Chocolate

[Diabolical]

I’ve been talking about starting a chocolate thread for the past few years. After scattered posts across the lounge, you know what?
Fine.
Here.

Chocolate thread.
Dessert. Snack. Delicacy. Currency. Destructive Commodity.
A place to discuss it.

Personally, I’m primarily a dark chocolate enjoyer. And I take this FAR more seriously than anyone should. I eat half a bar of chocolate over 10-to-30 minutes, I take notes, and I don’t eat the rest of the bar for two or three days at the earliest….

See? Bit crazy, I know. But that’s me. I got my reasons and my methods and my chocolate enjoyment origin stories. As do most.

Chocolate is incredibly subjective.

You like what you like, and the chocolate you enjoy can be influenced on a daily basis by things as varied as what you ate recently to what the rainy season was like the year the year the cacao was harvested and what (if any) other cacao it was mixed with and what else is in the chocolate!

One person’s ‘too bitter’ is the next person’s ‘nectar of the gods’.

You got chocolate opinions? Bring’em!
You want to shame the enjoyers because the industry is outrageously exploitative? We can talk about that if you want.
Want to talk chocolate science? Let’s do that!
You find a fun brand or specific kind of chocolate? Share!

Anyway, first up for me?
The most recent bar I’ve enjoyed: Amadei Toscana’s Nove, a 75% Cacao bar that is a blend of nine different plantations from across three countries and featuring three different bean varieties. It was a tasting journey that started with, “hmm, interesting but a bit boring,” and ended with, “Holy cow that’s fantastic!”

 

[GMBigKev]

I made brownies yesterday. Double chocolate. Chocolate with chocolate chips. I had a blondie and a cookie but it wasn't what I needed. I needed a brownie. I needed chocolate.

I like my dark chocolate - it tastes richer, deeper.

 

[Diabolical]

Nove
by Amadei Toscana
https://barandcocoa.com/products/amedei-signature-9-blend

Cacao: 75%
Type: Bar, divided into a bunch of squares.
Description: A blend of chocolate from nine different plantations across Venezuela, Ghana, and Madagascar and featuring three different kinds of beans.
Notes: (per Amadei): “Notes of citrus, superior woods, and drinking chocolate.” .... I'll use 'notes' and 'tones' interchangeably. They don't mean the same thing, but they do in my head when it comes to chocolate.

---

Session One:
Prime (the first taste, usually a small piece to "prime" the mouth for further chocolate eating) -> Hazelnut. A touch of fruit when the piece is fully melted.

Medium chew (chew a couple of times and stop, let it melt on the middle of the tongue, often pressed against the roof of the mouth) -> Very soft mouth-feel, no bitterness at all. Still all hazelnut and fruit, but it's really subtle.

Side tongue (try to taste the chocolate with the side of your tongue) -> Some random blood orange tones out of nowhere? Subtle still, but interesting.

Back teeth (just kind of wedge it back there and taste with the back/side of your tongue) -> More subtle fruit and nutty notes.

Conclusion after session one: Interesting, if really mellow chocolate. Leaning towards the middle of the enjoyment scale, but trending slightly upward.

---

Session Two:
Music - Death Cab For Cutie (youtube) to start, Magnavolt (youtube) to finish.

Prime -> Drinking chocolate? Yeah, I'm getting definite drinking chocolate taste now.

Double Pouch + Mid-tongue (Okay, a decent sized piece of chocolate in each cheek to soften and melt while you focus on melting down a smaller piece on the middle of your tongue. Once that small piece is gone, go after the slightly melted larger pieces with a vengeance!) -> Whoa. A bit nutty, a bit fruity, a bit chocolate mousse (?!?!!) and more drinking chocolate.

Repeat -> Oh yeah, that's the stuff! That just works!

Conclusion after session two: Yeah, that "More is more!" dynamic rockets this upward to a full happy faced smile of max enjoyment. Hard to get into, but once you pull the notes out? Damn that is good chocolate.

---

Dia's Rating = (5 out of 5)
Don't ask me why softer rock and synthy electronic music works with this chocolate, but it does. Go figure.

 

[Diabolical]

I made brownies yesterday. Double chocolate. Chocolate with chocolate chips. I had a blondie and a cookie but it wasn't what I needed. I needed a brownie. I needed chocolate.

Recently, here at work, myself and coworker decided to basically ruin our calorie intake for the week and make brownies. It was a mix for normal chocolate brownies, but I had been able to pick up some Jaguar Swirl chocolate bars from ChocoSol for really cheap. We used a couple of those to add some chocolate chunks.

It was unbelievably good. I am salivating just remembering it.

 

[zakael19]

I made Stella Parks’ Devil’s Food Cake for my birthday, with Callebaut 811 Callets & Cacao Berry Extra Brute cacao powder. My go-to recipe for a semi-dark rich and moist chocolate cake, the profile is like a fluffy brownie.

