Ghirardelli Mint Chocolate Cookie

AAK!

Mint cookie goodness

OK, maybe it's not the most gourmet chocolate in the world, but DAMN! Ghiradelli, did you create some kind of chocolate crack here? I dare anyone to eat just one bite. No, it's not possible. You stand a better chance of eating one potato chip when craving something salty.

Maybe it's a tad too sweet, but just follow it with a dark chocolate chaser. Jeez, though, the texture is fucking amazing, the perfect balance of light crunch and smmmmooootttthhh melty chocolate. Yeah, it's good stuff. Eat some.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel and Black Sea Salt Review

I'm very lucky that my friends know how much I love chocolate, because I often get suggestions about what chocolate I should try. It's even better when a sample lands in my hands. Oh la la! This was the case recently when a friend of mine started talking about one of her favorite chocolate bars. As she described the bar, my mouth immediately started watering. She talked about sticky caramel and black sea sea salt enrobed in dark chocolate, which sounded fantastic. When she mentioned it is from Trader Joe's and is very affordable, I was suddenly skeptical, not expecting a store brand could offer anything very memorable. 

A few days later, a Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Caramel with Black Sea Salt bar was waiting for me at work with a note attached saying that I should try it and review the chocolate on this blog. I'm so touched that my friend thought of me and went one step further by buying me a bar! In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.

Dark chocolate bar with caramel and black sea salt

Let me start by saying it was a smart move to pair dark chocolate with caramel. Caramel is sugary; there's no way around that. Though it can be done, it's tricky to combine milk chocolate and caramel in a way that doesn't result in a cloyingly sweet treat. Using dark chocolate cuts the sweetness of the caramel. Voila! Problem solved.

There's much to like about the Trader Joe's bar. More than anything, it's interesting. Even just the black sea salt added makes this bar more intriguing than any standard store-bought chocolate. The salt not only adds a nice crunchiness, it adds a burst of saltiness that compliments both the caramel and the chocolate. Plus, the salt crystals look really cool sprinkled on the bar. I mean, you can really see the flakes of salt! Actually, that's the regular sea salt that shows up, but there is black sea salt added too. 

I didn't expect this chocolate bar to be so thin. "Where is the caramel going to go?" was my first thought. But rest assured that the caramel is in there. Between ultra thin layers of chocolate sits a lovely dark or "burnt" caramel -- caramel that's not actually burnt but is darker in color and stronger in flavor than other types of caramel -- that has hints of coffee, toffee, caramel and cocoa. 

The bar breaks easily and not always where it's scored.

Once a piece of chocolate is snapped off, the caramel can't help but ooze out. The sticky, gooey filling doesn't really drip like a true liquid caramel, but it does run, especially if it's left out at room temperature or above. It's the prefect contrast to the hard, dark chocolate, but some might find it too gooey. It lacks a chewy texture, but that's OK if you are expecting a more fluid filling. Just be sure to break the squares over a plate or napkin, because things could get a little messy. 

Sticky caramel oozes out quite readily.

The best way to eat this bar is to break off one of the large squares and stick it in your mouth. The chocolate quickly caves in on itself once it surrenders to pressure from your teeth, yielding the soft caramel sandwiched between. There are some wonderful textures and flavors that mingle in your mouth as you chew and savor the chocolate.

Dark chocolate bars.

The chocolate itself is a good quality Belgian chocolate. That sort of goes without saying, as there have been regulations in place since 1884 that prevent Belgian chocolate from being corrupted by any low-quality fat. As a result, Belgian chocolate is generally high-quality and always at least 35 percent pure cocoa. This bar is a 70 percent dark chocolate and has a nice even flavor, no real undertones or subtle notes, just a pure, straightforward cocoa taste that's typical of Belgian chocolate. The texture is ultra smooth and not at all chalky. Apparently, Trader Joe's has a whole line of dark chocolate bars.

