Yeah. I might make some mole or something with it.
Same here. Tried it. Awful. Inedible. I’m considering working my way back up to 85 now that I’ve found a 72 I love, but I don’t think I’ll be trying anything by Meiji.
BP, nice link, thanks! Callebaut was one of the brands I remember reading about on seventypercent.com – Callebaut - 7030 was listed as a decent product widely available repackaged under other names and used in many commercial chocolate products, and Callebaut - Bloc Dessert (54.5%) was named one of the best among the sweeter varieties.
They have some in 7-11 that I had and quite liked, although that 99% stuff totally put me off the idea of gourmet chocolate. It’s some kind of varietal chocolate, apparently. There’s one from Ghana, one from Dominica and one from Equador (or something like that – can’t remember for sure). Anyway, it seemed pretty nice to me. At least you can eat it without screwing your face up at the bitterness.
[quote=“sandman”]They have some in 7-11 that I had and quite liked, although that 99% stuff totally put me off the idea of gourmet chocolate.[/quote]I don’t think that the 99% stuff has much to do with gourmet chocolate. Is it even marketed as such? I get the feeling that people are buying it more as a health supplement than for pleasure.
Lindt is best from the factory made stuff. Valrhona is also nice but very pricey.
most custom/hand made stuff is good regardless where its from.
very important to chocolate is the ingredients (cacao butter, no cheap other stuff like blood and such)
most chocolates that are not blood based (most cheap ones are) taste nice actually.
Blood? … You mean plant based shortening like palm fat … no one is using blood in chocolate …
i heared repeatedly in cheap chocolates they use pigs blood i think.
Never heard such a thing. Sounds like nonsense.
Oh, that reminds me, I tried some Schwermer Edelbitter 77% ohne Blut des Schweins, and I have to say it was disappointing. They must have chosen fairly low quality beans, because it had a flat, boring (albeit dark) flavor – no complexities, no real richness. And the high cocoa mass meant less room for cocoa butter. It could have used more cocoa butter because the mouthfeel was too dry and chalky.
More cocoa mass does not necessarily a better chocolate make.
Cocoa Farm Organic Dark Chocolate (NT$100/100gms at Jason’s) isn’t bad. A bit too much organic cane sugar in it for my tastes though.
Hachez Cocoa D’Arriba 77% Orange (100gm bar available at Jason’s for 145NT)
If you like bitter orange and mild dark chocolate with a creamy texture, you might want to try this one. The flavor is a basic dark chocolate without any flaws, other than perhaps its surprising mildness given the high percentage, and its lack of complexity. It has some blackberry notes, and a dominant, strong bitter citrus flavor (orange and perhaps grapfruit peel), reminiscent of my mom’s candied grapefruit peel. The combination of the bitterness of the dark chocolate (restrained, in this instance) and the bitterness of the orange oil gives an overall experience leaning slightly toward the bitter side of bittersweet, but not unpleasantly so. There’s a smoky peat tone on the aftertaste, but the lingering orange oil flavor makes this more palatable than it would otherwise be (assuming you like bitter orange peel oils). The texture is very creamy.
I consider this bar a good value.
I’d always read of gourmet chocolate that anything above 85% is too bitter to enjoy. I’ve found that to be true, IMO.
I think that what has happened in the past decade is that chocolate makers have been looking for the “ultimate”… and some of them have the mistaken notion that the higher the percentage the higher the quality.
Had some really good chocolate from RTMart. German brand I can’t recall the name of but it’s called Mexikan (sic) and its around 70% I think. Best part is, it has chiles in it. Not scary, but you can definitely feel the burn of it. Its good.
I assume you’re referring to Sarotti’s No.1 Mexiko with Chili. They’re on sale right now too (RTMart has Ritter, Lindt, Villars, Sarotti, Dove % and Terravita on sale from Dec. 12 to 25.)
