Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
10:14 pm
April 24, 2004
Offline
Some of you are really forn of very dark chocs. OK, I thought I should try something tougher than the usual 70-something-%.
I have tried four 85%:
Pierre Marcolini Fleur de Cacao
Galler Noir
Lindt Excellence
Michel Cluizel Extra Amer
Inmy opinion, only Marcolinis choc is really worth something. It almost tastes like a 70%, but is less sweet, with an enormous rich flavour. Just so pity the price is £5 (~€8), which is too high.
The other chocs are variations over the theme harsh forasteros. I was especially disappointed by the Cluizel choc – I expected something more from such a choc master. In fact, the Galler was less harsh than the ones from Lindt and Cluizel.
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
3:32 am
August 1, 2006
Offline
To me, an 85% chocolate should taste like an 85% chocolate, if not stronger. At such a high percentage, I believe that this kind of chocolate shouldn’t be as subtle as Marcolini’s, but rather it should pack a chocolaty punch, such as Castelain’s. Cluizel’s is a bit bitter, flat, and quite disappointing. Galler’s is a little flat but much better than Cluizel’s. Lindt’s 85% is their best bar and has some fruitiness to it that seems to enhance the strength a bit. Polar, if you like mild 85%, then try Cuba Venchi and Dolfin, both of which are mild and don’t taste like they’re in the 80% range.
9:02 am
May 21, 2004
Offline
Polarbear, where did you buy your Fleur de Cacao? I bougth a bar in Antwerp at the Piere Marcolini shop at 3,75 euros. The Porcelana bar was 4,95. That is not bad at all. Too bad I bought only one of the Fleur de Cacao. I like it a lot. I also got a Equateur, Madagascar and Cabosse. They were out of Java and Venezuela. It seems that the production of plain chocolate is rather small.
Where can I get Cuba Venchi and Dolphin. I thougt Dolphin only made flavoured chocolates.
1:05 pm
August 1, 2006
Offline
Lego, where do you live? Dolfin makes predomidantly flavored bars, but they do have a 70% and an 88%. The 70% reeks of cinnamon and is is pretty distracting, imo. The 88% is somewhat mild for its percentage and tastes more like nutmeg and allspice. It’s a pretty good 80% chocolate, though a little mild…comparatively speaking.
1:49 pm
April 24, 2004
Offline
quote:
Originally posted by legodudePolarbear, where did you buy your Fleur de Cacao?
Marcolini’s shop in London, at a trip last december. Havent’t seen them in Norway
Monte; I agree that a 85% shouldnt be so sweet as a 70%, but it should have some flavours besides the “strongness”. In my opinion, Lindts is the worst, it is just strong, burnt ash.
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
9:37 pm
October 10, 2003
Offline
A comment on price – Lego & Polar; I find it quite unlikeable that Marcolini is so much more expensive in UK than in Belgium. I went to their shop in London a week ago, and as far as I remember all their bars cost approx 5 GBP which is quite different from 5 euro, also their so-called ‘Porcelana’/limited edition. They were out of Fleur de Cacao, and it didn’t seem like they thought they would have them back in stock in weeks 
9:42 am
April 24, 2004
Offline
quote:
Originally posted by LoneLyA comment on price – Lego & Polar; I find it quite unlikeable that Marcolini is so much more expensive in UK than in Belgium. I went to their shop in London a week ago, and as far as I remember all their bars cost approx 5 GBP which is quite different from 5 euro, also their so-called ‘Porcelana’/limited edition. They were out of Fleur de Cacao, and it didn’t seem like they thought they would have them back in stock in weeks
Pity you didn’t get to try it!
Regarding the price; may be the just speculate in squeezing money out of rich shoppers – the Marcolini shop in London is in posh Kensington.
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
2:22 pm
October 10, 2003
Offline
Rich shoppers like us who can afford the trip all the way from Norway???
4:01 pm
May 21, 2004
Offline
Too bad youy did not try to get cheap tickets to Bruxelles instead, Polar and LoneLy. Because the price was 3,75 euros for the bars. If you do not believe me I can make a scan of the receipt and mail it to you. Have any of you tried to order Scharffen Berger from Denmark? I tried to mail the Friis-Holm who are the importes, but none of the mail addresses I found, worked.
4:04 pm
April 24, 2004
Offline
Well, actually I went to the UK to visit friends who live there, not primarily to buy choc.
