Review: Lindt Excellence Dark Chilli

I still have to be convinced that chilli and chocolate is a good combination. Let me modify that. In the savoury kitchen I am a believer. However, in the sweet kitchen I remain a skeptic as I a look for something sweet and find that the hotness of the chilli ruins the sweet or “dessert” experience. Also, I was wondering how sweet or intense the chocolate would have to be in order to strike the right balance with the chilli. As it turned out this offering was rather on the sweet side and the chocolate had very little in terms of intensity. Thus, there was no conversation between the fruit in the chocolate and the power from the chilli. For the record I should state that the chocolate is not the same as that of Lindt 70%.

It is described as a “dark chocolate with chilli extract”. With 49% cocoa solids min. According to declaration this bar contains both butterfat and flavouring. Perhaps chilli extract is defensible (longer shelf life, no specks of chili?) though, as I have written before, I do not think butterfat should play any part in a chocolate described as dark. And then I am not sure what flavouring means in this context. If we are talking about natural flavouring such as vanilla or salt then I guess it's OK. But then again why not declare it as vanilla or salt? If, on the other hand, we are talking about artificial flavourings such as vanillin or something else, why not declare it as such and let the consumer judge for him or herself?

Appearance wise the box is nice and gives a good idea of the content. The chocolate itself appears nice with a very smooth and light brown colour for a dark chocolate. It has Lindt engraved. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is sweet with nice depth. There is only a hint of chilli in the aroma, though one immediately feels in the eyes. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate has a decent snap, good mouth feel, as well a nice melt. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate is very sweet and the chilli is moderately hot. It is an OK chocolate but not very spectacular no hints of fruit or nuances in the taste. Also, the chocolate is not very intense. It could use a little salt. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10.

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Review Lindt Swiss Thins

Being extremely busy at my day job I apologize for missing Thursday’s review. I hope this review will make it up to all of you who visited in vain.

Starting out with the facts, these Lindt Swiss Thins, contain 52% chocolate (min.) and come in box of 200g containing 80(!) making each thin weighing in at approximately 2, 5. There are eight compartments each containing 10 thins. The chocolate contain only the five basic ingredients of a quality chocolate namely cocoa mass and butter, sugar, emulsifier and vanilla.

The Thins come in a very elegant box, and the chocolate thins are also elegant looking, with Lindt in the signature font being written on them The colour is a nice if somewhat light brown. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma is nice with sweet cocoa and notes of smoke and - as with the Lindt Excellence 70% I reviewed here – a little rubber. Fortunately, the rubber is, in comparison, toned much down, though it still, in my opinion detracts from the aroma. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The Thins have an excellent almost brittle snap, due to their thinness and a nice melt. Texture: 8, 5 out of 10

Whereas the thinness is good for texture and mouth feel, I think it less good for flavour as it is hard to taste much in such a thin and only 2, 5g piece. Particularly considering that this is a 52% chocolate “only”. Thus I found myself having to take two thins in order to appreciate the flavour properly, which I guess is not the desired effect of an elegant offering box like this. The Thins are much less sweet than I would have expected from a 52% chocolate. They do taste of cocoa but there is no fruit, acidity or complexity in the flavour. It does, however, have a very unpleasant bitter and smoky aftertaste. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

The format of 80 2, 5g thins has its own challenges as pertains flavour. Another challenge is that of having 10 thins on top of each other in each compartment. The effect is that quite a few of the thins are stuck together as they are not separated with paper or a individually packed such as The After Eight Thins are – and probably for this same reason. I think Lindt should consider a solution to this problem as individual pieces sticking together may cause the chocolates to go mouldy.

Average: 7, 625 out of 10

Review: Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

The Swiss always had a reputation for producing high quality chocolate and confectionary. In part this reputation stems from the fact that several of the pioneers of modern chocolate production were Swiss. Rodolphe Lindt, one of the original founders of Lindt & Sprüngli, is a case in point. Lindt invented the conche, a machine that helps producing smooth and flavourful chocolate that melts on the tongue and much superior to what was known at the time.

In addition, the prosperous Swiss banking industry probably provided investment funds for developing chocolate production. Also, in such a wealthy community (at least in the cities) luxury items such chocolate probably has a higher chance of success. Of course, much has changed since those early days of chocolate making.

Lindt & Sprüngli is still, however, widely considered a prestigious manufacturer of high quality chocolate and I would expect their Lindt Excellence 70% bar to be one of the top offerings in their range. And indeed this bar offers some nice features.

The box for one thing is elegant and this is matched by the appearance of the chocolate itself which has a rich dark brown colour and a nice glow to it. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma, however, is somewhat disappointing. It has aromas of cocoa, smoke and rubber, the latter being rather unpleasant. The aroma of the cocoa seems not to be that of a full bodied chocolate and in a blind test I would probably not have guessed that this was a 70% chocolate. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The snap when breaking is fair if somewhat solid, though the mouth feel of the snap is much better. At first the texture is a bit dry but then improves to a nice melt. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

After the initial dryness, described above, comes a nice acidity and sweetness which is then supplemented by a nice if brief fruit. It is a shame that the fruit is not richer or at least more prolonged. The finish has a slightly unpleasant bitterness to it. Flavour: 8 out 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10.