Vafla of the Week: Borovets Chocolate-covered Vafla
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Before I begin my heartfelt explanation of the sensory explosion that is chocolate-covered Borovets vafla, I'd like to begin with an introduction to the broader topic of Vafli.
Vafli are a common treat here in Bulgaria, however there is no comparable snack item in the U.S.A. The closest thing that comes to mind are sugar wafers, but really this comparison applies only to structure and not at all taste. For you see, Vafli, in its most basic form is layers of wafers, chocolate and heaven.
Although I am a raving fan of Vafli, I wasn't aware of this tasty treat until sometime around my 2nd or 3rd month in Bulgaria. Other volunteers were fortunate enough to be force-fed Vafli by their host families. I was not so lucky. Since having fully embraced Vafli and integrating it into my diet, I consider those beginning months a tragic waste of time. So be it.
Some of you may be wondering why I alternate between Vafla and Vafli. If you are wondering, this is because you don't speak Bulgarian. Vafla is the singular form, and, as it is a "feminine" word, the plural is Vafli. ВАФЛА - This is how Vafla looks in Bulgarian script. I find it much more commanding and representative of the epic nature of Vafli.
Bulgarian language lessons aside, time to get down to business. As one of the (currently) 7 B22-Blogstars, I have decided to make my weekly entries about Vafli. This is because I love Vafli and because it leads to awesome stories. Since the Vafli market has thoroughly embraced capitalism, there are many different brands and types of this wonderful treat. I intend to sample one each week and write about it in excessive detail here. I eat Vafli all the time, but usually stick to the same brand, so my entries will be a fresh and exciting journey for all of us. In the event that I run out of brands to sample, I will try to start visiting factories or take other extreme measures to keep this column fresh while always relating to Vafli.
Ahh the Borovets Chocolate Covered Vafla - marvel at its majesty. Ever since I began to dabble in the world of vafli this has been my all-time favorite. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be as though you found a rose with no thorn; pure beauty with none of the pain of the modern world. Usually, when feeling down or answering my desire for sweets, this is what I reach for (Vafli really has served as a comfort food after many a crappy day). A mere 25 or 30 stotinki (cents) for all the magic of the world.
Here is the naked Vafla out of its wrapper. Look at the ripples of flavor and the consistent chocolate shell. Although chocolate coated vafli are very common, it is one step away from the traditional vafla. The old school or "usual" vafli have no chocolate coating. I enjoy it both ways. That's on a normal sized cutting board, so you see it's quite a bit of majesty for 25 stotinki. Alright, I can't just look anymore, I need a bite!
Oh, that was fantastic! This vafla has the perfect mix of wafers, chocolate and heaven. It's almost overwhelming. Perfection.
Normally vafli would never make it home without being bitten. Truthfully, most do not even make it home. I usually have the wrapper torn open on my way out of the store. However, this was a scientific endeavor, so I had to exercise patience. Now have a look at the glorious flavor layers.
Due to being in a state of vafla-euphoria I didn't get a focused shot, but I think you get the idea. The light layers are the wafers, the dark ones the chocolate. The mixing of the layers is the heaven. I attempted to take more picture of my vafla eating experience, but since my instincts were focused on devouring the vafla, they didn't come out so hot. Once I gorged my vafla in about 6 bites, I decided to take a closer look at the beautiful packaging that makes it "the blue borovets".
Note the excellent graphic design. The crisp-yet-rugged letters spelling "Borovets" set in front of snow-capped mountains. The reason for this is that this brand of Vafla is named after Bulgaria's oldest ski resort, Borovets. It is a fitting name, since the majesty of Borovets vafli more than matches that of the Rila Mountains. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say they named the resort after the Vafla.
Although you can't see it, the label says "A quality product from Day and Night Ltd". This is the company behind the genius. They make a variety of vafli, and their sweet website tells you about their production process. They pump out 30,000,000 vafli every month! Better still, they are ramping up to double their production! This might be the best news I've ever read on the internet. You can read more about their varieties of vafli on the site, but don't bother since I will be reviewing them all here anyway.
Back to the wrapper. The back tells you that this 55 grams of goodness provides 285 calories of energy! That means you can meet your caloric intake with around 7 of these bad boys! I think I might have a new diet. They also list the ingredients, link to the website and give an email address! I might send them a link to this and see if they will hire me as a vafla taster/reviewer/Arch Duke of Vafla.
Since I find this to be the ultimate vafla, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being trash and 10 being vafla-tastic), the chocolate covered Borovets vafla receives a 9.99999. It would certainly be a 10, but I reserve that there may be a greater vafla out there, and if so, I intend to find it.
Vafli yours,
George Vaflington
Posted byThomas at 12:01 AM
Labels: Vafli
aweeeeesomee! ;] I love vafli
Just fantastic. I haven't laughed/smiled about a blog in a while. Definitely agree with the glory of the Borovets, and I must say our group (the B18s) had our 'orientation' week at the Borovets resort, and I believe firmly that the resort, owing to the need to radiate the greatest of the eponymous vafla, is surely named for the confection.
Missing 'what would you do?' you should get Marc Summers to run a show of the Food Network series 'Unwrapped' on vafli . . .
Should you be looking for a way to indulge when you return to the States. There's this site . . . http://www.sofiausa.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=S&Category_Code=EFSWS
4estit Vafli!
Carey
B18 2005-2007
Veliki Preslav