Dia, regarding really good single origin chocolate - some of the best I’ve had actually comes from a little shop at a small town here in NoVA. We’ve gone to the area chocolate & coffee festival and their bars have by far been the most complex and interesting. You can probably get em online (maybe still cool enough to ship?), Potomac Chocolates.

 

[Diabolical]

Dia, regarding really good single origin chocolate - some of the best I’ve had actually comes from a little shop at a small town here in NoVA. We’ve gone to the area chocolate & coffee festival and their bars have by far been the most complex and interesting. You can probably get em online (maybe still cool enough to ship?), Potomac Chocolates.

We're touching 80° here in SoCal right now, so maybe late fall. But something I will 100% keep in mind!
Yes.... yes indeed.

My closest boutique chocolatiers that do their own single origin bars are down in Los Angeles or up in Santa Barabara. I'm right in-between on the coast, so I make do with a local chocolatier who gets in a selection of bean-to-bar examples from a bunch of different places both domestic and overseas.

 

[GMBigKev]

I made Stella Parks’ Devil’s Food Cake for my birthday, with Callebaut 811 Callets & Cacao Berry Extra Brute cacao powder. My go-to recipe for a semi-dark rich and moist chocolate cake, the profile is like a fluffy brownie.

Dia, regarding really good single origin chocolate - some of the best I’ve had actually comes from a little shop at a small town here in NoVA. We’ve gone to the area chocolate & coffee festival and their bars have by far been the most complex and interesting. You can probably get em online (maybe still cool enough to ship?), Potomac Chocolates.

I live relatively close to Occaquan. I'll have to check it out the next time we're down there. Which isn't often.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

In my city, we get Lindt as the top-tier chocolate. At Christmastime some others in gift shops that come in and never again. So, Lindt milk-chocolate is my favourite.

 

[Thorvard]

Oh boy, here we go. I enjoy chocolate(to be completely honest chocolate is not my favorite sweet flavor) and I've had very very good chocolate and I've had bottom of the barrel.

And, I'm not going to lie, I do enjoy the occasional Hershey's bar. I've heard it all, "it's not real chocolate" "it tastes like barf" "you can't say you like chocolate and like Hersheys" but damn if I don't like it. Especially the almond one.

 

[Nauls]

I have no shame in admitting that I am an enjoyer of all types of chocolate, from Hershey’s to the exotic micro-region stuff.

The last one I tried was Luisa Abram Rio Acará 70%. I don’t take notes (maybe I should), but I recall it being quite good!
https://barandcocoa.com/products/lu...KruB8prsL3Nv8rKTRTZJGuX3QgOs44jDnc2V2wwOqCRCD

 

[ecotone]

Food of the gods.

 

[Tijger]

So I come from a country where chocolate and its names has its own legislative definition that defines exactly what is white, milk and pure chocolate, what you can add to chocolate as well and is described in the lawbooks, for shits and grins this is the relevant law article: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0012958/2014-12-13 (its in Dutch, of course )

I like chocolate but generally only as chocolate, so bars, chocolate bonbons and eggs and the like...wait, do you guys have little chocolate eggs for Easter too? Anyway, I tend to like milk chocolate most but occassionally I enjoy some nice dark chocolate and chocolate bonbons, our favorite shop used to be this one: https://debontekoe.nl/ because their chocolate is all handmade on the premises and they only use their own chocolate. They also do a mean chocolademilk powder that tastes SOOOOOOO much better than anything else.

We've moved to the other side of the country now so we're looking for a new chocolate place for those special chocolates, I mean we can get good chocolate anywhere here but there's good and there's OMGITSOGOOD, right?

 

[Diabolical]

I have no shame in admitting that I am an enjoyer of all types of chocolate, from Hershey’s to the exotic micro-region stuff.

The last one I tried was Luisa Abram Rio Acará 70%. I don’t take notes (maybe I should), but I recall it being quite good!
https://barandcocoa.com/products/lu...KruB8prsL3Nv8rKTRTZJGuX3QgOs44jDnc2V2wwOqCRCD

<rustles in the cabinet>

This one?

Yep, in the queue!

---

And, I'm not going to lie, I do enjoy the occasional Hershey's bar. I've heard it all, "it's not real chocolate" "it tastes like barf" "you can't say you like chocolate and like Hersheys" but damn if I don't like it. Especially the almond one.

You like what you like. I’m not the biggest fan of Hershey’s milk chocolate because of the milk they use. Their dark chocolate, though….

 

[Diabolical]

In my city, we get Lindt as the top-tier chocolate. At Christmastime some others in gift shops that come in and never again. So, Lindt milk-chocolate is my favourite.

Lindt is alright on my personal scale - certainly better than Ghirardelli - but there are two things that stand out for me in a big way.
1) Their “fruit” dark chocolates? Raspberry, Orange, etc? Actual fruit juice or fruit used in making the chocolate. Not “oil” or “essence”. This is huge! The raspberry dark chocolate is pretty darn good!
2) The Chili Dark Chocolate is a solid banger of a chocolate bar. Delicious.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

Lindt is alright on my personal scale - certainly better than Ghirardelli - but there are two things that stand out for me in a big way.
1) Their “fruit” dark chocolates? Raspberry, Orange, etc? Actual fruit juice or fruit used in making the chocolate. Not “oil” or “essence”. This is huge! The raspberry dark chocolate is pretty darn good!
2) The Chili Dark Chocolate is a solid banger of a chocolate bar. Delicious.

Oh, I love the Chili Dark Chocolate bar! One of my favourites, too!

 

[HiroTheProtagonist]

My very first job as a teenager was working in an artisanal chocolate store, primarily doing maintenance work but also operating the enrober and jockeying the register. Great gig, and it gave me a real appreciation for just how good small batch chocolates can be. I've been trying to eat less sugar over the years, but luckily for me the store still stands and they've got a decent selection of sugar-free chocolates that are genuinely as good as the real thing.

Also, Chili Dark Chocolate is a fantastic confection. I still remember encountering it for the first time on a trip to Canada in the early 2000s and assuming it was supposed to be a prank, but thank god enough people have seen the light.

 

[Oddabe19]

Unfortunately, Hershey's bars dominates around here... being local and all, so we don't get many other options outside of specialty shops, or national brands like Lindt.

Hershey's is terrible "chocolate" since they outsourced to Mexico about 15 or 20 years ago. The town of Hershey doesn't even smell like chocolate anymore. At least Elizabethtown does, only because a Mars factory is there.

Hershey's, however, is perfect for a s'more, but Reese's cups reign supreme as the "s'mores chocolate".

 

[curih]

I recently found a shop that makes their own bars right upstairs from the shop in addition to stocking interesting chocolate and non-chocolate stuff from around the world. They are excellent and also very expensive.

The real problem is that I found them because they are right in front of our new place. As in, I can look out the window and see them right now and have to walk past daily. This may be a problem in multiple ways.

 

[Thorvard]

That Bar and Co website sucks. I'm about to buy several bars I stumbled upon. A cardamom and black pepper chocolate bar? Oh hell yeah.

 

[Diabolical]

That Bar and Co website sucks.

I have Bar and Cocoa’s homepage in a bookmark folder labelled “Stay Away!”

 

[rain shadow]

Is it technically a 3 way if I love chocolate and my wife equally?

 

[Tijger]

I have Bar and Cocoa’s homepage in a bookmark folder labelled “Stay Away!”

I bet that works grandly because nobody ever opens the folder "Stay Away"

 

[Tijger]

Is it technically a 3 way if I love chocolate and my wife equally?

I think that depends how you use the chocolate and your wife simultaneously but that might quickly become an X rated topic

 

[Scifigod]

Since I've started watching my sugar intake better most milk chocolates are entirely too sweet for me. I've found that depending on what else is in it about 70-75% is about my limit for dark chocolate. I've had up to 90% before and that was a struggle to finish...I did it though because you don't leave good chocolate behind.

 

[Doomlord_uk]

I've had 95% chocolate ONCE and it was not nice. I also have tried 100% but that was literally evil in bar form. My wife likes 85% and I occasionally scrounge small pieces off her, but really it's not nice either. I'd say 60%-70% is the, ahem... 'sweet spot'

Fave chocolates: Guylian, Kitkat and Bounty bars.

What I really like though is a good hot chocolate with toppings. That's my favourite way to enjoy chocolate.

 

[demultiplexer]

I'm of the opinion that chocolate is kind of like steak - lots of people seem to like it, but if you don't particularly like it over other alternatives, it really isn't special and it's quite hard to make it special for such a person.

Don't get me wrong, I like chocolate as an occasional treat. As a general rule I like both white chocolate and dark chocolate, i.e. no chocolate and very chocolate I've had 90% and 80% bars, they're both fine in their own right although I really think there's a lot of bad quality 80%+ around, especially with bad texture which is just bad processing. IMO people get put off by 80% bars that are grainy, and they really shouldn't be. A good quality 80 or 85% bar should be bitter, sure, but still very nice and chocolatey.

But here's my controversial take: I think single source chocolate and other fancy chocolates aren't actually good as a rule. They're usually a nice experience, don't get me wrong, but for the price they really don't live up to the hype. I was promised floral and even green herb notes and sure the notes are there - but the experience is still 95% chocolate. The differences really aren't that large.

