Baron Excellent Dark Chocolate

I don't know what I would expect from a Dollar store, certainly my hopes for an excellent dark chocolate bar could not possibly be fulfilled. This bar from the Polish chocolatier Baron contains 70% cacao content, and its ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin and E476 as emulsifiers, and flavouring.

How did it taste? Well, I'm glad I didn't pay more than the dollar I did. Not bad, though a little chalky and ultimately not something I wanted the taste to linger for very long in my mouth. Definitely, not excellent.

Herbapol Raspberry with Rosehip Tea

I do like raspberry, especially in season, and like teas with rosehip in them. Picking up this offering from the Polish company Herbapol I also noticed that it contains hibiscus flower. Sold. Opening the package, it did smell very good, like raspberry (I was at first worried that it was raspberry aroma that made it, but it contains 40% raspberry fruit). And after steeping, it also smelled and tasted of raspberry. With the deep red colour of hibiscus. Quite refreshing. I don't know if this is a new company, or new to North America, but I'll be willing to try some of their other products.

Terravita Three Nuts Dark Chocolate

I know I said that the taste of Polish chocolatier Terravita's other bars would not intrigue me enough to try some of their other offerings, well, I'm going back on my word with this particular bar. It is unusual because it has three nuts: cashews, hazelnuts and pistachios (the latter two which I am most fond of). This is likely just a dark chocolate in terms of its cacao content (at 45%); sugar is its first ingredient, followed by cocoa mass, cashew (6%), hazelnuts (5%), vegetable fat (instead of cocoa butter), pistachios (1%), soya lecithin (as an emulsifier) and flavour.

How does it taste? Well, really I tasted the sweet dark chocolate more than the nuts, and more than the individual nuts (though, I would say that the flavour of the hazelnuts was more predominant). I don't like that this uses vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter, I think it reflects on the taste. This bar has, though, not intrigued me enough to try their more sugar-oriented filled chocolate bars.

Wawel Dark

The Polish chocolatier Wawel produces a number of chocolate bars, this is the one with the highest cacao content I have seen, 90%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, fat reduced cocoa powder, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin and E476 as emulsifiers, and flavours.

While not the highest cacao content I have seen, there are several at 90%, and Lindt sells one at 99%, I think most bars at this high cacao content suffer from being too chalky, that the lack of sugar is actually detrimental. Don't get me wrong, I eat raw cacao nibs, 100% cacao, but never straight, usually in a morning breakfast mixture, I just think bars taste better at around 70%. Not all bars do, but this one suffers from the chalkiness problem. Otherwise, it's decent chocolate. I don't think that I would buy this bar again.

Marco Polo Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts

There were several offerings available made by this Polish chocolatier in the Polish supermarket I went to called Starskeys, I chose the dark chocolate hazelnut one (as you can well imagine); there was a milk chocolate hazelnut, but I am trying to avoid milk chocolate these days. So saying, I think this just fits into the dark chocolate cacao content requirements (ie 49%), the packaging states that the cocoa mass content is at 40%, with the cocoa butter added it should be at 49% or so). The rest of the ingredients are (83% chocolate) sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vegetable fat, soya lecithin as an emulsifier, polyglycerol polyricinoleate also as an emulsifier, flavour, hazelnuts (16%), polishing agents (arabic gum, talc, modified starch, glucose syrup and vegetable fat).

How did they taste? Pretty good, though the dark chocolate was a little sweet (and I don't like some of the ingredients) and the hazelnuts were mostly pieces as opposed to whole. My beautiful Bride thought they were pretty good. This 100 g package cost about $1.70, which is cheap, but I don't know that I liked it enough to go back to get some more. Too, I don't like the ingredients that make the coating "shiny".

Terravita Cocoacara Dark

Remove the flavourings from their Coffee & Cardomom bar, and you get the Polish chocolatier Terravita's Pure Dark Chocolate bar. The cacao content, like their other one (and there is a third that I have seen in their Cocoacara line, with chili and orange), is at 77%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, fat-reduced cocoa powder, lecithin and flavouring.

How did it taste? Not as good as their coffee & cardomom bar, and a little chalky. I don't think I would try this bar again, and it certainly won't make me try their much lower cacao content range of flavoured chocolates.

