Chocolate Bars: Mainstream and Otherwise

[lperry]

We don't seem to have a topic that focuses on chocolate bars.  Mr. lperry is an enabler, and he frequently brings home various chocolate bars for me to try.  Right now I'm working on a Green Earl Grey, 100% organic, 60% cacao bar from The Tea Room, and it is simply delicious.  The bergamot reminds me of the intensity of Fortnum's Earl Grey tea, and it has been paired with a fruity chocolate base that works beautifully with it.  He also brought me a Maté and Cacao Nib bar from the same maker that I will try when I need a caffeine jolt.

What have you found that is wonderful?

[TheMatt]

I am a big fan of Ní³i Sí­rí­us chocolate from Iceland, especially the 70% bar when I want some dark chocolate.

[ktmoomau]

Not a bar, although I love the candy bars from Artisan Confections which are seriously good, but the dark chocolate bark he has with candied ginger is a favorite of mine.  Currently I have 4 64% simply chocolate disks left in my drawer at work which I am eating with some raw almonds right now, yum.  

[porcupine]

This from El Ceibo is my favorite chocolate ever.  It is rich and intense but not overwhelming, despite the high cocoa content.  It pairs well with coffee.  You can sometimes find it at Grape + Bean.

[squidsdc]

Trader Joe's Belgian chocolate. We buy the pounders for baking, and break off squares for eating. The milk and the dark are equally tasty and sometimes end up being entirely eaten by the square instead of in recipes!

[RoastMonkey]

Potomac Chocolate is a local (Woodbridge, VA), artisan bean-to-bar chocolate maker that receives national accolades. We sell them through the Winter and the bars are available at most of DC chocolate shops.

[DonRocks]

Potomac Chocolate is a local (Woodbridge, VA), artisan bean-to-bar chocolate maker that receives national accolades. We sell them through the Winter and the bars are available at most of DC chocolate shops.

Is "Bean-To-Bar" really a term? That's *funny*! It's sort of like "Farm-To-Table" but not.

[porcupine]

Also check out TCHO and Taxa.  I've seen TCHO bars at several MOMs.  The PureNotes line emphasizes the chocolate for its own sake; the bars are given wine-style descriptions ("hints of roasted malt").   A number of coffee shops carry Taxa.  Taxa stone-grinds their chocolates, resulting in an odd texture that I find unappealing, though the taste is great.

Also, the Valrhona Manjari 64% feves are downright dangerous to have on hand.

[lperry]

This from El Ceibo is my favorite chocolate ever.  It is rich and intense but not overwhelming, despite the high cocoa content.  It pairs well with coffee.  You can sometimes find it at Grape + Bean.

Oooooh.  I'll be on the lookout.  I used to save my last Bolivares to buy El Rey in the airport on my way out of Caracas.  I'm curious how they compare.

Is "Bean-To-Bar" really a term? That's *funny*! It's sort of like "Farm-To-Table" but not.

It's hard to argue "local" with chocolate unless you are in Central or South America (in this hemisphere), so someone came up with "bean-to-bar." 

[lperry]

Also check out TCHO and Taxa.  I've seen TCHO bars at several MOMs.  The PureNotes line emphasizes the chocolate for its own sake; the bars are given wine-style descriptions ("hints of roasted malt").   A number of coffee shops carry Taxa.  Taxa stone-grinds their chocolates, resulting in an odd texture that I find unappealing, though the taste is great.

Also, the Valrhona Manjari 64% feves are downright dangerous to have on hand.

In Venezuela, vendors at the local markets sold these top-shaped confections made of ground cacao nibs, sugar, and vanilla, sometimes with other spices.  The result was both strongly-flavored and grainy in texture.  I think they may have been made for drinking chocolate, but I saw local people eating them, so that's what I did.  A completely different experience from the refined, smooth, chocolates we are used to.

And I have the remnants of a 5 kilo bag of Manjari in the pantry.   I can resist the plain chocolate pretty easily.  Put nuts, caramel, or toffee in there, however...

[TheMatt]

In Venezuela, vendors at the local markets sold these top-shaped confections made of ground cacao nibs, sugar, and vanilla, sometimes with other spices.  The result was both strongly-flavored and grainy in texture.  I think they may have been made for drinking chocolate, but I saw local people eating them, so that's what I did.  A completely different experience from the refined, smooth, chocolates we are used to. 

