chrisurban.com » chili pepper

B.T. McElrath Chile Limón Chocolate

Chris Urban — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:39:37 +0000

The more chocolates we try, the more I seem to think that the further north (colder) they come from, the better the chocolate. Case in point: B.T. McElrath’s Chile Limón bar, from Minnesota.
This is a chocolate bar that wants to be a truffle. In terms of our rigid criteria in meeting awesomeness, this one has it: dark chocolate – not too bitter, not too sweet, nice crisp finish; milk chocolate – creamy, sweeter – again not too sweet. As far as the extras, they through in two of our favorites: chili peppers and lime.
However, as we are apt to criticize, let this not escape a similar fate: we think the chili is masked a little bit too much by the milk chocolate. It should be allowed to flourish a little more, especially on the finish. Similarly, the lime comes through, but not strong enough. I get the higher notes, but the challenge with lime is to get the full spectrum of its flavor across. Lime has a broader citrus range, and it tastes like some of it is missing here.
Finally, as much as I love the name, I hate its outer package. It looks like a Target-branded chocolate bar, with trying-to-be-cool Freehand typeface…

Maria Tepozteca Chocolate Xocolatl (Chile)

Chris Urban — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:14:42 +0000

Picked this interesting chocolate up while down in Cancún, Mexico. Marketed as a traditional, Aztec-style chocolate, this massive 200g bar had me at “Chile.”
“It tastes sweet and a little bit spicy. And, it feels smooth and good.” – 5-year-old.
This really is quite interesting, both from taste and consistency perspectives. The mouthfeel is not at all like the typical dark chocolates – it’s gritty, and the ground cocoa is crunchy – almost like eating a Nestlé Crunch bar. It’s almost as though this is an anti-Lindt chocolate: it’s not overly sweet, indulgently smooth and obviously fattening. The initial taste is bitter and waxy, and as the chocolate melts and you crunch some chiles, more chocolate favor is imparted, on the wave of heat from the peppers. I was a little put off from the initial bite, but after the next few bites, more of the chocolate comes through.
Ingredients listed are simply “70% cacao, sugar, chile, lecitina [soy lecithin].” It’s wrapped in a wax paper wrapping, and the outer wrap brands it as part of the line of “Maria Tepozteca” line of chocolates, despite that name being absent from the rest of the wrapper.
So, despite the fact that it doesn’t actually say so on the wrapper, I am led to think this made in a more traditional style, more Aztec-xocolatl-ish. Either that, or this is poorly-made (or weirdly-made?) Mexican chocolate.

Lindt Chili Dark

Chris Urban — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:32:09 +0000

This chocolate is a tantalizing conundrum.
If we look at this from the chocolate point of view, then this dark Swiss chocolate is what one would hope to have for a mass-market gourmet chocolate: it’s silky smooth, with a tantalizing mouthfeel. It’s dark – not sure exactly how dark since no cocoa percentages are on the package – and creamy. It has a nice transition as it melts in your mouth to creamy goodness (omg – this starting to sound like something perverted) – and does not overwhelm with too much complexity. This is a straight-shooting, solid dark chocolate, from a chocolate addict’s perspective, that you want to curl up with in the company of nice cabernet.
Alright, now that we have the cocoa-based perspective diagrammed, let us proceed to dissect the chili angle. More concisely, this chocolate is more acute than obtuse with the heat. I don’t mean like 45° acute, I mean like 15°. It’s there, it comes, it goes, it’s gone. Lest we are misled by the illustration of a nice-sized chili pepper on the cover of the product, examination of the ingredients list reveals: “chili extract.” I freely admit to being a snob here, but when I see that, and then see vanillin – an artificial flavoring – I simply have no choice but to breath a deep sigh and shrug: ok, well, it’s Lindt chocolate. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty damn good.
In short, I’d recommend this for anyone with an itch for a chocolate with some mild heat, who may be concerned with a boutique, micro-batch (compared to Lindt, anyway) chocolate packed chock full of chili and exotic spices.