Trader Joe's

Some people have said that Trader Joe's is a horrible company and even compared it to Walmart. Others claim it's the best company in the world. To be honest, I found far more positive articles on the company than negative ones. In fact, this is the worst article I could find, and it made me think that everyone needs to be informed when shopping, not just at Trader Joe's. Whether or not Trader Joe's in responsible for putting small businesses out of business is up for debate, but it's important to know the source of the products you buy, whether you purchase chocolate, fish or cereal. It's not always obvious where and how large companies get their products, and that's part of the reason why I try to support small, local businesses as much as I can. I also attempt to learn about the companies from which I buy. Still, it can be hard to beat the low prices Trader Joe's offers, and they really do a lot of good for a food company. 

Amedei Chocolate Review

I have been sampling some outstanding chocolates lately. When I ordered two bars of Amedei chocolate, I was a little bit impatient, because Amedei is often ranked among the best chocolate companies in the world. Despite the fact that the price can scare some people away, the chocolate is also among the most popular. I almost spent the extra money to have the package shipped next day, but since I already had a few bars on hand to review, I thought better of it. Well, I wasn't disappointed when the shipment arrived, and I got to taste these bars. In fact, I was pretty blown away. This is the kind of chocolate that makes your eyes roll back in your head and your toes curl. It's "OMG, makes me weak in the knees" kind of good. Holy cocoa bean!

I ordered the Gianduja bar and the Venezuela bar. For anyone who doesn't know, gianduja is a sweetened chocolate mixed with at least 30 percent hazelnut paste. The classic combination is one of my all time favorite flavors, but not all bars are made equally. This one is top quality. The texture is soft, smooth and creamy. It's definitely not chalky. My mom used to tell me stories about the chocolates she got when she lived in Europe just after the war, chocolates that still linger on her mind all these years later. I imagine this chocolate would remind her of those exceptional confections. The natural roasted hazelnut flavor is so perfectly balanced with the milk chocolate. The combination of the slight caramel and malt notes of the chocolate and the hazelnuts is wonderful. The sweetness in this bar is excellent, not too much like so many milk chocolates. You need a little sweetness with this type of bar, but many chocolate companies go overboard. This bar is so good that I could probably eat the entire thing in one sitting if I allowed myself. It's truly remarkable.

The dark chocolate I sampled was a single origin bar made with cocoa beans from Venezuela. This is my kind of chocolate. The bar has a great texture. There's a nice snap when you break off a piece, but the bar is not overly hard. It has a smoothness to it, and the chocolate gives a little when you sink your teeth into it. Though it's straightforward and not overly complex, it's far from boring. The cocoa flavor is profound, and it has a phenomenal pure chocolate taste with just a hint of spiciness. The immediate flavor is overwhelmingly chocolate. In time, you will eventually detect notes of coffee and, if you let it sit in your mouth long enough, some very subtle fruit flavors such as raisins or plums emerge. The sweetness is perfect, just enough to counter any possible bitter or sour flavors. This is a clean cocoa taste. It reminds me of sipping gourmet hot chocolate on a cold day.

Given how good the two bars I sampled were, I would imagine that the other bars are equally good. Now I'm extremely curious about their Porcelana bar, which is one of the most expensive bars on the market. I can dream about that one and hope to try it one day.

From the Amedei website:

AMEDEI: THE EXCELLENCE IN THE WORLD OF CHOCOLATE 

 This excellence has emerged due to Cecilia Tessieri's love of chocolate and dedication to her vision. It all began with an idea and a desire to find the world's best cocoa bean in order to produce the most exquisite chocolate possible. A deep passion for chocolate and devotion to work, together with a continual search for perfection, have all factored into making Amedei what it is today. In order to produce an exceptional chocolate it is necessary to closely follow the many stages involved in the manufacturing of chocolate. 

This is exactly what Cecilia Tessieri, founder of Amedei, courageously set out to do. Her determination to create an excellent product is what gave life to a successful, unique and innovative family business. Amedei is the only Italian chocolate boutique to have complete supervision over its production process from the cocoa bean to the finished product. Great attention to detail and desire for excellence has earned Amedei the Chocolate Academy of London's prestigious "Golden Bean" award in the "bean to bar" category for four consecutive years. Due to her hard work, dedication and long apprenticeships in France, Belgium and Germany, Cecilia Tessieri is the only woman in the world to claim the title of Chocolatier. 