Trader Joe's sells (or has sold) some stone-ground chocolate which has that grainy, Abuelita-like texture and I have been known to snack on them.

[DonRocks]

You all are killing me with this topic.

Chocolate bars are probably my favorite thing to eat in all the world. This is why I don't have them in the house, and why I turn away while I'm at the checkout counter.

I could happily sit down with an entire one-pound Green Earl Gray Bar with Almonds, and go to town. Daily.

But, like with soft drinks, I've chosen not to consume them because the pain of stopping after just a few bites outweighs the pleasure of those precious little nibbles. Cacaous Interruptus: it's better just not to start.

Chocolate is not something to nibble; it's something to eat in bulk.

[TheMatt]

Chocolate is not something to nibble; it's something to eat in bulk.

Guess we know what Don wants as a gift...

(Offtopic-ish: apparently Valrhona has an Advent Calendar...much more tempting than the usual $2 versions.)

[lperry]

You all are killing me with this topic...

Chocolate is not something to nibble; it's something to eat in bulk.

Everyone has her culinary Achilles heel.  Mine is Cheetos.  The bag, no matter the size, is a single serving.  Chocolate can be doled out one piece per day with no issues.  (I do have to hide it from Mr. lperry, though.)

[RoastMonkey]

Oooooh.  I'll be on the lookout.  I used to save my last Bolivares to buy El Rey in the airport on my way out of Caracas.  I'm curious how they compare.

It's hard to argue "local" with chocolate unless you are in Central or South America (in this hemisphere), so someone came up with "bean-to-bar." 

Can't disagree more. Traditionally, chocolate makers bought processed cocoa butter and made their bars from that. The amount of complexity you lose in that drawn-out production chain is huge. A bean-to-bar chocolate maker has to roast the cocao, crack it, winnow it, then turn into cocao butter before mixing it with sugar and form it into bars. Try a fresh, bean-to-bar chocolate bar and I defy you not to notice an immediate difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO22DScPvTs

[lperry]

Can't disagree more. Traditionally, chocolate makers bought processed cocoa butter and made their bars from that. The amount of complexity you lose in that drawn-out production chain is huge. A bean-to-bar chocolate maker has to roast the cocao, crack it, winnow it, then turn into cocao butter before mixing it with sugar and form it into bars. Try a fresh, bean-to-bar chocolate bar and I defy you not to notice an immediate difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO22DScPvTs

It's an interesting marketing phrase.  By definition, Hershey's qualifies, as do a lot of other big brands.  I have seen it used most by shops trying to delineate themselves as local producers of the chocolate itself instead of those who purchase the chocolate elsewhere.  Because of that, I categorize it, perhaps unfairly, in with locavore-type marketing.

[bookluvingbabe]

I've made the switch to darker and darker bars over the years. Please don't put nuts or anything else in the bars.

Trader Joes has an organic dark bar that I think is 76 percent. It is too sweet but it is the cheapest high quality chocolate I can find.

Beyond that, I stick to the 85 and 87 percent bars at MOMs. I usually get the ones that don't have soy. I'm bad about the brand names.

A life without chocolate would be a lonely place.

[Andelman]

Just thought I'd chime in.  Pretty much any manufacturer of chocolate is technically "bean-to-bar". From companies as large as Hersheys and Callebaut, down to places like Potomac Chocolate, all of these manufacturers are making chocolate from cacao beans. The level of quality is going to derive from many things, mainly the type and quality of beans being used, amount of added sugar, and whether or not the are using other fats to substitute for the cacao butter.

I honestly wouldn't quantify a small, local bean-to bar manufacturer (like Ben at Potomac Chocolate) as particularly "locavore", as those beans are all coming from relatively far away.

I guess on what you think the definition of locavore is. Regardless, he is making some great stuff in essentially a small basement workshop. One of his bars won an award at the Fancy Food Show in SF last year. Definitely worth tracking down.

