Cachet Peru

The Belgian chocolatier Kim's Chocolates has a line of Limited Selection chocolates, featuring cacao beans from a particular country (this one features beans from Peru); these are of varietal criollo and trinitario. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla (natural flavour). The cacao content is at 64%.

How does it taste? I have enjoyed chocolate made from beans from Peru before, these are similar in taste, and quite good. I preferred the Costa Rica one much more, but I would definitely buy and eat this again.

Cachet Costa Rica

The Belgian chocolatier Kim's Chocolates has a line of Limited Origin Selection chocolates, featuring cacao beans from a particular country (this one features beans from Costa Rica). The beans are also certified by the Rainforest Alliance, which ensures that production and farming methods are balanced against the needs of the local ecosystem and that these protect its soil, rivers and wildlife; cocoa workers also have access to proper housing, education, medical and safe working conditions. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla (natural flavour). The cacao content is at 71%.

How does it taste? I enjoyed this bar very much, the chocolate was very smooth and melted very well, and had almost a mousse-like texture and taste. I have not been able to locate this again (I bought it in a Chinese Supermarket) but would definitely buy and eat this again.

Cote D'Or Passionfruit

I’ve tried the Belgian chocolatier ’s Pistachio, and didn’t really care for, but I do like passionfruit, and this bar was on sale. Cote D’Or uses cacao beans from West Africa and South American to make its bars. The ingredient listing indicates that it just meets the requirements of a dark chocolate bar; sugar, unsweetened chocolate, palm and/or coconut oil, cocoa butter, modified milk ingredients, passionfruit juice concentrate, cocoa powder, banana puree, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavours.

How does it taste? I was surprised that it was not a filled chocolate, like a jam, rather it was more like a dense mousse (likely the passionfruit-flavoured banana), though pleasantly surprised, as I find those types of bars too sweet. The passionfruit flavour was there but fairly subtle, and ultimately, I didn’t care for this bar, as there was some crunchy bits that I couldn’t identify as coming from the ingredients. I would not buy this bar again.

Kwatta

I was recently working a couple of weeks in the Netherlands, it was very close to the Belgian border, and for my second week, I stayed in a Belgian hotel. Most of the hotels there have breakfast buffets, and I noticed this small package next to the jams and butter. Ah, something like Nutella. A happy face on its cover, it must be yummy.

Kwatta at one time, they've been around since 1883, was a Belgian-Dutch company; in 1972 it became a sole Belgian company; in 2010 it was sold to the American company Heinz. The name Kwatta comes from Suriname, the country where they first obtained their cacao, and means "one fourth" in the native language, which refers to that one-fourth of the chocolate spread is made out of real cacao.

How did it taste? Well, I enjoyed it every morning for breakfast, and on two slices of bread, and even "stole" some from the buffet to take home to Canada. There is definitely a sweetness to it, though the chocolate part of it looks darker than Nutella. I was disappointed that the hazelnut part of it was lacking somewhat, I find Nutella more hazelnut-y. I didn't have a chance to get to a store in Belgium, to see if I could purchase a jar of it, but I definitely would, and think it makes a nice change to Nutella.

Dolfin Noir au Gingembre Frais

The Belgian chocolatier Dolfin makes a number of different chocolate bars with fresh and perhaps unusual ingredients (I've seen one with Rose, there are others with lavender, orange blossoms, lemongrass and ylang-ylang); this one has fresh ginger in it. I bought this at a German delicatessen. The cacao content is at 52%. The ingredient listing looks good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, fresh ginger, natural vanilla and soya lecithin.

How does it taste? I can see that there are smallish ginger pieces there, and the ginger flavour is not as strong as the Green&Black's Ginger I so like (okay, perhaps I like very strong ginger flavour, but even my beautiful Bride did not get that it had ginger in it), it also suffers a little from an underlying chalky texture. The bar snaps well and smells a little ginger-y. Overall, I would say that this bar is okay, and not one I would buy again.

WaterBridge Belgian Extra Dark

I've seen these at Walmart for sale, and thought to buy this new version of their large Belgian chocolate bars (400 g). I have tried both their Dark and Hazelnut ones, both of which were not bad. This is the Extra Dark version, at 72% cacao content. The ingredient listing looks good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder and soy lecithin.

