From light chocolate-to dark

I just recently tried some EXQUISITE Dark Chili Chocolate from Lindt the other day, that my boyfriend had bought.

Oh man, that was the best chocolate i've ever eaten in my entire life. So nice and rich, i can honestly say that i RESPECT this chocolate, and i wouldnt over indulge in it, because its just so shocking to my tastebuds, its amazing.

Thing is, i tried some regular milk chocolate again last night...

Wow i couldnt recognize the taste. It tased just WAY too sweet, sweeter than i previously thought. I've found a true love for darker chocolate.

Milk chocolate is ok in TINY amounts, but too much of it, and i get beggghh a sugar nausea feeling.

Anyone else experienced the "transition" ? Its wonderful :)

Haha me too, I used to hate the bitterness of dark choc, now all I eat is dark, and its not just because its usually vegan, because I steer clear of the soy chocolates too! Yum dark choc is so nice!!!

Even better, dark chocolate has a good amount of anti-oxidant flavonoids, so there's a health benefit to eating small amounts.  Link

Plus, it tastes good.

Yep, good dark chocolate in the 60-75% cocoa range is phenomenal.  (higher than that is too much for my taste.) 

I used to love everything chocolate, now I am a chocolate snob.  I would rather have a little square of the good dark stuff than any amount of milk chocolate.  Heck, I'd rather have none at all of the milk choc late.  The last time I did, I ate 2/3s of a dove bar over 3 days and gave the rest to hubby.  yech.

Original Post by kay_h:

Yep, good dark chocolate in the 60-75% cocoa range is phenomenal.  (higher than that is too much for my taste.) 

I used to love everything chocolate, now I am a chocolate snob.  I would rather have a little square of the good dark stuff than any amount of milk chocolate.  Heck, I'd rather have none at all of the milk choc late.  The last time I did, I ate 2/3s of a dove bar over 3 days and gave the rest to hubby.  yech.

 

 

Haha, im still at 49%, im planning to work my way up to 60 and maybe eventually 70-85%. I dont think i would ever bother trying the 99%, that stuff should only be consumed one square at a time with your coffee or something, that stuff's vicious.

I guess I'm lucky that chocolate has never been one of my weaknesses, EXCEPT Reese's peanut butter cups and peanut M&Ms.  I used to eat A LOT of them.  If I HAD to eat it, it would be milk chocolate; I definitely don't like dark chocolate.

I'd consider myself a milk chocolate junkie. Anything milk chocolate, I'll devour! (I was born with Chocoholism, thanks mom lmao) But I've slowly made the transition over to dark chocolate, and after eating regular milk chocolate again it's just not as satisfying to me anymore.

But darker is not always better as far as taste goes. The darker you go, the more bitter it is. I tried an 80% chocolate bar once, and it was just a teeny notch up from actually eating baking chocolate. lol It certainly killed all cravings for anything that I had! hahaha And not even water could get the taste out.

As a dark chocolate fanatic who has tasted everything from Lindt's dark chocolate mint to Ghirardelli's 100% (which happens to be my favorite), I highly recommend the Valrhona and Ghirardelli brands.  Once you have those, I think you would appreciate dark chocolate more. :D

Once you are hooked start looking for the european style 60% cocoa truffles, they are just amazing with the right mix of sweet and bitter. Willpower is a must if you dare these treats.

Oh yes, dark chocolate is awesome! I specially like 72% dark and bitter sweet sold in Trader Joes. Most "chocolate" sold in candy isle is just chocolate flavored sugar candy, cough Hershey cough. Look at the ingredient list, if it's "sugar" put it back.

UD

Welcome to the chocolate snob club!  I too can't stand milk chocolate anymore.  While I will still enjoy a Milky Way or Kit Kat from time to time, I don't consider it real chocolate.  It's more like sugar with some chocolate added to it. 

This past weekend DH and I went to a chocolate festival in Perugia, Italy.  It was AWESOME!  We bought all sorts of dark chocolate.  I can't wait to taste it all!  I am really looking forward to trying one that is flavored with allspice, which should be interesting.  I usually eat around 70% dark chocolate, but we bought a bar at 80%...we shall see how it is!

Enjoy and savor your dark chocolate!

Original Post by umneydurak:

Oh yes, dark chocolate is awesome! I specially like 72% dark and bitter sweet sold in Trader Joes. Most "chocolate" sold in candy isle is just chocolate flavored sugar candy, cough Hershey cough. Look at the ingredient list, if it's "sugar" put it back.

UD

 This, although I like a lot darker.  I bought a to die for 85% dark at Wegmans this weekend.  XD  YUM!

2 dark chocolate kicks-in-the-head:

-Make your own dark chocolate cocoa from scratch, using a good quality powder like Droste or Valrhona.  Heck, even Hersheys and Nestles are pretty good, but you have to start with the unsweetened cocoa powder.

-Mocha.  This is the strongest chocolate kick I can get from the local barista, and the espresso gives it an additional caffeine shot.  There's something about coffee that really enhances chocolate flavor.

Kbella - have you tried Italian cocoa? I first had it at one of those rest areas along a motorway.  Thick and strong - like a hot dark chocolate milkshake in a coffee cup.  I found some packets of Perugina powder in a European store once for making it, but I've never seen them in the USA.  I ended up making my own recipe, with some cornstarch to get it to hot thicken the same way.  I do it in a microwave, whereas the Italian baristas used the espresso steam jets.