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Kcal 182 Fat 14.0g Fat(sats) 8.4g Carbs 11.5gEver since the disaster of last Monday's Cadbury Bournville experience ive been yearning for some good quality dark chocolate...thankfully today it was Lindt to the rescue.
This was the first bar I can remember in a long time where sugar was not the highest in proportion on the ingredients list...as you can guess with a minimum of 70% solids Cocoa was the most prominent. Speaking of the wrapper as you can see above its very stylish - a crisp clean white and black background with sleek gold writing. The chocolate itself had a nice appearance...it was split into six easily breakable mouth sized chunks each with a nice pattern and Lindt logo enscribed. The chocolate was tightly foil wrapped and once opened a lovely cocoa aroma emerged. As evident here Lindt never fail to go that extra mile in regards to the presentation of their products...stunning.
As you can guess with a minimum of 70% cocoa solids the flavour was reasonably rich. Letting each block slowly melt on my tongue the chocolate melted at a nice rate and formed a luxuriously smooth yet thick texture. It had an initial unique bitter smokey flavour but once melted held a nice rich cocoa lightly vanilla noted taste that was suprisingly sweet....ultimately very rich but yet very moreish!
Overall every aspect of this bar radiates quality, everything from the asthetic look of the wrapper, the ingredients, the texture just emits a message of luxury...thankfully this is something that is also evident in the taste. The flavour isnt overly complex yet is rich and delicious...nothing complicated here just high quality dark chocolate. I would recommend this bar to anyone...whether your a connoisseur of dark chocolate or just looking for somewhere to start you can go little wrong with this bar.
8.9 out of 10
Posts
16 comments:
Dark chocolate beginners starting out with a 70% Lindt bar? My oh my Jim, they'd be spoiled. I always recommend starting off low and working your way up slowly, learning to appreciate the chocolate more as it gets richer (I used to have a habit of trying to scoff dark chocolate ala its milky brother). This must be good for you to say that beginners can dive right in.
I love this chocolate. Lindt are probably one of my favourite brands. They never really disappoint me. And I love the sound it makes when I break the chocolate. :P
Cool... it made it into the top 5!
Terry Definately see what you mean by it probably being too harsh on new comers to dark chocolate...just im pretty unknowledgable on the rest of the dark market and wouldnt know anything lighter to suggest...apart from the Bournville haha! Im sure you will agree with me that we dont want to go round recommending that bar to anyone! Got any suggestions yourself for the dark chocolate amateurs? Im gonna take a look on ChocolateReview now to see what you have tried and liked.
Gemma Lindt chocolate hasnt failed me yet I have to say. I understand totally what you mean by the sound of the chocolate..it has that fresh cracking sound dosent it...its even more evident if you slightly chill the bar first ;) I cant waite to getting round to trying more of the Lindt range :D
Pip This "top 5" is becoming a bit of a joke isnt it :D :D ... im going to change the name to top rated I think - theres just to many bars in there now! Thanks for reminding me to change it though I had forgotton completely.
Thanks for reading everyone. I always appreciate your input :D :D
Jim
Aaah, one of my favourite 70%'ers :)
I wouldn't say this was too much for a beginner - a while ago, a friend and I sampled about 10 different varieties of 70% cocoa bars and this was one of our favourites, purely because it was quite mild compared to some of the others, ie. not too bitter on the tongue.
Amanda I totally agree with you...if anything after you get used to the initial smokeyness I think the flavour is quite sweet. As Terry pointed out maybe this is a bit adventurous for a first time dark eater but its certainly a very good representation of dark chocolate so I would still recommend it to most. Thanks
Jim :D
I will have to try this. I'm usually not a dark chocolate fan. Considering it ranked in the top 5 with some excellent company, it's worth a try. Thanks for the review!
Justin Right Justin you have now just volunteered as the Guinea Pig :D :D :D Do you think you will be able to get hold of this bar!?
Your mission if you choose to accept it...is to try this bar and feedback to us your thoughts!? Doable?
Thanks
Jim :D
hah! I told you it was great!;D
Ecellent stuff really, the Lindt-chocolates.. I don't know about you, ut I havn't tasted a chocolate from Lindt that wasn't enjoyable:)...
As for other dark chocolate-bars that may be good as a "beginner-chocolate", we have a really awesome bar sold in Norway called "Premium Dark"... This type comes with a flavour of rasberry(70%), orange(60%), roasted pistache-nuts(70%), roasted sesame-nuts(70%), plain 70%, plain 77% and even plain 86%(!!!) for the tough ones:P...
Problem is... I can't find a site you can order these chocolates from(or any other Norwegian chocolates really..)
It's a shame, 'cause I really would like to see your review on some of them because your reviews are funny and informative at the same time!! :D
.. By the way; totally agree about the rating on todays chocolate!!
Benedicte As I said to Gemma above everything I have had from Lindt so far has been of very good quality...im just looking forward to the rest of their range now...its certainly going to take me a while isnt it :)
It is a real shame about those chocolates you talk about..they sound as if there is a flavour or level or darkness to suit most people there...would have been interesting to see which one I liked...oh well you never know - I will keep my eye out for that brand "Premiuim Dark".
I really appreciate your kind words on my reviews :D ...unfortunately it seems that not everyone agrees with you - I have had more than one e-mail today complaining about how I rate bars..some complaining about taste and aroma being equally weighted and another saying how ridiculous my top five is....(which was partially true there where way too many bar for it to be a top5...its now a 'top rated' classification.
Anyway Benedicte im glad you enjoy my reviews..I enjoy your input :D
Thanks
Jim :D
Don't let people with nothing better to do, than criticize bother you Jim. Your site is great.
Aroma is a huge part of taste. 80-90% of what people perceive as taste is due to smell. Anyone who knows anything about wine sampling would agree.
As for you top five... Which is of more value ten dollars (pounds)worth of salt or ten dollars worth of sugar? The value is the same, though the currency is different. A bar can be equally good as another, but different.
Anyway, gonna go look for this Lindt next time I shop.
Justin Thank you for the vote of confidence...im glad some people enjoy the site anyway...i just dont get why someone would bother writing an e-mail - if they dont like the site they should simply not visit. Weired!
Anyway thanks again - Im really looking forward to hearing your views on this bar do let us know when you have an update!
Thanks again
Jim :D
Wow, this bar was incredible! The very subtle, undertone of vanilla bourbon shines and becomes the dominant flavor as the chocolate begins to melt in your mouth. The sugar was used to accentuate the complex tastes rather than account for the majority of the bar's flavor.
This is definitely recommended for those new to dark chocolate. The bitterness is very mild. I fear there may be no going up for this point though...
Lindt definitely delivered on the "Excellence" in the bar's name. Thanks for the recommendation!
Justin Glad to hear you were able to track this bar down...sounds like you really enjoyed it aswell....maybe it isnt too strong for starters out on Dark chocolate.
I definately agree that the sugar is used to balance the flavour rather than just to act as bar filler...it makes the taste so moreish!
Well glad you ejoyed it...im going to be reviewing alot more dark chocolate soon so maybe you can try them too.
Thanks for being the Chocolate Mission guinea pig - always great hearing from you.
Thanks
Jim
This bar is phenomenal!! I had tried the Lindt 85% bar previously and found it to be slightly too intense for my tastes. However this one is perfect! It's rich and creamy but not overly strong.
I broke a square into smaller pieces and swirled them in with some hot chocolate, utterly divine!!
Thanks for the review Jim :)
Tanvee
This is a very good bar of chocolate isnt it! I love the way the undercurrent of creamyness stops it from being bitter!
It is delicious!
Thanks for your opinion!
Jim
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