The legends preceded it: chocolate so dark it ceased to taste like chocolate. Chocolate so intense it required cautionary statements. Chocolate so fine it cost $32 per pound. One of my coworkers is a fan of dark chocolate, and he was the one who first told me about the 99%-cocoa Lindt chocolate bar.
Such purity is exceptionally rare. A normal Hershey bar is rumored to contain about 11% cocoa (and could get worse). The “Special Dark” Hershey bar is just 45% cocoa. Even the “Extra Dark” variant clocks in at only 60%. Connoisseurs must look to a more exotic manufacturer.
The Lindt Excellence line of fine chocolate bars is widely available in the United States. Dark chocolate versions with 85% cocoa can be found with relative ease at chains as plebeian as Target. Such ubiquity is not shared by the 99% bar. For it, one must travel to a Lindt chocolate store. One exists in the Mall of America.
At the store, I was greeted by two pleasant young women offering free chocolate samples to browsers. My goal clear, I declined their truffles and proceeded straight to the chocolate bar section. There, on the wall, I saw it: a 99%-pure bar of cocoa. One of the saleswomen regarded my choice with concern. She made sure that I knew what I was getting into, that I knew I should enjoy the bar slowly, at home, with proper reverence and plenty of water. Undeterred by the cautionary statements, I asserted my comfort with the chocolate and completed my purchase. On the way home, I picked up a more mundane 85% bar for comparison.
The first thing I noticed was that the 99% bar was smaller than the 85% bar. Although the external packages shared identical dimensions, the 99% bar had a net weight of only 50 grams — half that of the 85% bar. That smaller size was not reflected in the price, for the 99% bar cost 10% more than the 85% bar, or 120% more by weight. The ingredient lists were very similar (chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and sugar), but the 85% bar contained vanilla while the 99% bar had none. Both were made in France — odd, seeing as how Lindt is a Swiss company.
I carefully opened the cardboard shell of the 99% bar and pulled out a foil tray. I was more than a bit surprised to find warnings on the wrapper that instructed me to work my way up to the 99% bar via the 70% and 85% versions.
Not wanting to disobey a piece of foil, I pulled out my 85% bar and warmed up my palate with a few nibbles. Suitably prepared, I returned to the main event.
The remainder of the foil warning cautioned the consumer to limit indulgence to small pieces left to melt on one’s tongue. Oddly, that part of the warning existed only in the English and German versions of the instructions. Perhaps the French and Italians are naturally better versed in the art of chocolate appreciation.
I took a deep breath and peeled back the wrapper from the fancy tray. Inside was a thin wafer of the darkest chocolate I have ever seen. I cautiously broke off a square, an act reported with a crisp snap. Ready to experience Chocolate Zen, I closed my eyes and laid the square on my tongue. My mouth closed, and my body heat began to release the essence of the bar.
I was at first struck by a mild bitterness, but that quickly passed (and was not to return for the rest of the session). The super-dark chocolate melted quickly and imparted a decidedly creamy mouthfeel, not unlike a fine caramel. Perhaps the most surprising trait was the absence of chocolate flavor, at least not in the traditional sense. The confection was not tasteless — no, it was simply unlike any chocolate I had ever experienced. Even the 85% bar was a world apart.
The 99% chocolate was an experience of purity. No chemical aftertaste. No waxy mouthfeel. Nothing to distract from the singular cocoa focus.
To compare the 99% bar with a Hershey’s dark bar would be to insult the Lindt creation, for they exist not in the same realm. Whereas the Hershey’s bar is overtly bitter and artificial, the 99% cocoa is soothing and natural. Neither are very sweet, but while the Hershey’s bar longs for sugar, the Lindt imparts an air of balance in its lack.
I sampled the 85% and 99% bars in turn several times, exploring different consumption techniques and speeds. All methods were enjoyable in their own ways.
After consuming just three squares of the 99% bar, I felt it was time to bring the experience to an end. The richness of the chocolate was leaving me satiated, and I didn’t want to waste either bar when I was not in the proper mindset for full enjoyment of the act.
If you get the opportunity to try high-quality, high-purity chocolate, I recommend that you indulge. If nothing else, you will gain a new appreciation for the rift between American commodity chocolate and what is possible from the world’s elite chocolatiers.
Interesting read… next step: find a good port to accompany such a fine delicacy. Mount Pleasant Winery here in Missouri has one that would be just about perfect…
How did I miss the Lindt store?!?
I really enjoy reading about chocolate.
i got an 85 and a 99 on my way back from europe last time. i actually could not enjoy the 99%, my sister put it this way “way to ruin chocolate alex.” of the three lindt varieties i prefer the 70%
Hershey’s milk chocolate is garbage, but Special Dark actually does reasonably well at competitive tastings, and in my opinion just demolishes fru-fru chocolate in bang-for-the-buck ratio (ie, the stuff that is 500% more expensive isn’t 500% better).
I really like Valrhona’s “Le Noir” which is “only” 56% cocoa solids.
Great pictures!
I found some Ghirardelli that’s 100% if you want me to mail you a bar.
Hmm… I think I’ll have to give the Ghirardelli bar a try. Their web site suggests that those bars are sold in the Twin Cities, but if I can’t find one, I’ll drop you a line.
I found a Ghirardelli 100% Cocoa bar at Target and just tried a bit. Sadly, it can’t compare to the Lindt 99% bar. The Ghirardelli bar is just too bitter for my liking.
Methinks it will become fudge in a few days.
I picked some 99% Lindt chocolat up in a German chocolate museum while I was studying in Europe this summer. After hearing about your experiment from one of the other brothers, I went and bought some 70% and 86% to ‘progress my palate’ as the wrapper says. I found the 70 to be fairly good and the 86 to be fairly bitter, but not bad. Then I moved onto the 99.
I had one square.
I think I’m going to make some fudge with it now…
The Hershey’s Cacao Reserve (single bean) is quite good. I tried a bar of Santo Domingo, 67%, very intense, miid bitterness, excellent taste and mouth feel.
A couple of years ago I was visiting a friend of mine in the USA. He knew that I’m a chocolate fan par excellence and tried to please me with a selection of the finest north american chocolates. I didn’t even try to be polite because all of them tasted like rotten chemical variants of cocoa soaken charcoal mixed with soy lecithin. Not even one of them had a texture or flavour like the cheapest chocolats from Switzerland or even Germany. You must be very happy to get some Lindt bars in the US but let me tell you: this bars are just in the upper segement of the standard quality chocolate available in 99% of all supermarkets.
try some all-organic 100% cocoa chocolate:
http://www.coppeneur.de/cms/front_content.php?idcat=42
> 100% cocoa pure
Lindt has at least 3 factories Swiss German & French, I prefer milk chocolate, so my preference in factory order is Swiss then closely German Then a wide margin to french. The Swiss factory makes the wide range of bars from milk to semisweet to dark to very dark
Hershey recently petitioned the FDA to legally redefine the term “chocolate” to include artificial sweeteners, milk substitutes and trans fat…
http://dontmesswithourchocolate.guittard.com/theissue.asp
Any over 70-75% is just unpleasant and has little value other than novelty and cooking.
99%? pah! If you want to taste real chocolate goodness, try a 100% Domori Pasta di Cacao Chocolate bar.It is composed of Sur del Lago and Rio Caribe Cacao-Paste and nothing else. Nothing comes close.
@Jason:
No, that is definetely not true. You need to use good cacao though, not the cheap ones in Lindt or Milka.
You don’t need to go to a Lindt store to buy the 99% bar. It’s available here in Canada at a variety of locations. Shoppers Drug Mart carries it. I bought one at a dollar store!
We regularly buy the Lindht 99% and Ghiradelli 100% bars for eating; I guess I like the Lindht bar better, but I won’t turn the Ghiradelli one away :^) They are definitely different animals, and it’s worth experiencing both. The Lindht store cashier won’t even bother to caution you if you pay for four at once.
