Lindt Excellence Roasted Almond

This bar is one of the newest from Lindt, it features dark chocolate, though only the minimum to make the grade) and roasted almonds. The cacao content is at 47%. The ingredient listing is fair (high sugar and butter fat are the culprits), sugar, cocoa mass, almonds, cocoa butter, butter fat, soya lecithin and vanilla.

How does it taste? There is definitely the taste of roasted almonds in this bar, and the almonds are fairly small pieces (but at least noticeable when chewing). My beautiful Bride, who likes almonds, doesn’t care much for the small pieces of almond. I concur, and we likely won’t buy this one again.

Lindt Caffarel Fruit Jellies

Lindt along with their chocolate, apparently also makes these jellies, as I call them, with various fruits. I tried four of them; quince, apricot, cherry and plum. The jellies are surrounded with a coarse sugar coating.

The quince is good tasting, with a mild flavour and definite taste of quince. My favourite.

The apricot is good tasting, with a subtle apricot flavour.

The cherry has a strong cherry flavour. Good tasting.

The plum has a subtle plum flavour. Good tasting.

Lindt Excellence Crunchy Caramel

Normally I wouldn't even consider buying this chocolate bar, as it is Milk chocolate, but it came as part of a four bar package; Lindt makes some good bars, but I don't like their Milk chocolate ones. The ingredient listing is typical for a Milk chocolate one, sugar, cocoa butter, caramel pieces (sugar, milk ingredients, lactose, canola lecithin), milk ingredients, cocoa mass, lactose, soya lecithin, barley malt extract and artificial flavour. The cacao content is at 30%.

How does it taste. The chocolate itself is smooth, and the Crunchy Caramel portion of it was, in 2 words, very crunchy (and stuck to my teeth). I would not buy this bar again.

Lindt Chocoladen Seiten

Another thing that Lindt has in Germany that I don't see in Canada, is their own free magazine, all in German, called Chocoladen Seiten (or Chocolate Pages - though it should be Schokoladen; I would say it was a play on words, Choco + Laden=Chocolate Store(s)). The tagline is "The Lindt Magazine for Afficianados". There are articles and recipes, all featuring Lindt products, both new and old. This current one featured Easter. There are articles on Easter baskets, Egg/Gift Hunting, one on Roger Federer's love of Lindt chocolate with a picture of him holding a very large Lindor Milk, an article about Mexico and its cacao (which would mean they use cacao beans from there),recipes like Easter Chocolate Cake with Carrot Sponge Cake and Fruit Tartlets (with Mousse) and Black Forest Crumble (all using Lindt chocolate). The articles are obviously market-oriented and product-driven, but interesting, a little. Now, if we could only get an English version.

Lindt Fruhlings Mandeln

These dark chocolate covered almonds from Lindt I also got from Germany, I've never seen them in Canada (Fruhlings Mandeln means Spring Almonds). On the package these look like they are very sugar-coated; inside they do not look like that (fortunately, as I thought that there would be lots of sugar). The ingredient listing is a little high on the sugar content, despite being dark chocolate, cacao mass, sugar, almonds (15%), clarified butter, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, wheat starch, natural flavour and vanilla extract.

How do they taste? Pretty good, my beautiful Bride liked them as well. The chocolate coating is soft, it's more like a chocolate cream; the almonds are crunchy and seem to be sugar-coated. I don't really have a source for them, but would buy them again.

Lindt Oster Tradition Himbeer-Quark

The second of the two Easter Holiday seasonal chocolate bars that I found and bought in Germany, the other being Erdbeer-Rhabarber-Buttermilch, has two of my favourite foods, quark and raspberries (Himbeer). Quark is a fresh cheese similar to fromage frais and ricotta (though ricotta is made from scalded whey while quark is not) that is found in Europe more than it is in North America, and enjoyed mostly in dessert form, such as cheesecake or mixed with fruits. This bar is very similar to the Strawberry-Rhubarb-Buttermilk one; it is a milk chocolate with a sweet filling. There is no indication of the cacao content.

How does it taste? I enjoyed this one as much as the Strawberry-Rhubarb one, and it tasted very similar, very sweet with an underlying tart flavour (from the quark). I don't think I would buy this again, and don't really have a source for them. Again, let's get a dark chocolate version of this. Raspberries and dark chocolate are a good combination.

Lindt Oster Tradition Erdbeer-Rhabarber-ButterMilch

Lindt seems to bring out more interesting seasonal items in Europe than they do in Canada. I found this one in Germany. The idea of the tasty combination of strawberries (Erdbeer) and rhubarb (Rhabarber) (which I like in jam and pies) appealed to me certainly. This is a milk chocolate bar, filled with layers of buttermilk-creme filling, on top of which is a sugary layer flavoured with strawberry and rhubarb juice concentrates.

How does it taste? Quite good, despite the sugariness of the filling. The buttermilk creme was tasty and tangy, and the strawberry/rhubarb layer flavour was not so predominant. I don't think I could eat this on a regular basis (and don't have a good source for these seasonal items), and wonder, like always, how it would taste with a dark chocolate version. Strawberries and dark chocolate, anyone?

Lindt Special Edition Egg - China

I found this for sale in Germany at Easter, there were also ones for India and Mexico (that I could find). I like the Chinese Dragon!

Within were several chocolate eggs, two milk chocolate Lindor, one Cresta (with rice crisps), one Truffel a la Vanilla, one Truffel Marc de Champagne (with alcohol) and one Nougat with hazelnuts (my favourite).

Lindt Petit Desserts Sorbetto

This large ice-cream-cone shaped package is filled with little chocolates with sorbet inspired fillings; Fragalo or strawberry, Arancia or orange, and Limone or lemon. You're supposed to eat them chilled (for 2 hours), and, honestly, they sat in the back of my fridge for a long while (days and days) until I recently discovered them again. These appear to be more than milk chocolate in terms of cacao content; I'm guessing, as there is no indication on the packaging. The filling seems to be made from some good ingredients, orange, strawberry juice and lemon juices, and natural orange oil, but the ingredients are leaning towards mostly sugar.

How do they taste? The limone one was by far the best, sour like lemons should be (though this might be from citric acid than lemon juice). They are kind of sweet, and I don't think they really achieve the whole sorbet experience. I don't think I would buy these again, and really, I haven't seen them again in the stores.

Lindor Raspberry

The flavour for Valentine's Day this year is Raspberry. I like raspberry and chocolate, and this does taste and smell like raspberry, but I suspect it's artificial flavouring. They taste okay, not one of my favourites of the Lindors.

Lindt Excellence Dark 90%

I've eaten other bars with very high cacao content, Lindt even has one they are selling at 99%. I think that 70% is a good cacao content, this one is at 90%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, fat-reduced cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar, natural bourbon vanilla bean (and no lecithin emulsifier).

How does it taste? Very chocolatey, maybe a little too chalky (as bars with this high cacao content tend to be). The chocolate was very dark in colour. Pretty good (my beautiful Bride enjoyed it), but the chalkiness prevents me ultimately from really enjoying it, and thus I likely won't buy this again.

Lindt Excellence Intense Blueberry

I had not seen this chocolate bar until now, though I have eaten other flavours in that line. Liking blueberries, I thought I'd give it a good try - not having liked the other bars, and not having particularly thought they were "intense". This is a Dark chocolate bar, at 47% cacao content. At first, I didn't realize that this is a Blueberry and Almond chocolate bar; silly me, I thought it was a Blueberry Intense bar. The ingredient listing looks okay, sugar, cocoa mass, almonds, cocoa butter, butter fat, blueberry, apple, pineapple, soya lecithin, natural and artificial flavour, calcium orthophosphate, sodium alginate, citric acid and vegetable anthocyane.

How does it taste? Still, I don't think this is a particularly intense chocolate bar, though I do like the blueberry flavour. The almonds are there but very background, and the chocolate is up to Lindt standards. I don't think I would buy this again.

Lindt Petit Desserts Chocolate Mousse Hazelnut

The second of Lindt's new mousse-filled chocolates, there is also the milk one, I only tried, because it has hazelnuts for it (not having liked the Dark one). The ingredient listing isn't very good (other than the hazelnuts) and the chocolate is a milk chocolate.

How does it taste? Well, okay, about as good as the Dark one, and the hazelnut pieces are very small. Another reason I was tempted to try it, was that it was on sale, and even then it seemed expensive, $2.50.

