Chocolate

[steelghost]

I permit myself a bar of Toney's Chocolonely once in a while, which I'll eat over a couple of weeks, one small piece a day.

I enjoy it, but I don't obsess over it.

 

[HiroTheProtagonist]

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

I prefer their dark chocolate ones, but even the milk chocolate ones are head and shoulders above Reese's. IIRC they also used to have these milk chocolate candies shaped like peanuts filled with peanut butter and crispy rice, and I'd routinely buy two bags every time I went because one bag wouldn't survive the drive home.

 

[Yagisama]

I remember as a kid I was in a “bonbon” shop in West Germany and thinking when I was an adult I’d come back and buy ALL the chocolates. But now, there’s the specter of …. Diabetes.

There are some brands that were hot stuff back in the day that have more of a sentimental value than strictly the quality of chocolate. Ritter sport, Merci, or Ferrero Rocher (though that’s just expensive Nutella)

Though I have mostly eaten nuts with chocolate instead of going nuts for chocolate. I know hazelnuts were added historically to keep costs down but they’re my favorite chocolate. The Trader Joe’s milk chocolate with hazelnuts is my favorite and similar to the Lindt one.

But nowadays I just lug luggage filled with chocolate back and forth between LA and Tokyo. 99% of them are gifts. I already max out the calories with booze and call of the walrus.

 

[rain shadow]

Chocolate on its own is more addiction-filling than enjoyable.

This kind of bothers me. I'm anti-everything, no smoking, no booze, no party drugs, no coffee, a little diet coke but not much. But chocolate definitely feels addictive. If I run out, I get cravings for sure. I'm not sure it's completely the chocolate itself, it could also be the sugar.

 

[Doomlord_uk]

but enshitification of products clearly isn't just an online thing.

This has been going on for quite a while in the UK chocolate business. It's pure greed, and it's crappy.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

This kind of bothers me. I'm anti-everything, no smoking, no booze, no party drugs, no coffee, a little diet coke but not much. But chocolate definitely feels addictive. If I run out, I get cravings for sure. I'm not sure it's completely the chocolate itself, it could also be the sugar.

I think it's the chocolate. It's like a warm hug while wrapped in a blanket on a cold night.

 

[rain shadow]

I think it's the chocolate. It's like a warm hug while wrapped in a blanket on a cold night.

...while sipping a mug of hot chocolate

 

[doraemon]

I guess I'm spoiled here as TJ's are pretty easy to find. Looks like the Pound Plus bar is listing at USD7.99 now; no idea what shipping costs, as I go to TJ's at least once a month to pick up some items.

 

[demultiplexer]

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

OK, I have disposable income (well, enough for chocolate at least). Can we do a simultaneous review? We both buy the same bar and write down tasting notes. You choose, maximum $30. I'll promise to be truthful

Whatever you choose, it needs to be available in the Netherlands.

(edit: also I don't mind this being a thing on this forum - doing food reviews)

 

[Diabolical]

OK, I have disposable income (well, enough for chocolate at least). Can we do a simultaneous review? We both buy the same bar and write down tasting notes. You choose, maximum $30. I'll promise to be truthful

Whatever you choose, it needs to be available in the Netherlands.

(edit: also I don't mind this being a thing on this forum - doing food reviews)

Food is outrageously subjective. We can eat the same thing and come away with wildly different experiences. So, no. You want to be scientific about it, go find someone in the Observatory to run tests.

 

[Yagisama]

And don't forget this delicacy! Straight from Deutschland!

 

[Diabolical]

Food is outrageously subjective. We can eat the same thing and come away with wildly different experiences. So, no. You want to be scientific about it, go find someone in the Observatory to run tests.

Let me rephrase that.

I’m not interested in doing a ‘let’s have a group of people try this chocolate, see what it’s like, and decide who is right’ thing. You want to do that, go ahead, but I won’t be participating.

Again, food is incredibly subjective. Outrageously so. And comparing subjective tastes in a way that is meant to determine “who is right” sounds like a doomed exercise from the start.

You can decide there is no point and that fancy stuff is basically the same as the common grocery store items. That’s fine. You can make the same argument for wine, coffee, etc. And I’d agree that largely you’d be right. But there is a LOT of nuance there, and potential factors that can alter characteristics.