Fwiw, you can get the 99% in supermarkets in France. I bought some once for a kick. Yeah, it’s fun. A bit over the top for everyday consumption though.
It is nice that you like “pure chocolate” but have you ever tasted REAL PURE CHOCOLATE, with no cocoa at all. Well that can only be found in Mexico. And believe me, it is delicious.
All the products you have discussed are good in their own right.
If you wish the best I have ever had, try the Heritage Chocolate researched by the Geography Dept of U Cal Davis made in limited batches by Mars Candy to the ancient recipes of the land and time from which chocolate originated: Southern Mexico.
Be very careful, real chocolate, even in small doses of less than 10g is an aphrodisiac
God damn it..why hath you made me so poor o’ lord that I can’t afford to leave this wretched 3-rd World country and seek out “MY” dark-chocolate zen
?
check out “maison du chocolat,” a paris chocolate shop (i think they have a store in new york, too, and ship). their darks are nearly as rich as the 99% lindt, but sweetened of course (try their various 70-80% ranges).
I found some of that 99% stuff at a grocery store in Barcelona. I didn’t follow directions and work my way up to it though, so I didn’t fully appreciate it. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m okay with 85% dark, so I’m going to try and go from there now.
you know, i really don’t think its fair. you guys bitch and moan about how this chocolate isn’t really up to par compared to that chocolate. this ones to bitter. that ones to waxy. that one over there has to much sugar, that one doesn’t have enough. fuck you guys.
not a single one of you really appreciates chocolate. until it will kill you, you can’t really understand. develop a chocolate allergy so bad that even being in the candy isle makes it hard to breath. then try to say anything negative about chocolate. you shouldn’t be able to do it. not and still respect yourself as a person, anyway.
i’m so jealous and angry at all of you. die in a fire.
what about my poor diabetic soul ? How much sugar is in these bars?
While I like dark chocolate and dispise the “candy” chocolate from Hersheys and others; I did not like the 99%; way to bitter (almost zero sugar) for me. 85% is ok, but best is 70%.
jenipher, you seem to be the one to me most intense about this chocolate “issue”.
Breath and relax!
Our search for chocolate perfection is not just to annoy you… ^_^
I don’t know, i usually eat dark chocolate in 60%-85% range but i didn’t liked Lindt 99% when i tried it, it had a “dusty” taste. Maybe it was that not having around the 70% and 85% i didn’t warmed up my taste bud.
Well, after all they write it INSIDE the package and not in italian (my own language)!
i understand. and its nothing personal i promise. i just get obsessed about it sometimes because i can’t have it. i don’t think it would be such a problem if i had always been allergic to it. no. its a developed allergy that has only gotten worse over time. so i know exactly what i’m missing out on.
While I was living in France I purchased all sorts of dark chocolates. They have all sorts of them in ranges from 70% to 99%. I tended to prefer the 90-95% ones the best.
My aunt, who is now 95, also developed a severe allergy to chocolate by eating too much of it in Switzerland (in her 30s, I think), so jenipher is not alone. How much did you eat, jenipher? I ask because I want to be careful. I would not want the same to happen to me.
you think you’re hardcore? i eat my chocolate STRAIGHT OFF THE TREE.
I like carob too…jenipher? You dont like carob at all? Its pretty close to chocolate..
the chocolate is to dark and is black what did you do to the chocolate burn it.
the best way to enjoy this 99% chocolate would be if they conditioned it in their “thin” format. when i was younger, i used to eat thin dark chocolate with my eyes closed and then kept the boxes just to smell them.
even if i like dark chocolate i still wouldn,t eat it, nasty i don,t even see how that person ate it.
phitar that was a stupid coment i don,t even get it.
people, please learn the proper use of “to” and “too” – thanks.
Interesting comments about Hershey’s. Consumer Reports recently rated Hershey’s Cacao Reserve 65% with Cocoa Nibs excellent. It was the only one with this rating. The Lindt 70%, Chocolove 61% and Valrhona 71% were rated very good. I tried the Hershey’s Cacao Reserve 65% with Cocoa Nibs and it was very tasty. Maybe worth a review?
Dark chocolate is my favourite…personally, I think it pairs perfectly with a well made shot of espresso, a vegan latte, or a damn fine beer.
u have a ugly thumb >:{
Lindt’s chocolate isn’t fair trade. Of all the ingredients that go into chocolate, slavery shouldn’t be one of them. I don’t care how wonderful it tastes.
If I’m not mistaken, I have a similar chocolate bar and have two pieces of it with an oatmeal breakfast on most days. The main thing to note about the percentages as you go up from 45%, 75%, etc, is that the amount of sugar listed on the nutrition label goes down. Theres no added sugar in bars that have big labels of 99% or 100% chocolate.
Any chocolate lovers in S.F./Oakland should scrap the Ghiardelli and check out the Scharffen Berger factory if you want truly excellent chocolate.The 70% (Blue) bar is a great introduction. Though is is lower in actual cacao content, it is made from well roasted specially selected beans and it really brings out the aroma and fruitiness that most people don’t realize chocolate has. Trader Joe’s also has an excellent single-source bar from the Occumare region of Venezuela which can hold it’s own against some of the best boutique chocolates.
You people need to get a life. Freaks.
Calling a 99% bar “worthless” is like calling beaujolais worthless. It’s just another variety, and some like it, while others don’t. Personally, I find that anything beyond 75% is so bitter as to be unpleasant, but then I’m pretty sensitive to bitter flavors. So it’s not as if there’s a fixed scale.
I do find it interesting that the discussion here seems to revolve almost exclusively around the larger manufacturers. Certainly Valrhona and Lindt are capable of producing good chocolate. Even Hershey can make a couple of decent bars (owing largely to their purchase of and learning from artisan houses). But you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t tried bars from smaller, artisan makers.
My two personal favorites are Scharffen-Berger and DeVries. Give them a try…you won’t go wrong.
Oh, and the bit about tasting in order from lighter to darker is standard procedure. The darker chocolates frequently overwhelm lighter ones.
Jeff,
just for curiosity, here in Italy Lindt is sold everywhere and it’s not considered “top quality” but “very good”, or at least is so where I live!
Maybe you should try an italian Venchi that is one of the best I’ve eaten. Venchi is considered something like “top premium quality”
P.
I have not worked my way up to 99% yet, but I do have a couple tips. 70% seems to be a “sweet spot” for us unrefined americans. YMMV, but I honestly find the 70% Sam’s Choice bar to be competitive with more expensive bars including 80% Lindt. Try it before dismissing it. Also, the Hershey’s Cacao Reserve 65% with Cocoa Nibs is also legitimately good.
Chocolate is disgusting
in some countries chocolate is eaten pure, 100%. to break the bitterness, it is served with sugar. speaking from experience, it’s wonderful.
You know, you could just take cocoa powder, mix it with cocoa butter and some sugar, and have basically the same thing.
I suppose that other 1% is made up with emulsifiers and other additives to hold the stuff together?
Something to keep in mind with hershy’s and most chocolate made in America is that the milk used in it is intentionally stale (not bad just slightly old) because when chocolate was first made in America they didnt have the preservation and people got used the taste. I think trader joes has by far the best variety outside of specialty shops (whole foods is also good but somethings are nearly double the price) with the really high %’s if the chocolate as a whole is stale then it can be cloying rather than a melt in your mouth experiance.
In San Francisco, I had a very dark (>85%, I think) morsel of chocolate laced with what appeared to be finely ground dried habanero pepper. A unique culinary experience; like being slapped in the face by Angelina Jolie. The pleasure! The pain!
