Review: Irma’s Organic Dark Chocolate with peppermint filling

I have previously stated that I am not convinced by the proposition of chocolate with a cream filling infused with peppermint oil. This proposition did somewhat change my mind. It is not that I was blown away or anything like that. But the execution was much better than what I have reviewed on the blog so far. It is, after all, possible to mass produce a decent peppermint chocolate!

This organic and Fairtrade certified offering from Irma’s private label (Danish supermarket) is described as a “Dark Chocolate with peppermint filling – 68% cocoa content”. The wrapper does not state who produced this bar but I suspect it was produced at Ludwig Weinrich’s, as are some of the other bars in Irma’s range.

The wrapper looks OK, though to my taste the colour scheme is a little too dark. However, the wrapper does succeed in conveying the type of proposition, fulfilling an important function. The chocolate itself is nice looking. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma appears well balanced and not too strong in the peppermint department. This allows the chocolate aroma to come out nicely and it is clearly discernable in contrast, to for example, Ritter Sport’s peppermint bar I reviewed here and the Fazer mints I reviewed here. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The chocolate has an excellent snap and good melt. The peppermint cream is slightly sticky, though this is not too serious. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate flavour is quite nice and well compliments the peppermint filling. The peppermint flavour is a bit on the strong side, though clearly toned down and, in my opinion, superior compared to the Fazer mints and the Ritter Sport Peppermint varieties. It is also less sweet, which is nice. The chocolate (or the cream) has good fruit in the flavour. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

I consider this an overall well executed proposition, even though I am not too fond of the peppermint cream/chocolate combo and in my opinion it is superior to many similar offerings. If you are a fan of this type of offering I think you will like this bar.

Average: 7, 5 out of 10.

Review: Irma’s Organic Milk Chocolate with cardamom

This offering is from Irma’s private organic label a Danish supermarket, though the manufacturer is German Ludwig Weinrich.
Chocolate and spices can be an enticing combination, though I believe it eventually boils down to a matter of personal preference. And I suppose this offering of organic and Fairtrade certified milk chocolate (38%) with cardamom will mainly appeal to the more adventurous customers. I consider my self in that category and love the thought of spices in chocolate provided it is properly done.

Appearance wise I am not too impressed with the wrapper, which I believe could be nicer. However, the chocolate itself is really nice looking with a rich and shiny brown colour. Appearance: 8, 5.

The aromas are quite nice of dairy chocolate and a distinctive aroma of cardamom. On the plus side the aroma could have been much more dominating than it is in this bar. On the negative side the aroma does overpower any aromas that might have come from the muscovado sugar used in the making of this bar. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The snap when breaking of a piece is quite excellent though it is much less pronounced when actually biting into it. The melt is very good indeed, even though the chocolates sticks a little to teeth and gums. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The chocolate itself (38% cocoa) is rich with good though not too spectacular a flavour. The cocoa comes cleanly through. There are hints of caramel and spices (muscovado sugar?). As expected the cardamom is quite dominating, and perhaps it could toned slightly down. Ultimately it is a question of either or. However, having only one piece at a time (not my forte :-) makes the flavour intensity just about right. Flavour: 8 out of 10.

Average: 8, 125 out of 10.

Review: Organic Milk Chocolate (Irma)

This organic and Fairtrade certified milk chocolate bar is produced by Ludwig Weinrich, known for producing the VIVANI series. It has 38% minimum cocoa contents and which is in the high end for a milk chocolate, though by no means among the highest available. Here, however, it comes as an offering in Irma’s private label organic line.

Being male I’m not too fond of the pink notes on the wrapper, and also I’m not sure how this fulfils the wrapper’s function as a guide to what tyoe of chocolate you are getting with this offering. The chocolate itself looks, however looks gorgeous with a shiny light brown colour. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

There is a sweet scent of cocoa with notes of caramel, though I feel the aroma could be more powerful. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

This bar has an excellent snap to it both when breaking and when biting into it, considering that this is a milk chocolate. The melt good too if a little slow on the slow side (maybe due to high cocoa contents?). Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour is not too sweet, which is good. One can easily taste that this is a high cocoa content bar Still there is very little very little in terms of complexity – it is not enough simply to have a high cocoa content. It is not that the chocolate is bad tasting or bland – it could simply need a little more character. So if you look for milk chocolate with a relatively high cocoa content and with it more “dark” qualities you will probably like this one. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

Average 7, 75 out of 10

Review: Organic Dark Chocolate 70% (Irma)

I picked up this bar at Irma one of the nicer supermarkets in the Copenhagen area. As with their white chocolate, which I reviewed earlier, I was not able locate any production info other than it was produced in Germany, though I suspect that it might be produced at Ludwig Weinrich, who is known for producing the VIVANI organic series. At least some of the other bars in the Irma private label range state that they were produced there, such as the milk chocolate one.

