: Steve doesn't just make chocolate. He loves making chocolate. As he says himself, he relishes the challenge of figuring out how to blend amazing flavours together with fresh chocolate.
When Giles first brought up passion fruit, Steve was actually already a fan. His favourite cocktail to make for his partner? A Porn Star Martini. Which, you've guessed it, features passion fruit as a key ingredient.
So they were aligned. Giles had the memory. Steve had the passion (pun intended). Now they just needed to figure out how to make it work in chocolate.
That's when things got tricky.
The Challenge: Making Passion Fruit Work in Chocolate
Here's what Steve discovered pretty quickly: passion fruit is a flavour minefield.
The fruit delivers both sour and sweet notes simultaneously. Which, on the face of it, doesn't sound like a natural fit with chocolate. One of the most challenging flavour profiles to work with.
His early attempts? Big bursts of passion fruit that were almost like sherbert lemon bombs, so tart they practically made your mouth pucker. And here's the problem: the chocolate and the fruit were fighting. They weren't working together. It was just competing flavours in your mouth.
So Steve went back to the drawing board.
He decided to focus on heroing the tropical fruit aroma and fusing it with Russell & Atwell's signature rich chocolate. Not dominating with tartness. Not overwhelming with sweetness. But creating a harmony.
It took more than 20 different recipes.
Twenty. Different. Recipes.
But eventually, he cracked it.
The Result: A "Gert Lush" Eating Experience
Here's how Steve describes what they finally achieved:
"After creating more than 20 different recipes, Giles and I were finally happy with a much more harmonious eating experience where you get a big chocolate hit which gently gives way to a honeyed tropical freshness, leaving your mouth watering for just one more—gert lush as we say in Bristol!"
Gert lush. That's it. That's the whole thing.
You bite into it, and you get that hit of fresh, smooth, premium chocolate. And then, gently, not aggressively, the passion fruit comes through. Honeyed. Tropical. Fresh. The kind of fresh that makes you want to reach for another piece immediately.
It's not trying to be something it's not. It's not passion fruit pretending to be chocolate or chocolate pretending to be passion fruit. It's both, in perfect balance.
A Little Passion Fruit History (Because It's Actually Fascinating)
Since we're talking about passion fruit, here's something interesting:
Passion fruit or "maracujá" as it's known in Brazil, is a native plant of Paraguay, Brazil, and Northern Argentina. The Aztecs, Incas, and other South American native peoples have been growing it for thousands of years. The fruit has unique flavour notes of mandarin, orange, and pineapple all wrapped into one.
But here's where it gets exciting: the name "passion fruit" comes from the Passiflora flower (also known as "Passion flower" or "Flos passionis").
Spanish priests in South America in the Seventeenth Century gave it the name "La Flor de las cinco Llagas", "The Flower With The Five Wounds." Because its flower parts reminded them of Christ's suffering. (Dark, right?)
The term "Passionis" literally means "suffering." But somehow, it became associated with passion instead, and honestly, passion fruit cocktails and chocolate are a much better association than suffering.
By the way, the Japanese call the passion flower the "clock flower" because its flower resembles the face of a timepiece, which is kind of beautiful.
Why Passion Fruit is the Perfect Valentine's Day Chocolate
Look, passion fruit isn't a traditional Valentine's Day flavour. It's not red roses. It's not conventional romance. It's tropical. It's bold. It's got a story. It's the kind of flavour that says: "I know you. I know you like something interesting. I picked this because you're not basic."
If your person is someone who:
- Gets bored with the same old chocolates
- Loves tropical flavours
- Appreciates a good story behind their food
- Likes bold, unapologetically interesting flavours
- Would choose a caipirinha or Porn Star Martini over a glass of Prosecco
...then passion fruit chocolate is their Valentine's gift.
It says more than "I love you." It says, "I know you."
How to Make a Caipirinha (Or a Porn Star Martini)
If you want to really lean into this, pair your passion fruit chocolate with the actual cocktails that inspired it.
For a Caipirinha (the Giles special):
Jamie Oliver has a brilliant easy recipe here. It's literally just lime, passion fruit, sugar, ice, and cachaça. That's it. That's the whole thing.
For a Porn Star Martini (the Steve special):
BBC Good Food has a great recipe here. It's vodka-based, passion fruit, vanilla syrup, and lime. Serve it with a passion fruit to suck on at the end (because apparently that's how you do it properly).
Then eat a piece of our passion fruit chocolate between sips. You're welcome.
What Makes This Batch Special
This is a small limited-edition batch that launches just in time for Valentine's Day and will sell through to the spring—or while stocks last.
