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[Red]

People tend to dismiss cheap or easily available brands just because which is a shame, because often they taste just as good or better than many higher-end options (which seem more premium only because of nicer packaging and higher prices). Twix, Milky Way, Caramello, Zero... These are delicious candies that appear less valuable only because they are more readily available.

The "best chocolate" is not something you're going to find consensus on. You have to try a range of options and savor the flavors to find what you like. Different manufacturers produce their chocolates in different ways, and once you start experimenting with direct manufacturers or gourmet chocolatiers you'll find variations not only in the products they offer but different bars of the same product. The most consistent chocolates come from those mass produced checkout aisle impulse bars.

This might sound melodramatic or overly sensual, but you should try rediscovering old favorites by clearing your palate and taking your time with them, maybe pairing them with an appropriate wine or coffee. You'll uncover things you'd forgotten about them, and maybe discover whole new aspects that you'd never before considered.

 

[Glass Rebel]

There are actually tons of great Swiss chocolate brands. I find it sad that only Lindt ever gets mentioned.

I prefer Cailler or Camille Bloch chocolate for example. Ragusa bars by C.Bloch are heaven.

Preach.

I did love Lindt's Excellence Chili or Hot Grenadine bars though. So good.

 

[HeelPower]

Any white chocolate lovers here ?

I lovelovelove white chocolate.I think I might even prefer it to regular chocolate.

These are probably my favorite chocolates ever! They are so good especially at room or slightly coldish temperature.

 

[Roubjon]

Bought some 90% Lindt Choclate today and it was soooo goood. Guys, recommend me some more extreme dark chocolate.

 

[Fusebox]

Heelpower I'm a white chocolate guy too, those white Lindt balls are insanely good from the fridge. The outside gets hard and glazey, the inside stays soft, oh yeeeeeaaaah.

People tend to dismiss cheap or easily available brands just because which is a shame, because often they taste just as good or better than many higher-end options (which seem more premium only because of nicer packaging and higher prices). Twix, Milky Way, Caramello, Zero... These are delicious candies that appear less valuable only because they are more readily available.

Truly good chocolate typically isn't loaded with gooey candy fillings to make it taste good.

 

[CornBurrito]

People tend to dismiss cheap or easily available brands just because which is a shame, because often they taste just as good or better than many higher-end options (which seem more premium only because of nicer packaging and higher prices). Twix, Milky Way, Caramello, Zero... These are delicious candies that appear less valuable only because they are more readily available.

The "best chocolate" is not something you're going to find consensus on. You have to try a range of options and savor the flavors to find what you like. Different manufacturers produce their chocolates in different ways, and once you start experimenting with direct manufacturers or gourmet chocolatiers you'll find variations not only in the products they offer but different bars of the same product. The most consistent chocolates come from those mass produced checkout aisle impulse bars.

I do think a lot of it is psychological. I enjoy the taste of Hershey's for example. But because they are cheap I think people convince themselves that it tastes like garbage. I also think people convince themselves that expensive "artisan" things taste better when they might actually not.

There's an experiment where they gave professional wine tasters the same wine, but told them that one was cheaper than the other. The "cheaper" one got rated as tasting worse. http://www.caltech.edu/content/wine-study-shows-price-influences-perception

That's not to say that sometimes the more expensive stuff does taste better. But people do go too far in shitting on people for enjoying less expensive stuff.

 

[HeelPower]

Heelpower I'm a white chocolate guy too, those white Lindt balls are insanely good from the fridge. The outside gets hard and glazey, the inside stays soft, oh yeeeeeaaaah.

YES YES! This is when it gets insanely good.

 

[Red]

I do think a lot of it is psychological. I enjoy the taste of Hershey's for example. But because they are cheap I think people convince themselves that it tastes like garbage. I also think people convince themselves that expensive "artisan" things taste better when they might actually not.

There's an experiment where they gave professional wine tasters the same wine, but told them that one was cheaper than the other. The "cheaper" one got rated as tasting worse. http://www.caltech.edu/content/wine-study-shows-price-influences-perception

Of course people will convince themselves that their tastebuds are objective. They're special so the price they spent could never influence their perception.

Exactly, yes. But humans will try to rationalize their irrationality and find a causal link between their enjoyment of pricier options and their dissatisfaction with cheaper ones.