If you all are looking for a great selection of bars from around the world, definitely go to Cocova (formally known as Biagio Fine Chocolate) at 18th and T St., NW. Great, knowledgeable staff and they definitely have the best selection of fine chocolate bars produced  in the US and abroad.

[darkstar965]

I'm not a huge chocolate bar eater, preferring all manner of things made with chocolate (like awesomely crafted chocolate milkshakes!). But occasionally even for me, a great bar can be a wonderful thing.

Is "Bean-To-Bar" really a term? That's *funny*! It's sort of like "Farm-To-Table" but not.

It's definitely a term.  I'm not sure who invented it or when but it has been around for at least several years. I first became aware of it a few years ago when I received a gift from friends on the left coast, about which I say a bit more below.

Can't disagree more. Traditionally, chocolate makers bought processed cocoa butter and made their bars from that. The amount of complexity you lose in that drawn-out production chain is huge. A bean-to-bar chocolate maker has to roast the cocao, crack it, winnow it, then turn into cocao butter before mixing it with sugar and form it into bars. Try a fresh, bean-to-bar chocolate bar and I defy you not to notice an immediate difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO22DScPvTs

I've always believed what Joel says above to be true. While of course true that the beans can't be local, the issue is about how much of the processing downstream from bean harvesting done is done locally and thus more "off the roast" as with coffee.

...

If you all are looking for a great selection of bars from around the world, definitely go to Cocova (formally known as Biagio Fine Chocolate) at 18th and T St., NW. Great, knowledgeable staff and they definitely have the best selection of fine chocolate bars produced  in the US and abroad.

Biagio/Cocova* is unrivaled in the region as an emporium for the world's best and most interesting chocolates.  Link here since we, of course, already had a thread for it. It and Artisan are my two no-brainer destinations for sure-to-delight gifts for chocoholic friends and family.

And, as promised, here is the outfit that, thanks to the generosity of a friend out PDX way, turned me on to the term "bean to bar" and, with it, some pretty outstanding chocolate made in one of the country's very best food cities.  Click on the "process" tab at top for an excellent description of what "bean to bar" often (sometimes) conveys in this industry.

* For the mods: per Jason's point about the renaming, we currently have two dueling and mistitled threads here and here that should be merged under the Cocova name. [Done. DR]

[porcupine]

fyi Potomac Chocolate can be purchased at Glen's Garden Market in Dupont.  I also saw it at a chocolate emporium in Vancouver, Canada.  I didn't care for it that much, but anything Andelman recommends deserves a second try!

[lperry]

I've made the switch to darker and darker bars over the years. Please don't put nuts or anything else in the bars.

Trader Joes has an organic dark bar that I think is 76 percent. It is too sweet but it is the cheapest high quality chocolate I can find.

Beyond that, I stick to the 85 and 87 percent bars at MOMs. I usually get the ones that don't have soy. I'm bad about the brand names.

A life without chocolate would be a lonely place.

I've been a little disappointed by many of the brand's MOMs carries.  My biggest complaint has been an unappetizing dryness, almost like the bars are old, but I know they aren't.  I think there is a skill to making the high cacao content bars while retaining a pleasant texture.

Just thought I'd chime in.  Pretty much any manufacturer of chocolate is technically "bean-to-bar". From companies as large as Hersheys and Callebaut, down to places like Potomac Chocolate, all of these manufacturers are making chocolate from cacao beans. The level of quality is going to derive from many things, mainly the type and quality of beans being used, amount of added sugar, and whether or not the are using other fats to substitute for the cacao butter.

I honestly wouldn't quantify a small, local bean-to bar manufacturer (like Ben at Potomac Chocolate) as particularly "locavore", as those beans are all coming from relatively far away.

I guess on what you think the definition of locavore is. Regardless, he is making some great stuff in essentially a small basement workshop. One of his bars won an award at the Fancy Food Show in SF last year. Definitely worth tracking down.

If you all are looking for a great selection of bars from around the world, definitely go to Cocova (formally known as Biagio Fine Chocolate) at 18th and T St., NW. Great, knowledgeable staff and they definitely have the best selection of fine chocolate bars produced  in the US and abroad.

I just looked at their website.  Wow.  Thanks, I think. 

