We try to stay on topic around here. I did blather on about teas recently (see red & green, oolong post still to come), and today I'm going to blather on about yet another of my favorite addictions: chocolate. Dark chocolate, to be more precise, and dark chocolate with "stuff" added, to be even more precise. I like plain dark chocolate, but I like flavored dark chocolate even better. To keep this vaguely related to perfume, I've included a few "what to wear while you eat" recommendations.
One of my favorite brands for flavored dark chocolate is the Belgian company Dolfin. They've a wonderful selection. I recently sent March over at Perfume Posse some little Dolfin squares, including their Noir Cumin. March commented that "while we can’t decide whether we really like the cumin bar, it is strangely addictive", and that is entirely true. When the square of Noir Cumin hits my tongue, I'm initially horrified, then I'm torn between being intrigued and being nauseated, then I want to eat another. And another. Buy some and give it a shot, and if you hate them, send them on to me. Matching perfume: Cartier Declaration, of course. Knock yourself out.
Dolfin's Noir Cardamome is another matter; I'm charmed all the way through. Like the Cumin, it is only available in small squares, and I could easily down a bag of them without noticing. It has just the right balance: the cardamom is really strong, but it isn't so strong that you can't taste the chocolate. If you love cardamom, you have to try them, and if you know of an even better cardamom-laced chocolate, do tell! Matching perfume: The Different Company Jasmin de Nuit.
Moving on to Dolfin's larger chocolate bars, I highly recommend the Noir A L'Anis Vert (with green aniseed), the Noir Au Café Moulu (with ground coffee) and the Noir Aux Feuilles De Thé Earl Grey (with crunchy tea leaves scented with bergamot). Special mention must be made of their Noir Aux Feuilles de Menthe, which is about the only mint chocolate bar I've ever had that tastes like real, fresh-from-the-plant mint leaves as opposed to "peppermint candy". It's really marvelous. Matching perfume: Guerlain Herba Fresca.
For those of you keeping track of how many new perfumes feature a pink pepper note, you'll be charmed (or not) to know that Dolfin makes a Noir au Poivre Rose (with pink pepper). Like so many recent perfumes, it did not have enough bite for me. Matching perfume: Yves Saint Laurent Elle.
You can find Dolfin (and all sorts of other good chocolates) at chocosphere. If you want to try the small squares, you have to order one of the "assortment boxes", but if you look around you can find other sites that sell the individual flavors by the bag.
Part 2, when I get to it, will include Chocolove, Dagoba, Santander, Venchi, and whatever new chocolate bars I eat between now and then.
Oooh, and it's stil Lent…
Not fair. I live so much closer to Belgium than you, and I've never encountered Dolfin! I've only just managed to find a source of Valrhona, but that's simply gorgeous.
I am in Belgium quite often. The Dolfin ginger chocolate is my favourite.
I like their ginger, but there are other ginger chocolates I like better — I like LOTS of ginger in my ginger chocolate! Dolfin's is certainly perfect for someone who wants more subtlety.
You mean you didn't give up perfume for Lent??? Just kidding
Oh. My. God.
What an appalling thought.
Off to spray lots of Metalys….
Cumin in chocolate… good heavens. Sounds like I have to try this. Any suggestions for sources here in the states?
Chocosphere is in the US, but you can also find them at worldwidechocolate.com
Sorry — bad joke!
Thanks!
I think I have a Dolfin bar sitting in my pantry! It looked interesting (milk chocolate with green tea leaves), but I'm not that into chocolate, so it's been sitting there for months. Maybe I'll give it a try this weekend!
tMy favorite flavored dark chocolate bar is Vosges “Mo's Bacon Bar” w/ applewood smoked bacon bits and salt srystals. Sweet, salty, bacony yum yum yum.
Not that into chocolate? *cannot compute*
I cannot make up my mind about that bar! It is either wonderful or disgusting, and still can't decide after having eaten 2 of them. Very stuck on the Vosges Black Pearl bar though!