Wow! I’m so glad you liked our chocolate. not that I made it myself or anything, but I work in a Lindt retail store! I am at once glad to hear that the girls at MoA offered you a sample and dismayed that you didn’t try the extra dark truffle. Much lighter than your topic of course, but the soft, creamy dark center adds so much to the experience. I must also add a couple of tidbits as a Lindt professional: As you mentioned, yes our chocolate is manufactured in many areas, but all are swiss recipes and the same chocolate-making processes are used in each factory. Truffles you buy in the states are made in Stratham, NH, and the rest of the product appearing in Lindt USA retail stores is imported from all over Europe. interesting to see Ghirardelli chocolate mentioned in these comments, Lindt in fact owns Ghirardelli! But the swiss have no control (or they simply exert none) on the recipes that the company uses. one last thing: if you enjoy fine, quality chocolate, I absolutely must suggest the 65% and 75% cocoa bars, Madagascar and Ecuador respectively. Each contain an added nuance caused by the origin of the beans used to create the bar. The rest of our chocolate is made with a mix of all the world’s beans together to create an overall chocolate flavor. but in the Madagascar you’ll find a hint of vanilla (seeing as how the island is known for its vanilla production, it’s easy to see why) and the Ecuador has an exciting concoction of fruit, nut, and spice flavors. I recommend giving those a whirl, not only as a Lindt & Sprungli employee/representative, but as a fellow connoisseur and chocolate lover! Good health to you, and I’m sure of it, because of the antioxidants, LDL’s, and fiber in that 99% bar, and thank you for writing about my all-time favorite subject: CHOCOLATE!
If you like, chocolate, you can try making a trip to Oaxaca (southern coast of México) for some mole negro. It’s a denser variety of mole that leaves a weird-but-tasty feeling of bitterness/sweetness/otherness in you mouth. It’s made with more varieties of chile than most people can name, as well as some varieties of nuts, ground tortilla and bread and (of course) the blackest, most evil cacao around…
It’s usually served on chicken with a bed of rice (think curry… sorta).
Consider trying something from the Green & Black range, far superior to Lindt in my opinion.
That’s very interesting. A friend brought my family a bar of what I thought was extremely dark chocolate from Central/South America. (I want to say Belize, but I can’t remember…) It was extremely bitter and strong, much like baking chocolate. I’m curious as to how it compares to the 99%. I don’t recall what percentage of cocoa/cacao it contained.
I’ve seen the 99% bar available at my local World Market store, here in Columbus, Ohio.
now, enjoy it with a good sharp cheddar cheese or some aged parmigiano reggiano and you will experience chocolate nirvana.
I haven’t tried the 99% yet. For some reason I’m not a big fan of dark dark choc…maybe I haven’t learned to appreciate the art of eating chocolate.
While the Lindt 99% is out of this world, I have to recommend the Lindt 55% Cuban as one of the best quality darks for daily chocolate. Try it and you’ll see what I mean…..
I’ve seen the 99% bar available at my local World Market store, here in Columbus, Ohio.
I’ve got about 80% of a bar left in my work drawer (we’ve got a Lindt Cafe just down the street) and I offer it to anyone curious to try. As much as I love dark chocolate, their 99% offering reminds me of … dirt.
Don’t ask how I know what dirt tastes like.
For a really decent 70% bar, you should try Green & Blacks
http://www.greenandblacks.com/us/productdetails.php?pageid=50&cid=18&pid=59
Sounds wonderful! I’ll be first in line at the local Lindt store!
When it comes to chocolate I’m all about http://www.amanochocolate.com/.
The dude that started it is a search engine programmer that became obsessed with making his own chocolate. He bought all the equipment and makes it by hand. They have different bars form different beans from around the world. You can taste the difference in the bean from bar to bar.
Best stuff I’ve ever tasted!
I would say that if you want to try real chocolate you should eat some cacao, not chocolate. Try these broken pieces of cacao or the whole cacao bean with the skin and then see what the Lindt is like.
I’ve sampled a swath of fine chocolates from scharfenberger to lindt, but the one I’m digging the most now is a 72% swiss concoction from villars. goodness it’s yummy. the thing that’s intriguing to me about this post, though, is the total lack of added sugar…was the chocolate still sweet?
In Soviet Russia…..
CHOCOLAT MICHEL CLUIZEL
Undoubtedly the best chocolates, including 99%, that you will ever taste.
Simply magic.
I believe that there is a law in Switzerland that prohibits any product that contains more than 65% cocoa to be called chocolate. That’s why you will only find the more “pure” Swiss chocolates are made outside of the country.
Can any Swiss Connoisseurs confirm this?
Myself, love the 85%, but not seen the 99% around in Australia
In Japan there is a brand of chocolate called Midji chocolate, they come in bars – and to my knowledge are only dark chocolate. If you like dark chocolate you can beat these Midji bars..i hate dark chocolate but this was something else, it’s probably the darkest you can get with it still being chocolate. Extremely weird to describe.
What planet are you from that they don’t sell this in any supermarket/drugstore/candy store?
This isn’t anything special.
I buy these bars for $2.50 on sale and eat them in a day.
I’m guessing you (i.e. Anonymous @ 10th Sep. 2:40am) are in the US since the point of your e-mail seems to be how wonderful you are, and that you don’t realise that Australia is on the planet Earth. Take a deep breath…..yes there are other places outside the US! All the other country references throughout these posts are also on the planet Earth.
And we don’t have oil dammit so don’t come and invade us.
Meet the Migros Sélection 100% Cacao du Venezuela. You can get this extraordinary piece of chocolate in Switzerland. Of course this isn’t your day to day variety anymore as there is 0% sugar, but boy does it taste awesome. I’m nibbeling on little pieces from time to time, since I don’t know when I can replenish my stockpile.
ALso there is some italian chocolatier who is rumored to have created the first 100% variety of “edible” dark chocolate.
Huh, where I’m from we eat nothing under 115% cocoa (the other 15% being rubbing alcohol). Now, that’s sophistication!
How many slaves were used to make that 99% bar I wonder.. where the fuck is the fair trade high % choc..
Now this is something I simply must get my hands on. Thanks for the great article !
Green & Blacks are organic, and some of their bars are sourced from Fair Trade beans.
OMG. My friend gave it to me tonight to try it; and then in the same night, i found this article on digg.com. What a coincidence. It was overly bitter to me. i guess i didn’t do it right. I should buy a bar for myself and eat it at home with a lot of water.
You mention the bars were made in France albeit Lindt is a Swiss company. You do realize that the two countries are separated only by an imaginary line don’t you? You could stand with one foot in each country if it weren’t for the security situations existing currently in our world. You would also need to declare your foreign currency and your intent if you were going to put both feet into Switzerland. Enjoy the chocolate, and by the way, I would also recommend drinking a fine French Roast or a Cappucino blend coffee to acsentuate the flavor experience. Also, as oddly as it may sound, a piece of hard crusted roll with some real cream butter would also enhance all of the flavors. That would be the ultimate in this culinary experience.
Once again, the Swiss have shown their contributions to the world in a dark delectable tasty treat!
Hershey’s sucks.
Do you know that the chocolate can be made from the carob bean?
It’s odd!
Nice Post. Let me give u a hint: I’m Italian and a big fan of chocolate appreciation; another great way to taste 99% chocolate like lindt is taking it with an italian espresso with little sugar coz the mild bitterness of coffee prepares your tongue and nose for the cocoa. Enjoy!
I had the same exact experience up until you enjoyed it. I came home from the mall of America, opened the package, but the bitterness was excrutiating. I could not get through even just one entire square. It didn’t taste at all like cocoa or dark chocolate of any sort. It only tasted bitter.
I dunno. after 90%, it really must be an acquired taste. I used to eat the 87% variety, but it is extremely bitter. I tried the 99% once, and found it to be mostly inedible.
I prefer Russian dark chocolate over Lindt or other Swiss/German chocolate I have dried. Especially “Vernost’ kachestvu 99%”. The ingredients list made me laugh: Cacao Mass, salt. It was dang good though.