Chuao Spicy Maya

Chris Urban — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:47:14 +0000

Heaven in a bar? here it is: cocoa, cinnamon, spices, chilies perfectly blended together. Short and sweet: perfect sweetness, creamy chocolate, complex character from cinnamon and chilies. These guys from Carlsbad, California make a damn good chocolate.

We picked this up in Wegman’s, where it was significantly higher in price than other bars, but I argue it’s worth the extra dollar and change over the next bars down. It’s lovingly made with 60% cocoa, Venezuelan only chocolate.

Two year old: “mm hmm good. tastes like donuts, smells like bacon, you love worms.” (Don’t ask, it’s a long story)

Four year old: “tastes like cereal bar, lemon, tastes like brownies.”

Chocolove: Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate

Chris Urban — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:35:21 +0000

This is helluva nice bar – great balance between the chili peppers and the intensely sweet cherries.

If you’ll recall, these guys from Boulder made an Almonds & Cherries bar we reviewed (and liked), so our first question is: are these Michigan cherries? Or they from somewhere else?

Never mind the cherries – it’s the smoky, sexy anchos and chipotles that make this bar rock. You take a bite, you feel the smooth chocolate coat your tongue. Then, you realize there’s cherries occupying the higher, sweeter end of the spectrum here: chewy, sweet and subtly tart. Finally, the chilies creep in and take over the back of your mouth and throat. It’s one of the closest to a perfect bar we’ve had in a while. Definitely a repeat purchase.

Here’s the fun reviews – this is what you really wanted to read, isn’t it? Two year old: as chewing: “good… (pause) …a little spicy… spicy… bad spicy… I don’t want more.”

Four year old: “a little spicy, sour, tastes like hot sauce.” We didn’t realize (or actually think) she knew what hot sauce tastes like.

Frey Supreme Hot Chili Pepper

Chris Urban — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:25:58 +0000

One look at the bright red wrapper of this bar and you would think we’ve finally found the end-all of spicy chocolate bars: two chili peppers and a piece of chocolate are pictured with “Extra Fine dark chocolate with chili.”
However, after trying it, we’re sorry to say that this isn’t it. That isn’t to say this is not a good bar, far from it; it is pretty good and it is really spicy, but probably more for the sake of being spicy. It’s just that it’s not quite there, at least in our heads. There’s chili pepper seeds interspersed in the chocolate, and the chocolate’s flavor doesn’t complement the spice as well as it could.

Redstone’s Red Chili Chipotle dark chocolate bar

Chris Urban — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:15:58 +0000

Nice dark chocolate (72% cocoa), made by Redstone Foods in Texas. Infused with chipotle chili pepper, this has a methodically increasing heat level as the chocolate washes away out of your mouth. The heat is pretty even and strong, and hits its peak about half a minute after the last bit of chocolate is gone.

This is a good hot bar, but its just okay overall: the chocolate is okay – it doesn’t posess the nice mouthfeel that some higher-end chocolates we’ve tried have. The chipotle pepper is nice and hot, but I think its that we’re looking for something with a bit more complexity, more character. There’s a good reason that we’ve seen bars like this, but with cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices – it rounds out the flavor, and adds some oomph to the finish. With this bar, it just ends, and that’s it, no lingering mmmm….

Frey Chocolate Hot Chili Pepper

Chris Urban — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:57:54 +0000

Turn up the heat! Finally, a dark chocolate with some teeth. Dry chilies that kick it up a notch. Frey chocolates, a Swiss chocolate company (the only one left?) recently introduced to the American market via Target stores. And all we can say is: thanks, Target!

Here’s a dark chocolate with oomph. The chili creeps in slowly, methodically, with determination. About twenty to thirty seconds in, you have chili across your entire tongue. As the chocolate melts away, you’re left with morsels of dried chilies. Now, if there was a chili bacon bar? That would be heaven….