If you’re the kind of person that can’t discern any truly noticeable difference between chocolate from Papau New Guinea and chocolate from Columbia or Madagascar? Great. More power to you - certainly your enjoyment of chocolate will be cheaper!

Or if your the kind of person who can’t pull different dominant flavor notes from different parts of your mouth? Okay, that’s fine. People are wildly different.

But don’t try to tell me I’m wrong because I can. See -> taste is subjective.

 

[demultiplexer]

I'm not saying we settle an internet argument, I just want tasting notes from multiple people on some delicious food

 

[DemonYoshi]

Oh my god!! I can't believe I missed this thread when it started.

Yes, that's the answer.

I am and have been an absolutely huge chocophile for many years. Gotten back into it in earnest recently after a few years away. I've hosted a number of chocolate tasting parties for friends in the last year. Working on my materials and patter for that, and have a survey going out to them soon to see if I can make the numbers work on hosting parties as a side hustle
_{(uhhhhhh, mainly to feed my ability to buy more chocolate. like, you know, just make enough each party to buy myself another half dozen bars)}.

I have a nearly 300 row spreadsheet with all the vital info of each bar. Those are all bars I've either run already in tasting parties, have and plan to run, or am planning on getting.

We had some really fascinating results in terms of flavors people found in the bars, or people with completely opposite preferences. I don't think we had anyone at any of the parties that really had an experience with craft chocolate so it was all new to them, and for most of them even the idea of flavors beyond "chocolate" in chocolate was new.

My favorite recent bar:
Marana - Piura Perua 70%
Fruit forward, a fair bit stronger astringency than I usually go for but not much bitterness. Lovely mellow sweetness.

My "I can easily find it locally available" bar:
Beyond Good Pure Dark 70%
Fruit forward is maybe putting it mildly. Prominent with the red berry type flavors. Very mild if any astringency and bitterness.
Is it my favorite?
No.
Does it have the most interesting overall flavor profile?
Also no.
Can I buy it without needing to go to Bar & Cocoa or Caputo's or an individual vendor?
Yes.

Stuff we've done at recent tastings:

Goodnow Farms:
Selection of single origin bars that are overall excellent. Some really fun seasonal bars. The Root Beer one was a real "WTF this sounds odd but I have to try it", shockingly, shockingly good. Root Beer and don't really seem to go together but this bar is really good.

Fresco:
I used them as part of my flight for a tasting on what I dubbed 'scientific' chocolates. They have bars from a variety of origins where they'll use the same beans but vary the conching or roasting giving some insights into what part of the experience are changed by those production methods! Also just good overall.

Fu Wan:
Some really excellent tea chocolates from Taiwan (locally grown and produced), but I can't wholeheartedly recommend them as we learned of some unfortunate behaviors by upper management. (Someone at the party from a friend who is the partner of another friend that wasn't at it because they were visiting family in Taiwan and texting with them)

 

[Diabolical]

I'm not saying we settle an internet argument, I just want tasting notes from multiple people on some delicious food

Okay, that we can do. But… why? You already admit you find most chocolate to be the same/similar enough to be indistinguishable?

You know what, scrap that.

It’s getting really warm here now, so getting in new bars will be a pain for me. But others? Maybe.

What we need to find is A) something from Madagascar and B) something that does NOT source their chocolate from Callebaut; they control a huge chunk of the cacao supply, and most of it is from west Africa, they have more-than-questionable sourcing practices, and they deliberately try to ensure all of their chocolate has a really consistent flavor profile.

The problem is I have no idea what is available in the Netherlands.

Because this:

Beyond Good Pure Dark 70%
Fruit forward is maybe putting it mildly. Prominent with the red berry type flavors. Very mild if any astringency and bitterness.
Is it my favorite?
No.
Does it have the most interesting overall flavor profile?
Also no.
Can I buy it without needing to go to Bar & Cocoa or Caputo's or an individual vendor?
Yes.