How did it taste? Pretty good, not too chalky, snaps well and smells a little fruity; it leaves a good aftertaste. The bar itself is quite large, and each individual piece is also thick and large (so beware, if you want to bite through two pieces). I think this is a pleasant bar that could be enjoyed now and again. So saying, I admit that it stayed in my cupboard a little longer than I would other pieces, mostly because it is very large, but then there are so many different chocolate bars to try!

Côte d'Or Expériences Pistache Noir 70%

The Belgian chocolatier Côte d'Or is the #1 chocolate brand in Belgium; I have seen several of their offerings in Shopper's Drug Mart, but never tried them. This one has pistachios, albeit caramelized small pieces, so I should like it. The beans are from West Africa and South America. The cacao content is at 70% content. The ingredient listing looks good, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, caramelized pistachio nuts (pistachio nuts, sugar, artificial and natural flavours), cocoa powder, artificial and natural flavours and soy lecithin.

How does it taste? The chocolate is good, dark and a little sweet (probably because of the sugared pistachio), but I don't get much of the pistachio flavour, and there is a much more predominant flavour that makes the bar not so enjoyable, like a burnt almond or some other artificial flavour that I did not care for, and ruined my enjoyment of the chocolate.

Guylian Belgian Chocolate Quatro

I find the name of these mini egg chocolates from the Belgian chocolatier Guylian very odd. Given that quatro is Latin for four, there are only three flavours of mini eggs (White Chocolate Rice Crisp; Milk Chocolate Orange; and Dark Chocolate Truffle). Perhaps it's meant to mean something else, or they just like the name. Or, maybe there is a missing fourth flavour!!

The cacao content of these mini eggs are as follows: white chocolate 27%; milk chocolate 34% and dark chocolate 53%. The ingredient listing is long, mostly sugar and vegetable fat, with cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, rice flour, wheat gluten, malt, natural flavouring, maltodextrin, concentrated lemon and orange juice, soya lecithin as an emulsifier, vanillin, salt and citric acid.

I liked the dark chocolate truffle the best, though I found the chocolate to taste a little plastic-y, like it was American. The milk chocolate orange was okay, though the orange was different than other chocolate-orange combinations I had tasted before, perhaps because of the lemon concentrate. The white chocolate rice crisp was my least favourite, the crisps were too crunchy, rather than crispy. I know Guylian from their good-tastng seashell chocolates you can find in most stores at Christmastime, I don't think that this is a good alternative to those.

New Tree Pleasure

The third of the chocolate bars from the Belgian chocolatier New Tree is made solely from Fine Belgian Dark Chocolate, at 73% cacao content, and is labelled Pleasure, and subtitled Indulgence. The ingredient listing looks good, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder and soy lecithin as an emulsifier. I don't know whether chocolate bars are normally like this, but the bar is advertised as being rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins. I didn't know that this is an issue yet with cacao, but it is also GMO-free, for those who are concerned about that.

How does it taste? Does it live up to its name, Pleasure, Indulgence. Certainly it is good chocolate, it snaps well, smells fruity (high cacao content normally does) and melts in the mouth well, with a good taste. I think that I like this bar, simple dark chocolate, but I would say that it is expensive ($7 on sale for $5).

New Tree Vigor

The second of the chocolate bars from the Belgian chocolatier New Tree is made mostly from Fine Belgian Dark Chocolate, at 73% cacao content, and is labelled Vigor, and subtitled Energizing. The ingredient listing looks good, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, coffee (2%), guarana extract and soy lecithin as an emulsifier. Guarana extract is used in South America as a source of caffeine in soft drinks, I would say to make this bar Energizing.

How does it taste? Does it live up to its name, Vigor, Energizing. The coffee taste was fairly subtle, and I don't think were was a big caffeine kick from. I don't think that I like this bar, it was not quite good chocolate or a good flavour, and I would say that it is expensive ($7 on sale for $5).

New Tree Renew Black Currant

I came across these Belgian chocolate bars from New Tree and shortly thereafter read about them on a blog. This particular bar is an attempt to combine the antioxidant properties of black currant and dark chocolate, it seems an odd combination at the outset. Quite a few chocolatiers are bringing out heart-healthy versions of their products, with increased antioxidant properties (more than 2 glasses of red wine for this bar), following the report that dark chocolate is good for the heart, though I have since heard that the report may be overstated, and it depends on the chocolate and the chocolatier, if the "good" ingredients are in there. The 73% cacao content is in line with a lot of chocolatiers, and the ingredient listing is good, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, black currant with other natural flavour (I wonder if one of them is vanilla), grape extract (also known for its antioxidant properties).

