Best Chocolates in the World??

I went to a local chocolatier today. The guy was pretty cool and talked for a while. I told him I like really dark, bitter choclate around 85%; he said the numbers don't tell the whole story its more about the fermentation, he said they could make a 70% taste really sweet...The stuff I tried was about 58% and was pretty good but lacked that bitter byte I like so much. He said they don't order anything bitter because it would never sell. He told me if I like bitter chocolate I should order online from a French company because they are all about dark, bitter chocolate.

I asked him what a good mass produced chocolate was and he just gave me a blank stare. He said there's no such thing because they have to use such huge amounts of beans they can't control quality.

Anyway...Im off to the internets to find some good chocolate...

So I tried Burdick today and wasn't very impressed. It was good but not great - at least for my taste in chocolates. Selection was minimal with maybe 10 different bonbons. I am a sucker for strong ganache / gianduja, stuff with nuts and praline - there wasn't a single bonbon with nuts. The ones I tried were good but just too "restrained" or subtle for me. I like more punch in my chocolates. The best stuff there were the caramels IMO - really really good stuff.

Try http://www.shopsucre.com/ for some excellent chocolates. They pride themselves of freshness and would rather toss out chocolates that aren't eaten rather than try and pawn them off. It's a labor of love.

Wittamer macaroons - not technically chocolate, technically tasty.

I was told Marcolini's specialty was dark chocolate. Everything is good, thought I think he's overrated.

I like Neuhaus, but Marcolini and Wittamer are definitely in a different league.

The choc. place mentioned in Brugge is good, but kind of a pain ********** to get into sometimes.

The truffles at Fortnum and Masons are incredible. They unfortunately do not store or travel well. The chocolate is sublime but fragile.

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Originally Posted by gdl203

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So I tried Burdick today and wasn't very impressed. It was good but not great - at least for my taste in chocolates. Selection was minimal with maybe 10 different bonbons. I am a sucker for strong ganache / gianduja, stuff with nuts and praline - there wasn't a single bonbon with nuts. The ones I tried were good but just too "restrained" or subtle for me. I like more punch in my chocolates. The best stuff there were the caramels IMO - really really good stuff.

I disagree with you, but understand your point of view. At some point it becomes a matter of personal taste. I appreciate a really bold chocolate once, but generally prefer the much subtler flavors of something like Burdicks, given the choice. (Conversely, I prefer the whallop of American wines to the subtleties of French, for the most part.) I'd say that you have coffee tastes in chocolates, and these are more tea chocolates. Try the hot chocolate if you ever go back again. That stuff packs a wallop. The selection is usually much larger - not sure how they are trying to merchandise the NYC store. The assorted boxes that I buy for my wife typically have about 15-20 different flavors.

Originally Posted by LA Guy

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I disagree with you, but understand your point of view. At some point it becomes a matter of personal taste. I appreciate a really bold chocolate once, but generally prefer the much subtler flavors of something like Burdicks, given the choice. (Conversely, I prefer the whallop of American wines to the subtleties of French, for the most part.) I'd say that you have coffee tastes in chocolates, and these are more tea chocolates. Try the hot chocolate if you ever go back again. That stuff packs a wallop. The selection is usually much larger - not sure how they are trying to merchandise the NYC store. The assorted boxes that I buy for my wife typically have about 15-20 different flavors.

I don't disagree with your analysis. I didn't find any of the stuff I tasted bad or an unfortunate combination of flavors, simply was just too light flavored for me (even though I did ask for a simple, bold ganache or ginaduja). I like to taste the bitterness of dark chocolate, the sweetness of a perfect pralinà , and I really like nut inclusions to add texture and crunch.

I was underwhelmed by Mariebelle's chocolates as well because they were very subtle too. Which, considering how rich and strong their hot chocolate is, was very surprising. It sounds from your description that the same dynamic exists at Burdicks. I will try their hot chocolate next time I'm around there.

Selection was very small for a la carte. There were definitely more types of bonbons in the assortment boxes but they were not available by the piece...

There's quite a bit of chocolate information and talk in a thread i started on Superufuture here: http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk...ad.php?t=62438 I've been studying chocolate for many years, been trained in chocolate production, and also help lead tastings in San Francisco once or twice a year.

x-post.. Just got my hands two bars of Domori's new Cacao Teyuna. 70%, single origin, Colombia... Domori is my favorite bar company, they nail their flavors and have done amazing things with the invigoration of dead species of beans which were wiped out many years ago due to natural disasters in the Caribbean and Central America. The Teyuna is an instant winner, amazing scents come off as the chocolate is rubbed a bit with hints of clove and nutmeg. As it melts in your mouth there's a strong overtone of cashews, almonds, and a very strong sweetness that lingers. Very nice for their newest effort, buy this **** now.

Next Styleforum Self Edge party should be themed "Eat chocolate and paw the jeans".

The best is Lindt chocolate.
Good for your antibodies!

I'd add Läderach to the list.
http://www.laederach.com/

It's a Swiss chocolatier. The pralines are dope, can't eat regular mass manufactured chocolate anymore since I've tasted them.
According to the website they are sold in a shop in New York but I don't know how it compares to buying them here in Switzerland as I never buy the prepackaged ones but pick out fresh pralines from the counter.

Despite my misgivings about some of Vosges chocolates and their love of bizarre flavor combinations, I've been enjoying the "Goji" bars, which have goji berries and pink sea salt. The salt really sets off the sweetness of the milk chocolate nicely.

To further this conversation.. very few of you are talking about chocolate makers, these are essentially candy and repackaging companies.
pierre marcolini, Vosges, Ghiradelli, Woodhouse, Leonidas, and Burdick.. these companies don't even make chocolate, they buy it and add their exotic spices or salts and repackage it.

Originally Posted by kiya

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To further this conversation.. very few of you are talking about chocolate makers, these are essentially candy and repackaging companies.
pierre marcolini, Vosges, Ghiradelli, Woodhouse, Leonidas, and Burdick.. these companies don't even make chocolate, they buy it and add their exotic spices or salts and repackage it.

That's true, but I think that the conversation extends to anything available to the public.