Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé - Trincheras 95%

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Trincheras 95%
Main ingredients are Trincheras cocoa beans, cocoa butter, cane sugar. No vanilla.
Cocoa content: minimum 95% cocoa

Manufacturer

Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé Kft., Ringló út. 33, 1221 Budapest Budafok, Hungary

Packaging

The 25g chocolate bar is wrapped in quite strong parchment paper and little card board box.

Look

The chocolate is very dark red-brown with a lighter red-brown hue at the edges.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear and edgy snap sound.

Smell

The chocolate has a rich and warm cocoa smell with hints of hazel and grass. As chocolate warms in the hand, some darker notes of oak unfold. The grass aromas slowly develop into a more flowery note of dried fruit.

Mouthfeel

The thin chocolate bar melts quickly into a very fine liquid. The solid part becomes softer.

Taste

The chocolate unfolds a dark-ish and intense cocoa flavour. Its astringency and bitterness are mild and almost tickle the tongue. Flavours of smoke and roast build up. The last bit ends in an almost fruity sweet kick of dried fruit.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is cocoa flavour with notes of roasted nuts and wood. It lingers at the front of the mouth and on the tongue. After a few minutes, the aftertaste moves slowly towards the rear of the mouth, has few more fruity hints and slowly fades out.

Summary

This is a very dark chocolate with intense cocoa flavours, notes of wood, smoked and roasted nuts and a noticeable but mild astringency and bitterness. It ends in a little kick of dried fruit. Small pieces of chocolate are very intense already.

Verdict

This is a very well made chocolate with intense and complex flavours that unfold over time and remain present for several minutes even with tiny pieces of chocolate. The cocoa has an interesting astringency and bitterness. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: T4229, best before 30/04/2018, tasted 17/09&08&15/10/2017

Neuhaus - Dark Chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Dark Chocolate
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, sugar, butter oil, soy lecithin, flavours.
Cocoa content: minimum 52% cocoa

Manufacturer

Neuhaus NV, Postweg 2, 1602 Vlezenbeek, Belgium

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium paper and a paper sleeve.

Look

The chocolate is dark brown with red and whit-ish hue at the edges.

Sound

The chocolate bar is quite thick and hard to break. When it does, there is very robust snap sound.

Smell

The smell is dominated by sugary sweetness and light notes of cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly into a very fine liquid. It surface becomes softer during the process.

Taste

The initial flavour is strongly dominated by sugary sweetness. Cocoa notes unfold slowly but the sweetness is building up as well and tends to overwhelm the slightly more bitter and dark-ish flavours. However, the cocoa and nut flavours remain noticeable.

Aftertaste

Once the sweetness decreased, nutty cocoa flavours linger in the upper middle part of the mouth.

Summary

This is a finely melting and comparably sweet dark chocolate with light cocoa and nut flavours.

Verdict

The chocolate flavours are dominated by its sweetness that covers most of a potentially nutty and warming cocoa. It melts and some of the flavours work as an aftertaste. 3 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 4005302, best before 12/11/2017, tasted 17/09&01&07/10/2017

La Praline Gothenburg - Truffles Seasalt

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Truffes Fantaisie Havssalt (Truffles Seasalt)
Main ingredients are non-hydrogenated vegetable fat (coconut, palm), sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder, whey powder, seasalt (0.6%), soya lecithin, vanillin (artificial vanilla flavouring), cocoa powder for dusting.
Cocoa content: minimum 44% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

La Praline Gothenburg AB, Backa Strandgata 12, 422 46 Göteborg, Sweden

Packaging

The 200g package of pralines is sealed in aluminium wrap and boxed in cardboard.

Look

The colour is dark brown with some darker almost black spots. After cutting the truffle, the sides are dark brown with a black hue. Little salt crystals can be visible.

Smell

Intensive cocoa and fat aromas hit you when opening the packaging and linger in the air.

Mouthfeel

The truffle feels solid and cannot be squashed with the tongue easily. It has a creamy and soft surface and melts into a fine liquid. The salt crystals are noticeable int the soft and creamy truffle.