 

[dralla]

I've tried lots of chocolate over the past few years. The ones I'd recommend are Endangered Species 88% Black Panther bar (my favorite), Green & Black 85%, Sweet Riot 85% (very similar to the G&B), Lindt 85%, Valrhona 85%, Ghiradelli 86% Midnight Reverie (similar to the Lindt), Equal Exchange 80%, NibMor 80% (this has bits of cacao in it, think of it as a healthy alternative to a Nestle Crunch bar), Trader Joe's 85% Dark Chocolate Lovers Bar (this is a minty/fruity taste to it, very distinct), and the bar I recommend to dark chocolate newbies is the Chocolove XOXOX 77% bar, every person that has tried it loves it. There's also Alter Eco 85% Blackout bar, this is an acquired taste, it has a very strong fruity taste.

I would say avoid Theo bars, it's American and it is bad. Also not a fan of Madecasse.

Bought some 90% Lindt Choclate today and it was soooo goood. Guys, recommend me some more extreme dark chocolate.

The Lindt 90% is interesting because it's extremely dark but also very smooth because it's Lindt's only bar that uses Dutch processing (with Alkali). I prefer the 85% but will go for the 90% once in a while

 

[HeelPower]

I enjoy the taste of Hershey's for example.

Hershey's is really good.This is probably my favorite bar from Hershey's.

Kisses is addictive as well.

 

[May16]

Do you mean Fazer or Marabou?

The Marabou looks familiar. It was definitely shaped like that -- in squares that you break off. I think the wrappers were yellow or a color close to yellow?

 

[CornBurrito]

Exactly, yes. But humans will try to rationalize their irrationality and find a causal link between their enjoyment of pricier options and their dissatisfaction with cheaper ones.

Yep. Oftentimes when a study comes out related to failings in human cognition/perception you get a ton of people going "well that doesn't happen with me." We're all special snowflakes after all.

 

[jon bones]

That's not to say that sometimes the more expensive stuff does taste better. But people do go too far in shitting on people for enjoying less expensive stuff.

I think those people are just shitting on them for not reading the OP. Hershey's is not "the world's best chocolate."

The best of any delicacy is usually made small-batch.

Things made in small batches tend to be expensive.

I think you need to ease off on the pop psychology "special snowflake" stuff lol.

 

[Atilac]

http://www.romolochocolates.com/
Erie PA has three of best chocolate makers in the united states, this is what I believe to be the best of the three.

 

[beat]

Honestly the Lindt 70% bars you can get at most supermarkets are pretty damn good chocolate. Lindt is a quality Swiss chocolate maker since 1845. Don't get over 70% cacao though otherwise it's nasty.

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/03/74/66/01/0003746601763_500X500.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
I've tried a lot of supermarket chocolates and I would agree... But Lindt's Ecuador chocolate, at 75% chocolate, is easily the best of their Excellence line, and I've tried pretty much all of Lindt's chocolates. Their 85% is a bit too bitter, their 65% Madagascar one is weirdly muted in chocolate flavor... As for other supermarket brands, from Trader Joes to Green & Black's, I find them acceptable but I prefer Lindt. That said, I've never seen the Ecuador bar sold in the US, only Canada. Go figure.

BTW, there's a difference between chocolate makers and chocolatiers. The latter buy bulk chocolate from Lindt, or Callebaut, or Valhrona, or elsewhere, and make fancy filled chocolates. The former select, buy, roast, grind, and otherwise process cocoa beans into chocolate. Just saying, though it's pretty clear most of the chocolate nerds in this thread already know that.

[quote="Bill Rizer, post: 119678072"][Callebaut is the Gold standard for quality chocolate at professional level about anywhere worldwide. I don't think it's sold directly to consumers anyway.[/QUOTE]
I think I've seen it sold in big hunks in a few stores in Vancouver, like the Gourmet Warehouse or Urban Fare.

 

[Bboy AJ]

Bought some 90% Lindt Choclate today and it was soooo goood. Guys, recommend me some more extreme dark chocolate.

Try the 99% bar. But only with a black coffee. Otherwise it's too bitter to enjoy.

 

[Exterminieren]

Not really, Hershy is real chocolate unlike Cadbury which is chocolate like product.

pfffAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[catmincer]

I love hersheys cookies and cream. Their other staff is weird tasting though.

