chrisurban.com » belgian chocolate

Hägeland Limited Selection – Costa Rica 71%

Chris Urban — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 02:13:29 +0000

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 Hägeland from Belgium, this is another of the fashionable single source chocolates; in this bar, cocoa from Costa Rica is the focus. Like other chocolates we’ve tried from this region, we get a strong earthy, woody, almost smoky flavor from the chocolate.
What’s nice about this particular chocolate, unlike some of the darker, more bitter chocolates we’ve had, is that it is not overly bitter, or rough. It is smooth, but not creamy, and it doesn’t have an overly complex flavor. It’s straight out enjoyable.
Check out other review of another Hägeland chocolate we tried out…

Hägeland Dark Chocolate Pear & Almonds

Chris Urban — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 01:19:29 +0000

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, matching well with the bitterness. It’s a nice little harmony going on in here.
A little side note – one which we do not find well explained on the packaging – is that Hägeland is a well-known fruit producing region of Belgium. Known for pears, apples, and strawberries, the region also produces wine!
Getting back to the wine, um, I mean chocolate, this is tasty dark fruity chocolate, without being too fruity or too sweet. I’d be interested to see if there’s a pepper and strawberry version…

Dolfin Noir Au Poivre Blanc & Cardamome

Chris Urban — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:09:16 +0000

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 has such a light flavor, and the savory gingery cardamom…
This is really a wonderful journey, though, in trying all three of these Dolfin bars together really allows you to experience the variety of peppers and cocoa percentages (32 to 52 to 60 percent). After all three, not only are we a little wired, but eager to try more Dolfin bars…

Dolfin Chocolat Noir Au Poivre Rose

Chris Urban — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:45:27 +0000

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 the pink peppercorns gives just the right hint of ‘light’ pepper. That’s the beauty of a bar like this – it really makes you appreciate the subtle difference between a lighter, higher note from pink peppercorn, as opposed to the earthier, more pungent black pepper. (what about white pepper, you ask? there’s a chocolate for that.)
So now we’re two-thirds of the way through our Dolfin pepper chocolate trifecta. Read on…

Dolfin Chocolat Au Lait Au Hot Masala

Chris Urban — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:34:20 +0000

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 cloves, black pepper, cardamom, and cinnamon.
What an awesome flavor combination: creamy, vanilla-y milk chocolate, and then the flavors creep in and take over.
I need to make a mention of the fantastic gourmet packaging, too: this chocolate is packed exactly like a pouch of rolling tobacco. Inner plastic pouch, wrapped in a plastic wrapped paper wrapper. An absolute pleasure to open and handle! This was not too expensive either, $3.95 for a 70g bar.
Needless to say, if you come across this bar, try it.

New Tree Sexy Ginger Belgian chocolate

Chris Urban — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:06:57 +0000

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 Dark Chocolate.” Then, on closer reading, the smaller type: “Ginger” and finally, “Energizing” well, of course its energizing silly, it’s chocolate!
Ok, so back to the back – there’s a violator across the panel that says:

Advantages
1 bar = 3 cups of coffee

Now, what the heck is this? Chocolate as a energizer bar? How bizarre is this?
We should have known when we read:”NewTree Sexy is chocolate in stilettos… …Naturally stimulating guarana extract adds an extra perk for a seductive treat.”
Ahh… it’s not an energizer or monster bar, it’s a Viagra bar. Yup.
Ok, it’s 73% cocoa, it’s Belgian chocolate. It’s got some ginger shavings. I think the ginger is purely to hide that weird guarana taste. The chocolate is good, it’s smooth, and balanced. The jury is still out on this one.

Café Tasse Noir Poivre de Szechuan

Chris Urban — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:38:42 +0000

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 54% Belgian chocolate. You take a bite, and wham! Right away you’re blindsided with the szechuan pepper. It doesn’t sneak up on you, it doesn’t gracefully enter the chocolate room, it jumps on top of your tongue and rodeo rides it until you give up. And after you give up, it’s still around – remember you were eating chocolate? The pepper lingers on the back of your tongue like Anbesol.
Alright, so perhaps I’m a little over the top. Try this chocolate and you tell me. I can see where this might turn some people off. Me, I like it: I think it’s interesting.

Chocolove Orange Peel in Dark Chocolate

Chris Urban — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:32:47 +0000

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.