[bookluvingbabe]

I've been a little disappointed by many of the brand's MOMs carries.  My biggest complaint has been an unappetizing dryness, almost like the bars are old, but I know they aren't.  I think there is a skill to making the high cacao content bars while retaining a pleasant texture. 

I know that once I started avoiding the bars with soy, I had to make peace with the less smooth texture.   It could also be a storage issue--if the bars aren't being stored properly would that make them seem dry?

The store on 18th and T is a dangerous and expensive place and one that I'm never sure if I'm happy or sad when I pass by and they are closed.

[sandynva]

one of my more "everyday" (as opposed to special) chocolate treats is the lindt intense orange bar. i'm admittedly a sucker for most products with chocolate and orange in them, but i think this is one of the better ones, not too sweet and gets some of the bitterness of orange rind in there

[lperry]

I am currently eating a Salazon "Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & a touch of organic Caramel" bar.  There are USDA organic, Rainforest Alliance, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy stamps on the packaging alongside a photo of a hiker standing atop a cliff gazing into the sunset.  The cliff morphs into broken shards of chocolate oozing caramel.  I never would have chosen this bar.  I'm happy Mr. lperry did, though, because it is really good.  A complex, dark chocolate, just enough crunchy salt, and bits of caramel with a solid burnt sugar flavor throughout.  Just what I need to fuel myself for shoveling snow tomorrow.

[Anna Phor]

My preferred everyday chocolate is the Ritter Sport dark. A couple of squares with a glass of smoky scotch after dinner.

Also, it has sport in the name, which I am assuming means that it contains some sort of calorie-negating exercise. Please do not disabuse me of this notion if you know otherwise.

[TheMatt]

I do not wish to disabuse Anna Phor of her notion because I often think the same thing. That said, if you want to know why "sport"...

[DaveO]

I love chocolate and will go on chocolate binges with chocolate bars, including hershey chocolate.  The one thing I know is I won't be eating nestle's chocolate after learning here their chairman would like to charge everyone for water.  That arrogant )^*_%(_%^        

[zoramargolis]

I love chocolate and will go on chocolate binges with chocolate bars, including hershey chocolate.  The one thing I know is I won't be eating nestle's chocolate after learning here their chairman would like to charge everyone for water.  That arrogant )^*_%(_%^        

Life is too short to eat cheap chocolate.

[lperry]

 ... if you want to know why "sport"...

Interesting.  I like their dark chocolate marzipan, although not as well as the Niederegger bars.  I really like the dark chocolate Mozartkugels, which are particularly difficult to find in the States.  This cold is making me hungry.

[zoramargolis]

Rodman's in Friendship Heights carries mozartkugeln, but I haven't looked at them closely enough to say that they have the dark chocolate ones. Next time I'm there I'll try to remember to look. If they have them and they are as difficult to find as you suggest, it may be worth a trip.

[TheMatt]

Rodman's in Friendship Heights carries mozartkugeln, but I haven't looked at them closely enough to say that they have the dark chocolate ones. Next time I'm there I'll try to remember to look. If they have them and they are as difficult to find as you suggest, it may be worth a trip.

If you are a Mozartkugeln fan and cheap like me, the best time of the year is around Christmas at World Market. They sell Reber's for half the cost of what they usually are in more specialty markets. Unfortunately, that's the only time they seem to have them.

[lperry]

If you are a Mozartkugeln fan and cheap like me, the best time of the year is around Christmas at World Market. They sell Reber's for half the cost of what they usually are in more specialty markets. Unfortunately, that's the only time they seem to have them.

They never have the dark chocolate ones.  Those come in a blue wrapper instead of the red, and the place I used to get them was the Lindt chocolate factory outlet at Potomac Mills, now closed.  (Yes.)  (I have a problem.)

[zoramargolis]

They do have the dark chocolate ones at Rodman's in Friendship Heights.

[Choirgirl21]

I am currently eating a Salazon "Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & a touch of organic Caramel" bar.  There are USDA organic, Rainforest Alliance, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy stamps on the packaging alongside a photo of a hiker standing atop a cliff gazing into the sunset.  The cliff morphs into broken shards of chocolate oozing caramel.  I never would have chosen this bar.  I'm happy Mr. lperry did, though, because it is really good.  A complex, dark chocolate, just enough crunchy salt, and bits of caramel with a solid burnt sugar flavor throughout.  Just what I need to fuel myself for shoveling snow tomorrow.