 The factory is an enchanted and magical place where happiness lingers and hands are busy creating chocolate works of art. Amedei chocolate, in any one of its forms, has a way of triggering numerous pleasurable emotions, sending you to seventh heaven with visions of chocolate swirling in your head. We at Amedei take pride in our excellence and we're sure that we bring joy to the people who savor each and every magical bite.

The Good & Evil Bar Review

It arrived! The Good Evil bar landed on my doorstep early in the week, and the true chocoholic in me emerged. Like any typical junkie, I had to make excuses and skirt the issue when the Man confronted me after he discovered that there were only two squares of chocolate left for the review. Someone had to sample it beforehand, no? Hey, he's lucky he got a square. 

This chocolate will haunt you in a good way. It will linger on your mind long after your last bite. The Man and I took the time to sample it like any good chocolate should be sampled. First I smelled it. Then we listened to the perfect snap as I broke a piece of it in two. Of course, I made sure it was at room temperature before I popped it in my mouth, let it melt very slightly and then chewed it slowly. Mmmm

It's not what you might expect. This is actually a good thing. Part of what makes this chocolate so extraordinary is the fact that the cocoa beans come from a small grouping of trees in a remote area of Peru. Each season, only several thousand bars of chocolate are made using the beans that come from these trees. Usually, when I taste a chocolate bar, I pick up on familiar flavors that tap something in my brain that tell me I know this taste. It's like some chocolate center in my brain is stimulated. There was a delayed response with this chocolate. The subtlety of the chocolate fascinates and intrigues me. Perhaps the unfamiliarity of this cocoa bean is, in part, why the Good Evil Bar is so addicting, but it's allure is also because the chocolate is just really fucking good. Read anyone's description of this confection, and you will probably discover that an outstanding rating is unanimous. There's no doubt that the chocolate is top notch, better than most on the market, and, some will claim, the best that ever was. I won't go that far, but I rank it in the top five most memorable bars I have ever eaten.

The best way I can describe this bar is to equate it to that moment right before an orgasm. You know wonderful things are about to happen. You may not quite reach a climax, but it's a great place to be, anticipating, yearning, expecting and imagining what might come to pass. This is a chocolate that's on the verge of many things. It's on the verge of being bitter, but it's not. It's on the verge of being sweet, but it's not overly so. It's actually the perfect balance of bitter and sweet. Even though it's a 72% single-origin dark chocolate, I believe milk chocolate lovers will like the Good Evil bar, as it has qualities that are reminiscent of great milk chocolate, like Frigor.

The Good Evil bar is not at all typical of dark chocolate in that its flavor is subtle, very slightly fruity and spicy, but make note that the spicy bouquet doesn't interfere or compete with the chocolate taste. Something I found very sexy was that the smooth, smooth chocolate contrasts beautifully with the wonderfully lightly crunchy nibs that enhance the dark chocolate flavor as you eat the bar. Though the chocolate itself is not intense, those chocolate nibs give off a robust burst of earthy chocolate flavor. The dark chocolate notes then linger on the palate. That's partly what makes the Good Evil bar so addicting. Its flavors are complex and build without ever really coming to a climax. The desire is to keep eating more in order to explore and experience the full complexities of this chocolate. It's memorable without obnoxiously hammering your taste buds. The beauty of this bar is that it is truly distinctive, but it's also difficult to describe. It seems to change and evolve with each bite. The textures and flavors make you want to dive in with reckless abandon, but the price reminds you that it's supposed to be savored... in theory. It's definitely hard to resist. 

For me, sampling the Good Evil bar was like sipping a good liquor in front of a fire on a cold, rainy night. It brings comfort to the soul. So many people end their reviews with the comment that, with the expensive price, they probably wouldn't buy it again, but I can't claim the same. IF I found I had an extra $18 (pus shipping) lying around, I most definitely would splurge and buy it again.