L'Amourette Chocolat

I've been having a blast selecting various chocolate bars to sample at the Boulder Book Store lately. They have an amazing selection of fine chocolates. I can't wait to try the chocolate bar I saw with the whole animal crackers on top! Those look fun.

This time, I settled on L'Amourette chocolate bars. The packages are artsy and colorful. It's hard to resist the bright pink, yellow or even the black packages with the elegantly printed labels. The heart embracing the name of the company on the package should resonate with many chocolate connoisseurs who know the undeniable connection between chocolate and love.

Holy WOW! These bars are good.

The chocolate itself tastes like a cup of very lightly sweetened gourmet hot chocolate in bar form. It's playfully bitter, more on the verge of being than actually being, and the subtlety of it makes a perfect vehicle for the outrageously fresh ingredients that flavor each bar. It's a brilliant strategy to use quality chocolate that's not overly complex to showcase the flavors of the added ingredients. I sampled two products, the dark chocolate fig bar and the dark chocolate with sour cherries and salted almond.

These are the kinds of confections that tempt you to continue eating and call to you when you let your mind wander. A nibble just isn't enough. I can often take a small bite of chocolate and be satisfied, but only a few chocolates make me want to devour the entire thing. I had a moment of panic when I was down to the last square of one of the chocolate bars I purchased. Remember the Good & Evil bar? That was one that's impossible to resist, and these are also on my "I can't resist" list. However, to me, these are more about the added ingredients than the chocolate, though the chocolate is good. Actually it's really the combination of ingredients that makes the bars so irresistible. And they are very affordable for what they are.

Dark chocolate and fig bar.

Most people who read my reviews know how fussy I am when it comes to nuts in chocolate. Rancid nuts added to any product make me cringe, and this mishap seems to happen a lot in the chocolate world. This was definitely not the case here. In addition, L'Amourette bars are a welcome counterpart to all those chocolates I complained were too sweet. The bars I sampled are 72% cacao.

My first bite of the fig bar made me swoon. I was blown away by the overall texture and the freshness of the figs. The fruity pieces enrobed in chocolate are soft, chewy and sweet, the perfect partner to the sturdy, dark chocolate. The pieces of fig are substantial too, which added to the allure. I just can't get enough.

Dark chocolate with cherries and almonds.

Let me tell you about the other flavor, another great find, but before I do, I have to say that L'Amourette produces some pretty outrageous bars like the dark chocolate with salami and bacon bar, the exotic berry bar and the candied pomelo chocolate bar. I want to sample them all.

Now to rave about the cherry and almond bar. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but it could stand to be a teeeeeennnnnny tiny bit sweeter, though it was very, very good as is. I think a touch of sweetness would enhance the cherries even more. Other than that, this item is outstanding in every way. Oh yes they did use whole salted almonds and moist dried cherries! Two thumbs up on that move there. This combination makes for an excellent party of textures with the hard crunch of the nuts, the firmness of the chocolate and the chewiness of the cherries. The cherries are very slightly sour, but with the lack of sweetness in the chocolate, the sugars in them are more pronounced.

There's just the right amount of salt on the almonds. Salt should enhance the food, not overwhelm it, and that's exactly what happens with this bar. It's so beautifully balanced.

I'm amazed at how good L'Amourette bars are. It's rare to find such quality ingredients like this without spending a fortune. Usually the nuts used in chocolates are chopped fine, so the company can get away with using fewer of them. Nuts are expensive these days. I like when a company puts it all out there in an honest way for all to see, and I am jumping for joy that, not only are there whole almonds and plenty of them in the bar I sampled, all the ingredients are FRESH, not a single rancid or stale nut to be found. I might have to lobby for a hazelnut praline bar from them. Hint, hint.

L'Amourette bars are vegan and the company is in the process of making sure their chocolates become certified organic and Kosher. They are also aiming to make their products certified fair trade. Check out the company and its products here: http://www.lamourettechocolat.com/