Happy timing to stumble on this thread as I sit here at my desk nibbling on a square of Salazon dark chocolate w/sea salt and crushed coffee. Unfortunately this bar isn't going into my regular rotation, I find it too hard.

Trader Joe's sells (or has sold) some stone-ground chocolate which has that grainy, Abuelita-like texture and I have been known to snack on them.

Interestingly (or not as the case may be ) I bought the black pepper one from TJ's and really enjoyed it, but recently I brought a new bar home from somewhere, MOM's probably and was really put off when I tasted it and found it had the same texture. Maybe simply because it wasn't what I was expecting? I'll have to look up the brand when I get home.

Beyond that, I stick to the 85 and 87 percent bars at MOMs. I usually get the ones that don't have soy. I'm bad about the brand names.

A life without chocolate would be a lonely place.

My favorite bar at the moment is the Theo dark chocolate w/sea salt and almonds. It is soy lecithin free and they do make one with only sea salt, no almonds.

I also really like the very dark and super dark (those are not the technical terms, lol, I just can't remember the %'s off the top of my head) Icelandic chocolate that is sold at Whole Foods, but I tend not to buy it because I don't go through it fast enough. I can't remember the brand name, but it comes 2 bars thick to a package with a white wrapper. It's some of the best chocolate I've found in a local grocery store.

[TheMatt]

I also really like the very dark and super dark (those are not the technical terms, lol, I just can't remember the %'s off the top of my head) Icelandic chocolate that is sold at Whole Foods, but I tend not to buy it because I don't go through it fast enough. I can't remember the brand name, but it comes 2 bars thick to a package with a white wrapper. It's some of the best chocolate I've found in a local grocery store.

This would be Ní³i Sí­rí­us, one of my favorites. They have a few grades, a 33% milk, a 45%, a 56%, and a 70% I think. I tend to like the 56% the best of all of them. Just the right amount of bitterness for me.

[DaveO]

Dang when this very cold spell hit I was reading this thread and craving some comfort food snacks.  Despite all the wonderful references I went for sabra hummus pita and some various veggies.   It was good.

  But I still crave chocolate.    I'm breaking down.   Dang you all.

[Choirgirl21]

This would be Ní³i Sí­rí­us, one of my favorites. They have a few grades, a 33% milk, a 45%, a 56%, and a 70% I think. I tend to like the 56% the best of all of them. Just the right amount of bitterness for me.

Yes, that's the one! The 56% and 70% are the ones I buy. I really like both, but have a slight preference for the darker one.

And the gritty chocolate I mentioned was Taza's stone ground chocolate. I bought the 80% and really appreciate the flavor of the chocolate that I'm left with, but can't get past the texture. It's just not my thing I guess. However, I would love to make hot chocolate out of this bar, with a pinch of cayenne added.

[ktmoomau]

I love this thread.  It just makes me happy.

[TheMatt]

And the gritty chocolate I mentioned was Taza's stone ground chocolate. I bought the 80% and really appreciate the flavor of the chocolate that I'm left with, but can't get past the texture. It's just not my thing I guess. However, I would love to make hot chocolate out of this bar, with a pinch of cayenne added.

Well, it's not cayenne, but Taza has Chipotle Dark and Guajillo disks.

What might be interesting is to do a tasting of hot chocolates made from their "one of everything" sampler. Well, almost everything, as it doesn't have the coffee, salted almond, or spiked eggnog.

Ugh...spiked eggnog chocolate. *shudder* Now, orange? Salted almond? I might go for those...

[Rieux]

The best chocolate I have ever eaten I bought from an indigenous woman on the street in Guadalajara.  It was gritty, dark, with notes of cinnamon and chile.  She told me she makes it at home, and that you could either make hot chocolate with it, or just eat it raw.  I like it both ways.  It is like nothing I have ever had before, and I am rationing the small supply I have.

I'm lucky in that my job brings me to small villages all over Latin America and the Caribbean, and I get to buy coffee, chocolates, berries, etc directly from the small farmers I am working with.  It is always really satisfying to me to see the quality you can get from small producers who are not part of the global value chain.

