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If you’ve read any of our other reviews, you may be familiar with our thinking about dark chocolates: in general, we believe the sweet spot for dark chocolate is somewhere between 60% and seventy percent. Here then, is a chocolate that makes a strong case for one just outside our sweet spot spectrum. Made by [...]

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One of two dark chocolates made by Hägeland that we’ve tried, this is a middle-of-the-road 57% dark Belgian chocolate. Mixed in we find pear granules and almonds, an interesting combination of notes for this chocolate. The pear hits a clear, high note, nicely complementing the sweetness in bittersweet chocolate. Then the almond’s middle kicks in, [...]

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Finally, we get to the third of three Dolfin chocolate bars in our Belgian-pepper trifecta. And, I think this might even the best of the three. First we have dark, 60% cocoa, Belgian chocolate: nicely balanced. Smooth. Delicious. Next, add white pepper and cardamom. Yum-my. Really – an interesting and savory mix. The white pepper [...]

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Another fantastic Belgian chocolate, this time a dark – 52% cocoa – from the Belgian chocolatier Dolfin. This one is purely pink – peppercorns, that is. We know well enough know to expect a solid chocolate from the Dolfin folks, and this is no exception. Smooth, nicely balanced, just enough sweet, just enough bitter, and [...]

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Dolfin is a fantabulous Belgian chocolate maker. They have a number of interesting sounding chocolates, so on a recent trip to NYC we picked a couple up to try. Two words made this an easy pick: hot masala. For the uninitiated, what exactly is hot masala? It’s essentially a spice mix: start with ginger, add [...]

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Another interesting chocolate we picked up courtesy of our friends at Chelsea Market Basket in NYC. It has ginger flavor, and, unexpectedly, guarana extract. Yes, it’s Red Bull in a chocolate. Even more bizarre, is the marketing on the back panel of the chocolate. See, from the front, you read “Sexy” first, then “Fine Belgian [...]

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Among the many Belgian chocolates I recently found at Chelsea Market Basket, this was one of the most interesting I tried. Now, it’s important to note that I say interesting – it is not my favorite, but I am glad I got to try this. You open this bar up – it’s a delicious smelling [...]

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Compared to the Frey orange dark chocolate, the orange flavor is much more even and subtle, but the freeze-dried orange peel itself is distracting. The chocolate is nice – the Belgian dark chocolate is smoother, more buttery, than the swiss counterpart – but it’s just those damn peels that get in the way.

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