How does it taste? Not bad, though I don't know that black currant really works well for me, and my beautiful Bride thought it tasted more like blueberries. I liked the bar enough to want to try other of their bars.

Jacques Grand Cru Chocolat Noir

The Belgian chocolatier Jacques teamed itself with one of the premiere makers of chocolate for professionals, Callebaut to produce these Grand Cru (or highest quality) chocolate bars. This bar is their Dark Chocolate Bar, and features 72% cacao content, not of single origin, with no added vegetable fats (likely responding to the recent move in America to allow companies to replace cocoa butter with other fats and still call the product chocolate, of which practice I highly disapprove). The ingredient listing is good, just cocoa paste, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin and vanillin (though the last two should really be either omitted or replaced with something better).

How does it taste? Pretty good, dark and chocolatey, it melts in your mouth well, smells fruity and cocoa-y, snaps cleanly and sharply, and looks very smooth and dark, overall a very good bar. I would eat this bar again.

WaterBridge Belgian Dark or Hazelnut Chocolate

I found these large chocolate bars in WalMart, of all places, confectionary artisan chocolate from Belgium. They are made in the small Belgian town of Aarschot, made exclusively for WaterBridge. It can be debated, and is, that Belgian chocolate is among the best in the world, but the proof is in the tasting. With their large size comes a small price, surprisingly, about $4, but that could be a special introductory price. The Dark version, of 500 g, with cocoa solids of 54%, has a good ingredient listing, just cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and soy lecithin. The Hazelnut version, of 400 g, is a milk chocolate bar, with cocoa solids of 33% and milk solids of 15%, also has a fairly good ingredient listing, sugar, hazelnuts, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soy lecithin and natural vanilla flavour. From the graphic on the wrapper, the roasted hazelnuts look to be a good size.

Isis Chocolates

I tried recently two offerings from the 84 year old Belgian chocolatier Isis Chocolates, from their Luxury line, a Dark Chocolate bar, with 70% cocoa, and a Smooth Dark Chocolate bar with Crispy Hazelnut Praline. Both were three dollars where I bought them. Of the two, I would say that I liked the Dark Chocolate one, but I am getting ahead of myself.

The Isis Luxury Belgian Pralinor, which is smooth dark chocolate with crispy hazelnut praline was the first of the two I tried. In opening it up, I noticed right away that the chocolate was soft, and, despite my misgivings, as I had stored this bar in the same cool spot as my other chocolate, I determined to give it a try at least. The chocolate too did not have a strong smell, and indeed melted easily in the mouth, it was already close to melting. Too, the Pralinor was odd, it had a mouthfeel like crispy rice, rather than toasted hazelnuts. The ingredients are fairly good, 50% cocoa with cocoa paste and [cocoa] butter, sugar, hazelnuts, vegetable fat, wheat (flour, malt, starch), palm oil, ammonium carbonate, soya lecithin, salt and flavour. The last few ingredients, from hazelnuts to the ammonium carbonate, I would guess makes the praline. Overall, not a great bar, odd really in flavour and texture, though another person I got to try it as well liked it.

The Isis Luxury Belgian Dark Chocolate bar I liked much better, it, for one, was not soft and melting when I opened it up. The ingredient listing is very short, just 70% cocoa, sugar and vanilla. The taste was good too, deep chocolate flavour, very smooth and the flavour lasted long in the mouth. Far better, and one I would try again.

Flagrants Desirs Chocolate

This Belgian chocolate, available in Dark and Orange versions, is made with 70% cocoa content. The Dark version contains only cocoa paste and butter, sugar and vanilla, while the Orange version is a little less "natural", along with the cocoa paste and butter, it also contains orange peels, sugar, glucose-fructose, citric acid, sulphur dioxide and orange flavour. I have already consumed the Dark version, it was quite good. It melts-in-the-mouth as good dark chocolate should. The wrapping only says that the cocoa comes from a selection of fine cocoa beans, and not where specifically.