Terravita Cocoacara Coffee & Cardamom

This offering from the Polish chocolatier Terravita is one of two that I recently found at The Apple Market (they make a whole range of chocolate bars in numerous flavour combinations, but only three that are dark chocolate with high cacao content). The cacao content of this bar is 77%. The ingredient listing looks good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, fat-reduced cocoa powder, coffee (1.1%), cardamom (0.5%), soya lecithin and flavourings.

How did it taste? The cardamom was not too strong but I think overwhelming if you don't like the taste (which I do) and there was an underlying mustiness or earthiness to the flavour (perhaps it was the type of cardamom). The coffee flavour I did not get. Overall, I would say that cardamom pairs well with chocolate (and I have made cookies that worked well), but the combination of flavourings ultimately failed in this bar. I don't think I would buy this bar again.

Wawel Gorzka Czekolada

This bar from the Polish chocolatier Wawel SA has 70% cacao content, and has a fairly good ingredient listing (from what I could make out from the Polish - the packaging is unfortunately all in Polish). From what I could make out from the story on the back, this bar is made in the old style, from 1910.

How does it taste? Despite that I can't make out exactly what's in this bar, it does taste fairly good, a cheap chocolate bar.

Alpen Gold Nussbeisser Milk

This is the milk version of the whole hazelnut bars made by Kraft Foods in Poland, the Dark I reviewed earlier. Like the other I like how it contains whole hazelnuts, though I am more of a fan of dark chocolate with hazelnuts than the more traditional pairing of milk chocolate and hazelnut. As a milk chocolate, there is definitely less cacao (25% cacao content), and the ingredient listing lists sugar first, followed by hazelnuts, whole milk powder, powdered cream, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, powdered whey, lactose, vegetable oil, butterfat, soya lecithin as an emulsifier and vanillin.

How does it taste? Not as good as the Dark version, but not bad for a cheap chocolate bar, good whole hazelnuts. I think I might buy this bar again, but only if the Dark version were not available.

Alpen Gold Nussbeisser Dark

I found this, and a milk version, in a European delicatessen, I see from the box that it is made by Kraft Foods, at least their Poland facilities. I like how it contains whole hazelnuts (at 23% content, it is far less than the 34% in the Lindt Grand Hazelnut bars, but at ½ the price, it is worth it). It looks like this just makes the Dark category (46% cacao content), the ingredient listing lists sugar first, followed by cocoa mass, hazelnuts, vegetable oil, butterfat, soya lecithin as an emulsifier and vanillin.

How does it taste? Pretty good, not bad for a cheap chocolate bar, good whole hazelnuts. I think I might buy this bar again.

Frédéric Chopin Dark Chocolate

Frédéric Chopin is regarded as Poland's finest composer, whether this chocolate bar from Jutrzenka SA in Poland is the finest chocolate of that country is debatable, as is whether it is a fine tribute to Chopin. Certainly the ingredient listing is not bad, cocoa mass, sugar, fat-reduced cocoa powder (11%), cocoa butter, emulsifiers and flavouring, fairly common and straight forward bar. The cacao content is at 60%, that's good.

How does it taste? How does it compare to the music of Chopin? Not really a fair comparison, but this is not a great bar, just an average good bar that might serve to satisfy a craving. It's not a bar I would buy again; as to the music of Chopin, that I would listen to.

Biofix Aronia Tea

This caffeine-free herbal tea from the Polish company BioFix has as its main flavour and ingredient the berry found mostly in Europe called Aronia, that is both astringent and not sweet, it's also high in antioxidants and Vitamin C. It also contains apples and black currants, both popular fruit tea ingredients.

Nestle Princessa Maxi

This white chocolate coconut cream wafer bar by Nestle Polska (Poland) we found appropriately enough in the Polish supermarket Sparsky's in Mississauga, my beautiful Bride wanted to try it, as she likes the combination of coconut and wafers. This is definitely a candy bar, with white chocolate coating, wafers and cream filling with desiccated coconut.

How does it taste? Not bad, I don't really care for white chocolate, but the coconut flavour was definitely there, the wafers were crispy.