Because we make fresh chocolate, we can't just keep everything on the menu year-round. We focus on seasonal flavours that make sense for the time of year. And passion fruit? It absolutely screams Valentine's Day.
Plus, limited edition means it's more special, right? You can't just pop down to the shops and grab it any old time. This is the moment. This is Valentine's Day. This is when passion fruit chocolate lives.
The Logistics (Because Fresh Chocolate is Picky)
Storage:
Fresh chocolate needs to stay in the fridge once it arrives. It's fresh, that's the whole point. Real organic cream, real cocoa butter, no shelf-stable additives. So yes, it needs to be kept cool.
Shelf Life:
Eat it within 3-4 weeks of purchase. It's worth the urgency, trust us.
Delivery:
We ship across the UK. Just make sure whoever's receiving it will be home when it arrives. A beautiful surprise is only beautiful if it arrives in good condition.
The Experience:
Take it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you eat it. Let it come to room temperature slightly. This lets the flavour, that big chocolate hit followed by the honeyed tropical freshness, come through properly.
Why We Brought It Back
Last time we had passion fruit chocolate on the menu (February 2023), people loved it. Like, properly loved it. We had emails. We had messages. We had people asking if we could make it a permanent fixture.
But we knew we could do better.
Instead of just bringing back the old recipe, we sat with it. We tasted it again. We asked ourselves: "What if we could make this even better?"
And we did.
This is the version we should have had from the start. This is the version that took 20+ recipes to get right. This is the version where Giles and Steve finally looked at each other and said, "Yeah. This is it. This is gert lush."
So we're bringing it back. And this time, it's better.
FAQ: Passion Fruit Chocolate
When exactly is passion fruit chocolate available?
It launches just in time for Valentine's Day and sells through to spring, or while stocks last. Because it's fresh chocolate made in small batches, we recommend ordering sooner rather than later. Limited edition means limited stock.
Is this the same recipe from 2023?
It's the same flavour concept that people loved in 2023, but it's been refined and improved. Steve and Giles took feedback and spent months perfecting it. So if you remember the 2023 version, expect this to be even better. The key difference is that it uses a rich milk chocolate shell (instead of a mild dark one) and Peruvian yellow passion fruit for a slightly zingier taste - it's got a bit more personality, but don't worry, it's still unashamedly, utterly indulgently delicious!
How long does it last?
Fresh chocolate should be eaten within 3-4 weeks of purchase. Store it in the fridge and eat it before the end date on the package.
Can I send it as a gift?
Absolutely. We ship across the UK. Just make sure to let the recipient know it needs to stay in the fridge. The best gift is one that arrives in perfect condition. Oh, and you can add a special gift message for the lucky recipient.
What's the story behind the name "passion fruit"?
The Spanish named the Passiflora (passion flower) "La Flor de las cinco Llagas" "The Flower With The Five Wounds" because they thought its flower resembled Christ's suffering. "Passionis" means suffering. But honestly, passion fruit chocolate and cocktails are much better than suffering.
What does passion fruit actually taste like?
It has notes of mandarin, orange, and pineapple. In our chocolate, Steve describes it as a "big chocolate hit which gently gives way to a honeyed tropical freshness." It's bright, tropical, and sophisticated.
How does it compare to other passion fruit chocolates?
Most passion fruit chocolates either taste like they're trying to be passion fruit (and overdoing the tartness) or like they're trying to be chocolate (and underselling the fruit). Ours is both in perfect balance. It took 20+ recipes to get there, but we got there. Also we use 7% real passion fruit and no artificial flavours or colours.
What if I've never tried passion fruit before?
Perfect. Prepare yourself for a flavour experience. It's tropical, it's sophisticated, and it's absolutely delicious. Start with one or two pieces and let it melt on your tongue.
Can I pair it with something?
100%. Try it with a caipirinha, a Porn Star Martini, champagne, or a crisp white wine. Each pairing brings something different out of the chocolate. Or just have it with tea, your choice.
Why is it only available in limited quantities?
Because we make fresh chocolate in small batches, we can't keep everything in stock year-round. Passion fruit screams Valentine's Day, so that's when we focus our energy on it. Plus, a limited edition makes it more special.
Is it suitable for vegans?
No. Fresh chocolate by definition, contains organic cream, which is dairy. If you're vegan, this isn't the one. But reach out, and we can suggest something else that might work.
Ready for Passion Fruit?
If you've been waiting for this, and we know you have, the wait is almost over.
Passion fruit chocolate is back just in time for Valentine's Day. The recipe that Giles has wanted since we started the business. The flavour that inspired caipirinhas in Brazil and Porn Star Martinis in Bristol. The chocolate that took Steve 20+ attempts to perfect.
This is a limited edition. This is fresh. This is special.
Order yours before they're gone.