I'm usually ostracized when people find out, which is why I have random fancy chocolate bars in my pantry. I keep hoping to convert myself!
What's in the Black Pearl bar? Not actual pearls, I am thinking.
Ginger, wasabi, black sesame seeds, dark chocolate. Yum!
LOL — I will not ostracize you if you promise not to tease me about Justin Timberlake
The cardamom Dolfin flavor sounds like a must-try.
Robin, do you like Wilbur chocolate (made in the town of Lititz, in Lancaster Co. PA, not far from you)? My husband keeps a stash of the dark chocolate Wilbur Buds in our bedroom where the kids won't find them. (Chocolate doesn't last long w/4 teenagers in the house.) Hershey Kisses are a poor quality copy of the Wilbur Buds, which are molded drops of chocolage that are much richer. Don't think they are available outside of Pennsylvania unfortunately, and I've never seen any made in flavors. Most of Wilbur's production is labeled for other companies.
You're kidding, there is chocolate being made in Lancaster Cty? I had no idea. I will go google.
There is a chocolate place in Oxford, PA (about 20 minutes from me) that carries Neuchatel chocolate, and I'm so lazy I still haven't been there. I keep hearing it is wonderful.
I love, love Dolfin chocolates, especially their Dark Chocolate with Ceylan Cinnamon which appeals greatly to the foody in me. My most recent chocolate addiction is Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Sanders – they are divine!
The cinnamon one is really nice. Off to google Sanders!
The Vermont Country Store carries Wilbur buds in their catalog and online store. I haven't tried them but have contemplated them several times :).
I didn't think there was such a think as a mint chocolate that didn't taste like peppermint candy. yum. I will have to try a couple of these. I think my favorite flavored chocolate ever was Michel Chaudin's dark chocolate basil truffles. My favorite unflavored chocolate is Scharfen Berger.
They also have a bar with Garan Masala–the makings of curry. I've made curry cookies, and they are great–hot, sweet, and buttery. Nom, nom, nom! I've been hunting for a bar with cardamom, and a chocolatier I know in DC does a tobacco truffle that's to die for–dark chocolate with a waft of perfumey tobacco up through the nose. Heaven!
Oh goodness, just hearing about Vosges tortures me. I've tried to have it delivered to Canada twice and they won't do it. *sob* I must try the Black Pearl, Red fire and Bacon bar as well as the Aztec hot Chocolate. As for Dolfin, just the idea of the Cumin excites me. Anise and cardamom, too. But I try the Earl Grey tea bar when I was in France and didn't really enjoy it. Perhaps I was too distracted by the ginerbread macaroons to really concentrate.
This is a great and very interesting post (I noted your earlier post on the jasmine chocolate, and though the thought almost revolted me at first, I'm dying to try some).
I think the cumin sounds tempting — hope it's not only available in the assortment packs. Cardamom and cinnamon sound great (glad some of their flavors are available in milk chocolate), and the chocolate “petals” with orange flower sound delicious — I love certain sweets flavored with orange flower. Garam Masala chocolate sounds too kinky for me, though I love Indian food. Off to google more purveyors of Dolfin. Thanks for this tip.
Better late than never — you know how much I loved those Dolfin bars, and thank you. I keep trying to match them mentally with fragrances, and plan to do so when I get another batch.
I think I've decided I love the cumin most, with the tea a very close second (there is something about the texture of the tea bars I adore.) The chocolate itself is so very satisfying.
I am giggling about the Vosges Bacon — I've eaten two as well, unable to decide whether it's disgusting! It's like some perfume where you can't decide which way to feel about it … of all the Vosges, though, I prefer the goji berry/salt one and either of the hot ones, although I think Red Fire is better. The Vosges milk chocolate is rich in a way that unsettles me if I'm not careful.