Being Swiss, perhaps I should not do that (it is an Italian producer) but if you want to go for the pure thing you might want to try this: http://www.jacksonvillemercantile.com/product.asp?specific=jpcqgne0
But be careful, it is an intense experience!
Lindt adds malt to their milk chocolate bars.
ha. in Australia Lindt can be found at your local grocery store!
Its great cause im statisfied with just having one or two pieces of Lindt dark chocolate, its lasts longer than any other sweet in my house.
Let’s not confuse chocolate and cocoa. Chocolate is a special mixture of the cocoa solid with the cocoa butter at a specific temperature, and cooled down in a special way.
Cocoa in its raw form does not taste very good. Some how, the re-mixture of its ingredients (chocolate) does taste creamy and sweet, and is delicious.
The Lindt super dark “chocolate” taste powdery and bitter. Tty Poulain 86% dark “ultime noir”, to find out what good dark chocolate is supposed to taste like (I don’t work for Poulain, I just love chocolate, especially *good* dark chocolate, and hazelnut milk chocolate).
You should enjoy chocolate, not pretend that it’s good, just because it has a higher content of cocoa.
That stuff is so common i have *no* idea why are making such a bloody fuss about it! If you want the real deal just stick a dried cocoa bean in your mouth and munch on it. Same thing, same taste.
I second Paolo Ghirardelli’s comment: in Italy all Lindt products, including these unremarkable 99% bars, are regarded as industrial-grade chocolate and are sold in practically all supermarkets.
We have many easily found brands of really good chocolate, such as Peyrano, Domori, Stainer, Venchi, Baratti & Milano, Majani, Amedei, and a lot of artisans, so these Lindt offerings belong in the cheap and mediocre part of the market.
mmm…………..
can’t wait, imagine it’s really potent, supposed to be good for your health
Christ what a bunch of pretentious fucks we have here. I could feed half you snot lickers a scoop of cat shit and you would go on and on about its texture and subtle flavors. Eat your candy and move on.
Best with Merlot.
I’ve lived in Switzerland for a while now and have sampled quite a few of the chocolates. 100% Domori Pasta di Cacao is the most crazy over the top dark you can get around here (it’s from Italy). But my favourite by far is Rapunzel 70% bittersweet:
http://www.rapunzel.com/products/rapunzel/index.html
They use this fancy raw sugar that gives it an amazing taste. You can get it in shops around the world if you know where to look (their website can help you find one).
I’ve seen the 99% bar available at my local World Market store, here in Columbus, Ohio.
oh, squeeeee! that’s right down the road from me!
I live in Florida and was able to pick this up at Whole Foods market; if you have one near you check it out and see if they carry it. They tend to have a large selection of chocolate bars from all over the world.
I enjoyed the bar, but not quite as much as the 85% variety. The bitterness is a bit overwhelming at first, but I did find that it was much better with a nice glass of Cabernet that had chocolate notes. If you want to have some fun though, offer some to people who think they like chocolate and then watch their reaction as the eat it…so hilarious!!!
Oh, and for the person asking about baking chocolate, it usually is 99% cacao as well, but the taste is not as refined as that of Lindt. Unfortunately I do not have access to other premier brands as many Europeans do…I envy you.
you people remind me of what would have happened if the nazis had won the war.
Ghiradelli (spelling) squares are so good. So so so good. Their factory is in San Francisco and let me tell you the chocolate is amazing but i can guarantee nothing in comparison to the 99%
Heya – if you’re ever in Toronto and you love chocolate, here’s your number #1 destination:
http://www.somachocolate.com/
I promise, I’m not connected/affiliated with them in any way, except that I try to eat one of their dark chocolate bars a month at least. Really exceptional artisanal product. Oh, and you might want to drop by Mill St. Brewery and pick up a 6-pack of their Coffee Porter – brilliant on it’s own, but paired with chocolate… life-changing stuff.
Cheers!
Grammer Nazi please stop being a douche and go someplace else to practice your douchery. If you are worried about peoples grammar then go be an English teacher. Otherwise stfu and talk about chocolate or chocolate flavored douches, since that is what you seem to enjoy.
You have misunderstood the recomendation… you work your way to the 99% in MONTHS!!! You try a square of 60% after every meal a couple of months, later you move to 75%…..
And if you really are into it, you put the square broquen in two or four under your tongue and take a nap while it disolves
Anything you have to acquire a taste for seems strange to me. Maybe the rich enjoy eating things that no one else wants to have the patience or time to build up a taste for.
lindt uses crap suppliers. they are ok for candy but for real chocolate you should use a better supplier. for example chocolat bonnat is $8 for a bar but it tastes nothing like lindt or hersheys – it’s so much better.
Anything you have to acquire a taste for seems strange to me. Maybe the rich enjoy eating things that no one else wants to have the patience or time to build up a taste for.
It’s not that, David. Sometimes a food is so different from one’s background & upbringing & usual menu that it has to be an acquired taste; you have to work up to it or get used to the idea & overcome your ingrained leanings to enjoy it.
I was that way with sushi, for example. My background is mid-Midwest, White-Bread Mac & Cheese Middle-Class Southwestern Ohio. Fish was something that was chopped up/breaded/deep-fried beyond recognition & slathered with tartar sauce to disguise the taste. When my husband’s parents moved to the Maryland coast, they kept taking us to good seafood places whenever we were out there — and after getting used to that (and believe me, a Maryland blue-crab festival is a HELL of an education for someone with my background), I gradually worked up to trying rawer & rawer fish, until now, it seems odd to cook fish…though I admit that I still enjoy the occasional McD’s fish sandwich.
And I don’t think the higher percentages of chocolate are an aquired taste at all. I was never into chocolate much before. I’ve never liked milk chocolate; Hershey’s special dark tastes like wax to me, and that was the extent of my chocolate education for a long while. But someone gave me an 87% chocolate bar last year, and I fell in love immediately. Now I won’t take anything less than 70%.
after reading this i went to the supermarket and bought a bar.
i must say: its good!
from previous experience i always found that once you pass 60%, it gets less tasty.
however the 99% is pretty good.
thx for the tip!
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article o.us poetry, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
A friend brought me roasted cocoa beans dipped in 85% cocoa chocolate when she returned from visiting family in Italy two years ago. They are an acquired taste, but might be something you would enjoy. If you get the chance give them a try.
Great review. I’m a big fan of Lindt. Have you ever tried Vosges? It’s good too but they are getting a bit crazy these days with things like bacon chocolate.
Thapsis-
Check out the two Lindt Cafes we have in Sydney!
One’s over at Martin Place and the other at Cockle Bay wharf/Darling Harbour …
This little article and it’s pictures were like food porn! Mmmmmm…Lindt….
Thanks Albert, will check them out.
