100% Chocolate

[goldencup]

Strolling Minstrel I presumed!

[drterror_6_6_6]

More thread necrophilia!

I've tried two separate 100% bars now, both of them really good. The first was The Grenada Chocolate Company 100% and the other was Pacari Raw 100%. Both bars have their own nuances and I could never pick a favourite. In the past I've tried the 100% bars from Hotel Chocolat and Lindt, and both were pretty vile, having no real flavour and very waxy texture.

Anyone else here dared to try the strong stuff yet?

[Rainbow]

I tried the Lindt one and to be honest I wish I'd eaten the wrapper instead.
I love Lindt chocolate, it's been my favourite treat for years, and their 85% is fabulous, only beaten by the dark with sea salt which is just too yummy, but the 100% was awful.
I just thought that meant I didn't like the very very dark stuff, so I've never tried any others.

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

I've also tried the Lindt 100% bar and, like Rainbow said, I think the wrapper would have been tastier! I'm not a massive fan of Lindt chocolate and think that Green & Black's have got the edge when it comes to supermarket bought dark chocolate.

I don't like the way Lindt cheat with the ingredients (although G&B do the same, it must be said). Take a look at the 85% dark bar from Lindt. Let's have a look at those ingredients...

Cocoa mass (The cocoa beans, machined to within an inch of their lives, destroying all natural flavours)
Low fat cocoa powder (Low fat means added sugar, plus it's used to add fake bitterness to the chocolate)
Cocoa butter (At least it's above the sugar)
Demerara sugar (In an attempt to inject some 'uniqueness', Lindt have put this in because it's made with molasses)
Natural Bourbon vanilla beans (You know things are bad when vanilla is added!)

From bean to bar, the 85% takes a really tragic journey to fake taste central. If you think this is what dark chocolate should taste like, get your laughing gear around something by Michael Cluizel or even something from the Purist range in Hotel Chocolat.

Anyway, enough of my moaning and back to 100%...

[Rainbow]

Aww, now I really like the 85% from Lindt, but then with only Cadbury's Bournville and the dark stuff from Thorntons to compare it to, both of which are completely horrid, maybe that's why I like it so much.

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

I get what you mean. Bournville and Thornton's dark chocolate have got all kinds of nasty crap in them. Do you have a Hotel Chocolat near you?

[Rainbow]

About 90 miles away.. lol

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

That's a shame. I was going to suggest something from their Purist range (now relabelled Rabot 1745). You'll be amazed how one dark bar can taste of red fruits and another of coffee just by using the beans.

I wasn't knocking your love of the Lindt 85% btw, it's not my place to tell people what to eat.

[Rainbow]

That's a shame. I was going to suggest something from their Purist range (now relabelled Rabot 1745). You'll be amazed how one dark bar can taste of red fruits and another of coffee just by using the beans.

They have a website, I might just have a look on there and see what I can come up with. But be warned, if I end up addicted to the stuff I shall put all the blame on you. 

I wasn't knocking your love of the Lindt 85% btw, it's not my place to tell people what to eat.

I know you weren't. 

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

If you like fruit, I'd recommend the Madagascar, Somia Plantation 72% Dark. You won't believe there's nothing added to it.

[Rainbow]

I love fruit, so that sounds really interesting. Do you have any idea where I would get some of that from please?
A website or something would be fabulous. 

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

You can find it here. Be aware that this stuff isn't cheap at £3.50 for 35g of chocolate, but then it's not really designed to be munched mercilessly. Instead, you are supposed to smell the aroma of the bar before putting some in your mouth and letting it melt on your tongue, unravelling all those amazing flavour notes. They do a bigger bar as well, which you can find here, that is £7.00 for 70g.

Remember that chocolate is only one of two things on Earth that tastes as good as it smells.

[Rainbow]

I would think it's probably obvious that that is more than I usually spend on chocolate, but your recommendation makes it worth trying... I don't generally trust high priced chocolate any more than I trust low priced chocolate, but at least I can afford to make a mistake with the cheap stuff.  lol

I went to a chocolate workshop once, and the prices for chocolate there were outrageous. I would never have paid those kinds of prices normally, but when I'm on holiday I tend to spend money on things I wouldn't normally buy. 
At the end of the workshop there was a gift box taster set that included a small amount of most of the things they had made and it all looked beautiful. So scrummy.
It all made it back to the chalet we were staying in but by the time we sat down to watch the tv that night we'd agreed there wouldn't be any left to have with breakfast the next day. lol
I hate to say it, especially because I'm thinking about how much I spent while I'm typing this, but it was all absolutely awful.
The white chocolate was sickly and slimy, the milk chocolate tasted like it was made with cocoa margarine not cocoa butter and the dark chocolate was so bitter it almost burned my tongue.
That experience taught me that price is no sure indication of quality, so I really appreciate your words, thanks for that.

[GimmeTheSoddingChoc]

I've had higher priced chocolate that tasted awful, so I know where you're coming from. I like chocolate that is quite naturally fruity or is the really dark, coffee style stuff. I had some once that was naturally floral, but it's been long discontinued.

[Rainbow]

I had some once that was naturally floral, but it's been long discontinued.

I suppose it's all a question of economics.
The really great but expensive stuff versus the cheap generic stuff. The cheap stuff always wins and the people who buy it generally never know what they're missing.