EDIT: I’ve had Sarotti’s No.1 Ecuador 72%, and it was quite good. The bar has a beautiful finish, and the aroma was delightful, classic dark chocolate with a pipe tobacco note. The flavor didn’t disappoint either, lots of blackberry in it. A bit of tobacco in the aftertaste, perhaps a bit too much, but that seems to be common at this %. The texture isn’t as good as Hachez and Cluizel, but it’s not bad (not chalky or grainy). It just doesn’t have that sinful creaminess some have. Overall, a good bar, and at NT$85 (on sale)/100gm it’s a good deal too.
I agree. Most chocolate makers should restrict themselves to the lower % ranges where they have established some competence (like Ghirardelli with its Dark 60%). Three quarters of the stuff I’ve tried in the 70+% range has been disappointing. But you can find some competent stuff above that: Edel BIO Organic Extra Dark 71%, and some very good stuff there too: 72% (Cluizel), 77% (Hachez Cocoa D’Arriba 77% Orange) and the king, Michel Cluizel’s Grand Noir 85%, to which for instance Lindt Excellence 85% Dark Swiss thins can’t hold a candle.
I don’t believe that blood from a pig or any other source is used in chocolate manufacture, anywhere.
there was a famous novel and film called “Blood and Chocolate”, but it was not a documentary.
I recently had some reasonable and fairly cheap German dark chocolate from Rikker, from Welcome stores. Don’t buy the white with hazelnuts, though, as it’s way too sweet (as if i expected anything different).
Edit after DBs post: Ritter, not rikker. Brainfade, not a typo. D’uh.
Ritter, perhaps?
EDIT: Oh, another of the good bars on sale at RTMart right now is Auchan’s Noir 85%. If you’re looking to have some dark chocolate every day for its health benefits, you want a bar that’s A) as dark as possible while remaining B) palatable, and C) affordable (which Cluizel is not). Many of the bars over 80 are unpalatable. Auchan’s isn’t bad, though. It’s not tops in aroma, but it’s got a good dark flavor, and a decent texture (not dry or waxy like the Lindt thins) without any unpleasant notes; the aftertaste has a tobacco-peat element, but at 85% most do. And on sale, it’s a bargain.
EDIT 2: Wawel 90% (NT$80/100gm at Jason’s) edible and affordable if you are planning on doing ultra-dark chocolate for medicinal purposes. It’s too dark for my tastes, however – so dark and bitter that it would be hard to eat the recommended quantity. If you’re trying to cut out the sugar or are diabetic, consider Stella “No Sugar Added” Noir 77% Ecuador Extra Dark ($120/100gms), which contains lactitol, inulin, aspartame and acesufame K. It’s a bit more palatable than the Wawel, and you can barely taste the aspartame due to the strength of the chocolate, but it has that unpleasant tobacco-peat aftertaste.
Yeah, just tried it on your recommendation (assuming you mean Sarotti). Very nice! :bravo: I wouldn’t have normally tried it, but as you say, it’s nothing to be afraid of. Just rich dark cholate followed by extra warmth from the chillies. Quite nice. The one with cocoa nibs (crunchy) and the plain bar are good too.
Don’t be tempted, then, by the Cocoa Farm brand (Australian). The actual chocolate seems very good to me – made from cocoa grown on their own farm in N. Queensland – but the one I tried had lime, mango and chile in it and the fruit was too strong. They have other kinds though, which might be better. No added sugar. Not cheap at NT$149. Also from RTmart.
Yeah, I had tried Cocoa Farm’s Organic Dark, which I reviewed here (page 5). Too sweet for me, but I’m sure it will be fine for most people. The 58% cocoa solids info is buried at the end of the ingredients list, and the low percentage explains why it’s so sweet, but of course those who like regular milk chocolate and sweeter dark chocolates should like this one. I won’t buy another unless they have a 70+%, which is my preferred range. So does that ‘no added sugar’ one have the standard non-sugar sweeteners (lactitol, inulin, aspartame and acesufame K) added?
I got some Polish chocolate in Carrefour last night. Fuck me, was it ever good. 77% cocoa. Described as coffee and cardomom flavoured. Very subtle, though, but noticeable. Really lovely.
Was that Wawel brand? That’s the only Polish chocolate I’ve had.