Since moving on to more finer chocolates, I find I cannot eat many of the regular “candy” chocolate bars anymore. Kitkat, cadbury, bounty, just to name a few. In fact, Hersheys Kisses, make me gag. They would have to be the worst chocolates (if that’s what you call it) I have ever had.
you guys are total commoners. Lindt make _horrible_ chocolate, and comparing anything that approaches “good” chocolate to hershey is like comparing low quality dog food to different types of filet mignon. The New York Chocolate Show (google it) showcases actual good chocolate. My personal favorite is a swiss company called felchlin that makes a variety of single origin chocolates and truffles.
http://www.newworldchocolatesociety.com/index.php/coop/comments/coop-felchlin/
Their chocolates have won awards, and for good reason. The now sold out Cru Sauvage is probably the best chocolate that has ever been created. Any one of their single origin chocolates are also a transcendental experience. Chocolate snobbery is not about the cocoa content of the bar, otherwise creating the best chocolate would just be a matter of packing in more cocoa into less milk. Properly created single origin chocolate has a complex harmony of flavors more similar to a fine bottle of wine than to a simple numbers game of how much cocoa is in it. Go buy one of these lindt travesties, and any of the single origin bars on that page, and honestly tell me that the lindt doesn’t taste like bitter ass.
winner of the World Chocolate Awards “Best Bean to Bar Chocolate Bar” and “Best Dark Chocolate Bar” The only importers of Chuao Cocoa (which they undercut Lindt and Valrhona to secure)
http://www.etgglobal.com/Amedei/Awards.htm
Amedei (in Tuscany)
Its the same way with medicine.Our bodies and tastes are not the same.Thats why so many make mistakes and marry the wrong mate.Tastes change and so do we.Thank God we have choices,in some countries they know absolutely nothing about chocolate,or at the least,very litte.And unless a miracle were to happen,they’ll never in their lifetime be able to taste it,smell it,or enjoy its flavor.So be thankful for any type of chocolate you can find and learn to share it when possible.And while you are enjoying a product thats found in stores all over the nation be extremely grateful that you are allowed that luxury another day!
Since Japan has gotten but a single mention, I add that Men’s Pokky is dark-chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks, if anyone else was sad that Pokky & dark chocolate never seem to mix.
I started out eating “pure” baking chocolate before I started school, back when they had unsweetened chocolate flavor packets in brownie mix. In consequence, I’ve never been able to enjoy American milk chocolate. All of you who can’t stand dark chocolate and still enjoy “brown crayon wax” as Charles Schultz said in “Peanuts” are so lucky! I can find good dark chocolate in the supermarket, but good dark chocolate candy bars are at best seasonal, and expensive, and not the best quality (I still have a stash of Kit Kat Dark in the freezer). The specialty dark chocolate I find is just nut bars, or maybe some dried fruit in a bar. If you love dark chocolate, you’re not supposed to like caramel or nougat or marshmallow or whipped goo unless it’s in a $10 truffle? Dilettante’s doesn’t even have their dark-chocolate-dredged ginger any more (another wonderful acquired taste!)
In making chocolate desserts at home for my allergy-ridden, sugar- and dairy-intolerant family, I was disappointed to discover that the only brand of pure dark baking chocolate in the grocery store that does NOT contain sugar or milk is Hershey. Bakers & Ghiradelli & all the organic sugar-free specialty baking chocolates either contain sugar (although labeled ‘unsweetened’) or milk & milk derivatives. So, while I do not admire their candy, their baking chocolate is remarkably pure (for the USA) and good to work with. I have to admit that they are (finally) being dragged into higher-quality chocolate production by the competetion. I thought their “Special Dark” Baking Cocoa was a total scam (unsweetened cocoa powder is unsweetened cocoa powder, right?) but it does actually bake things that taste chocolate-ier to me. I guess it’s not just added dark coloring. But if they CAN make good chocolate, why haven’t they been doing so all along? Cheap so-and-sos!
The 99% chocolate contains a negligible amount of sugar, so it is quite diabetic-friendly. The fat content is the main nutritional concern; as with all rich chocolates, enjoy in moderation. Here is the nutritional info for 100 grams, as supplied by Lindt and found on the web (not in US-standard format):
* Energy: 530 calories/2,210 kilojoules
* Protein: 13 grams
* Carbohydrates: 8 grams
* Fat: 50 grams
For comparison, the 85% bar has 8 grams of carbohydrate in 40g of chocolate, or 20 grams in 100g. The extra 12g are sugar. Still a relatively small amount of sugar, and thus a food that a diabetic can enjoy in moderate quantities. The US-standard nutrition data follows:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 4 Squares (40g)
Amount per Serving
Calories 210 Calories from Fat 160
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 18g 28%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Sodium 20mg 1%
Total Carbohydrate 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 5g
Protein 4g 8%
Calcium 4%
Iron 15%
Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 77.1% Carbs 15.2%
Protein 7.6%
I am not a chocolate connoisseur but I am pregnant and so I crave chocolate every day. This being my second child, I have refined my chocolate palate and found that the friendliest dark chocolate to both my mouth and my thighs is Ghirardelli’s 72% cocoa. It makes for an awesome smore’s in the microwave, recipe:
1 square of chocolate
1 waffer of graham cracker
1 large marshmallow
pile together and nuke for 10 seconds ONLY. (yes, it explodes otherwise)
I have tried this with the Lindt 85% and really wasn’t impressed. Chocolate is very much like wine and beer, you have to develop an appreciation for the richness of the product to appreciate the subleties in the origin of the fruit or grain it is derived from. I’ve never been big on anything made by Hershey’s, I have always preferred the Mars varieties and Cadbury’s is tops for milk chocolate. In the Lindt line however, I highly recommend the Pear and Dark Chocolate, pure decadence!
Enjoy!
i am a dark chocolate lover, so when I saw a bar of 70% coca and another of 85% coca I had to try them. The 70% coca was great it had a good balance of sweet and bitterness. The 85% coca bar was too bitter for me at first. I found that I had to eat half of the square at a time. I can’t imagine eating a bar of 99% coca, although I would love to try one just to see what it taste like. I would recommend the 70% coca bars, but not the 85%, that is only for people who truley love dark, dark chocolate.
Wow, people are really serious about chocolate…
I enjoy the Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips. I’ve never had anything as dark as the 99% bar (and after that post I really want to try one), but the Ghirardelli taste like a very good, basic dark chocolate to me. Not waxy at all, but melt nicely; a strong dark flavor with some acidity. Yummy.
The Dagoba Xocolatl bar is also good IMO.
Just so you know that if you eat chocolate that is over 78 or sum, then its very healthy, and enough healthy to eat for breakfast, or for just some kinda meal. I do also know a person that is working in a chocolate factory.
just some news, if you didn’t know this.
Also, NEVER eat white (chocolate) why, thats is like eating fat that is just frozen, to make it hard like a chocolate, by the way, white chocolate isn’t chocolate at all, its just called that, so people don’t know they are eating fat and coconut powder.
From a 14 year old!
I can find a ton of those chocolate bars in top foods and safeway and stuff. Stanford sucks!
My wife is nuts over dark chocolate, interesting that the darkest of dark is available right here at the MoA. We may have to check that out.
99%? That’s close to the black-hole of chocolate, any more and your face would be sucked in backwards.
I’m fond of the 85% though, goes great with a decent cup of coffee.
First to debunk a few myths on this page:
Cocoa beans, when ground, become cocoa butter, cacao (used to make traditional chocolate), and cocoa liquour. Liquour in the sense that shellfish give off liqueur, not something you would want to drink. Cacao is ground into nibs, small chunks of cacao solids, then into cacao powder. This is essentially the unsweetened cocoa powder you would find in your pantry. White chocolate is named such because the main ingredient is cocoa butter. There is, however, no coconut in white chocolate.
Now for the main event:
Chocolate is not just another word for cacao. Chocolate, in the traditional sense is a combination of cacao powder, milk, and sugar, The concentration of cacao in the mixture is where the percentage on the front of your package comes from. Most mass produced chocolate has additives to make it remain solid at room or body temperature. This is why a Lindt or Ghirardelli bar will melt when you touch in and a Hershey’s bar will not. Chocolate chips, made by anyone, have added wax so you can bake them and they will retain their shape. Chocolate can be called chocolate if it has as little as 5% or 10% cacao in it, and it is still, in fact, chocolate. Something with a lower percentage is not a lesser chocolate, it is essentially less bitter, sweeter, and more milky.
