Lindt Excellence Zimt & Koriander

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on March 17 2009 | Leave A Comment
Lindt Excellence Zimt & Koriander

Remember my poor little sister? The one stuck in Germany without Coconut Rough?

She came through with her side of a bargain. It seems that in Germany, and no doubt through other parts of Europe as well, Lindt release seasonal specials. A regular at Christmas is Cinnamon and Coriander – or Zimt und Koriander if you’re German. My sister, being descended from a canny Scot, doesn’t buy any of the seasonal specials at Christmas – oh no, she waits until after Christmas when the stores are running the stock out and then buys up big when it’s going cheap.

So anyhow, she posted one over, along with a few other goodies that will be reviewed right here, soon. I’ve been remiss, I have a bunch of things waiting to send to her but it has been so hot for so long here that I was concerned it would all be ruined in the postal system. After hearing about this one I’ve been hanging out for 5 months to actually try it. So after it sat for a week or two, the moment could be postponed no longer.

Lindt Excellence Zimt & Koriander

The opening of the pack produced the first disappointment. The Australian heat has done a bit of damage. The insides are whitened and slightly crumbly, so the look is not good at all. Nevertheless, a little discolouration never hurt anybody! On trying it, the texture isn’t all that good either. Heat be damned!

The flavour… on the other hand! Wow! I’ve never had anything like this before, this is really something. The cocoa is a mere babe, at 47%, and it looks to my schoolboy German translation as though it has butter fat (from those things that go moo) as well as the cocoa butter. It’s incredibly rich, so a square is enough. But that’s fine, because the spices, and the richness go together really well. I can’t pick that the spices are Cinnamon and Coriander – neither dominate, instead it’s just a rich blend of powerful flavours.

I did an experiment, seeing as the texture is all crumbly from the heat during transit. I melted a square, easily done in a cup that’s placed in a bowl of boiling water – a trick I heard somewhere for rescuing chocolate that’s heat damaged. Very quickly, it had all melted and I could spoon it out to set again. A soup spoon seemed as good a thing as any to set it in.

Lindt Excellence Zimt & Koriander

As you can see, we now have a nice, medium-dark, glossy chocolate all restored to a suitable glory. The effort was worthwhile, because a taste-test after this recovery showed that the texture was soft, rich and very smooth. The flavour is also improved – so it’s pretty much as Mr Lindt intended.

I’d really like to see these appear in Australia, even if only for a little while in the middle of our winters. Much like they appear for a short time in the middle of a German winter, this would make a really nice treat for a cold night sitting around a warm fire. How about it, Mr Lindt? Please? Bitte?

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Comments On This Post

  1. Maggie

    I’m a real fan of Lindt and I love their seasonal creations almost as much as I love the Petits Desserts range. Haven’t tried this one – hope they’ll launch it again next year so I can lay my hands on it 🙂

  2. Ashleigh you’re not just a pretty face – excellent scheme in melting it, my friend! This is precisely the type of interestingly delicious flavour that I’d love to see here in Australia during our winter.

    Whaddaya say, Lindt Australia? All you have to do is ship over the stuff that’s left over from the northern hemisphere’s winter and give it to us….

  3. It’s really nice. Rich. Try hard and you can pick the Cinnamon. I always think the art of spice blending is not to have a result where you can tell what’s in it – rather to have something thats really nice, and leaves you wondering how the heck is was done. And this one fits that bill.

  4. Christine

    Wow… I love cinnamon even more than chocolate (and that’s really saying something!) I hope we see these in Australia as some point.

  5. Simon

    Welcome to the Chocablog “Waily-waily Lindt” Gang.

    Those Yerpeans have all the best stuff – hand it over, Lindt.

  6. Rita

    I am eating my last square of Lindt Zimt & Koriander 🙁
    The whole bar has lasted me since Christmas. I was on a desperate search for more when I came across your blog.

    Seasonal Special 🙁

    I am in Denver, Colorado and it was sent to me from Germany. I hope my German Santa thinks I am a good girl next year and sends me more! By the way, a square goes great with a glass of red wine, especially a Malbec

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