[bookluvingbabe]

Yes, that's the one! The 56% and 70% are the ones I buy. I really like both, but have a slight preference for the darker one.

And the gritty chocolate I mentioned was Taza's stone ground chocolate. I bought the 80% and really appreciate the flavor of the chocolate that I'm left with, but can't get past the texture. It's just not my thing I guess. However, I would love to make hot chocolate out of this bar, with a pinch of cayenne added.

I can't eat the Taza's stone ground.  Trader Joe's has a similar but less gritty stone ground that I liked but I've been trying not to buy chocolate.

[lperry]

The first chocolate I had that wasn't Hershey's or M&Ms was Cadbury, and, at the time, I thought nothing could be better.  Then I found Caramellos.     Then I went to Australia and found Caramello Koalas.  :wub:    There's a Caramello on my desk right now, still in the wrapper, making me happy just by existing.  Now we need to convince the marketers that koalas would sell in the US. 

[astrid]

I'm not a big chocolate eater so I don't have as much exposure as many (most?) people.  I will say that Valrhona always tastes harshly acidic and off to me.  I've given their chocolate bars many chances over the years and never found a bar that I wanted to finish.  Of the mass market brands, I like Lindt the best.  Their chocolate bars tastes rich and smooth and Lindt's milk chocolate is the only milk chocolate that doesn't taste like stale cigarettes to me.

I really like Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar (85%).  It has a nice rich profile that's very smooth, not overly bitter or acidic.  At $1.49 for two bars, it's really quite a bargain.  Goes great with dried Montmorency cherries.

[Anna Phor]

I can't eat the Taza's stone ground.  Trader Joe's has a similar but less gritty stone ground that I liked but I've been trying not to buy chocolate.

Why not, if you don't mind my asking?

I tried the taza disk--the coffee flavored one--once. In ten minutes it took me from skin-crawling caffeine jitters to vicious migraine. Just wondering if you (or others) had a similar effect.

[turbogrrl]

When I went to berlin last year, I walked by an emporium of chocolate that was dizzying in its excess: a chocolate Berlin Reichstag? a chocolate Titanic? but of course! The Fassbender & Rausch shop was amazing. And I foolishly didn't try the chocolate until I'd made it to Zurich, which made it difficult to go back and fill my suitcase. Fortunately, I discovered that Amazon stocks the Rausch plantation chocolates. (Tobago being my favorite: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H0W07K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004H0W07K&linkCode=as2&tag=mur-20 )

More recently, my belgian neighbor brought back a duffel bag full of Galler chocolate in many forms, and it is also mighty fine, but my access is cruelly limited.

[lperry]

Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolate Bar No. 13, Dark Ginger.  Phenomenal.  Fruity, smooth, rich chocolate with these tiny, gritty, crystalline pockets of sugared ginger embedded within.  I'm so happy.   

[Choirgirl21]

I can't eat the Taza's stone ground.  Trader Joe's has a similar but less gritty stone ground that I liked but I've been trying not to buy chocolate.

I've had that one I think, it was a black pepper flavor and I also liked it better than the Taza although I probably won't rush out to buy it again.

I lost nearly an entire bar of chocolate yesterday. I left it in the car not realizing how warm it was going to be.

[lperry]

El Ceibo Bolivian Specialty Coffee, 60% Dark Milk Chocolate with Organic Cocoa Beans.  Like an excellent mocha, solidified into a creamy bar.  I'm not usually a fan of milk chocolate, but this combination is very well balanced.  And has a bit of a wake-up kick. 

[smithhemb]

Chuao Rocky Road or Three Nut Temptation (FKA Caracas).  I'd been thinking that $5 at World Market was pricy, until I saw them for $7.95 at Chocolate Chocolate.

And even though I'm generally not a milk chocolate fan, I like the Whole Foods brand milk chocolate with toffee and sea salt bar.

[DaRiv18]

Ok, I'm not a big chocolate person, but Salt and Sundry carries these sweeteeth Sea Salt Caramel bars that are just awesome.  I don't eat them often, but they are becoming my go-to gift to people to whom I want to express thanks.  Without exception they have brought raves.