… is a very good example of a single origin, cheap chocolate bar with a very distinct flavor profile. The Pure Dark 70% is made from beans from Madagascar.
(I’m right with you on the Beyond Good 70%, DemonYoshi, on all counts.)
But I’m pretty certain you can’t get it in the Netherlands. But that was after a cursory search, no idea if it’s true.


On the topic of ‘fancy chocolates with pretty wild tasting notes’ that is more how they make it than the origin of the cacao that you should have a much easier time accessing than those of us stateside?

Chocolate Naive, out of Lithuania. Their ‘forager’ series is their ‘chocolate with other stuff’ line, and is all I’ve tried of theirs. It’s all over the place; some of it is amazing, some if it is weird.

I’ve wanted to try their single origin stuff (their ‘equator’ line of chocolates) but every time I try to order some they’re sold out or, like now, the temperature has sky-rocketed and the chocolate won’t make it here in anything resembling good shape. Which is a bummer, because their ‘rough-ground’ and ‘xocoatl’ bars look really interesting…

 

[DemonYoshi]

Chocolate Naive, out of Lithuania. Their ‘forager’ series is their ‘chocolate with other stuff’ line, and is all I’ve tried of theirs. It’s all over the place; some of it is amazing, some if it is weird.

I have some from their micro-lot series that came highly recommended but I haven't had the chance to try it yet (shown in part of my current stash below.)

I haven't seen or tried the rough ground one. I have had the Fu Wan rough ground and the Taza (which while not labeled such exactly is also a rough grind).

They're a very different experience to smooth chocolate. the Fu Wan one was very nib forward, by which I mean heady with that type of acetic acid/fermentation that you often find in eating pure nibs. The Taza has a bit of that but nowhere near as strongly.

 

[demultiplexer]

Yep, Beyond Good is not available in all of Europe because of concerns around the organic labeling.

 

[Diabolical]

Yep, Beyond Good is not available in all of Europe because of concerns around the organic labeling.

I figured as much. The rules over in your part of the world for this sort of thing are quite a bit more… detailed? Let’s go with detailed.
Still. Something from Madagascar. The fruit-forward notes are normally just to a lot of others.

 

[Diabolical]

I haven't seen or tried the rough ground one. I have had the Fu Wan rough ground and the Taza (which while not labeled such exactly is also a rough grind).

They're a very different experience to smooth chocolate. the Fu Wan one was very nib forward, by which I mean heady with that type of acetic acid/fermentation that you often find in eating pure nibs. The Taza has a bit of that but nowhere near as strongly.

The Soma Old School milk is one of my favorite rough ground chocolates. It’s a milk chocolate, yes, but they do a LOT with what they have there.

Taza is one of my ‘get this if you spot nothing new’ chocolate because there are a couple of spots I can get it reliably in my local area.

 

[ProphetM]

I love chocolate. I'm not terribly picky about how good it is, but I admit that bottom-shelf junk is not as satisfying as something a little better. But beyond that, the bar is pretty low for me. We rarely have chocolate bars or candies for just eating unless it's a holiday or something. Sometimes we get a bag of chips for cooking, and after it gets opened for its intended use, it slowly disappears in small handfuls over the course of a week or two. My favorite treats are chocolate - brownies are #1. Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream is probably #2.

I like chocolate this much.

 

[Diabolical]

I like chocolate this much.
View attachment 131097

If you break off chunk how well do they hold up in, say, chocolate chip cookies?

 

[ProphetM]

If you break off chunk how well do they hold up in, say, chocolate chip cookies?

I couldn't say; I don't think any part of that bar made it into cookies.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

So, the London Drugs here got in a batch of Tony's Chocolonley, and I thought, "Why not? I'll treat myself just this once!" So I bought a bar and it's....all right. It's pretty good, far better than a Nestle or a Hershey bar...but I have to admit I kinda expected more from it for the price.

 

[Diabolical]

So, the London Drugs here got in a batch of Tony's Chocolonley, and I thought, "Why not? I'll treat myself just this once!" So I bought a bar and it's....all right. It's pretty good, far better than a Nestle or a Hershey bar...but I have to admit I kinda expected more from it for the price.

That’s been my experience with Tony’s. It’s fine. When it’s on sale? Sure. But otherwise? There are chocolates I’d rather have at the same price point or less.