(So much for my credibility among chocoholics [:p])
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
5:28 pm
October 10, 2003
Offline
I went to London for other reasons, too, but I must admit take chocolate into account when planning my trips. Nevertheless, going to London again soon. I have no reasons to go to Brussels at the moment, but maybe I’ll get friends there to send me Fleur de Cacao if I can’t get it from London. I don’t mind paying for good chocolate, but there were other things too that annoyed me at Pierre Marcolini Kensington/London. For example staff who says cocoa nibs is the same as nuts … I realised I have become increasingly picky about all chocolate practicalities and logistics.
6:20 pm
April 24, 2004
Offline
Well, I admit – I did plan the choco-shopping before I went, too.[:)]
The staff at the Marcolini shop was very polite and service minded, albeit a bit “cold-posh”.
I also had a long talk with the girl at the counter at Artisan, who seemed to be a real chocoholic herself.
BTW, I sometimes tell choc-shop staffs that I don’t want to buy a certain product because “vanillin” on the wrapping tells me a bit too much about the content. They always seem to be surprised. (Lego: The last time was at the small shop at Torgallmenningen!) May be they employ yung students who do not know too much about chocolate.
Often when I feel that I need a bar – must have it, just must have it!!! – I find a health food store in the hope of a Green&Blacks or Pronatec. But too often, they only have the tastless Plamil, or the annoying Villars 72%, a crown example of cheap forasteros&vanilin. The shop people always get surprised when I tell them that Villars is neither good nor organic, and that it contains syntetic “vanilla”.
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
8:10 pm
July 27, 2004
Offline
I recently finished off Valrhona’s 85% bar and didn’t care for it too much. For me, it had the definite, strong taste of a sour cheese in the length. Like a bleu cheese taste of sorts . . .
All I will say about Dolfin is . . . I have eaten it and would rather not in the future, unless they start doing something really different. I tried their plain 70% and 70% with bits of cacao nibs, and was not too impressed with either.
j a s o n b u n t i n g
5:32 pm
March 3, 2004
Offline
I had an interesting chat with an old industry friend the other day and he said that Cluziel did not make his own chocolate and bought mainly from Callebaut , can any one tell me if this is right .?
Interesting comments on the 85 % bars . When I have tried a rough 100% from Ghana , i could not eat it . 100 % from venezuela was strong but fruity with a great after taste , so it really depends on the quality of the bean .
1:42 pm
August 1, 2006
Offline
That’s news to me regarding Cluizel.
Quality of bean certainly plays a role…and so does brand. Was the manufacturer of those two bars the same, or were they different ones?
I believe the majority of beans grown in Ghana are Forasteros, so naturally the bar wouldn’t have been as fine as the Venezuela bar.
8:35 pm
August 6, 2006
Offline
La Fontaine au Chocolat is selling Michel Cluizel. This information can be found if you make a search in Google:
quote:
The Michel Cluizel firm is one of the very few independent family businesses in the world to make its own chocolate, starting from cocoa beans.
Similar information can be found on the Cluizel web-site. Regrettably the site is only available in french:
[url]http://www.cluizel.com/[/url]
Masur
8:37 pm
August 6, 2006
Offline
La Fontaine au Chocolat web-site:
[url]http://www.fontaineauchocolat.com/[/url]
Masur
9:05 pm
August 6, 2006
Offline
More about Michele Cluizel:
quote:
…Michel Cluizel selects and roasts cocoa beans from only the best estates to create his divine chocolate bars and confections.
[url]http://www.rockridgemarkethall.com/pastashop/confections.html[/url]
Masur
10:16 am
July 31, 2006
Offline
I have a video of the Cluizel factory, also with scenes of Cluizel himself at the plantations … I’ve heard a lot of rumours like this, but never this one before. I think it can be ignored.
Martin Christy
Editor
http://www.seventypercent.com
5:41 pm
March 3, 2004
Offline
What the website says means very little .
There are many chocolate companies making similar claims about ” our beans are roasted and ground” . that does not mean that that company actually does that particular process .
I had always thought that Cluziel processed his own beans and I hope he does . That is why I was so shocked at the thought of him using Callebaut . Maybe he only uses Callebaut for certain jobs , and any way Callebaut make excellant chocolate often better than Valrohna . I only worry about the market dominence of Callebaut .
But I hoped i could raise the question of Cluziel because the person who told me is not prone to rumour , he is the retirted head of a very important global chocolate firm . not prone and no need to bulls**t . !!
Any one know the answer for sure ??