Taste

The initial taste of the cocoa powder until a more mild cocoa flavour combined with the richness of the fat evolves. Once the first salt crystals have started dissolving, they add a little salty edge to the truffle. However, the seasalt dissolves slower than truffle. Thus, after the truffle has molten, only salt crystals are left. You know that it is but it still feels really salty each single time. Occassionally, there is also a salty spicy punch.

Aftertaste

If you manage to get of the remaining salt quickly, the aftertaste is mainly fatty cocoa. However, most of the time I did not and thus, the aftertaste was simply salt.

Summary

This is a rich chocolate truffle with a salty edge. Its richness is comes from the fat and combines to a rich and mild cocoa feeling. However, the undissolved sea salt is a problem.

Verdict

The truffles have a convincing richness and density. They have mild cocoa flavour that is smoothened by the fat. Initially, the flavour is enhanced by mild note of slowly dissolving sea salt. However, the slowly dissolving salt crystals stay longer than the truffle. Thus, you end up with pure salt in your mouth. If you chew the product, the salt crystals are crushed and melt much faster. But this can bring the salt to the foreground. In particular, you get very salty spots nearby the teeth and this spoils the product, too. Melting and chewing included an almost painful salt punch. 1 Star.

Dates

Lot number: JP12HAV1216, best before 31/12/2017, tasted 15/08&03&16/09/2017

Chocolaterie Beluga - Belu Chocolate Bar 70

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Belu Chocolate Bar 70
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring.
Cocoa content: minimum 70.1% cocoa

Manufacturer

Chocolaterie Beluga, Viktualienmarkt 6, 80331 München, Germany

Packaging

The square 60g chocolate bar is wrapped and sealed in transparent plastic wrap.

Look

The chocolate is dark-brown with a light hue of red-brown at some edges whereas other edges have white shimmer.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear snap sound (and is actually quite hard to break).

Smell

The smell is sweetness, light hints of coffee aroma, and cocoa. The warmer the chocolates becomes in the hands, the stronger the cocoa aroma unfolds.

Mouthfeel

First, the chocolate is very solid but until it melts into a fine liquid. It maintains an even structure but feels more softly. The rice pops add a bit of crunchy texture but also seduce to chew the chocolate rather than letting it melt

Taste

The flavour unfolds once the chocolate has started melting. Its initial flavour is an earthy, coffee-ish cocoa flavour. A mild bitterness unfolds that is slowly countered by a balanced sweetness. The sweet note becomes slightly too strong over time compared to the bitterness.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by the cocoa's bitterness and the chocolate's sweetness. It is mainly present in the upper part/palate. A more cocoa-like flavour develops in the rear of the mouth.

Summary

This dark chocolate is slightly dark, earthy and coffee-like in flavour. It has a balanced sweetness that counters the cocoa's bitterness and astringency.

Verdict

This chocolate is well conched and emphasises the more earthy notes. However, the rice pops do not contribute to its flavour but rather seduce you to bite the chocolate. Thereby, the chocolate gets eaten faster and its flavours cannot unfold but are reduced to mild bitterness and sugar. 3 Stars.

Dates

Best before 19/01/2018, tasted 15&19&27/08/2017

Chocolaterie Beluga - Belu Chocolate Bar 60

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Belu Chocolate Bar 60
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring.
Cocoa content: minimum 60% cocoa

Manufacturer

Chocolaterie Beluga, Viktualienmarkt 6, 80331 München, Germany

Packaging

The square 60g chocolate bar is wrapped and sealed in transparent plastic wrap.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown with hints of black. The edges have white and light brown shimmer.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear snap sound.

Smell

The smells is mainly of vanilla, sugar, some cocoa, and a few coffee aromas.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly into a very fine liquid and remains very smooth.

Taste

Once it has started to melt, the chocolate has an initial flavour of sweetness. Cocoa and nutty wood flavours unfold before they are replaced by coffee and sugar flavours. The sweetness is very central in the mouth on the tongue and the coffee unfolds slightly behind that. However, only little flavour is perceivable elsewhere.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly of coffee and sugar. There are only hints of a mild cocoa towards the rear of the mouth.

