Well, I truly don’t know how to begin rating these dark chocolates except how I perceive them. This is me messing around on the planet without really looking to take this anywhere. I eat and try so many dark chocolates that it felt like it would be fun to journal them somewhere. So, let’s first define a points system?
- Bitterness : Bitterness, undoubtedly, is the centrepiece of the dark chocolate world and it comes with its own caveats too. Perceived bitterness, according to me, is dependent on how well a chocolate dissolves in your mouth. So, when trying to taste this for yourself, let the chocolate swirl and roll in your mouth so as to cover your entire buccal cavity consistently. Let’s score this from 0 to 10 with upto one decimal place where 0 is not-bitter(spit it out!) and 10 is bitter.
- Sweetness : This is where most of you will differ from me and this is where polarisation takes place. I like my chocolates mildly sweet and so, I hover in the range of 74-78% dark chocolates. We will score this from 0(oh no spit it out I need some sugar) to 10(oh no spit this sugar-trash out), again with one decimal place.
- Sourness : While most of the chocolates are never sour at all, some of them carry this mild sourness which feels akin to acid and feels natural too when you experience it. I kinda like it but I have never made-up my mind on it definitively. 10 would be very sour on this scale. Let’s aim to not cross 7 on this scale.
- Melting potential : So, I will have to explain this as this is my personal preference. I call it in a fancy way when I use melting potential but actually, here is what I mean. When you swirl the chocolate in your mouth, some of them will easily dissolve into this thin layer of chocolate that flows smoothly and the rest will stay in chunky and refuse to melt in your mouth until chewed. I prefer chocolates that melt and swirl nicely in my mouth. So, for me, that would be 10 out of 10.
- Dry vs Creamy : Again, a personal preference. There are chocolates that, after melting, leave your mouth creamy and ready for another piece while there are chocolates that leave your mouth uniformly coated and dry. Importantly, I have found a lot of correlation between dryness and bitterness and it feels like it is due to a much better contact with my tongue?(please tell me if this is hilarious comedy nonsense). These chocolates tend to make you want to stop eating another piece because its taste doesn’t leave your mouth as it finely deposits itself everywhere in your mouth and make you crave water. It is a very specific feeling but I kinda like my chocolates slightly dry. In this scale, we will go from 0 to 10 again where 5 would be in-between, 0 would be dry and 10 would be very creamy.
Note : Rating systems are terrible, IMO and humans are subjective. Humans are also really bad at comparing things by recall from their memory. So, these notes will mean nothing I suppose. 😛
Let the ratings begin.
Moser Roth Ecuador 74%(Fav #2)
Bitterness : 7/10 | Not too high, just enough to soothe you.
Sweetness : 3/10 | The sweetness is just perfect and complements the low-bitter taste.
Sourness : 0/10 | Not sour at all.
Melting potential : 6.5/10 | While I had to chew and break the chocolate with my teeth, it dissolved well once I did so.
Dry vs Creamy : 3/10 | This was less than perfect for me but it was better than most chocolates.
Remarks : Recommended
Lindt Edelbitter Mousse Chocoladen-Truffel 70%
Bitterness : 4/10 | Doesn’t feel bitter at all, and very slight if at all.
Sweetness : 5/10 | The sweetness slightly dominates the flavour and isn’t very pleasing to me.
Sourness : 0/10 | Not sour at all.
Melting potential : 7.5/10 | Dissolved in my mouth with minimal chewing.
Dry vs Creamy : 6/10 | It is slightly creamy and leaves your mouth buttery. I don’t prefer it because it prevents you from tasting the bitterness and this is what happened here.
Remarks : Disappointing
Baron Delica Dore 80%
Bitterness : 3/10 | Doesn’t feel bitter.
Sweetness : 1.5/10 | It is barely sweet at all.
Sourness : 0/10 | Not sour at all.
Melting potential : 8.0/10 | Dissolves in my mouth with such ease. It is a good standard to follow.
Dry vs Creamy : 2.5/10 | A very dry chocolate but leaves you with a nicely coated mouth.
Remarks : Disappointing
Parakh M. Gupta 