This will be heresy to some, but I’ve never been a real chocolate lover. Yes, yes ‘burn the witch’ I hear you say, and you’re probably right. I have no defense.
But recently I discovered a Lindt chocolate bar that I became fairly addicted to, so much so that I started buying them from Amazon by the case - “Intense Orange.” That got me curious about some of their other varieties.
Of the chocolate that I found tolerable, dark chocolate was always near the bottom of the list, but I decided to try their 85% cocoa solids bar on a lark, well partly and partly because a friend likes dark chocolate and I wanted to see if it would be a good gift.
I couldn’t imagine it would be palatable, but it was Lindt after all and I do have respect for the brand so I went ahead and I have to say it was definitely interesting. The texture is nothing like milk chocolate at all, but it’s not waxy either. I’m not sure how they do it but I was impressed.
Oddly enough though, there is more saturated fat than the intense orange, which I thought was odd but the orange does have bits of orange, almond and other fruit so that’s probably part of the reason. Plus to get the texture right, that other 15% probably has to be mostly cocoa butter.
Usually 70% is as much as I will enjoy (and I do like dark chocolate), but I agree that there is an interesting aspect to the Lindt 85%. A friend at work gave me some 99% a few years ago and even taking the recommended precautions (e.g. nibbling rather than biting) I really can’t say that it even approached anything that could reasonably be regarded as enjoyment. It sucked the moisture from my mouth and didn’t replace it with anything remotely pleasant.
I’m happy for those who like it, but it’s not for me.
I buy the 85% cocoa Lindt bars all the time. They’re great. If you don’t like them at first, give them some time-- it can be an acquired taste, especially if you grew up eating Hershey’s Chocolate. Alternatively, try the 70% bars. They can be a gateway drug to the 85% stuff!
In my opinion, dark chocolate has to be eaten in a different way to milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is fine if you put a small among on your tongue and let it melt. You can chomp through milk chocolate. If I had to devour dark chocolate in the same way I ate milk chocolate I wouldn’t like it either.
Lindt had a dark chocolate bar I liked that just had a white wrapper with no percentage. I can’t find it in stores anymore. It was weaker than the 70% bars which are a little too strong for my taste. They also had a bar of dark chocolate with hazelbuts that I can’t find.
Wow, that stuff is like a health food. One bar has 10g of protein, 50% of your daily fiber requirement, and more than 50% of iron needs (and, well, 162% of your saturated fat). Positively a health food!
A friend of mine recently bought a 99% Lindt bar and we found that the best way to eat it is to take a piece no larger than, say, a quarter and just let it sit in your mouth and melt. Don’t ever actually chew it.
It’s quite good that way, actually.
It’s more more along the lines of enjoying scotch or a short black espresso, that kind of thing. It’s not candy at this point.
If someone tries to eat it like a candy bar they’re not going to like it at all.
I like to eat one square of very dark chocolate with a glass of wine after dinner. My favorite is the 86% Ghirardelli. The only problem is that the taste has grown on me to the point that I’d like to go ahead and finish the rest of the bar!
