adventures in fructose-free treats: chocolate

As promised we decided to do a bit of a taste test to see which chocolate we enjoy most. So far I had tracked down the 99% Lindt and the 100% Dominican from Koko Black. My sister-in-law had found a 99% at the Kirribilli chocolate shop. And we thought that last of all we'd compare it to the 85% Lindt which is something more in the realm of normalcy. It probably wasn't according to normal protocols but we were cleansing our palates with coffee.

I wish I'd read about chocolate tasting notes before we began because we were struggling for adjectives, seriously in need of direction and suggestion. I think I'm still suffering a loss of adjectives since being pregnant twice, or maybe it's the lack of sleep???

Here's what we think:

It was unanimous that the 99% Lindt was our least favourite. It was strange because the flavour took a long time to hit your palate and when it did it was quite dull and bitter. It wasn't very creamy at all, just marginally better than eating cocoa powder and is weirdly crystalline in parts. However, did go brilliantly grated over chocolate ice cream, see here. My friend Caro thought it was 'gaggable'.

We then moved on to the 100% Dominican from Koko Black. This was significantly better. It had a stronger flavour and was creamier than the Lindt. You could still describe it as pungent but it has a much more interesting taste than the Lindt. It was my favourite.

Then we moved on to the handmade 99% cocoa chocolate from Coco Chocolate in Kirribilli. It was creamier again. But I think it had some kind of distinctive 'green' flavour. I wasn't able to put my finger on it. Apparently it makes a heady accompaniment to whiskey... And is suitable for vegans but not for the faint hearted. This was the favourite of both my husband and my sister-in-law.

I'm not convinced about the 85% it still has 14% sugar which is half a sugar cube per square of chocolate which seems rather a lot. It did seem very sweet and the squares are too big.

I meant to take a photo at the end because it was funny how much chocolate we had left over. Not the norm where chocolate is usually involved but perfect for our purposes.