 

[demultiplexer]

So, the London Drugs here got in a batch of Tony's Chocolonley, and I thought, "Why not? I'll treat myself just this once!" So I bought a bar and it's....all right. It's pretty good, far better than a Nestle or a Hershey bar...but I have to admit I kinda expected more from it for the price.

It's probably because this is the home market, but Tony has never really been expensive here compared to (not bottom of the barrel) store brand or other brand name chocolate. And it's been competitive in that space. I think the pricing strategy outside of the Netherlands is very different; they're trying to position themselves as a premium product for a premium price, and they're obviously not.

 

[UserIDAlreadyInUse]

That’s been my experience with Tony’s. It’s fine. When it’s on sale? Sure. But otherwise? There are chocolates I’d rather have at the same price point or less.

I agree. I kind of regret spending as much as I did. Still, I never expected even the Tony's here, so I'm going to keep my eyes open for other brands that might show up!

It's probably because this is the home market, but Tony has never really been expensive here compared to (not bottom of the barrel) store brand or other brand name chocolate. And it's been competitive in that space. I think the pricing strategy outside of the Netherlands is very different; they're trying to position themselves as a premium product for a premium price, and they're obviously not.

Yeah. It tasted a lot like the Lindt I usually get, but I get twice as much Lindt for the price of a Tony's, so you know...I tried it the once, but probably won't ever buy it again.

 

[derMarc]

I remember as a kid I was in a “bonbon” shop in West Germany and thinking when I was an adult I’d come back and buy ALL the chocolates. But now, there’s the specter of …. Diabetes.

There are some brands that were hot stuff back in the day that have more of a sentimental value than strictly the quality of chocolate. Ritter sport, Merci, or Ferrero Rocher (though that’s just expensive Nutella)

Though I have mostly eaten nuts with chocolate instead of going nuts for chocolate. I know hazelnuts were added historically to keep costs down but they’re my favorite chocolate. The Trader Joe’s milk chocolate with hazelnuts is my favorite and similar to the Lindt one.

View attachment 131051

But nowadays I just lug luggage filled with chocolate back and forth between LA and Tokyo. 99% of them are gifts. I already max out the calories with booze and call of the walrus.

View attachment 131052


View attachment 131072

Merci... KitKat... So much of it

 

[Q]

Love bitter and don't really do sugar, so when buying chocolate, it tends to be 85%-90%. Will go as low as 75% if it has hazelnuts.

 

[spiralscratch]

*Snacks on M&Ms while downing a diet Pepsi*

 

[Diabolical]

Blanco de Criollo
by Amadei Toscana

Cacao: 70%
Type: Bar, divided into a bunch of squares.
Description: Arriba Nacional cocoa from Peru.
Notes (per Amadei): “Notes of honey, dried plum, and jam”

A thing about the “notes” provided by a manufacturer… I don’t read them until I’m done with the first session. I want that opening experience to just be my thoughts.

---

Session One:
Music - Eric Bibb (youtube)
Prime -> What is that? Very smooth, not nutty, something else.
Backteeth - > Hints of… caramel? No. Something else. Fruit at the end of the melt and the finish.
Fast chew and fast melt (chew it up a bunch so you maximize the surface area and melt the chocolate very quickly) -> Reminds me of the Lindor Extra Dark Chocolate truffles - the ones in the black foil.
Tip of the tongue -> What IS that?!
Side tongue -> Bursts of fruit. Kind of acidic.

Conclusion: There is a lot going on here. Most of the flavors are really subtle, and the chocolate has a very smooth earthiness to it.

---

Session Two:
Music - TesseracT (youtube)

Exploring those fruit tones on the back and sides of the tongue. It’s quite acidic, has a bit of a kick to it. After taste in the mouth has that ‘just ate some citrus’ feel to it.
Tongue tip -> This is going to sound weird, but the thing that came to my mind about the flavor was cacao with sweet sunflowers? Which is not something I ever expected to write or think.
Don’t go fast -> Letting a decent sized chunk melt over time really draws out different flavors as I move it around the mouth and let it melt more and more.

Conclusion: I wish I had more to try and draw out some of the flavors. Except for the fruit on the side tongue, everything else is really subtle.

