Lindt Excellence Dark: A Touch of Sea Salt

OK, I feel like I am totally riding Cybele's coat tails. She recently reviewed the same bar (don't miss her review here), and it just sounded so good that I had to go and track one down for myself.

I love salted chocolate -- but most of the time it's "salted" only because the salt is attached to caramel or nuts or even bacon. This bar is different, because it's simply dark chocolate and sea salt.



Keep in mind I am not a huge fan of Lindt. It's not that I find it bad or even substandard; it's just that I am just not usually wowed by it.

This bar, however, impressed me. It has a great aroma to it; a very rich cocoa. It's like the perfume of a million happy little Toll House morsels -- and I mean that in the best way possible. The chocolate itself is mild for a dark, probably because it's only 47% cocoa. Personally, it reminds me of a very deep milk chocolate. It's very creamy and has a fabulous melt.



The sea salt is the clear star here. As best I can tell, the salt seems to rest mainly on the top of the bar. There's not a lot of it...just enough to set off the chocolate beautifully. There is a savory element to it that I am not sure I can do justice to...about all I can say is it just makes the chocolate better. There are also little salt crystals mixed throughout the bar that add a nice, slightly crunchy texture. And I love the way they melt on the tongue.

This bar is so good mostly because it's so simple. There's no glitz, no excess, no edgy, super-trendy ingredient (yes, bacon, I mean you), but that's exactly the point. It's as basic yet elegant as the classic little black dress. It should not be missed.



PURCHASED FROM:

Walgreens

Lindt Chocolate Carrots

I was thinking that if I could dangle a chocolate carrot it might help me stay good on my diet
And these Lindt carrots are certainly cute enough- and they have these little plastic umbrella style holders that makes dangling convenient. It wasn't until I was home that I even realized that the carrots are chocolate with Hazelnuts, reading the label it's a hazelnut paste. With that in mine it mind me think that these would be sort of like a solid Nutella.

The chocolate is exceptionally smooth and creamy. There's a strong milky taste. I didn't pick up the hazelnuts the way I expected. It's not as in your face as Nutella, rather it's blended into the chocolate. The aroma is deep and roasty but the flavor is sweet and light. I liked it because it was just nutty enough, it let the chocolate shine though. I also liked that just the one umbrella was a satisfying portion. I'm hoping the Easter Bunny brings more.

PURCHASED FROM:
Longs Drugs

Lindt Petits Desserts- Lemon Tart

Lemon and chocolate! I really didn't need a lot of convincing to try these!

I was the weird kid who when asked what kind of Birthday cake I wanted my answer was always the same- lemon cake with chocolate frosting (if there had to be frosting at all) Sadly I was always told that I had to pick something else because no one but me liked lemon and chocolate together. I was pretty sure that much like with many other things my parents were wrong about me being the only person who liked lemon and chocolate together. And luckily through out the years I have been able to find enough examples to know beyond a doubt I am not alone.

That leads me to the Lindt Lemon Tart. It's a large bar comprised of generous sized squares of milk chocolate layered with lemon cream and pieces of crispy meringue.

The lemon is good. On the sweet side but smooth and still tangy. The bits of meringue are addictive! I loved the little bits of crunch they added.
The chocolate is the let down. First off it's a milk chocolate. I really prefer the bite of a bitter dark chocolate with lemon because the bold flavors compliment each other so well. The milk is just not strong enough to stand up to the lemon. It's not that it is bad chocolate (lindt is not my favorite but it is better then most) but the mellow milky taste is lost here.

If this were a dark chocolate lemon it would be outstanding. As it stands it's OK. I wouldn;t turn it down but I wouldn't go looking for it again.