In contrast to the white chocolate I am not too fond of this wrapper as I don’t find the brown and reddish colours very attractive. The bar itself looks Ok, but perhaps more shine would be desirable. Appearance: 7.5 out of 10.

The aroma is very nice, has good sweetness to it and the cocoa comes clearly and cleanly through. There are also hints of smoke. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The bar has quite excellent snap both when breaking and biting into it. The melt is quite nice as well. Texture: 9 out of 10.

The flavour comes in several stages. Initially there is a good full bodied flavour of cocoa as well as sweetness. The sweetness continues and is then complemented by medium fruit which is quite nice indeed. Though fruit is present it does somewhat lack in acidity. Finally, a long aftertaste with pleasant bitterness which is quite an achievement. This chocolate contains muscovado sugar, though I was not able to taste that very distinctively. The wrapper also states that the chocolate contains cocoa powder and this makes me curious as to why this is done. Overall I find this to be a fairly well crafted chocolate.
Flavour: 8 out of 10.

Average: 8, 125 out of 10.

Review: Organic white chocolate (Irma)

Time for my first review of a white chocolate. This one is organic and Fairtrade from the Danish supermarket Irma and comes in a 100g bar. It is produced in Germany with cocoa beans from Bolivia and/or The Dominican Republic. Since it is a private label and I was unable to find out more details about it.

The wrapping appears attractive. The chocolate itself, however, is not “snow white” which somewhat detracts from its appearance. That is, the colour – a very pale caramel - is not unattractive in and off itself. Nevertheless many consumers will probably expect something else from a white chocolate bar. I assume that the darker colour comes from the use of muscovado and cane sugar rather than regular sugar. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

I found the aroma to be quite excellent as the aromas of white chocolate and muscovado sugar blends into an enticing mix. Very nice indeed. Aroma: 9 out of 10.

Despite being a white chocolate it has a real snap to it when breaking pieces of it, although it is not, of course, comparable to the snap of dark chocolate. There is a little less snap when actually biting into it. But probably one cannot achieve a much better snap for a white chocolate. The melt of the chocolate is good too. My impression is, however, that this bar is slightly more firm than other white chocolates and therefore melts a little slower. I did not find, however that this was unpleasant. It does, however, stick somewhat more to mouth and teeth. Whether this firmness is due to the muscovado sugar I can only guess at but this would be my assumption. Texture 8, 5 out of 10.

Flavour: The flavour of the white chocolate is quite distinctive and pleasant without being too sweet which can sometimes be an issue with white chocolate. There are nice notes of vanilla and spices, the latter probably stemming from the use of muscovado sugar. The complex flavours of the muscovado goes really well with the flavour of the white chocolate making for very good taste. Flavour: 8, 5 out of 10.

A few additional notes:

While I find every aspect of this bar quite good I find it less suitable for baking and cooking. This is due in part to the colour (if you go for a snow white appearance) and in part as it does not melt into a thick fluid chocolate that can be used for, say, covering. Rather, it becomes a semisoft mass. When used in chunks for baking it can work, but the chunks do no seem to melt into the dough but remain more or less intact. You may use it for white chocolate mousse, but this will require that a little milk (or cream) is used when melting the chocolate. I assume this is due, again, to the use of muscovado. In terms of flavour I think the muscovado clearly compensates for the lack of melt.
For cooking/baking I would, however, recommend another good chocolate. For enjoying as is, however, this is quite good and I have no qualms recommending it. It would be nice, though, had the packet stated the percentage of cocoa butter used in the making. Also it would be nice had the package stated that this chocolate is less good for cooking baking.

Average 8,5 out of 10.