---

Dia's Rating = / (4 out of 5)**
Not my favorite of the three Amadei bars from this batch, but I’d certainly try more of this one. There is more going on there that I’m just not quite picking up… might be a bit too subtle for my palate, you know?

** A note about my personal rating system. I started a few years ago with a “would buy again, wouldn’t buy again” scale. Binary.
That expanded to “Would buy again, Wouldn’t buy again, and take it or leave it”. Ternary. 1, 0, Idle.

That has expanded again to my current system.

• (1) = Ick
• (2) / = I’d prefer not
• (3) = Eh. It’s okay.
• (4) / = It’s not my favorite, but I’d eat more of it.
• (5) = Yeah. I liked that. More?

 

[Yagisama]

I have some from their micro-lot series that came highly recommended but I haven't had the chance to try it yet (shown in part of my current stash below.)

View attachment 131095

I haven't seen or tried the rough ground one. I have had the Fu Wan rough ground and the Taza (which while not labeled such exactly is also a rough grind).

They're a very different experience to smooth chocolate. the Fu Wan one was very nib forward, by which I mean heady with that type of acetic acid/fermentation that you often find in eating pure nibs. The Taza has a bit of that but nowhere near as strongly.

I'm not saying this is relevant for you, but when I saw that image, it reminded me of my realization on how big of a factor boxes and box design are to my purchase habits. This is especially due to my time in Japan where aesthetics are such a significant part of an item's appeal and marketing. I've often looked at the contents of a food item box and realized that if it were sold without the box (as in a bag) I likely wouldn't have bought it. That said, I really like some of the box designs of the chocolates in your picture!

It also reminded me of how curry is presented in Japan. A shop in Yokohama:

 

[Yagisama]

Merci... KitKat... So much of it

I admit I have a sweet spot for Merci, though likely more for the box and cute little variety sticks!


Merci beaucoup

Merci un peu.

 

[DemonYoshi]

I'm not saying this is relevant for you, but when I saw that image, it reminded me of my realization on how big of a factor boxes and box design are to my purchase habits. This is especially due to my time in Japan where aesthetics are such a significant part of an item's appeal and marketing. I've often looked at the contents of a food item box and realized that if it were sold without the box (as in a bag) I likely wouldn't have bought it. That said, I really like some of the box designs of the chocolates in your picture!

So it is... and it isn't. Which is to say, it isn't a primary feature in selection at all. (Though boring crappy ones may be a bit of a turn off). I'm primarily looking for origins, and what it seems like they've got going in terms of process for pure bars and the inclusions for included or flavored bars.

But!

I do also find it very impactful, to the point that I've actually got a binder going currently with a bunch of boxes/papers from bars I've already had with the vision of at some point in time doing some sort of collage, decoupage, ~something~ with them. Thinking of maybe trying to do some sort of relief sculpture of the glyph for cacao and putting them on it.

Speaking of packaging, I also realized I am being completely remiss in recommending our local bean to bar chocolate maker, Parliament from Redlands, CA! They do a different design of owl for every bean origin they've made.

Blanco de Criollo
by Amadei Toscana


Dia's Rating = / (4 out of 5)**
Not my favorite of the three Amadei bars from this batch, but I’d certainly try more of this one. There is more going on there that I’m just not quite picking up… might be a bit too subtle for my palate, you know?

** A note about my personal rating system. I started a few years ago with a “would buy again, wouldn’t buy again” scale. Binary.
That expanded to “Would buy again, Wouldn’t buy again, and take it or leave it”. Ternary. 1, 0, Idle.

That has expanded again to my current system.

• (1) = Ick
• (2) / = I’d prefer not
• (3) = Eh. It’s okay.
• (4) / = It’s not my favorite, but I’d eat more of it.
• (5) = Yeah. I liked that. More?

It has been a minute since I've had any Amadei, and this one definitely sounds interesting! Adding to my list.

I watched this video from Epicurious with Amy Guittard a number of years ago, and have found her distinction between more-ish and sipping chocolate so helpful in doing the classes I've done as well as for myself. Because I have definitely had some bars that were amazing... and where I could only ever eat a few squares at a time.

