After having an experience I’d rather forget when tasting Witor’s cousin flavour, Bianco Cuore Al Latte, I was feeling a bit nervous about sinking my teeth into this one: dark chocolate with 60% cacao.
The packaging didn’t look too promising either. It resembles a sort of ‘wannabe classy’ unknown chocolate brand that we Aussies tend to see in our $2 Crazy Bargain shops at Christmas time, especially if filled with liqueur or hazelnut crème and often made in such non-chocolate-famed countries as Czechoslovakia or Hungary. If purchased, the bargain hunter tends to get exactly what they paid for: cheap chocolate that is best left unknown.
Gingerly I opened the wrapper and was relieved to not be able see any dots of oil or grease on the wrapper. The chocolate wasn’t glossy but made up for it by being a very dark colour, almost black. This boded well for the claimed 60%.
Slowly, gently, I snapped off a chunk and very carefully inserted it into my unusually reluctant mouth. Italy was much more famous for pasta, tomatoes, olives and wine – what on earth would they do to dark chocolate? A few moments later, the answer arrived: a fantastic job.
Witor’s fondente extra dark is delicious. Not the instant melt-in-the-mouth, moistly mushy interior of a Lindor ball delicious, but the grainy deliciousness that you generally expect with darker, harder and more bitter chocolate. Not that it was too bitter either – it has just enough sweetness to counteract the relatively high cocoa content and not scare off any newcomers to the ‘Dark Side’.
In the tradition of a wine critic suggesting that a cheeky red would do well accompanying ‘plum roasted duck with wok-braised Asian greens, this chocolate would pair up a treat with a glass of ice cold milk or a decent cup of Earl Grey tea. Alternatively, it would do just as well as something to slip into your backpack when camping in winter (for the energy and carbs, of course, not as any old excuse to imbibe more chocolatate), or when freezing your butt off watching the football.
I could see why my local supermarket would import this block from Italy to cater for the neighbourhood’s large Mediterranean population. It is a very nice, not-too-serious dark chocolate and is rather good value at slightly less than three bucks per block. I’ll definitely push aside the local nonnas to reach up to the top shelf and buy it again.
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed anything from Ritter Sport, but this little 100g square was just begging to be eaten – and who am I to refuse anthropomorphic chocolate?
Now I’m not usually a fan of marzipan. I think the last time I had it would have been in a Christmas cake 4 or 5 years ago. It’s just a bit too sweet and rich for me.
And that’s pretty much the case with Ritter Sport Marzipan too. The 44% “plain” chocolate it’s wrapped in does quite a good job of taking away some of that sweetness, but it’s just not quite enough.
The marzipan itself is also a bit drier and crumblier than I’m used to. It’s definitely marzipan, but it’s not quite like the stuff I remember from my childhood. I think I’d have preferred it if it was a bit softer and chewier.
But whether you’re going to like this or not is really going to come down to whether you’re a fan of marzipan. I know many people who can’t stand it, and will hate this bar, but oddly I don’t know anyone who claims to love it.
Marzipan is one of those things that people tend to either love or hate. If you love it, you’ll like this bar. If not, you’re probably better off trying something else in the extensive Ritter Sport range.
Just a quick update on our campaign to bring back Cadbury Fuse.
The Facebook group now has well over 300 members and it’s growing every day. If you haven’t already, please join the group and email Cadbury and let them know we want our chocolate back!
Bring back Cadbury Fuse!
After the disappointment of my Lindt Coffee Intense experience I decided to be brave and get back on the swiss choccy horse with this decidedly more posh looking bar. Lots of gold lettering on a dark background, and an illustration suggesting dark, dark chocolate, truffle mousse and bitter orange flavours. Yum – posh chocolate orange!
The fact that this bar was 70% cheered me up no end too, and the fact that the mousse filling on the box put me in mind of the Petits Desserts Dark Truffe Cake was never going to deter me either. I had high hopes for this one.
Over the course of numerous Lindt reviews I’ve come to realise that the filled bars merit closer inspection, so before diving in, I snapped a square and had a good look at the inside.
Looks good doesn’t it? Dark chocolate oozing what looks like marmalade (made with orange juice and 1% orange, so the package tells us), and it smells delicious too.
When I finally popped it into my mouth I was rewarded with a fantastic blend of the two flavours. The ‘orangey bit’ is wonderfully bittersweet and balances with the dark cocoa flavours in a tongue-tingling mix of citrus highs and dark chocolate lows. It’s a real mouth-waterer, and once the orange has left your mouth the dark cocoa flavours linger on (well, until you grab another chunk and pop it in).
This bar more than made up for my previous disappointment. My faith was restored, and I have found yet another great tasting bar to inflict upon visiting friends (who, it has to be said, are coming to expect a choccy tasting in lieu of dessert these days). Highly recommended.