Armed with this knowledge, go experience the world of chocolate! There are fine dark chocolates that can be found in any grocery store, like Ghirardelli or Lindt (I can find these in my small town NC grocery store, so I promise you can too). A better but still available dark chocolate is “Scharffen Berger,” which is surprisingle made here in the USA. But if you want to truly taste fine chocolate and can travel, I would recommend “La Maison du Chocolate,” “Chocolate Bar,” or “Jacques Torres Chocolate.” The first can be found in NYC or Paris, the second and third in NYC. The third, as the name suggests, is run by Jacques Torres, one of the world’s finest chocolatiers. All of the three above have some of the most decadent dark chocolate I have ever tasted (and trust me, I have tasted a few), as well as surprising and innovative chocolate flavors.
And since everyone is giving their own opinion, my ideal is a 80% bar if it is mass produced (still hard to find, I usually go with Lindt’s 70% because it is most affordable and available for me), but I love the super dark chocolate (weighing in at 90%) I had at La Maison du Chocolate. They also have some of the best drinking chocolate out there.
Enjoy Chocolate!
andp602, I recently read while looking for stuff for my dad to eat (he’s diabetic) that dark chocolate is sometimes good…. I’d ask your doc but food for thought (ha)
Thanks for a great article.
I haven’t tried the 99% Lindt bar yet, I’ll definitely look out for it. I have tried the 85% Green & Blacks Dark Chocolate, which I really like. I worked my way up gradually over a few years.
When you get to these levels of cocoa, you can’t eat them as you might ordinary confectionary. With fine chocolate, you can only eat a square or two, let it melt on your tongue and let the aromas go up your nose. I find this kind of chocolate very satisfying.
I started having a square or two every night, after dinner mainly to help insomnia. I learnt chocolate helps produce serotonin in the brain, which you need to make tryptophan, which is necessary to make melatonin, which you need to sleep. I always have bars of Green & Blacks in the house. After a while, it started getting boring, having to have chocolate every day, but when I don’t, I miss it. It’s a nice routine – a little bit of chocolate and a cup of rooibos tea with evening TV. : )
YUM! YUM! Chocolate is the BEST! I have always loved dark chocolate and this article helped me to realise that I am afterall doing the right thing by eating plenty of the gorgeous substance!
Dagoba also does one (percent) better. Their “Prima Materia” bar is 100% cacao. It’s also practically inedible.
Just thought I’d mention that in the bargain books section of most Borders is a softback cookbook called Chocolate (published by Hermes House), and the first ninety pages are an illustrated history of chocolate. It also gives a few quick hints for the unknowledgable so that we can pick out good chocolate from bad without knowing the manufacturer, such as vanilla over vanillin, if the product has it.
Personally, I find I can’t beat the occasional Royal Cherry Chocolate from Harry & David, but that’s because I loves me the fruit. Of course, I’m a chocolate heathen and will try just about anything once, even if it’s cheap and horrible.
I agree!!!
The “top premium quality” is Venchi, from Italy!
You can purchase directly from the web http://www.venchishop.com
Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has a nice online selection of chocolate – some fairly exotic. There is also an informative article on their website called “Turning Beans into Bars – How Chocolate is Made”. You can find it here: http://www.zingermans.com/Article.pasp?ArticleID=article9. Enjoy!
Hmm… Zingerman’s link didn’t work… Try this instead – article starts on the right side of the page… http://www.zingermans.com/Category.pasp?Category=sweet_stuff
They sell this stuff in Japan. While I was studying abroad there, someone bought a bar, and we proceeded to offer hunks to other exchange students and watch them run to the vending machine to buy a coke to wash it down, flipping us off while we laughed…we didn’t read the foil.
“an act reported with a crisp snap” – Love the prose. Your well-documented tasting was an inspiration. I am traveling to Minneapolis next month and was planning to visit the MOA to receive my own cautionary sales pitch on the road to chocolate nirvana. However, a repeat reading of your careful devotion and some insider comments drove me to the local World Market for a shameless quickie. I was able to maintain my composure for the ride home, but once in the door, I ripped back the golden rules of consumption and placed the dark and luscious objet du desir on my tongue. Commence cocoitus. There were peak notes, there were voluminous valleys, moans, sighs and ultimately bliss. 3 more times with Lady La Lindt and a nap was in order.
You can get 100% chocolate from http://www.domori.com. However even the 99% is too strong for me. 70% to 95% is perfect
Belgium, Swiss and France are the chocolate heaven, truely elite indeed.
Do you like Cote D’Or (very famous) and Leonidas brands ?
i too enjoy the bars on a regular basis. it is truly a different chocolate experience.
I got the 99% Lindt the last time I was in Europe. My palate wasn’t ready for so much flavor. I preferred the 85%. Belgian chocolate is still my favorite.
Greets from Mexico.
I must admit I pity you poor Americans !
I live in Belgium, where the chocolate is just a hundred times better here than the fake brown yukk they sell in your part of the world as ‘chocolate’.
Just today, I bought some regular “noir de noir” from Cote d’Or (www.cotedor.be), which I frequently use in desserts and other “amuse-bouches”. Mmmmm. The website of the good people at Cote d’Or is full of recipes too, but only in Dutch or French which are, together with German, the official languages in Belgium.
Last month, a friend from Congo gave me a bag of pure untreated cocoa beans ’straight from the tree’. Not knowing what to do with it and being too much of a prat to ask him, I tried nibbling some of those. “Chocolate” certainly did not spring to mind, but a couldn’t stop myself from munching away ! Luckily, I met him again today and he explained it should be peeled, carefully roasted, cooled, dried and ground in an old coffee mill to reach its full potential.
Curious what this will result in…
By the way, all you chocolate afficionados should really try this: a furthermore unknown punter called James Runcie wrote a book (fictional, but hey…) called ‘The discovery of chocolate”; I liked it a lot…
I’ll get back to you when I’ve finished roasting my beans, so to speak…
I volunteer for the Vancouver Chocolate Festival, it’s amazing how much better versed in chocolate the European countries are. I’ve had the 99% chocolate and I must tell you, it’s simply lovely. How chocolate was supposed to be, none of this white chocolate crap. White chocolate is what you remove from chocolate in order to make it darker. Then they sell you the white chocolate.
Anyhow, you’ll have noticed that you don’t have cravings for the dark chocolate, you simply enjoy it. That’s another thing about fine chocolate, it’s not ‘addicting’ so to speak. You can enjoy it slowly, then put it away for a while. It’s also good for your heart, like (or with) a glass of wine after dinner.
Chocolate is hard to digest.. easier in the cold climate, the beans of chocolate are so bitter you could not eat it at all.. without spitting it right out of your mouth.. pure chocolate is not possible.. I am from Brasil and I know the Coco fruit.. watch your skin when you eat too much of it..
I’ve eaten 75% cacao before and loved it. It’s definitely something to be savored. Thank you for the ‘taste experience’ of 99%. I will have to find some soon. Sounds divine.
Wow, way to over analyze something to death.
I work in one of the Atlanta GA Lindt Chocolate Retail Stores and by far, the 99% Bar is my favorite Lindt Product to sample to customers, simply because of the many facial expressions that I see from people who aren’t used to such intense dark chocolate. Unfortunately, many Americans are so used to American-style chocolates and don’t appreciate the real authentic chocolates such as Lindt and other international-based chocolates.
I think Stainer Chocolate has so nice concept of making chocolate, I visit the website: http://www.stainerchocolate.com and finally they are selling in US. Guys you should try this chocolate…
All of you people seem slightly obsessed with chocolate…I like the odd Mars Bar, or Crunchie, and I also like any type of chocolate that I recognise as chocolate. In england we have a shop near us (20 minute drive) called Hotel Chocolat. It’s a nice shop, but I like any type of chocolate, as long as it’s not too dark. My favourite is white chocolate
I am after a bar of the 99%
85% is easy to get hold of here in the Uk and I love it.
Any one able to give we a website that ships to the UK?
you should hit sweetriot.com -they make wonderful dark chocolate covered cacao nibs. The 70% with a hint of espresso flavor is my favorite!