Joining you on the chocolate love. And I don't love the Wilbur Buds as much as everyone else, but they do taste nice. BTW if you have never poked around on there, Vermont Country Store is a gas for retro candy/chocolate, foods and fragrance — they have Soir de Paris, a buncha dupes, and an on-sale section.
Ooooh, who does the tobacco truffle? I feel like there's all this great chocolate going on around here I know nothing about.
Dying to try the Masala bar.
How interesting chocolate with cumin, cardamon etc. Had never heard of Dolphin before.. Wth chocolate I am either simple and love Lindt 70% pure chocolate or decadent and then my fav. is Cote d'Or BonBonBloc with praline filling..:-) Cote d'Or is also Belgian.
In some restaurants in Prague they serve as a desert, chocolate fondue made from Belgian pure, milk or white chocolate with parts of fresh fruit. Choc. fondue is wonderful for the mind after a too heavy meal with too much wine..It completes the evening so nicely.
Glad we agree
Oh, basil truffles! That sounds marvelous. Have a Mocha Scharffen Berger bar waiting right here to be eaten
Please — the name of the chocolatier?
I've tried a Cote d'Or bar – Noir Orange. It was nice.
M, did I send you a cardamom? I can't remember what I sent. I might have sent you a pink pepper before I ate mine — it turned out to be my least favorite. Vosges Red Fire is nice too, but can't remember now if I've had the Goji berry, but I think I have (?)
I will have to look around and see if we can get Bremen here, I don't know the brand. I couldn't live w/o chocolate either!
The Earl Grey tea bar is admittedly less highly flavored than many of the others — I just love the crunch of the tea leaves. I do wish they had a jasmine tea one.
And macaroons ARE distracting, LOL…
That's amazing. I love all those things. It sounds like a great desert after a dinner of Thai food. Not sure if I should thank you or not for telling me about something I did not know I needed.
I went and tried the cumin after reading this. I really liked it…maybe it's the Indian genes, lol. And I think it went rather well with L'Air du Desert Marocain, which I had spilled all over me at the time!
My current fav chocolate is Green & Black. Their 'darker shade of milk' is the most 'perfect' milk chocolate I've ever had–not too milky, just a wee bit more intense. Their darks are good too. For true milk chocolate lovers, the Swedish company Marabou makes a great big sweet comfort bar!
Goodness, that mint one sounds to die for. I just got some wonderful Dagoba Xocolatl hot chocolate mix – I like it even better than the chocolate bars – it's hotter but no so hot as to be weird.
I greatly enjoy your slightly off-topic posts about tea and chocolate. My #2 addiction (after perfume of course) is cheese.
Isn't it cool? I'll have to try the G&B “Darker” milk, I've tried the brand but never saw that one.
Ah, and I love the Xoxolatl bar, I'll have to try the cocoa.
And I adore cheese! Am completely addicted to a little California niche cheese called Midnight Moon, by the company Cypress Grove. Yum.
You did. The cardamom was nice, but didn't grab me the way the curry and tea did. The pink pepper was my least favorite too! Which surprised me, I love the salt ones … I really need to try the Hot Masala bar.
I only endorse the goji berry because you like your fruits and salt I think (?) but the bar's milk choc and may not be your thing. One of the red pepper bars is darker than the other.
Wow, an article about chocolate and see how many comments within 2 days…!
Robin, I tried the Noir au Poivre Rose because I love pink pepper in savory food, but to me this chocolate tastes like – I'm sorry – vomit. I really mean the taste reminded me of vomit, like cheap grated fake parmiggiano cheese. The chocolate quality though I guess is very good – there's surely nothing wrong with the ingredients, but this strongly irritated my taste buds…!
Aha — yes, I think I did eat a goji berry bar, but nothing in milk chocolate is likely to join my favorites list. I know I've tried both Oaxaca & Red Fire, but liked Dagoba's Xoxocatl better than either. I need a Hot Masala bar too! Need to order again soon from Chocosphere before spring, after that, could be too hot to ship.
