Sunday, December 24, 2006


lights of london

i was capitivated by the large colorful label showing big ben surrounded by new year's fireworks when i saw this new chocolate at my local garden of eden. but despite the label, it isn't an english chocolate -- it's actually made in russia!

truly devoted chocophile readers will recall that i've had a pretty decent track record with premium russian chocolates, notably the korkunov, which i haven't seen around in ages. so i snatched up this 72% dark bar pronto.

opening the bar was great: it has a fantastic, wafting, intense chocolate smell with a strong undertone of vanilla (which alas i actually think is artificial). and unfortunately, the look of the bar didn't inspire much confidence: while the front was nicely molded, the back revealed tell-tale bubbles.

uh-oh. the snap was ok, but the edges weren't clean -- you could see the grittiness, which was also felt in the mouth. unlike most 72%, the first ingredient on the label is indeed sugar, not cocoa.

the bar's too sweet, and too low quality. too much lecithin also gives the bar a rather plastic feeling in the mouth before it melts, not the creamy, buttery texture we want.

sorry, i can't recommend it. this label has different names for it's different products: "lights of belgium," etc.; skip 'em all, i say.

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posted by fortune | 9:10 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments