Chocolates!

[entropyembrace]

Today I tasted two more...

Sao Thomé 70% very very creamy cacao butter texture and warm cacao

Mangaro Noir 65% (Madagascar) fruity very aromatic and long aftertaste

allergies are weird things...have had a few disappear, new ones suddenly appear and ones that I thought were gone suddenly come back

[the_economist]

I am very serious about chocolate, for sure.

One thing I really appreciate about the fancy high-percentage chocolates is that it is harder to overeat/overdo with a really strong chocolate than with a milder milk chocolate.

absolutely! it takes me forever to finish a good bar of chocolate because its a more challenging activity than just munching down on the blended bars. i usually get a square, at most two, before i stop.

[teaskeptic]

What is the shelf life of these fancier dark chocolate bars? A local grocery has a bunch of Michel Cluizel bars on sale (from $8.xx to $5.xx). Are they just old?

[olivierco]

Correctly stored (Temperature between 15°C and 20°C ie 60-70°F and humidity level not too high), about one year for dark chocolate, less for milk chocolate.

[debunix]

You can refrigerate chocolate for longer shelf life, which may possibly compromise the texture slightly, but if you only store it there, well sealed from moisture, and remove bars to room temperature for a day before you open them, and do not return them to the cold while you're eating them, they'll last longer.

I put my chocolate in the refrigerator during heat waves (I have no air conditioning) and it comes through fine as long as I am careful.

BTW, these fancy bars will often have a date code on them, if you're wondering about that.

[the_economist]

What is the shelf life of these fancier dark chocolate bars? A local grocery has a bunch of Michel Cluizel bars on sale (from $8.xx to $5.xx). Are they just old?

wow your grocery store has cluizel bars! lol...it must be rather upmarket.

[teaskeptic]

What is the shelf life of these fancier dark chocolate bars? A local grocery has a bunch of Michel Cluizel bars on sale (from $8.xx to $5.xx). Are they just old?

wow your grocery store has cluizel bars! lol...it must be rather upmarket.

It's not upscale at all. It's a really popular grocery in the middle of downtown that just seems to have good taste and good prices which causes it to stand out from the bigger chains.

I ended up getting:

Michel Cluizel - Concepcion (66%)
Michel Cluizel - Vila Gracinda (67%)
Michel Cluizel - Mangaro (65%)
Michel Cluizel - Noir de Cacao (72%)

I guess the last one is a blend? I think they were on sale because they expire in December.

Any tips on tasting these? I guess the most reasonable thing to do is to "just eat them". Are there any characteristics that tend to get associated with particular countries/plantations?

I also have some 70% Lindt lying around for the sake of comparison.

[TwoPynts]

The Lindt will probably compare poorly compared to the other bar, but all tastes are different and keep a bar of 70-85% Lindt in my refrigerator much of the time.

When tasting, try to do so the first time with a clean pallet. Let a square of chocolate slowly melt on you tongue...for as long as you can stand it anyway. Note the texture and how smooth and creamy it is. Try to find various flavors from the tip of your tongue to the back of your throat. Be sure and smell the aroma before popping a piece in too.

The is a brand called Brix that goes really well with wine. You have to break the bar apart though (a bit like compressed pu). They sometimes go on sale at my local liquor store, and I snatch them up when they do.
http://www.brixchocolate.com/

[the_economist]

The Lindt will probably compare poorly compared to the other bar, but all tastes are different and keep a bar of 70-85% Lindt in my refrigerator much of the time.

When tasting, try to do so the first time with a clean pallet. Let a square of chocolate slowly melt on you tongue...for as long as you can stand it anyway.

The is a brand called Brix that goes really well with wine. You have to break the bar apart though (a bit like compressed pu). They sometimes go on sale at my local liquor store, and I snatch them up when they do.
http://www.brixchocolate.com/

superb advice

generally people also go from the lightest to the darkest chocolates. all those bars are pretty good! im jealous.

[entropyembrace]

What is the shelf life of these fancier dark chocolate bars? A local grocery has a bunch of Michel Cluizel bars on sale (from $8.xx to $5.xx). Are they just old?

wow your grocery store has cluizel bars! lol...it must be rather upmarket.

It's not upscale at all. It's a really popular grocery in the middle of downtown that just seems to have good taste and good prices which causes it to stand out from the bigger chains.

I ended up getting:

Michel Cluizel - Concepcion (66%)
Michel Cluizel - Vila Gracinda (67%)
Michel Cluizel - Mangaro (65%)
Michel Cluizel - Noir de Cacao (72%)

I guess the last one is a blend? I think they were on sale because they expire in December.

Any tips on tasting these? I guess the most reasonable thing to do is to "just eat them". Are there any characteristics that tend to get associated with particular countries/plantations?

I also have some 70% Lindt lying around for the sake of comparison.

Twopynts gives good tasting advice...

since my local shop uses Cluizel as their working chocolate I have bars from the same estates and cacao percentages...have posted notes on the Mangaro already. The other single estate bars I haven´t tasted yet. I don´t have that blended bar though.

[entropyembrace]

Concepcion 66%

has hints of cherries and currants and long aftertaste...reminds me of those chocolate cakes with cherries inside.

[teaskeptic]

I just tasted the Mangaro. At first it really just tasted like "good chocolate". I wasn't able to fully appreciate it until I had a square of 70% Lindt right after. The Lindt tasted really different and less complex in comparion. Very interesting. Maybe next time I should start with the Lindt and then try the Cruizel.

[the_economist]

yeah the lindt is really just a solid basic dark bar. nothing fantastic or fireworky going on. compared to the other basic dark choc bars its pretty good though (although maybe not the new recipe).

but once u go to the artisan houses, its usually 'something else' altogether. i find the 'tasting by melting on tongue' method quite revealing, but i often use just a tiny piece, not a full square, so it melts faster. should also let it come to room temp (if u keep it in the fridge) before tasting so it melts slightly quicker on the tongue

[teaskeptic]

Mouth is closed for this melt-on-the-tongue technique? I.e. the chocolate is really squashed between the tongue and upper palate?

[the_economist]

yeap precisely. if im impatient, i rub it against my upper palate to speed up the melting haha...