Darker than Black, Week 1: Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Chocolate
2016-Feb-13, Saturday 20:42![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorchadas
Welcome back, food-lovers! I've been planning this for a while, but I kept putting it off for one reason or another. This weekend I didn't have anything to do and schoolpsychnerd pointed out that since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, it's the perfect time to start talking about chocolate.
I wanted to do something to follow up on Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries, but something that required a bit less commitment, both from me in the writing department and, crucially, one that requiredschoolpsychnerd to put in a lot less effort. And then it hit me. I eat a lot of dark chocolate. A lot of dark chocolate. Pounds and pounds of the stuff. Why not take an opportunity to expand on my chocolate horizons, write a bit more about something that's not video games, tabletop RPGs, or daily life, and eat a lot of dark chocolate. Don't forget that part.
That and my other major dessert I eat a ton of is vanilla ice cream, which is much less suitable for an ongoing blog series.
I'm starting off with the chocolate I eat the most of. I have a bit of this for lunch every day and usually some for dinner as well. I used to eat the 72%, but then I moved up to the 85%, and then the 90%, and now I can tell how much other chocolate or dessert I've been eating by how the 90% tastes. If it tastes more bitter, I've been eating ice cream or cakes or something. If it tastes sweet, than my taste buds have adjusted. Usually in that case, anything else tastes a bit too sweet, and I have to ratchet my receptors down a bit to even try to eat it.
I've served this to several of my friends, and pretty much without exception they all hated it. Not the concept or anything, they just thought that it was far too bitter. That seems odd to me, because I don't think it's that bitter at all. Now the 99% cocoa they sell, there's a bitter chocolate. Tastes amazing if you use it to make chocolate milk, though!
To me, it tastes smooth and creamy. Kind of...deep, I suppose is the right word. Weighty, I suppose because I have to work a bit to eat it and it doesn't melt into nothingness on contact with my mouth. I actually eat so much of this that it informs how I think chocolate should taste, and nowadays most milk chocolate tastes chalky to me and a lot of dark chocolate is too sweet. Most dark chocolate doesn't have the effect this does, though, which is to make my mouth tingle if I eat enough of it at once. I assume that's from the bitterness--or rather, the chemicals that provide the bitterness--but it's a lot like the burning that comes with really spicy food. It's actually a plus for me here.
schoolpsychnerd's Opinion:schoolpsychnerd's chocolate by the extra sweetness!
I'll try to stick these up once a week, but that's subject to me finding interesting chocolate bars to write about. I have a backlog at the moment that'll keep me going for a couple months at least, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm happy to hear them!
schoolpsychnerd pointed out that since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, it's the perfect time to start talking about chocolate.I wanted to do something to follow up on Fifty Weeks, Fifty Curries, but something that required a bit less commitment, both from me in the writing department and, crucially, one that required
schoolpsychnerd to put in a lot less effort. And then it hit me. I eat a lot of dark chocolate. A lot of dark chocolate. Pounds and pounds of the stuff. Why not take an opportunity to expand on my chocolate horizons, write a bit more about something that's not video games, tabletop RPGs, or daily life, and eat a lot of dark chocolate. Don't forget that part.That and my other major dessert I eat a ton of is vanilla ice cream, which is much less suitable for an ongoing blog series.
"Deliciously intense."
I'm starting off with the chocolate I eat the most of. I have a bit of this for lunch every day and usually some for dinner as well. I used to eat the 72%, but then I moved up to the 85%, and then the 90%, and now I can tell how much other chocolate or dessert I've been eating by how the 90% tastes. If it tastes more bitter, I've been eating ice cream or cakes or something. If it tastes sweet, than my taste buds have adjusted. Usually in that case, anything else tastes a bit too sweet, and I have to ratchet my receptors down a bit to even try to eat it.
I've served this to several of my friends, and pretty much without exception they all hated it. Not the concept or anything, they just thought that it was far too bitter. That seems odd to me, because I don't think it's that bitter at all. Now the 99% cocoa they sell, there's a bitter chocolate. Tastes amazing if you use it to make chocolate milk, though!
To me, it tastes smooth and creamy. Kind of...deep, I suppose is the right word. Weighty, I suppose because I have to work a bit to eat it and it doesn't melt into nothingness on contact with my mouth. I actually eat so much of this that it informs how I think chocolate should taste, and nowadays most milk chocolate tastes chalky to me and a lot of dark chocolate is too sweet. Most dark chocolate doesn't have the effect this does, though, which is to make my mouth tingle if I eat enough of it at once. I assume that's from the bitterness--or rather, the chemicals that provide the bitterness--but it's a lot like the burning that comes with really spicy food. It's actually a plus for me here.
Note prominent branding.
schoolpsychnerd's Opinion:I'm used to eating this chocolate and have since gotten used to the taste and texture. I prefer 85% overall, I like a little more sweetness and smoothness to my chocolate. That being said, I enjoy 90%, it's usually a barometer of how much sugar I've had in the day. It's a relatively safe chocolate for me to eat on days when I'm struggling with food. Plus this 90% is easy to pick up! It's at our local Walgreens and usually on sale so double points there!I used to swap between 85% and 90% depending on what was on sale, but nowadays I just get 90% regardless. I can usually tell if I've accidentally grabbed
schoolpsychnerd's chocolate by the extra sweetness!I'll try to stick these up once a week, but that's subject to me finding interesting chocolate bars to write about. I have a backlog at the moment that'll keep me going for a couple months at least, but if anyone has any suggestions I'm happy to hear them!
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Date: 2016-Feb-15, Monday 04:55 (UTC)We got one of those once, but past a sample no-one ate it, because no-one had the idea of using it in chocolate milk or similar ^^
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Date: 2016-Feb-15, Monday 14:57 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-Feb-15, Monday 18:58 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-Feb-16, Tuesday 00:48 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-Feb-17, Wednesday 02:40 (UTC)Maybe I'll find something I like more as I write these posts, though...