And other bars where I could absolutely be a little chocolate gremlin...

 

[Penforhire]

Keep it up guys. You're adding to my chocolate bucket list! I like most chocolates but that's not the same as this "blows my mind" chocolate.

My wife's favs are Sees' nuts-and-chews (meh for me) and Godiva (I'll agree on some nice ones there). When I was young I liked Ghirardelli more, probably a regional thing since I was near San Francisco at the time. I like selected Lindt choices just fine also. I lean toward dark chocolate with, say, a maximum 70% but I won't turn my nose up at milk chocolates.

I didn't see it mentioned but I do turn my nose up at white chocolate. Yuck. Or maybe I just haven't tried a "good" one yet?

 

[Tijger]

So, the London Drugs here got in a batch of Tony's Chocolonley, and I thought, "Why not? I'll treat myself just this once!" So I bought a bar and it's....all right. It's pretty good, far better than a Nestle or a Hershey bar...but I have to admit I kinda expected more from it for the price.

Tony's is expensive because of the sourcing and what they pay the actual farmers, not per se the quality.

 

[SuperDave]

It's a wonder that I haven't spent any money yet as a result of this thread. Dark chocolate >* .

 

[Doomlord_uk]

This is especially due to my time in Japan where aesthetics are such a significant part of an item's appeal and marketing. I've often looked at the contents of a food item box and realized that if it were sold without the box (as in a bag) I likely wouldn't have bought it.

Yeah... pretty packaging, very little contents We get a box of Japanese treats 3 or 4 times a year from my MIL and whilst I love the packaging, there is way too much air inside many of them. Mind you, maybe that's why the Japanese aren't a nation of fat-asses...

And speaking of, I do like me my Japanese kitkats. Green tea flavour especially. I usually get a pack every time

 

[Ajar]

I've been a dark chocolate 70%+ enjoyer for close to 2 decades, starting around when I began noticing the Lindt dark chocolate bars appearing in grocery stores where I was living. I tried all the way up to 99% and liked them all, although 90%+ is definitely an infrequent occasion and small quantity kind of thing. I was particularly fond of the 70% Lindt bar with orange, of course dark chocolate and orange peel seem to be a well known classic combination (also done with whiskey, unsurprisingly).

When we lived in the US, our local co-ops had a nice range of options that we enjoyed exploring. Being back in Canada now, it's been interesting to see what we can / can't get. Our grocery store has the Lindt bars and probably some other stuff, I haven't looked at their selection closely because there are too many other interesting options around. At our local co-op, we can get:

Liesse
Jaguar
Alter Eco (this we could get when we were in the US as well)
Galerie au Chocolat
Camino

And there's another brand that has single source bars that I've tried there, but I don't remember the name. I did a side by side taste test on a couple of their bars, and tasting the differences was really cool.

The Galerie bars are one of our main go-tos because they have good flavour options for 70% bars: I'm partial to the Earl Grey and the cocoa nibs, but even the salted one is good. We tend to cycle through the flavours.

There are also a couple of Italian boutiques around here that have some stuff I haven't seen elsewhere, I'll have to check them for Amadei.

Finally, I do also enjoy some lighter chocolates, and even (gasp) white "chocolates," but I don't put them in the same mental category, they're more of a dessert than a treat to savour. Galerie makes a matcha bar that's really tasty, but there's also a Middle Eastern spot where I can get cardamom-infused milk chocolate or orange + saffron infused white chocolate that are just to die for, if those flavours have the kind of resonance for you that they have for me.

 

[Diabolical]

there's also a Middle Eastern spot where I can get cardamom-infused milk chocolate or orange + saffron infused white chocolate that are just to die for, if those flavours have the kind of resonance for you that they have for me.

Mirzam out of the UAE has a lot of interesting bars.
This one in particular? Really sings to me: https://mirzam.com/collections/bars-bites/products/62-dark-chocolate-with-khabeesa

 

[Scifigod]

It's a wonder that I haven't spent any money yet as a result of this thread. Dark chocolate >* .

I lost that challenge
Inside the box are two squares of dark chocolate and eight no dark chocolate coconut truffles.