Lindt Caffarel

These were the latest batch of interesting, and made with hazelnuts, individual chocolates from Lindt.

This Caffarel is an authentic Gianduja in the style of Torino. It appears to be a milk chocolate hazelnut. Quite tasty.

This Caffarel is called Antica Ricetta; it is a Gianduia, and appears to be dark chocolate. Also quite tasty.

This Caffarel is a Nocciolotto, which is a chocolate Gianduia, milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts. Also tasty.

Lindt Petit Desserts Chocolate Mousse Dark

Lindt has released several chocolate bars filled with mousse, this one is their Dark version (there is also Hazelnut and Milk). The mousse looks very tasty both in the pictures and in the commercials I've seen, a fair mound of it, but there isn't that much in this bar. I don't like the ingredient listing much, sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oil, but there are hazelnuts within. The cacao content, while there is no indication of the actual amount, is likely at the minimum to make it Dark.

How does it taste? Fairly sweet, though the mousse does melt satisfyingly on the tongue. The dark chocolate is not so dark, and it's a fairly soft chocolate. Good if you like that kind of thing, but, for me, I'll give it a pass.

Lindt Easter Vanilla Hazelnut Filled Egg

This is another offering from Lindt at Easter, the colour packaging hides a large vanilla hazelnut filled egg. The egg is coated with milk chocolate, inside is a mixture of hazelnuts and sugar.

How did it taste? Quite sweet, hazelnut-y too. Not bad, though I don't think I could eat this more than once a year.

Lindt Gold Bunny Egg Cup

For most holidays, Lindt brings out collectable items, boxes, this is one of the ones that I've seen the past few weekends, a Gold Bunny Egg Cup. I don't know how much egg cups are used these days, they are used when one eats a boiled egg for breakfast; it's a convenient way to hold the egg steady while you crack the top open to eat it. Really, I would say it's more a European thing. With this Egg Cup collectable (I'm not quite sure whether they change the pattern year to year), comes a large Nougat-Vanilla filled milk chocolate egg (suitable for cracking open, I guess).

How does it taste, cracked open? OK, quite sweet, but definitely hazelnut-y. If it wasn't for the egg cup, though, I don't think I would buy this again, save if I were to travel back in time to my childhood.

Lindt Oster-Freuden

This special edition box from Lindt comes out for Easter, and contains several mini filled eggs. We bought this at the Lindt Outlet store in Mississauga, though it looks to be for the German market, it is all in German. Oster Freuden means Easter Joys. There are four different kinds of mini eggs within the green and yellow Spring box, two of each kind: Nougat; Alpen Milk (Alp's Milk); Praline; and Trüffel a la Vanille (Vanilla Truffel). These are milk chocolate eggs, with various fillings; two of them likely contain hazelnuts (Nougat and Praline).

The Praline was the best tasting of the four, with some hazelnut flavour; the Nougat was the second best; the Alpen Milch was just milk chocolate, a solid egg, while the Vanilla Truffle was milk chocolate filled with a yellow creme tasting a little like vanilla. I don't know that I would ever buy this again, though the box was kind of nice.

Lindt Excellence Dark 70%

I can't believe that I haven't included this bar from Lindt, this is arguably their flagship bar in their Dark series. Or, at least, the bar that you could make the distinction as to how their high cacao content chocolate tastes, with no extra ingredients. The ingredient listing is minimal; cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and natural bourbon vanilla beans. The cacao content is 70%.

How does it taste? What I find with all Lindt bars, is that the chocolate is very good, smooth with a good aftertaste, they know how to make chocolate, and how to please their customers, but that none of them are great bars. I would buy this again, but do prefer others.

Discover the World of Lindt Contest

Like last year's Win Chocolate for a Year!, again Lindt is running a contest where you can win chocolate for a year (5 grand prizes - worth approximately $1200) or 1 of 500 2nd prizes of a Chocolate Gift Pack (worth approximately $100). To enter, and you have until July 31st, 2009 to enter (and you can enter once per day per household per email address), go to Discover Lindt and fill in your information. You'll need the UPC codes from 2 different Lindt Family bars (100 g or larger). Good Luck!