Dolfin Noir Au the Earl Grey

For people who love fine chocolate and tea. From the artists of chocolate 'blending', comes Chocolat Noir Au The Earl Grey. No really, this makes sense. Great girlfriends get together, they binge on chocolate, they drink tea with both hands, and dream of the day when their indie rock star boyfriends get over their fears of commitment. This bar of chocolate appeals to all of that.
This is a belgian chocolate bar that I picked up at Central Market. It comes in a sort of plastic green pouch like loose tobacco. The website for Dolfin explains this is for opening and reopening the product, so the minty green packaging kind of reminds me of the 'bugler' tobacco product. The packaging presents many translations, but my favorite is the nutritional values section that states the bar's energetical value for women is 26%.
This chocolate itself is pretty common but the tea part of this set up is pretty cool. It's not just limp bits of twigs. It's not tea flavor infused in the chocolate. Rather, it's crystalized tea bits suspended in the bar--kinda sandy almost. One friend told me that she wants to taste this bar in chai. I'll give her that- it would be awesome...so I'm looking for a chai chocolate bar now. Indeed, the Dolfin site alludes to a bar with 'hot masala'. Bingo.

You won't be able to eat the whole bar in one sitting because it's just very rich, and because you will feel very hyper and ready to clean your house intensely. (you do not want to eat this bar late at night people!) and I'm pretty sure the energetical value was refering to calories in some wierd belgian way, but the caffine in this bar might make that a clever play on words.

Amedei Porcelana

Whoa. This is class. This is like walking into the home of someone with old money and knows how to spend it. Like outta my league good. Like how did I ever get invited to THIS party???

Then I looked down for another taste...and it was gone. I thought I was really paying attention too. Savoring it. Spreading it out over days and days. Stroking the packaging. Reading the jacket one more time. Then, it was gone. I say this bar is classy, and then I turn around and lick the inside of the wrapper. I didn't say I, myself, had class.

Simple 70% awesome. This is a chocolotier from Pisa itali, Alessio Tessieri who works with small Venezuelan plantations to produce just 3000 kilos of beans. The bean is uquie in all the world for it's white bean color that produces a very pale chocolate. The bar itself is dark, but there is almost no acidicy. It's so delicate and creamy but 70% That's pretty intense.

I really felt like I had something special with this bar. The lot number is freaking hand written in the back. The story inside the packaging is in italian and english- and it is hot and passionate. Tons hotter than any poem from Chocolove...

This was a birthday bar from Chocosphere- I can't hardly beleive it shipped in a batch because this is soooo serious!

Vosges Black Pearl Bar

A chocolate bar with an asian influence.
Trendy, boutiquey,'haute chocolat'.
Yep, this is a very slick little bar.

The flavors seem pretty complex- first the ginger, then the wasabi, and then the sesame seed crunch. Strangely, this bar is easy to get along with. So much so that when I ate it, I thought it would be fine for breakfast.

Everyone I've shown this bar to oohs and awees before even one taste. Everyone I allowed a taste thought it very nice even though I thought the exotic ingredients would intimidate them. Really though, it's like that guy in your English class in highschool that all the girls have a crush on because he's so hot, and sweet, and quiet. But no one is really in love with him, because he has the personality of a vacant model on a hugo boss billboard.

'The Everyone' also agrees that especially cool is the 'How to enjoy an exotic candy bar' instructions on the back of the bar. Breathe, See, Smell, Snap Taste, Sense. This is very much like a somlier/wine lover experience. I wonder if this blog is staining my teeth. Anyway, the instructions, if you may, made samplers stop and pause and reflect on the experience which is awesome....
Katrina, the owner of Vosges apparently wants to bring 'awareness of indiginous cultures' through her chocolate. Also, she was to bring awareness of herself, so yeah, her picture and bio is on the back of the bar. She's pretty. Maybe that makes it taste better? Did I mention this bar felt trendy?
55% cacao. Fun. Unique. Not much about the chocolate... However, the website does talk about adding such a chocolate bar to s'mores. That could be COOL!

I may buy another bar from here in the future just because of the bacon chocolate bars. It would be an homage to my baby brother and other bacon lovers out there, and a brave bold move that should be tasted.

Marquise De Sevigne Chocolate Noir with Lemon Ganache

51%. 51%? Really? You're kidding me. 'Noir' my ass.
What I thought this bar would be was rich creamiest of dark chocolate. Amazing, and perfect, and fluid, and french-shut-the-door-and-be-alone-together good. I imagined it to be smooth with a citrus flavor that ran throughout.
So I pulled the tiny tab off the bar and slid out the foil and broke off a piece. Melting already in my fingers I took a whif. Not so much lemony, that whiff.
I took a bite.
What the?????
Filling.
I immediately thought, Russell Stovers. Something out of those heart shaped red reflective boxes at Valentines day. Old lady chocolate. I checked the bar again to understand my mistake... 'With LEMON GANACHE' it says there in all caps. 'Foure DOUCEUR CITRON' it reapeats in french. I see how it's gonna be. The box is very beautiful. It is imported from paris...I could see myself buying this.

So the ganache slides between two other layers of chocolate. Not very dark chocolatey chocolate...and the cocoa content is not disclosed at all. Somewhere at the bottom it says 'Cocoa: 51min'. Hmmmm...

This bar was gift from my brother who I love very dearly and who is very supportive of me- but has a fantastic sense of honesty and objectivity and who I know will not at all mind this criticism. He did mention this bar comes from 'Chocolate Secret', a shop off of Oak Lawn who he mentioned does this fabulous wine, cheese, and chocolate gift basket ensamble which I might get for christmas if I am very good. That shop might be the silver lining to this story....

