In this entry I will be reviewing three different flavors by Chocolove, a brand I have come to, well, love!
As I perused the chocolate aisle tonight, I knew I was in the mood for dark. When I saw the Chocolove Strong Dark, 70% I thought it would be strong enough but not overwhelming and I was quite right in that guess. It was very smooth in texture and taste, and while it may be strong for the amateur chocolate-goer, for me it was not quite as dark as I'd hoped! Aside from that, it was a pleasant level of dark. It's probably good for anyone who wants to go a step up with their dark chocolate since had a very low level of that particular twang that super darks tend to have. A good solid dark, but not as dark as 70% may suggest. Quite worth the buy!
I felt indecisive about buying just a plain dark, so I opted to purchase this one as well. This is a good medium-strength dark chocolate with subtle cherry undertones alone (without a bite of cherries or almonds in it). The almonds don't provide much flavor as they do a pleasant, softly crunchy texture to the experience. And when you get a bite of the cherries, which are small, they too add something nice to the whole. They're a little chewy, a little sour (not unpleasant), and a very nice surprise. I was expecting this bar to have a stronger general cherry flavor but it's very subtle unless you get an actual one. I enjoyed this because it didn't wind up having that medicine-cherry flavor or that kind of aftertaste. A good bar, but don't expect it to be exploding with cherry flavor.
This kind is one I tried back in August but still see it as worthy of a review. Unlike it's Cherry sister bar, it IS sparkling with orange flavor in the just right kind of way. I liked the flavor crystals because they weren't overwhelming the bar in amount, but were in just enough to add pleasant crunch and flavor. I could be confusing the crunch of the crystals with the bits of orange peel, but it was a good flavor and good smooth chocolate.
Good smooth chocolate is one thing this brand seems to get right. I have yet to be disappointed with the texture or flavor of their chocolate, even if in the 70% it was slightly lacking in burst. It was still a good bar, and I'd buy it again. I'd buy any of them again for that matter.
Also worth mentioning are the details in this as a package. The outside and inside wrappers are designed quite beautifully (coming from a graphic designer, thank you!) in lovely colors and typogrpahy and I enjoy reading the "love poems" they have on the inside. I also like that the impression on each little rounded square of chocolate is of a heart. Very fitting, and cute!
These bars were $2.49 each at Earth Fare, plus tax.
Overall Rating: (considering what it is for its price) 4 out of 5 bars
(I decided not to do individual ratings because lets face it, unless the chocolate is SUPER cheap or shockingly gross... there's usually no way I could give it a low rating.)