Summary

This is very smooth dark chocolate. Initially it feels very solid but melts evenly and slowly into a very fine liquid. It has a mild sweetness and coffee flavours.

Verdict

This chocolate is very well conched, melts slowly on the tongue and maintains an even surface. Its main flavours are sugar and coffee. The cocoa flavours are present but are overpowered by the sweetness and the coffee flavours. 3 Stars.

Dates

Best before 14/12/2017, tasted 13/06&08/07&13/08/2017

Original Beans - Piura Porcelana cocoa nibs

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Piura Porcelana cocoa nibs (Peru)
Main ingredients are cocoa beans.
Cocoa content: minimum 100% cocoa solids.

Manufacturer

Original Beans, Keizergracht 452, 1016 GD Amsterdam, Netherlands
But the packaging indicates that the product was actually made in Switzerland.

Packaging

The 150g cocoa nibs are wrapped in a paper bag with an inner lining from transparent plastic.

Look

The cocoa nibs are dark brown from the outside. The edges are very light brown and almost appear white-ish.

Sound

The nibs break with clear crackly sounds.

Smell

The cocoa nibs have an intense cocoa smell with aromas of nuts, roast, wood and light floral notes.

Mouthfeel

The nibs have an even surface feeling that initially feels cold. The nibs are brittle and crunchy.

Taste

The nibs have a nutty cocoa flavour with roast, dry wood and hints of roasted walnuts. A little astringency and bitterness unfold over time.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by the cocoa's darker flavours of roast, dry wood and a little bitterness.

Summary

These cocoa nibs have an intense cocoa smell. The flavour is mainly cocoa, wood and roasted nuts. Their astringency and bitterness are very mild. Their flavour is not heavy and dark. It comes with finer and lighter flavours.

Verdict

The cocoa nibs have an intense smell of cocoa with dry wood and nuts that is lifted with floral notes. Their flavours are dominated by cocoa, dry wood and roasted. The nibs have no acidity and very mild bitterness and astringency. Thus, finer flavours can shine through and make the nibs lighter and more subtle than other products. 5 Stars.

Dates

Best before 11/11/2018, tasted 25/05&03&13/06/2017

Zotter - Monster chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Nobelbitterschokolade gefüllt mit Kornelkirschengelee (22%) und Himbeer-Blut-Ganache (30%) (Noble Bitter Chocolate filled with cornelian jelly (22%) and raspberry blood ganache (30%))
Main ingredients are raw cane sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cornelian puree, glucose invert sugar, while milk, almonds, dried raspberries, pork blood*, butter, skimmed milk powder.
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa in the chocolate.
*not a typo

Manufacturer

zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH, Bergl 56, A-8333 Riegersburg, Austria

Packaging

The 70g filled chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium paper and a paper envelope.

Look

The chocolate is middle to dark brown. The filling in the central layer is dark red and shiny. The other layers are slightly lighter coloured than the coating and have an airy/moussy structure.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with soft snap sound.

Smell

The chocolate bar has a surprisingly dark smell of wet wood, leather and cocoa. Fruity notes only peak out occasionally.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts quickly and evenly into a fine liquid. The jelly is very thick and reminds of a jelly bean. The ganache is even, soft and melts quickly into a very fine liquid.

Taste

Tasting the chocolate on its own is difficult because the boundary between the chocolate and the top layer of the filling tastes rather unusual, especially towards the edges of the bar. The flavour reminds of an old wardrobe with flavours of wet, moldy wood and leather. This unusual problem unfolds shortly after an initial chocolate flavour. It fights against vanilla and sugar until it finally takes over. An almost stingy aftertaste develops from this. Other parts of the chocolate have a sweet flavour with notes of cocoa, nuts and coffee. The cornelian cherry jelly is initially sour but fruity flavours develop over time. The raspberry ganache starts with a mildly sour flavour. It quickly releases cocoa flavours and sugar. After a short period, a raspberry punch develops but it also has a difficult to describe flavour of metal and spicy nutmeg. Tasted as whole, this chocolate bar starts with a sweet note that is quickly overthrown by the wet, moldy wood, leather and the fruit's sourness. It tastes like an old wardrobe with fruity and sour notes coated with dark chocolate.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste of the chocolate (everything else neatly removed with a knife) is sweetness and cocoa with some coffee notes. The aftertaste of the cornelian cherry jelly is slightly sour and fruity. The raspberry ganache leaves a raspberry flavour with some sort of a metallic and spicy note. Tasting the whole product leaves an aftertaste of wet wood, fruity sourness and difficult to define spice and nutmeg.