I've just breezed over to the website for a look, and it seems very trendy and a cool place for me to take a field trip someday. I am truely facinated by the photo of the woman in a white fluffy spa robe closing her eyes and taking a bite of something chocolate. They seem to know my heart at this Chocolate Secret...but the 'Marquise' did not.

I've got a few more bars that my brother gave me from this same manufacturer...so we'll see. It won't be their last chance to impress me...

Chocolove Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate

The man bar...

Again already? one might ask? Another Chocolove bar so soon? When there are so many other bars out there? One might even suggest I've begun taking propinas or sponsorships or commercial advertising already. Never!
This bar was a weekend impulse. After a quick drive to visit friends in OKC, I came across this bar at 'Forward Foods' across the street from my old highschool. My host being a chili fan, this seemed appropriate.

Off the top, the damage with this bar is: 55% Cocoa Content is not enough...

A quick nibble on the corner of this bar gets you nowhere...go down further in and find a dried cherry. The cherry itself reveals the chili either around or inside of it- no telling which, but ust when you start contemplating the logistics and the sexiness of it, that's when the chili kicks you in the back of the throat. Now...it's not THAT hot, but it does suprise you when and where it hits- like I said, the back of the throat... and it does linger. It's sweet and spicy...and it's got a poem. Again, not that impressed with these old romance authors... Something a little racier or daring might actually get somewhere with me.

Bovetti- honey

Everyone I flashed this big bar to ohhh'ed and ahhhh'ed. It looks expensive, gourmet, and so French. The Bovetti 73% Dark Chocolate with Honey is very grown up. Where is the honey? one might ask, well...you're looking at it. I imagine every Bovetti bar about the same formula, but with a different topping. This one being honey, the honey is rolled into bits and sprinkled about the top as if it's a chocolate bark sweating the honey sap. The chocolate is good, but really this bar is about the toppings. Other interesting topping options at Central Market were jasmine flowers, lavendar, and ginger. The website for this bar features an interesting recipe for cocoa pasta with orange sauce here. The website also references a pretty extensive collection of chocolate bars which include pepper or seeds like anise, poppy or fennel. Not sure I'd like these flavors on top of a bar...but might be worth a sample....?

For the love of...

....a totally awesome father-in-law.
I was just wondering how was going to finance this project, when lo-and-behold my husband presents me with a box when I get home from work yesterday. A birthday present he says. Before I've even completely cracked it open I can see where its from, and I'm giddy already.
Not half as giddy as when I see the bounty of what lay inside.
Can you believe it?
The universe...it knows.
Not even my husband knew, I'd started this blog when he told my father in law my secret birthday wish from chocosphere.com.
I am filled with even more questions...

like how do I consume this much chocolate?
will it ruin me?/will I get fat?/burned out?/zit face?

I can't do this alone.

Will they start to bleed together?
Will I be able to differentiate from day to day?

How does one eat an elephant? Bite by bite. I'm going to arrange in order of best by date and eat through it chronologically.
Mother says this is stupid and I should be blogging about the baby.
hmph.
I say, dark chocolate is a right of passage for any woman. It announces her independence, her sophistication, her...maturity. Ugh. No really, it's a good thing.

Green and Black's Dark 70% Dark Chocolate

Made with fine Trinitario cocoa beans for an intense taste, 240 calories per serving/26% fat and this bar is totally accessible. Target, on sale for $2.50. Yeah buddy!!! It's a bit more bitter than a lot of the bars I've been eating lately, but it is dark and creamy. The bar is divided into little niblets with a little leaf icon on each like the icon on the front.

The bar is made in Canada. Good for them.

This bar is rich...but there are a lot of bars out there, and I don't see myself seeking this one out again...but if it were on sale...

I was at Central Market yesterday, and there are a lot of options. Expensive options. Options that are at a shamefully high price point that I might be tempted to explore. Wine drinkers spend a lot more I suppose.

Chocolove Raspberries in Dark Chocolate 55%

The double score. 160 calories per serving. 55%. 16% fat

Rasbperries in Dark Belgian Chocolate from the makers of 'Chocolove' and extreemly accessible. I found it at Target in the regular candy bar isle next to Gheradelli and Toblerone. Lot # 052309. Made with love in Boulder BABY!

This bar was first introduced to me by Laura Teaske who had fallen madly in love with another bar they keep- salted almonds I think was the flavor. 'Love Poem Inside', the label reads. I must admit, the poem, by William Shakespeare is not quite as sexy as I might have hoped, but I am medicating myself with chocolate at work so there should be some boundaries. She also introduced me to a sweet little bar that had Gogi berries in it which I have been chasing ever since...I dedicated this bar to the memory of that one which she brought to me as a hostess gift.

Why so great?

- Accessible

- Dried berries in chocolate are fast becoming my favorite

-Not at all bitter-dark. Might be a nice introduction to dark for someone transitioning from milk (milk is for babies!)

- At the bottom of the poem is a lead for another tempting flavor. The lead is: Orange Peel in Dark Chocolate with best by date of MAR 2011. Not big into orange and chocolate...I don't think...but when the universe speaks, I'm inclined to do as I'm told!

- I love and hate the division of tiny bits. Tiny bits making up two halves of the bar. Portion control...ahhhhh. The tiny hearts on those little bits are so sweet....

Proudly, I stretched this bar out to 3 days and shared pieces witha t least two friends.