Dude, I found that exact same chocolate when I went to Italy last year. Unlike you, I found this chocolate bitter to the very end and could hardly bare it. I was with friends on a class trip and we competed to see who could down more than the other. I’d take a Hershey’s over that stuff any day.
Oh, also I found that warning label very funny. The packaging on the one I got was the same as the one you took a picture of. It’s funny that they tell you you shouldn’t start off at 99% and they recommend dipping it in coffee.. if I recall. Nonetheless it was an experience in itself.
You saying you liked that thing or what?
I have just sat down and tried some – admittedly, today, i did NOT have any of the 70% or 85% with me.
so i had just one small piece of the 99%.
let it melt on my tongue and… It was like melting rubber. the taste was awful – i’ve eaten dark chocolate (the 85% from lindt for example) for years and found it very enjoyable..this, I completely agree, was nothing like chocolate.
i did not expect it to taste however, like i had just licked a bicycle brake block.
i guess i don’t appreciate the finer things in life – 85% seems to be my limit
Unfortunately for me on Saturday without realization eat about 20 oz of Dove’s dark chocalate. I awoke about 3AM sick as a dog to my stomach.
Developed muscle cramps due to dehydration since I worked out several hours saturday. Felt miserable the next day !!
Anything you could do, I drank plenty of water but still cramped up all day .
Tanks for this article. After reading this, I went online to find out the nearest Lindt store and it was just 15 miles away from home. So we went and purchased 75%, 85% and 99%. While the 75% and 85% had some sugars, the 99% was listed as Sugars – 0
Since I always research in a different way, I went ahead and started tasting the 99% first and didn’t heed the advice printed
on the label. To my surprise, I was able to enjoy 99% more when I
tried first 99%, then 85% and 75%. When I started to taste the
85%, I can clearly feel the sugar element in the chocolate very
distinctly. (Sometime back when I tasted 85% alone, I felt it to
be totally devoid of sugar and very bitter…)
I wasn’t able to finish more than two small pieces of 99%
completely. When I tried the third piece, the time it took to
melt was faster than the first and the second pieces (I dont why
this happened) but it dissolved to a complete liquid a lot slower
than the first and the second piece.
Thanks once again for helping me learn the new art of tasting
pure dark chocolate.
I like really good dark chocolate, so I thought I would like the 99% bar, but after a while, I realised I was only telling myself I liked it, out of some kind of elitist pride that *I* wasn’t like all those dull proles who like Hershey or Cadburys, *I* was capable of appreciating *real* chocolate.
the 99% bar just isn’t very nice – that’s why they have to give you instructions on how to eat it without gagging, and printed text explaining why *not enjoying it* is the new enjoyment. Meh. 70% is nice, 99% just isn’t, unless you use it as an ingredient.
I’m no connoseur I’ll pretty much eat any kind of chocolate. I tried the 85% and it was definitely quite good, but like I said I’m not picky. Chocolate is chocolate no difference to me. What I like to eat with chocolate is a good grape juice.
Your post prompted me to head out to our local Lindt store to give 99% a try. In my case, acclimating my taste buds at 85% didn’t help. I can’t eat more than half a baby square at a sitting. Reminded me of eating coffee grounds. Maybe with time, I’ll grow to love it. In the meantime, I’m loving the Lindt 80% Peruvian Extra Dark. It’s got a smoother taste than both the 85% and the Ecuadorian 70%. Maybe it’s the honeybush tea. And it’s got more fiber per serving than both of those bars too. Check out the Peruvian’s nutrition label at http://veggiepalooza.blogspot.com/2008/02/special-occasion-veggie.html
my god folks get a life
I haven’t found the high test chocolate, so I won’t comment. My problem is that the bar I like is the Lindt Mint Excellence and I can’t find it in my local CVS, my only source around here. I hope that Lindt is not discontinuing the mint bar. Does anyone know? Someone said that Target has Lindt but do they have mint? By the way, my favorite way to enjoy Lindt mint is to let it dissolve on my tongue with a sip of hot coffee.
Hi Lynn, as I mentioned earlier on this board, I work at one of the Atlanta area Lindt Chocolate Stores, and there is no plan to discontinue the Intense Mint Bar, and in fact, we now sell the Intense Mint Mini-Bar as of a few months ago. As far as Target, both of my local Target Stores carry our Mint Bar on a regular basis. I am also happy that you enjoy the Intense Mint Bar with your coffee. I compare the taste of the Mint Bar to the Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies when I describe this bar to customers who have never tried the Mint Bar.
Great post! ..very informative about chocolate.
¬¬¬I was picking up the 85% bar when I saw the 99% bar for the first time. Feeling adventurous, I decided to try it. Sitting in my car driving I broke off a piece and let it melt on my tongue.
I’ve never tasted anything so pure. It captured me for the moment… the texture, taste and sensation… it was heavenly. For a moment I lost my focus and nearly hit the car in front of me.
That’s the closest I’ve ever come to a food-induced orgasm.
Since then, I’ve found that anything below 70% is too sweet.
As I write this I’m enjoying a 99% piece in my mouth….
@ Benjamin on September 10th, 2007 at 3:25 am –
The Migros Selection one is made from Domori Italy in this compostion espacially for Migros Sélection Trademark….
I think i try it once with a unsweeted green tea….
It’s really astounding, the effect the 99% chocolate has…I ate a piece, and then followed it with a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kiss…even the tiniest nibble felt like a huge mouthful of sweetened condensed milk…bleh!
Goodness, that’s a lot of chocolate angst.
Just wanted to point out that Green and Black’s is owned by Cadbury Schweppes.
Stacy – “Just wanted to point out that Green and Black’s is owned by Cadbury Schweppes.”
No, they aren’t: http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/ourbeginning.php
Oh wait, now they are yes. Apologies!
http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/ourcompany.php
I have never tasted a chocolate bar that has 99% chocolate in it. Is there a big difference?
I have not been able to get my hands on the Domori Pasta di Cacao Chocolate bar, but I eat the 70% and 85% Lindt bars all the time. I may have to send via the internet for the 99% bar, but I am definitely going to find them somewhere. The bar I ADORE is made by BiJa. Its 70% Dark Chocolate covered Omega 3 Truffles. Its too die for. It has the soft, smooth truffle center & it literally melts in your mouth. It has to be stored in the fridge or it goes rancid. The 2.3 oz bar is $4.00 in the US, but worth every penny. Anyone know where to get the Domori in the US?
All of this chocolate is just candy if you want true delight you need to try raw dark chocolate. You will never be able to eat another chocolate after you try true raw chocolate in bar form. I have only found it 2 places one was 15 times the price of the other so I never bought it. The other is from the healing chocolate revolution and that one is to die for. I love the way it makes me feel but unlike other chocolate it satisfies me very easily. They also use only Fair trade sources where the companies listed above do not. I am not saying no one else does just no one here. I had a friend who was a chocolataholic her whole life since she was 5 or so. It was the last thing she put in her mouth when she laid down at night and the first thing she put in her month when she opened her eyes. It was really weird she acted just like it was a drug. I sent her a case of this and she quickly ordered more and was eating it like crazy for about a month and now she is stable she eats it 3-4 times a day for the health benifits about and that is it. She has finally started losing weight and now that she can eat as much chocolate as she wants she does not have the desire to eat it as much as before it was like the other stuff did not quench her chocolate thrust. My family and I eat it everyday and we no longer buy junk food or sweets because no one wants them. It is too funny. What is your weightloss and health secret? Chocolate LOL
Omgah. Now I MUST get myself a bar! What a mouthwatering review!!!
rtyrurt6ifyuii
My wife just got into Marketing Healthy Chocolate. Check out her site and we can send you some if you are interested. http://www.healthychocolateisyummy.com
Chocolate Bariloche Mamuschka. Chocolate artesanal de la patagonia argentina. Chocolatería donde se puede comprar chocolate en rama, bombones rellenos, turrones, tabletas de chocolate, chocolate caliente y mazapan.
http://www.mamuschka.com
Hi keacher,
Very interesting account. What must be remembered is that in order for a chocolate bar to take a form, it must have a lipid (fat) component. In most high-class chocolate bars, this is acheived through the addition of cocoa butter. Lower quality ‘chocolates’ are made mostly with vegetable oils. If you think about it, a 99% cocoa bar (if it was 99% cocoa solids as one would expect – the solids give it the characteristic sensual bitter taste) would be almost impossible to form into a bar – it would powder and break apart. How do companies get around it, you ask? Well, make the bar with 80% solids, and make up the remaining 19% with cocoa butter – under FDA law, this is still considered “cocoa” or “chocolate”. Then you can sell a 99% bar at 110% inflated prices by weight — pretty smart if you ask me.