Summary

The chocolate bar's name might sound funny but it is for real and it contains actual blood. The raspberry filling has nice fruity notes but it is offset by the moldy wood, leather and metal flavours.

Verdict

The chocolate melts finely but the filling is on the verge of a jelly bean. The flavour of mold, wet wood and metal of parts of the filling is not pleasing. You have to be prepared for this and you have to like it. Scraping off everything and just eating the bottom layer of the chocolate is the best part. It comes with nice cocoa and coffee notes. However, eating the chocolate bar as a whole is a difficult to describe and surprisingly unpleasant experience. 1 Star.

Dates

Best before 23/06/2017, tasted 28/05&04/06/2017

Dr. Oetker - Ristorante Pizza Dolce al Cioccolato

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Ristorante Pizza Dolce al Cioccolato (Sweet Pizza richly topped with chocolate flavoured sauce and three types of chocolate, quick-frozen)
Main ingredients are wheat flour, 27% chocolate flavoured sauce, water, 9.6% milk chocolate, 6.4% chocolate, 6.4% white chocolate, rapseed oil, fat-reduced cocoa, sugar, yeast, salt.
Cocoa content: not stated

Manufacturer

Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG, Lutterstraße 14, 33617 Bielefeld, Germany

Packaging

The 300g chocolate pizza is sealed in transparent plastic foil and packed in cardboard.

Preparation

The pizza has been baked in a preheated oven at 180°C (fan assisted) for 10½ min.

Look

The chocolate sauce is dark brown, almost black-ish with lighter brown spots. The sauce looks more liquid than it actually is. The white chocolate is yellowish with caramelised, browned areas. The dough is middle brown like a chocolate biscuit.

Sound

The pizza dough is mildly crispy. The chocolate sauce is liquid (no sound) but the caramelised white chocolate has a little crunch to it.

Smell

The pizza has only a few chocolate or cocoa aromas. It mainly smells of baked dough, vanilla, milk and warm, chocolate flavoured blancmange.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate pizza is baked for a shorter duration than normal pizza. Thus, the dough remains soft and still contains a lot of water. It can become a bit chewy when eating. The chocolate sauce has a consistency of warm blancmange or thick drinking chocolate. As with blancmange that is chilling and setting, the sauce can develop a skin. The caramelised white chocolate is a little crispy.

Taste

The pizza tastes sweet with a surprisingly strong dough flavour. Although the dough is coloured like chocolate it has only little flavour beyond yeast dough. There are hints of salt in the product that pop out occasionally. The flavour of the chocolate sauce reminds on thickened hot drinking chocolate or chocolate flavoured blancmange. There is also a slight flavour of flour from the starch. There are only a few hints of cocoa and chocolate flavours. The white chocolate tastes intensely of dulce de leche and caramel.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is is dominated by the dough flavours and sweetness.

Summary

This is a really interesting product. It tastes similar to a biscuit with warm chocolate flavoured blancmange. The white chocolate adds some crispness and dulce de leche flavours. However, the dough can be soggy.

Verdict

The dough is a major component but is difficult to get this crispy without burning the chocolate. Thus, it is not as crispy as pizza or biscuits. The chocolate sauce is similar to chocolate flavoured blancmange rather than to a rich chocolate dessert. Sadly, this also includes a starchy/floury feel and the lack of real cocoa or chocolate flavours. The frozen pizza looks way more pleasing to the eye than the baked result. Finally, the caramelised white chocolate is the best part of the product. It really offers some added value in flavours, mouth feel and warmth compared to drizzling warm chocolate sauce over chocolate biscuits. 1 Star.

