Chapter Thirty-Five: Leonidas 70% Dark

The bar we are reviewing this week went missing! It was mailed to us from a dear friend of ours and did not arrive for weeks. As time passed we grew a little concerned. Did the postman steal this for his own enjoyment? Did someone commit a felony and break into our mailbox to deliver this bar to their beloved? Finally, it arrived (three weeks late) and we, as always, were more than glad to tuck in. Please pardon the appearance of this bar and packaging because it was dropped a few times and did sustain some damage; but that's not why we are here! It's the taste that we are after.

Leonidas is a Belgian chocolate company with a long history that began in 1913 with Leonidas Kestekides. In 1910, he competed in the Brussels World Exhibition, submitting his chocolate and winning the bronze medal for Greece. He continued to make chocolate and formally founded Leonidas in 1913 with his nephew.  Today, they have locations worldwide that still receive their stock from the original location in Brussels.  Leonidas' fine chocolates have a large celebrity following and also boast to have a "wicked" hot chocolate that we hope to one day get our hands on!  

Tasting No. :33
Leonidas 70% Dark

Initial Impressions:

In terms of color, the Leonidas bar is lighter than the base bar, almost chalky is some areas. We found the snap to be satisfying and without much struggle; it can best be described as firm yet pliable.  The aroma is rather spicy, evoking notes of cinnamon. The bite is extremely firm, more firm than the base bar.

Flavor Profile:

Initial – chili

Middle – vanilla, caramel
After – spicy, earthy

Texture:
We did not quite care for the texture of this bar. It is dry and crumbly. Even after we worked on it for a while, it was apparent that the chocolate stays dry.

Overall:
What was most noticeable to us when tasting this bar is that we found it difficult to draw the flavors out. It felt like we needed to suck on it for quite a while before the flavor emerged. A hot drink such as tea or coffee might be a good pairing for this chocolate to help bring out the flavor notes.

Rating: 5 /10

*Notes:

Available on the Leonidas website

Price range: 12 bars for $38

Next week we will be sampling another bar from Taza. Be still, my beating heart!

For now savor: “Chocolate is medicinal. I just did another study that confirms it.” ― Michelle M. Pillow

Remember, fairly traded chocolate is a responsible way to support farmers by ensuring that the chocolate that you consume has been bought for a fair price. By choosing to purchase fair trade chocolate, you can honor the cocoa tree growers and support their way of life which in turn leads to better chocolate.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Trader Joe's 72% Belgian Dark

This is yet another bar from our Trader Joe’s shopping spree; we promise we’re almost finished with the tastings!  Trader Joe’s 72% Cacao Belgian Dark Chocolate Bar is fair trade and organic, but not single origin.  It is made in Belgium.  The first thing that drew us to this bar was the fact that it only had three ingredients (all organic): cocoa mass, cane sugar, and cocoa butter.

Tasting No. :20 

Trader Joe’s 72% Cacao Belgian Dark Chocolate

Initial Impressions:

This bar has a much stronger scent than the base bar and reminds us of burnt coffee.  It is also much darker brown in color.  The snap is soft in comparison; the bite is even softer.

Flavor Profile:

Initial – Coffee, Smoke

Middle – Walnut

After – Cooked vegetation

Texture:

Smooth, velvety texture

Overall:

This bar was quite acidic and intense, while the base bar is much drier.  We like that it only has three ingredients and is far better than other Trader Joe's bars we have tried, however, we wouldn’t buy it for ourselves again.  We agree that it tastes like a quality bar but we don’t necessarily care for the flavors or high acidity.

Rating: 5/10

*Notes:

Purchased at Trader Joe’s

Price range under $3

Join us next week for our review on a Ghana single origin bar.

For now savor: "As with most fine things, chocolate has its season. There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to order chocolate dishes: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate." - Sandra Boynton

Remember, fairly traded chocolate is a responsible way to support farmers by ensuring that the chocolate that you consume has been bought for a fair price.  By choosing to purchase fair trade chocolate, you can honor the cocoa tree growers and support their way of life which in turn leads to better chocolate.

Chapter Twenty: Strawberry Bits

Even though we’ve tasted chocolate purchased from World Market, this is our first tasting from the World Market brand.  We should note that the Dark Chocolate Dried Strawberry Bits with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt bar’s cocoa content is not listed on the packaging but we wish that it were.  This is something that we always like to know.  The box also has almost no information regarding origins, which is disappointing.  It seems that the mystery of an “exotic bar” is the main selling point, leaving you with little information about the bar.

Tasting No. :18

World Market DarkChocolate Dried Strawberry Bits with Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Initial Impressions:

The first thing we noticed was the visible bits of freeze dried strawberry followed by the aroma of strawberries.  It smelled as sweet as the base bar, but did have a softer snap and lighter color in comparison.

Flavor Profile:

Initial – Pure strawberry

Middle – Salt, strawberry

After – Salt

Texture:

This bar had a rough texture, because of all of the added strawberry bits and sea salt.  However, the bite of it was softer than the base bar, even with the crunchy texture.

Overall:

This bar, like the TraderJoe’s Coconut Caramel and other World Market filled bars, left us disappointed on the chocolate front.  We found it to be very sweet, and would have liked larger fewer bits of strawberry in larger chunks instead sprinkled throughout so that you could differentiate between the strawberry and the chocolate.  With the ratio of chocolate to strawberry as it was, we found the flavors too overwhelming to enjoy the bar slowly. We enjoyed this bar with a very dark black tea to combat the sweetness.

Rating: 5/10

*Notes:

Purchased at World Market

Price range under $4

Next week, join us for another Trader Joe's bar.  This one is a Belgium chocolate bar. Yum!

For now savor: "What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate." – Katharine Hepburn