L’Artisan du Chocolat Bars

I nearly forgot about these bars purchased at Taste of Dublin. L’Artisan du Chocolat publish a catalog of their creations and some, especially the pearls, look amazing. The pearls strike me as a grown up, all sophisticated, elegant Smartie.  They would be lost on HoneyB but savored by me. The pearls come packed in a white box with black border like packaging from Chanel. Anyway enough about those, on to the bars which are my passion. This stuff is very expensive … €3 for 45g so before I even unwrap it my expectations were high.

Dominican Republic 72%

Smell: smells fruity and mild

Look: lighter in colour than the others, milker looking. Glossy finish and segmented into squares which were impossible to break off cleanly. One of my To Dos is to make a bar where I can snap off a square easily (then I’ll probably find out how hard the process is!)

Snap: beautiful crisp

Taste: Not a strong overpowering chocolate, rather sweet and seductive. A sweet mellow honey taste with hints of sour cherry kicking in. Slightly acidic aftertaste.

Texture: silky smooth

Would I buy it again: No, and this was a surprise because we’ve liked so many others from this neck of the woods.

Brazil Rio Doce 72%

Smell: a stronger bolder smell, earthy, cocoa but not bitter or nose curling.

Look: dark in color which fits right in with the smell. Glossy elegant finish.

Snap: again beautiful snap.

Taste: A definite hit of burnt toffee, dark and strong flavor of turf fires. There is no hints of sweetness here, it is drying with a long aftertaste.

Texture: silky smooth but little pieces of grit now and then.

Would I buy it again: No

Darjeeling Dark Chocolate (Flavoured)

Smell: very chocolately and fresh

Look: Again glossy finish, which is excellent to see on all three bars. This is darker again in color.

Snap: again beautiful snap.

Taste: this is a strong hefty bar, a little goes a long way. Notes of vanilla and fresh flowers accompany a bold dark chocolate. As with Brazil Rio Doce, it is drying.

Texture: silky smooth

Would I buy it again: Yes, this was our definite favourite.

Taste Of Dublin 2009

We had a dry and sunny day at Taste of Dublin which was surprising given the rain that fell this morning. HoneyB was a little under the weather so what was billed as a half day of strolling and grazing became 2 hours of walking and eating. How bad, eh?

Arriving at the entrance reminded us of arriving at a concert. We were ‘greeted’ by a big guy who warned us to ‘Have our tickets ready’. Good god, I wondered was my bag going to be searched next and my water bottle confiscated! Bad start but it was up hill from there on when Donnybrook Fair greeted us with truffles.

The Green & Black’s stand was beautiful with oodles of squares to sample, but the one bar Himself wanted, Dark Cherry, was not for sale only sample :-( It will be available in July but IMHO Wilde Irish Chocolate Cherry gives it a run for its money.

Lindt stall was matching the SuperValu promotion: any 3 bars for €5. There was no new and exciting flavors to see, just lots to taste and the Lindt cook book to flick thru.

I think HoneyB would have wow’ed at ChocAllure’s chocolate fountain. It was such a feast for the eyes; but I’m not a huge fan of the milky stuff so I passed by.

Most of the restaurants seemed busy enough and there were lots of well known faces inc Gino, Darina and the guy from Hell’s Kitchen. All smiling and soaking in the foodie atmosphere. I have to say that the menu for L’Ecrivain sounded a whole lot better than the real thing. I got a tiny burger hidden in a huge bun … himself got a ‘cuisine de france’ crispy roll with a sausage ;-(

But the highlight of the day was a tasting session at Beer Naturally Academy where we tasted 4 beers paired with food. It was very interesting and showed me Carlsberg in a new light! After that we tasted a mini Guinness (we got to keep the glass!) and a Guinness & chocolate tart. Nice one.

Artisan du Chocolate had a nice but small selection from which we chose 2 bars and then went back for a third just to be really greedy! They reckon they are going to open an outlet in Dublin but are searching for the right premises (they said that last year so now I’m skeptical).

We covered a lot of ground and food in two hours and ticked off our must dos: Beer Naturally Academy and Artisan du Chocolat. Then off to collect HoneyB who was soooo impressed that Mommie and Daddie were there early for her.

The first of many tastings

OK so I’ve tasted lots of chocolate, but this was the first time I really concentrated on what I was tasting. Kinda like wine tasting, but definitely without any spitting! Himself organised 4 samples of chocolates from different countries, but in or around the same cocoa %.

It was a lovely evening of controlled tasting rather than scoffing down bars. We each tasted the same piece and commented on the melt, taste, length and texture. But I have to admit that I found it difficult to describe the tastes and to guess the chocolate maker. But practice makes perfect!

Sample A Green and Blacks 70% :fruity, maybe lemons, creamy, smooth, long lasting

Sample B Tesco Finest 85% Santo Domingo: roasted coffee, bitter, waxy, very strong cocoa

Sample C L’Artisan du Chocolat Dominican Republic 70%: fruity, dried fruit, sweet, creamy, very smooth melt

Sample D L’Artisan du Chocolat Madagascar 80%: smoked spices, smells like rubber, smooth