Front Range Reviews

Thursday, December 26, 2013

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.

Amedei Cru Venezuela 70% Dark Chocolate Bar | Single Origin

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.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Eclat Chocolate

Oh la la!

As part of the best gift ever, I received a box of Eclat Peruvian Chocolates. I will go into the other half of the gift in another post down the road, but, for now, I want to focus on the truffles. There's a reason why these little gems are considered among the world's finest. They are so sweetly soft and smooth, oh SO smmmmoooth, and made with quite possibly the best chocolate in the world. They are divine in all ways: texture, flavor and quality.

Eclat Chocolate

From their website: Master Chocolatier Christopher Curtin pairs the finest ingredients from Peru and Australia with extensive Belgian culinary experience. Éclat’s award-winning truffle selection proves to be the most exquisite to sample and share.

In addition to the wonderful texture, these chocolates have a magnificent taste. The chocolate is pure, not too sweet but not really bitter either, and the outstanding flavor spreads evenly and freely in the mouth, coating each taste bud without being overpowering. These truffles are delicate and gourmet, but the flavor is still profound without being shocking. These are simply outstanding confections, truly outstanding. It seems a strange contradiction that something this sinful tasting can make a person feel like she's in heaven, but wow these goodies make me swoon. Incredible.

I wish I could share these with every reader, as it's nearly impossible to describe how delicious they are. It's really too bad you can't lick the image to get a taste! Trust me, though, these truffles are amazing.