Dates

Manufactured 10/05/2017, lot number: 14 21:161, best before 05/2018, tasted 02/06/2017

Zotter - Ananas mit Cashewnüssen (Cashew nougat and pineapple)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Ananas mit Cashewnüssen (Dunkle Bergmilchschokolade gefüllt mit Cashewnougat (24%) und Ananas) - Mountain milk chocolate with cashew nougat (24%) and pineapple filling
Main ingredients are raw cane sugar, dried pineapple (15%), cocoa butter, cashew kernels (12%), cocoa mass, pineapple concentrate (8%), whole milk powder, glucose invert sugar.
Cocoa content: minimum 50% cocoa in the chocolate.

Manufacturer

zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH, Bergl 56, A-8333 Riegersburg, Austria

Packaging

The 70g chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium foil and a paper envelope.

Look

The chocolate is dark to middle brown. The pineapple layer is the top layer of the filling and it is dark yellow. The cashew paste below is very light brown.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with clear snap sound (after removing the filling).

Smell

The whole bar initially smells of old, dry bread before aromas of sugar and dried pineapple take over. The chocolate itself smells of sweetness and cocoa. The pineapple layer also smells sweet and intensely of dried pineapple. The smell of the cashew filling initially reminds of dry bread before cashew aromas become more identifiable.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts quickly and evenly into a fine liquid. The filling takes longer to smoothen. It feels somewhat grainy with pieces from shred dried pineapple and cashew nuts. The filling is not sticky but it is a bit chewy.

Taste

The chocolate on its own has a sweet flavour with notes of cocoa and nuts and some hints of coffee. The pineapple layer combines the sour flavours of the dried pineapple with sweetness. The cashew layer has cashew flavours and flavours of dried bread as well as hints of salt. Eaten as a whole, the initial flavour is dominated by sweetness. Later, the pineapple and in particular its lime-like sourness and sweetness unfold. There are only notes of chocolate when it hits the tongue and gums. The cashew flavour is reduced to rare hints.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste of the chocolate is mainly sweetness and some reminiscence of the nutty cocoa flavour. The aftertaste of the whole product is dominated by the pineapple filling's sweetness and sourness with only little to no presence of the cocoa or the cashews.

Summary

This chocolate bar is a dried pineapple filling with dark-ish whole milk chocolate coating. There are only tiny hints of the cashew and cocoa flavours. However, after opening the package, the cashew aromas dominate for a while.

Verdict

The chocolate bar uses a nice and well-conched dark whole milk chocolate. However, the flavours are dominated by an intensely sweetened layer of dried pineapple. The smell is initially dominated by a dry bread aroma from the cashew filling. The cashews and the chocolate do not contribute much to the flavour of the product. The chocolate melts nicely but the filling becomes chewy and has some smaller pieces in it that are too small for being 'chunky' and to big for being smooth. 2 Stars.

Dates

Best before 12/06/2007, tasted 24&25/05/2017

Confiserie Obermeier - Zartbitterschokolade (Dark chocolate)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Zartbitterschokolade (Dark chocolate)
Main ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, soya lecithin, natural vanilla.
Cocoa content: minimum 60% cocoa

Manufacturer

Confiserie Josef Obermeier, Lengmoos 5, 83536 Gars am Inn, Germany
Münchner SchokoLaden, Viktualienmarkt 3, Abteilung III, Stand 18/19, 80331 München, Germany

Packaging

The 100g chocolate bar is wrapped in a transparent plastic sleeve.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown with a noticeable red hue that is particularly noticeable at the edges.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear 'snap' sound.

Smell

The smells of sugar, vanilla, cocoa and roasted nuts.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts quickly and smoothly into a very fine liquid.

Taste

The chocolate flavour is initially dominated by sweetness. The chocolate quickly releases cocoa flavours with notes of coffee and roasted nuts. The sweetness is balanced but it tends to overwhelm the more exciting cocoa flavours after a while.