Dagoba Xocolatl dark chocolate, chilis and nibs

Chris Urban — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:38:18 +0000

So I’m reading this label and wondering what the heck ‘nibs’ are. Are nibs to cocoa beans what giblets are to turkey? Turns out, it’s probably what you expect it to be: roasted cocoa beans, broken into smaller pieces, essentially a purist’s version of chocolate chips.

Back to the chocolate – like the Lemon-Ginger chocolate from Dagoba, there’s a good, solid dark chocolate base, (this is 74%, the lemon-ginger is 68% dark cocoa) and is made with evaporated cane juice in place of sugar. For spices, this has chilis, nutmeg and maca (another little-known South American herb known for increasing libido, among other things).

On first bite, you enjoy the dark chocolate, and roughly ten seconds later, the chilis kick in. There’s good heat here, but it’s short-lived. It’s enough to savor, and is complemented well by the traces of nutmeg.

Chuao Chocolatier: Spicy Maya Hot Chocolate

Chris Urban — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:52:04 +0000

Another freezing weekend, another opportunity to try hot chocolate mix… When you open this can of mix, the first thing that strikes you is the consistency of the mix itself. There’s nuggets of chocolate in the mix. Once you’ve made it – the instructions note to bring water to boil, add mix, keep boiling and whisk. Ingredients include no fat dehdryated milk, so you don’t have to use milk, but if you do, I think it makes this mix exceptionally creamy and smooth. Back to the chocolate…

This is another variation on the spicy chocolate theme, and while ingredients only say chilies and spices, I believe these are chipotles and/or cayenne. If there is cinnamon, it’s minimal and very subtle. More noticeable is the vanilla from the 58% cacao dark chocolate. The text on the container suggests the chocolate is all Venezuelan, but does not outright explicitly claim that.

It’s a pretty good spicy mix – but because you use water and this includes dehydrated milk, you need a full 3 tablespoons of mix to a 1/2 cup of hot water, so the servings to mix proportion is lower. Overall: pretty good, fair on the spicy, creamy taste.

Laughing Moon – Dark chocolate with chipotle and cinnamon

Chris Urban — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:38:29 +0000

First, a little mystery. This chocolate bar mysteriously appeared; from where I do not know. I set it aside for several minutes, providing ample opportunity for any rightful owners to appear, but alas, they did not, and thus this particular review appears…

Anyone who know me knows I search endlessly for a chocolate that blends spicy chiles in a manner that exudes the original intent of the Aztecs – spicy, flavorful, a chocolate fireworks. (There was this one place in Quebec that approached this almost-infinite point to the extent that a milkshake made with this chocolate ice cream was absolutely heavenly…) So, I see chocolate with chili peppers and it must be sampled…

This is a handmade bar – it’s refreshing to see a chocolate bar as a literal bar, cast without portioning divisions, and the wrapper is sans bar code. The chilis build slowly to a crescendo about three minutes after you start enjoying this. It’s creamy and smooth for a dark chocolate, and I think the cinnamon does a great job of hiding any bitterness. Having said that, I contemplate whether there’s too much cinnamon – it’s almost as though one could feel the grit of the cinnamon as the buttery solids dissolve in your mouth.

In comparison to other spicy chocolates? This is pretty darn close to perfect. I think Questzalcoatl would be proud.

4 yr old: “a little bit spicy, a little bit piggy (transl: sticky), a lot little bit spicy”; 2yr. old: “I eat, mommy.” Do you like it better than M&Ms? “yeah” Do you like the spicy? “yeah”

Vosges – Red Fire Bar

Chris Urban — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:42:38 +0000

Chocolate intended for Aztecs. Delicious. Dark chocolate with a slow-building ancho and chipotle chili undertone. Cinnamon nicely bridges the spice with the chocolate, and fills the gap on flavor between the burnt caramel chocolate and the crescendo of the chilies. 4 yr. old: “I don’t like it. It’s too spicy” (Note: she also feels candy canes and Altoids are too ’spicy’)

chrisurban.com » chili pepper

B.T. McElrath Chile Limón Chocolate

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