I very much enjoy hot and cold chocolate drinks and think the best way to enjoy chocolate is as proper, good quality chocolate in hot milk.

----

(I got into trying fancy/boutique foodstuffs through the hobby of cultivating our own tomatoes, and there I really got used to massive differences between varietals and even individual plants. I'm pretty sure cocoa just doesn't change much between soils and climates, especially after fermentation and processing)

 

[Diabolical]

But here's my controversial take: I think single source chocolate and other fancy chocolates aren't actually good as a rule. They're usually a nice experience, don't get me wrong, but for the price they really don't live up to the hype. I was promised floral and even green herb notes and sure the notes are there - but the experience is still 95% chocolate. The differences really aren't that large.

That’s okay.
You’re allowed to be wrong.

 

[abernat]

Trader Joe’s milk chocolate peanut butter cups. I’m a heathen.

 

[Mat8iou]

I've been frustrated in recent years to see how much some brands have cut out of their chocolate. Cadbury is a key offender as one of the most well known brands. Every year, you will hear someone ranting about the chocolate eggs not being labelled as Easter Eggs any more (evidence suggests they actually never were), but far less publicity is given to the quality of the chocolate.

The Dairy Milk bar that has historically been the foundation of Cadbury's range for instance now has so little cocoa in (20%) that in many countries they are no longer legally permitted to sell it as chocolate.

Compare the wrapper from a 2010 news article image:

To one today:

Note that the chocolate word has disappeared from the wrapper.

Now I get that companies have all sorts of commercial pressures, but enshitification of products clearly isn't just an online thing.

I pretty much stick to Lindt now, or supermarket own brand equivalents. Since moving to Australia, there doesn't seem to be as wide a range as the UK though and the prices are crazily high for the amount you are getting.

 

[Technarch]

I've been frustrated in recent years to see how much some brands have cut out of their chocolate. Cadbury is a key offender as one of the most well known brands.

Yeah Cadbury was one of my faves back in the 1900s but it's inedible now. It's like they watered it down and somehow solidified it anyway.

In general I've evolved to prefer dark chocolate, which matches my general trend away from ultra sweet American anything. Annoyingly Hershey's seems to have stopped making dark chocolate, and that used to be my 'everyday' inexpensive chocolate that I kept around. Now Lindt is my go to. That shit ain't cheap, but then again no decent chocolate is cheap anymore.

Reese's is also good--too good. I have repeatedly demonstrated a complete inability to not eat Reese's if they're in the house, so I don't let myself buy them.

 

[Diabolical]

Annoyingly Hershey's seems to have stopped making dark chocolate, and that used to be my 'everyday' inexpensive chocolate that I kept around

You can still get it, but really only in the snack sized.

 

[GMBigKev]

You can still get it, but really only in the snack sized.

Along with Krackel ;w;

ETA: Yes I know Nestle Crunch is the same. But I don't buy anything from Nestle if I can have another option

 

[Oddabe19]

You can still get it, but really only in the snack sized.

Along with Krackel ;w;

If either of you are ever in the Hershey area you can get larger and OMG HUGE bars of each from the Hershey World store, between the Park and the Giant Center.

 

[halse]

For everyday: Guittard, for special: La Maison du Chocolat or Tuescher

 

[doraemon]

Ooo, chocolate!

For snacking, I'll enjoy See's truffles and the Trader Joe's Pound Plus of dark chocolate with almond. I've also liked Green and Black's.

For baking, where I need to chop up the chocolate, I use Trader Joe's Pound Plus Dark or Bittersweet, depending on how bitter I need it. For chips, it's Guittard's or 365 (white only).

 

[Technarch]

If either of you are ever in the Hershey area you can get larger and OMG HUGE bars of each from the Hershey World store, between the Park and the Giant Center.

I've been there before, but it's kind of out of the way now and I don't think Hershey's anything is worth a plane ticket.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

Wait...there's places you guys can buy an entire pound of chocolate? Biggest bar I've seen here was always been 300g.

 

[wrylachlan]

I like chocolate just fine but it really needs to companion with something to shine. Chocolate on its own is more addiction-filling than enjoyable. But raspberry chocolate mousse? Divine. Chocolate cheese cake? Divine. And frankly better than any dessert use of chocolate is mole sauce - good Mexican dish smothered in mole is in the running for the best food of any kind.

 

[doraemon]

Wait...there's places you guys can buy an entire pound of chocolate? Biggest bar I've seen here was always been 300g.

Trader Joe's sells a Pound Plus bar (500 g), allegedly using Belgian chocolate. Whoever they are sourcing makes delicious chocolate and a bar for about USD6 or so is a bargain. Maybe it's more now, but it's still a bargain.

 

[Technarch]

Oo, looks like the Trader Joe's ones are available online. But it's a lot more than $6 per.