Amedei Toscano 70%

When we first tasted Amedei Toscano 70%, we dismissed it immediately as not as good as Chauo. At the time we were tasting Lindt, Green & Blacks and 85% bars too. But then I revisited the bar on its own just to make sure I had not missed something … I had!

Notes from Amedei:  ” soft and decisive”
Smell: subtle fruity chocolate smell, not strongly bitter or powerful as a 70% might be.
Look: This bar came in the typical Amedei cardboard box, thick chunky squares. It has a lighter than expected color, satin finish. The black wrapper had me prepared for something a lot bolder.
Snap: definite snap.
Taste: They could really rename this bar to Amedei ‘patience’ as that is what you need. If you chomp down on it then you only get a quick burst of flavour. Take a bite from the bar and wait … wait until it starts to melt. Mamma mia here we go … honey, intense chocolate, no bitterness, cream, toffee. Lovely lingering taste of a balanced bitter-sweet chocolate. Light, fruity and does not feel like a 70%.
Texture: The texture is perfectly smooth rich and creamy, no dryness. With a long aftertaste, 5 mins and a swig of water later and I can still taste it.

Would I buy it again? Yes

Source: Donnybrook Fair (€6.39)

Thanks to Himself for the photo ;-)

That Rugby Match

This post is a whole week late … probably because the great Irish rugby win last Saturday over-shadowed an important chocolate tasting :-0  Himself, armed with 4 bars of chocolate, headed to Limerick to watch the match and offer the one known as Picard a taste of the black stuff. ‘Picard’ has a fondness for Guinness but not chocolate.

Up for tasting for the non-chocolate-lover:
- Lindt Excellence 85%
- Valrhona Albinao 85%
- Green & Blacks 70%
- Amedei Toscano 70%

I reckoned he would like one of the dark selection (Valrhona Albinao 85% I bet) … and I was right. Thanks, consider yourself a member of the chocolate tasting committee :-)

Milk Chocolate Tasting

Here’s a few notes on our first milk chocolate tasting. A few interesting points about milk Vs dark chocolate:

It was more difficult to characterise than dark chocolate especially the smell. Maybe it was the high sugar content throwing us ‘off the scent’?

It was so much easier to eat lots of this chocolate :-0 Milk chocolate is lighter without that ‘hit’ so I find myself reaching for another square (and I was not alone).

It was not as glossy and shiny as dark chocolate is. Typical finish was matt bordering on satin sheen finish.

The ’snap’ test was different from dark chocolate, with milk chocolate the snap is softer, not a crisp break.

We tasted in order of cocoa content …

Lindt Swiss Classic Milk Chocolate

Notes from Lindt: Cocoa 31%. Apart from the usual ingredients, this bar has malt barley extract.

Source: Tesco €

Look: This bar is larger than usual at 125g. It is light brown in color, just a shade darker than Wilde, easy to break off rectangular squares.

Smell: smells synthetic, sweet though just like milk chocolate should.

Touch: snap is blunt, soft.

Taste: strong milky taste but does not overpower the chocolate. Hints of sweet (acacia) honey, slight nuttiness too reminds me of a praline or gianduja. The aftertaste is long with burnt candy floss notes.

Texture: very smooth, melts beautifully.

Buy again? Myself: yes Himself: no

Amedei

Notes from Amedei: 32% Cocoa. “… a pleasant aroma of fresh milk and cream, vanilla and honey.”

Source: 100g bar €6.39 in Donnybrook Fair … but have since found cheaper in Glasthule.

Look: This is a chunky offering from Amedei, no delicate neapolitans here. The bar is thick with large squares. Darker in color with clean finish.

Smell: This bar smells invitingly of rich creamy honey chocolate.

Touch: Again the snap was not as crisp, soft and a little crumbly.

Taste: This tastes very different to Lindt, a rich chocolate with strong caramel (not that sweet runny caramel). The flavor reminded me of Scottish Highland toffee I loved as a kid. This chocolate lasts too with a pretty aftertaste.

Texture: oh this takes creamy to another level, it is silky.

Buy again? Myself: oh yes Himself: oh yes (just a pity is is so expensive … roll on birthdays!)

Green & Black Milk

Notes from Green & Black: 34% Cocoa. “made with more cocoa and more milk for a darker intense taste “

100g Source: Tesco €2.83

Look: This is by far the darkest in color. The format of the bar (same as all the other Green & Black bars) is not ideal though. It has tiny squares that never break off evenly and neatly.

Smell: The smell is more like a dark chocolate (bitter) aroma compared to the other bars.

Touch: This has the crispest snap.

Taste: Again very different to previous bars. Stronger in taste, malt, with a sourness. Mild aniseed notes appear briefly. It tasted like flavored chocolate not milk chocolate. It is more like a dark chocolate than a milk chocolate given the taste, snap and color.

Texture: Texture is crumbly before coming together.

Buy again? Myself: no Himself: yes

Wilde Irish Chocolate

Notes: 38% Cocoa. This is Irish handmade chocolate bar from Co. Clare.

Source: Chocolat, Ennis €4.50

Look: The packaging on this bar lets the chocolate do the selling rather than the salespeople. It shines through the clear cellophane wrapper. It is by far the lightest in color too. It is in small easy to break off squares.

Smell: mild sweet milky aroma … not surprising since its milk chocolate.

Touch: soft definite snap.

Taste: This is not a rich heavy milk chocolate. It is light, mousse-like and very edible, a delicate offering with a sweet milky taste that does not reflect its 38% cocoa content. I had expected this to be stronger cocoa taste, but as they say “you can’t judge a chocolate by its percentage cocoa”.

Texture: The texture in this chocolate is a little magical. It is so light and airy, it disappears very quickly when you chew it.

Buy again? Myself: no Himself: no.

The result in order of preference:

Myself: Amedei, Lindt, Wilde, Green & Black

Himself: Amedei, Green & Black, Wilde, Lindt

Happy Amedei to Me

It was my birthday on Sunday and himself splashed out and bought me (us!) the biggest box of Amedei to be found in Ireland. He sourced it from the gift catalogue in the Donnybrook Fair.

A Box of Chocolates

The sleek black box opens up to reveal 5 more boxes of chocolates, each one filled with 12 napolitains.

Honeyb chooses …

Those eagle eyes among you will spot the lack of a milk chocolate selection. This is because the milk chocolate box was short dated so I ended up with 2 I Cru. This is excellent because the I Cru has beautiful selections.

I have made a promise to myself not to pig out but savour them as treats and also to hone my taste buds. Each napolitain comes with tasting notes printed on the back so I will try to tast floral, citrus, woody notes etc as I indulge.

Himself thanks Heston Blumenthal for introducing us to the best chocolate in the world. In Search of Perfection, Heston searches for the best chocolate to use in his Black Forest Gateaux. He visited Amedei and chose Chuao. It was purely by chance that himself read the steps to making the perfect Black Forest Gateaux when we stayed in a telly-less room in The Old Convent guesthouse.

I also got the Book of Sweet Things by those Murphy brothers who make great ice cream. It contains lots of ice cream recipes but there are 2 chapters dedicated to bakes and drinks. Later I will tackle their Chocolate Brownie recipe and see how it compares with Alice Medrich’s Classic Brownie recipe.