I checked back in the entries for the past couple of months, but I haven't seen any mention of this. So maybe I am the first...

Anyway, when I went grocery shopping last night, I spotted this by the registers.

Dark chocolate dipped Altoids!

They have peppermint, cinnamon, and ginger. I bought the peppermint. Herewith follows real-time reaction...

*unwraps the plastic, and sniffs*

Don't get the immediate hit of peppermint through the tin, as I do with the regular peppermint Altoids.

*opens the tin, and sniffs*

Now I smell it. Pleasing mixed scent of peppermint and chocolate. The mints themselves look interesting--they're quite pitted, and make the regular Altoids look smooth in comparison. The chocolate color is very dark brown.

Now for the big test... *pops one in her mouth*

The chocolate definitely hits first, and it's not a hard coating. It's semi-soft, and melts away in a moment, leaving the standard Altoids mint behind. It's not very dark chocolate--I checked their website, and it's 50% cocoa--but it is definitely distinct from milk chocolate, and pairs well with the strong peppermint.

Overall reaction: While I do wish the chocolate would stick around a bit longer, I do like it, and will definitely make a habit of buying and consuming it. *grin*

I saw yesterday that Dove has a line of organic chocolate bars, so I picked up a bar of citrus spice dark chocolate.

Ew.

It actually burned when going down my throat. I think they meant to name it "Old Spice", because that's just about what it tastes and smells like. Has anyone else tried it?

Well, new to me, at least; I haven't seen it here before. They've called it NewTree so you know it's new. Presumably after a couple years the brandname gets changed to OldTree, or something.

I've spotted these recently here in the UK at Waitrose and at Whittards; so far I've only tried "RENEW", which is blackcurrant + dark chocolate + grape extract. Apparently it has antioxidant properties or something. I DON'T CARE JUST GIMME MORE.

They also do a dark chocolate + coffee version called "VIGOR" (What? I'm not saying anything about this one. Too easy.), and "FORGIVENESS" is lemon, dark chocolate, and apparently some sort of Cactus Extract. (As in, 'forgive me for feeding you chocolate with cactus in it', presumably.)

The other dark chocolate flavours are "SEXY" (ginger, can't argue with dark chocolate and ginger), "PLEASURE" (plain dark chocolate, no frills or cactus bits or anything), and "BLUSH" (ruining dark chocolate by putting cherries in it. Cherries are the Fruit of Satan.)

There's also "TRANQUILITY" (milk chocolate infused with lavender and morphine... I might be lying about the morphine), "REJOICE" (your basic chocolate orange), and "COCOON" (chocolate and cinnamon, presumably best eaten right before hibernation and the subsequent transformation from your larval to adult form. Or, you know, a piece might go well with a nice cup of coffee.)


Despite the slightly dorky names, this is pretty good stuff. The base for the dark chocolate flavours is 73% rather than the standard 70%, and the dark chocolates are vegan. Here's where

So I finally sampled the Italian and French chocolate my co-worker gave me. I have to say props to the writer of the article in Food&Wine for being spot on. The first I sampled was the Michel Cluizel Chocolat Grand Amer 85% from France. The flavor was especially sweet for 85%, but I found it a tad dry. The acidity was moderate. There was a slight aftertaste. I almost wanted a drink of water after that one.

Next, I tried the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 70%. It too was sweet, in my opinion, for 70% but not like that's a bad thing. I found it to have slight vanilla overtones and berry that gave it a little bite. It finishes clean and melts in your mouth like no other 70% I've had.

Last, I had the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 66%. This is extremely smooth with a low acidity. It almost has a milky finish and leaves no hint of an aftertaste. It was a very decadent chocolate.

Out of all of them, I think I prefer the Amedei Bitter Chocolate Extra 70%. I like my percentages somewhere around there and it had just the right acidity and vanilla. Excellent chocolate. My next quest is to someday try the Amedei Porcelana although the mere smell of it may put me in chocolate shock. Happy Monday everyone, drink lots of coffee and eat some chocolate!

Tell me watching this doesn't make everyone want to rush out and eat dark chocolate:

Dark Chocolate!

Who would have known that some hot cocoa has three times the antioxidants than green tea?

Took my ex out for Gellatto last night. He had never had it so told me to get him my favorit combo.
So i got him the "Art of Chocolate" and "Orange". i'm telling you the fisrt time i had the "Art OF Chocolate" my knees went all wobbly. best frozen chocolate concotion i ever had.
Untill i tried the "Belgian Dark" last night. Made me so incredabbly happy!!!was smooth and rich and velevety. was sooooo much better than sex ( course i havn't had that in a few months now so maybe my mempry is flawed...but i don't think so). really it was that good. might go get more tonight;)

I tried their Dark Chocolate and Orange bar today. Fair Trade and Organic chocolate made in France, looks as if it would be vegan if not for the fact that it's made in the same factory as other products containing dairy, so there may be traces.

It really is very yummy (I have a bit over half the bar left; that won't last long). The orange is a natural extract rather than bits, and it tastes like orange oil smells. There's just a hint of bitterness but because this is really only a semi-dark chocolate (55% as opposed to my favourite Lindt 70%), it's still very smooth, and there's a good balance between the chocolate and the orange.

I'm glad I found this because I tried the Isis (a Belgium company, I mentioned their very good Pralinor before) dark chocolate orange, and was sadly disappointed. Not only did they not use the word 'mouthfeel' on this set of packaging, but the orange was provided in the form of bits that were chewy but not very orangy. :(

If Kaoka would now make a coffee chocolate bar, I would happily sell my soul for it. YUM.

The boyfriend dropped me off at the doctor's this morning (it turns out I have bronchitis... boo!) and in the meanwhile, went grocery shopping. (We were in dire need!)

He bought me my favorite 'expensive' cereal (Oh!s) and also, a bar of the Lindt Dark 70% cocoa!

Besides being way bummed that I can't eat it now, does anyone else get as excited about really dark chocolate? He says that he doesn't understand it, which is fine... because then it's all mine!

Because I didn't actually put heat to anything, but it was still nummy. I saw this on Ham on the Street, and it looked good, so I figured it would be a good dessert for the post-Beltane feasties. And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you ( Sexy Oranges )

OH MY GOD. I just thought I liked sex better....

;-)