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