-blair
Nice piece. I’m a Lindt lover since teenage (1970s) and delight in picking up these bars at West Coast Grocery Outlet stores for 99 cents (3 oz bars). When they show up–from 56 to 85%–I buy them by the case. Twelve bucks, twelve bars–and when people look at me funny I note that three cases, $36, is still less than a carton of cigarettes. (Though I think cancer sticks are closer to five bucks a pack these days.)
I would like to note to Women Of A Certain Age and their partners that I have recently had the exquisite experience of informing my physician that my unusually rapid hematic bounce-back from a nearly fatal anemia and uterine hemorrhaging last year was due to extra dark Swiss chocolate. The idiot nurses with my HMO still recommend RAISINS for iron, which is no more than hype from the raisin growers. So it’s lots of fun to show them nutrition facts about extra dark chocolate and iron. Though I also got a lot of iron from red lentils. I have been telling friends on chemotherapy that I have reason to believe that it was the enthusiastic consumption of dark chocolate–56% and greater, 1.5 to 3 oz. per day–that enabled me to cope with four months of dreadful chemotherapy. I didn’t lose weight, I actually gained 14 pounds, and I don’t care. The damn stuff is a miracle food in my view.
I agree with your assessment of the 99% bar–decoupling the sacred bean from sugar is something all chocolate lovers should experience. But I’d like to speak up for the mixing of many things with chocolate. The Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano describes somewhere in the first or second volume of his “Memory of Fire” trilogy how rich Spanish colonists in Latin America would attend mass with their house-slaves toting chocolate-making apparatus. Masses were long, and the womenfolk needed sustenance to get through them (it was also one of the few, if not only, times these completely imprisoned women got out of the house). At some point the bishop of someplace or other issued a proclamation decrying the preparation of cocoa in church. That was due to the fact that in the middle of the elevation of the Host, or whatever, the womenfolk would be back in the corners of the church, saying “Try more orange peel!” or “That’s not enough chili!” Or passing around new combinations with exclamations of thrill.
Botanical anthropologists of my acquaintance tell me that cacao was a foodstuff that was combined with many other foods in many combinations, and the ritual consumption of it was never by itself. Though I always figured it was the only thing on earth that could make some of the more pungent hallucinogenic mushrooms palatable enough to choke down.
In closing I would like to comment on your dissing of the Hershey’s Special Dark bar. Apart from the de gustibus aspect, one problem is that people eat HSD too cold. Try slipping it into your own or your lover’s pocket or waistband for half an hour, and then taste it at a skin-warm temperature. The “waxy” quality leaves entirely. At warmer temperatures it can be quite voluptuous. I find it more sweet than Lindt…which is fine when I want a sugar buzz, and when I want the sheer cacao rush, I go with Lindt.
I agree with the commentor who noted that a lot of people criticize HSD out of snobbery. I am a chocolate geek (not a snob, there’s a difference), and I’m always surprised by how good HSD is. Though I prefer American cocoa, for the extra flavonoids (which I understand the Dutching/alkalization process removes). I buy Hershey’s American style cocoa in the five-pound sack at the local restaurant supply store, and we go through it at an incredible clip.
Mole
No, I REALLY like chocolate, more, MORE than you all!
You’re all douchebags, trust me.
The whole concept that you have a more defined pallet because you can choke down a bar of cacao with very little of the ingredients that make it palatable… in fact the whole idea that you were getting something special in 99% cacao is akin to Drinking grain alcohol because it tastes better…
DUMB!!! THERE’S A REASON NOBODY SELLS 99% CACAO!!!!!
No one has said a word above Dove chocolate. I have tried many, many different kinds of chocolate from the worst to the best and from milk chocolate to 99% and I find that Dove Dark Chocolate is hard to beat. Just enough bitter and just enough sweet. Yummy!
Bear in mind there is a difference in quality between Lindt chocolate made in Switzerland, France and Germany. The ingredients will vary. The milk is different in each country, so the quality of chocolate is different (look at it this way, the grass is different, the soil content, the cows in France eat different quality, texture of grass compared to Alpine Swiss cows, this all affects the milk)
Swiss chocolate MADE in Switzerland is far more superior than it’s externally made Lindt chocolates. Go to the Lindt factory near Kilchberg and you will see…
the best chocolate i have ever tasted was from new zealand! it was a whitekers milkchocolate, it was AMASING better than some of the swiss chocolate i have tasted in my days
FOUND IT: http://www.giftswish.com/475872.html
I ordered a couple of 99% bars from the giftswish website – they were excellent! I disagree that it tastes very bitter; in fact, I liked it better than any dark chocolate that contains alot of sugar. But that may be because I’m used to eating pure cocoa powder from when I make my own hot chocolate at home. So the taste isn’t new to me.
I found that the Swiss manufacturer teuscher offers a great 99% bar: smooth, robust, deep.
Found it: http://www.teuscherboston.com
http://www.lindt.com/au/swf/eng/company/corporate-social-responsibility/sustainably-sourced/better-lives-for-farmers-and-communities/
@erin: agreed I’m particularly fond of Ghirardelli 100% with a nice port or some fruit, it’s quite bitter and delicious at the same time.
cool
I have recently tasted for the first time both the 85% and the 99% chocolate from Lindt. I’m trying to change because I’m really sweet-toothed and I’ve always loved fine milk chocolate, especially with a hint of hazelnut taste, and the sweeter, the better, so I’ve always gone for the unhealthiest option of all!! So I want to switch to dark chocolate. I loved the 85% bad, but it’s no surprise, since it’s sweetened… So I have to eat it with or inside something else, so as to not get too excited with it and eat the whole bar. I’ve tried this in a yoghurt and it’s delicious!
The 99% is a bit too bitter for my taste, I’m not really used to that much bitterness, but I still love the intense cocoa flavour. The other day I ate this chocolate with bread, and it still was really bitter, but right now I’m eating a yoghurt with almonds and two ounces of this chocolate and it’s so yummy!! =) I was doing it the other way round, but now I found the perfect combination!! From now on, I’m eating my 85% chocolate with bread, and my 99% chocolate with yoghurt.
I know that many of you might find this to be some kind of aberration, to adultelrate the taste of these pure chocolates mixing them bread and yoghurt, but I really have this serious problem with chocolate and I can not have just a little ounce and stop there. I have to make off with the whole bar!! Well, actually, I don’t have tha problem with the 99%, because I said it’s way too bitter for me to taste it alone, but we’re still talking about chocolate, which has so many calories, and it should always be consumed with moderation. But I’ve found that if I eat chocolate this way, at least dark chocolate, I can enjoy it and I’m in control of myself =) Bye bye, fat-loaded milk chocolate!! ^^
I am quite satisfied with Ghiradelli’s Midnight Reverie, 86% cacao, I am currently looking into large purchases for making a soy product and that is all I will reveal at this time. I think I would triple the cacao, use agave nectar, and stay as close to nature as possible. An excellent antioxident.