Well hey, everybody (almost) likes chocolate — we'd probably get more comments if that's all we talked about
Vomit, LOL! I didn't hate it that much, just didn't care about it much either way — just seemed bland, and maybe not as good even as plain dark chocolate. Have you tried any of the other Dolfin bars?
But many of your other posts get a lot of buzz, too. And since we know you have good taste in perfume, we're going to trust your taste in chocolate too, right? I just ordered Vosges' “gift set of mini exotic candy bars” for my aunt's birthday. Thanks again for turning us onto all this great chocolate.
Oooh, I haven't seen the gift set, I'll have to look for that, thank you!
Oh, honey, you are tempting me, but I really need to cut down on my consumption of sweets.
But tell me, what is your very favorite, very favorite Dolfin bar.
We ordered the dark chocolate truffles from Vosges for Valentine's Day. They were so delicious, but so-o-o-o small, that my DH, DS and I ate the whole 18-piece box in one sitting.
I know…we are pigs!
I see that the chocosphere site has Michel Cluizel. We love these Parisian chocolates, and brought a whole bunch back from Paris in July. Their shop is amazing! We were mesmerized by the lovely chocolate fountain.
Hugs and love!
Hey Robin,
I mostly do not make much time to post here but had to on this one. Can you believe I work 30 minutes away from the Dolfin factory and have NEVER heard of them?! Haven't seen them in any shop here in Belgique. I feel an unworthy chocoholic
There's this whole world of chocolate flavours out there that I do not know about. I must go and investigate and think I'll start with cardamom and aniseed. Love the wrapper, by the way.
My very first student job was in a fancy chocolate shop in Antwerp where they manufactured their own chocolates. I worked there for two weeks over the Easter holidays and my task was to wrap the little Easter eggs & chocolate hearts in colored tinfoil, literally thousands of them. And I had to stack the pralines in pyramids. Of course I also ensured quality control and rigorously discarded any chocolates that were not perfect (i.e. you could eat as many of them as you liked
I was only rarely allowed to go into the shop to wait on the customers, who were mainly wealthy people from the diamond trade and were said to be very demanding. The glamour of it all!
ilse
No haven't tried other, as I only discovered them in Berlin shortly before I left the city. But they all sound quite intriguing…
I have a strange relationship with chocolate. Usually I don't really care but sometimes I get this craving and then I eat half a bar – I know, not a lot. I'm more for the savory – I remember in Berlin there is a chocolate restaurant, where you get all sorts of dishes made with chocolate. A friend once made chicken in chili-chocolate sauce, which was absolutely delicious. Apparently a Mexican thing.
My favorite is the cardamom. If I had to pick a favorite among the larger bars, it is probably the Earl Grey tea, but that one is arguably weird & maybe not to everyone's liking. And hey — spring is coming, and I'll have to slow down on the chocolate intake soon or I won't be in shorts & swimsuits this summer! Hugs to you, and now I want some truffles
Wow, they are right around the corner from you, how cool! But how interesting that you don't see them in local shops, I wonder why.
Wrapping little chocolates in tinfoil — thousands of them — that must have been quite a job. Did you get sick of eating chocolate before you were done?
Ooh cardamom and Earl Grey tea! I love both of those flavors.
I went to the site and selected some goodies. Wonder if I will just drool and fantasize about how the chocolate will taste, or click-it and buy?
We shall see…
Sometimes the shopping process takes care of the craving, doesn't it, and then you don't need to buy — I know that feeling!
Yes, that's molé — one of my favorite Mexican dishes, although it's hard to get the good stuff where I live. And I would kill for a chocolate restaurant! I don't have your “strange relationship” with chocolate
I got sick of chocolate quite quickly, but then that effect wore off just as quickly after I stopped my job there
I am in love with the cinnamon flavor. Very, very highly recommended to all.
It really is very nice. I suppose I liked the cumin & cardamom better, but cinnamon is well worth eating