Aftertaste

The aftertastes are cocoa with a mild bitterness and sweetness.

Summary

This chocolate has an intense cocoa flavour with roasted nuts and coffee flavours. It is also sweetened and melts smoothly.

Verdict

The chocolate melts very evenly into a very fine chocolate while maintaining an even surface. However, its sweetness tends to overwhelm the nicely warming coffee and roasted nuts flavours of the cocoa. 4 Stars.

Dates

Tasted 10&14&20/05/2017

Alnatura - Limone Mohn (Lime & poppy seed)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Limone Mohn (White chocolate with poppy seeds and lime oil)
Main ingredients are raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, poppy seeds, 1% lime oil and vanilla extract.
Cocoa content: minimum 30% cocoa

Manufacturer

Alnatura GmbH, Darmstädter Str. 63, 64404 Bickenbach, Germany

Packaging

The 50g chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium foil and a paper sleeve.

Look

The chocolate is light yellow coloured with black spots from the poppy seeds.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with light 'thud' sound.

Smell

There are fresh lime and notes of milk aromas.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly and smoothly into slightly sticky liquid.

Taste

The chocolate has an initial taste of sour taste of lime and quickly releases a milky sweetness that balances the lime. The chocolate releases more milky, creamy and sweet flavours over time. Some occasional lime flavours spot up after melting the chocolate.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by milky, creamy flavours and sweetness. There are hints of lime flavours that appear from the rear of the mouth.

Summary

This is a milky and creamy white chocolate with fresh lime flavours and a balanced sweetness.

Verdict

This white chocolate comes with milk and cream flavours combined with fresh lime notes. However, it does not provide a chocolate flavour or feeling, it tends to become sticky in the mouth and it is difficult to appreciate the poppy seeds. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: L36244, best before 08/2017, tasted 10&14&20/05/2017

Camille Bloch - Mousse Chocolat

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Swiss milk chocolate with chocolate mousse filling
Main ingredients are sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa powder (12%), vegetable fat (palm, sunflower, cocos, palmisti, illipe), cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder, hazelnuts, soya lecithin, vanilla extract.
Cocoa content: minimum 12% cocoa

Manufacturer

Chocolats Camille Bloch SA, CH-2608 Courtelary, Switzerland

Packaging

The 100g chocolate bar is sealed in aluminum foil and wrapped in a cardboard box.

Look

The chocolate is light to middle brown. Its edges appear lighter. The filling is coloured in a slightly darker middle brown than the chocolate.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a 'thud' sound.

Smell

The chocolate has a very light milky smell.

Mouthfeel

On its own, the chocolate melts quickly and becomes sticky during the process. But it eventually melts into a very fine liquid. The filling has a surprisingly solid initial mouthfeel and becomes more sticky and softer over time. Combined with chocolate, the filling seems much softer after biting through the chocolate. However, the stickiness of each part is strongly emphasised.

Taste

The chocolate has an initially milky and sugary taste that quickly evolves into caramelised sugar and milky caramel. The initial taste of the filling is comparably blunt but it quickly releases sugar, caramel and increasingly intense hazelnut flavours. Eating both combined (as intended) reduces the flavour to an initial milky sweetness. The filling melts and disappears faster than the chocolate coating. It only leaves a hint of hazelnuts whereas the milky caramel of the chocolate remains prominent.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste of the chocolate is mainly a lingering sweetness with notes of caramel. The filling leaves roasted hazelnut flavours. Eating both components combined, the main aftertaste is milky sweetness with caramel.

Summary

This is a sweet, milky chocolate with a hazelnut filling. Its main flavours are milk and sugar. There are traces of hazelnuts.

Verdict

The chocolate has a strong sweetness but it provides some caramel and milk flavours. However, its consistency is sticky. The stickiness is even more pronounced with the cream filling. Despite its name, the product has some hazelnut flavours. However, the main characteristics are sweetness and a very sticky mouthfeel. 1 Star.

Dates

Lot number: L6180, best before 05/2017, tasted 02/04&07/05/2017

Feodora - Sahne-Mocca-Chocolade (Superior ceamy mocca chocolate)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Sahne-Mocca-Chocolade (Superior ceamy mocca chocolate)
Main ingredients are sugar, cream powder (26%), cocoa beans, cocoa butter, coffee (2.2%) and emulsifier rape lecithins.
Cocoa content: minimum 32% cocoa, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Feodora Chocolade GmbH & Co. KG, 28199 Bremen, Germany

Packaging

The 100g chocolate bar is sealed in aluminium foil and a paper wrap.

Look

The chocolate is light  to middle brown.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a thuddy sound and the breaks have an uneven surface shimmering in very light brown.

Smell

The chocolate smells of cream and hints of sweetened roasted coffee.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts evenly into a fine liquid. However, it can be become a sticky liquid when melting all the way.

Taste

The chocolate has flavours of coffee, cream and sweetness.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly of sweetness, cream and some coffee flavours.

Summary

This is a creamy chocolate with coffee flavours. The sweetness is present but not excessive.

Verdict

The chocolate has some cream and mocca/coffee flavours with a strong but not excessive sweetness. It initially melts finely but may become sticky. There are no or very little cocoa flavours. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 367412, best before 15/03/2017, tasted 05&12/03/2017

Artisan du Chocolat - Black Cardamom Dark Chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Black Cardamom Dark Chocolate
Main ingredients are cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, black cardamom, green cardamom, emulsifier soya lecithin and vanilla extract.
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 45g chocolate bar is sealed in transparent plastic wrap and packed in card board.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown. After breaking the chocolate, the edges have a distinct red hue.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a very clear snap sound.

Smell

There are intense cocoa aromas as well as some vanilla and fragrant citric green cardamom aromas.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate develops a surprisingly soft surface and melts quickly into a very fine and smooth liquid.

Taste

The chocolate initially unfolds a cocoa flavour. As soon as it melts, the cardamom adds a fresh, green lemony note that evolves into the warm and more spicy cardamom flavour. The spicy cardamom and cocoa  combine into an intense warming cocoa-chocolate flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is characterised by both the cocoa and the cardamom. There is a tendency for the spicy cardamom to be more present on the tongue whereas the cocoa and spice is more present in the rear of the palate.

Summary

This is a cardamom flavoured dark chocolate with an intense cocoa, spice and light citrus flavours. It melts very smoothly and evenly.

Verdict

This chocolate has a very smooth structure and melts very finely. It comes with a rich and warming combination of cardamom and cocoa. It also has some lighter citrus flavours from the green cardamom. The spice can be quite intense on the tongue but this really combines into a very rich cocoa-chocolate experience. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 22121, best before 03/2017, tasted 04&05/03/2017

Valrhona - Noir Araguani

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Valrhona - Noir Araguani (dark chocolat)
Main ingredients are cocoa beans, brown sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanilla.
Cocoa content: minimum 72% cocoa

Manufacturer

Valrhona, 26600 Tain L'Hermitage, France

Packaging

The 70g chocolate bar is sealed in aluminium foil and wrapped in a cardboard envelope.

Look

The chocolate is very dark brown. Its edges have a red hint in sunlight.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear snap sound.

Smell

The smells is of cocoa, a very light bitterness and sugar.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate has a very smooth surface and melts slowly and evenly into a very fine and smooth liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is a light sweetness but cocoa flavours evolve quickly. The cocoa has a dark hint of roast and a bitterness as in coffee and bark. But the cocoa is framed by a surprisingly intense sweetness.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly sweetness at the front of the mouth and some notes of cocoa and bitterness towards the rear and sides of the mouth.

Summary

This is dark chocolate with a very smooth texture that melts evenly into a fine liquid. The cocoa has some notes of bitterness and is framed by sugary sweetness.

Verdict

The chocolate has a very smooth structure. But its flavours are dominated by sweetness that almost hides the interesting richness of the cocoa. 4 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: LP7515281, best before 02/2017, tasted 22&23/01&12/02/2017