 

[Yahsper]

I literally flew to Brussels to try chocolate and waffles. The chocolate was good but it's not that much better than something more easily attainable. You can even buy from them online http://www.neuhaus-online-store.com/chocolate-store-en.htm

You went to Brussels to try Belgian chocolate and you went to Neuhaus? What a waste.

If you want Belgian chocolates, you have to buy chocolates from a Belgian guy that makes it himself. Neuhaus hasn't been that for many decades, it's a chain.

 

[edbrat]

lindt, godiva, all this candy shit like hersheys whch is inedible is all bullshit and I pity the person who eats it and thinks "ooh yum". You want good chocolate go to Marcolini:

http://www.marcolini-eboutique.com/en-gb/

 

[Log4Girlz]

If you want real chocolate you just need to buy belgium.

 

[Mt Heart Attack]

The ones I'd recommend are Endangered Species 88% Black Panther bar (my favorite)

Yep, made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good.

As for me, I'm not an expert but I guess you can add another vote to standard red Lindor, so good.

 

[Zoned]

I can't take these people seriously who are recommending Hershey's here. Hershey's is the absolute bottom tier chocolate manufacturer. Gives me vomit every time.

 

[Red]

I can't take these people seriously who are recommending Hershey's here. Hershey's is the absolute bottom tier chocolate manufacturer. Gives me vomit every time.

Remember, pinkies up.

 

[akachan ningen]

 

[Warm Machine]

Godiva is the worst major Belgian chocolate brand.

Fly to Belgium and go here:

Just come to Bruges and get some chocolate over here from a real Belgian chocolatier.

EDIT: What EviLore just said

Is it not Dumon in Bruges that makes the finest chocolate in Belgium?

 

[Sadetar]

I am not a fan of white chocolates in general, but still my ultimate chocolate favourite this far has been Kultasuklaa's cinnamon-apple white chocolate (Kultasuklaa omena-kanelivalkosuklaa).

You once in a while can find it from their webshop. Also their salty liquorice flavoured white chocolate (salmiakkivalkosuklaa) is somewhat heavenly.

But that is just me. (It is somewhat sweet and you need to like either salty liquorice or apples and cinnamon.)

I assume if you are really interested you can go to the page "yhteystiedot" and ask for more information of how to get some of that goodness.

 

[Lakitu]

I haven't eaten chocolate in so long. My ex lived in Belgium so we would frequent the chocolate shops and buy some. Simply the best chocolate I've ever had, I'm drooling just thinking about it.

 

[Stinkles]

Flake.

It's heavenly.

As far as mainstream bars go, flake is genuinely interesting. Amazing texture, a sweet, almost sour milk flavor that could be cloying to some, but I love.

I would say Cadbury is my favorite megabrand, especially for Milk chocolate, and I love Old Jamaica. So good.


But for fancy chocolate it's hopelessly subjective. I prefer dark chocolate generally, the fancier it gets.

But it cannot be overstated how absolutely terrible Hesrheys is. Pasty, flavorless garbage. Reminds me of off brand Christmas novelty chocolate.

Fucking inexcusable.

 

[Myke Greywolf]

Stick with Lindt, it's way better than the average candy aisle stuff. If you're not a connoisseur, then it's all diminishing returns as you go for more expensive chocolates than those ones.

 

[Currygan]

Lindt is the best ever, yeah. So much variety, tastes so damn good


but my personal finest? the Picnic bars!

 

[meppi]

Godiva is the worst major Belgian chocolate brand.

Fly to Belgium and go here:

Way ahead of you.

There isn't much good about this country, but chocolate and "french" fries sure is something we do as well, if not better than anyone else.

Even had a buddy in the UK that asked me to ship a chocolate care package to him every couple of months.

 

[BronsonLee]

Ctrl +F 'Lindt', thread is inundated with results

Good. Good.

Lindt may not and probably is not the best chocolate in the world, but it's easily the best chocolate that is easily accessible to the public. It's gawdlike. (though their recent forays into stuff like strawberry cheesecake chocolate stuff is...odd)

 

[8bit]

Try the 99% bar. But only with a black coffee. Otherwise it's too bitter to enjoy.

Or with red wine.

 

[Kitsunebaby]

Certainly not the best chocolate in the world, but Vosges is my personal recommendation. Nice creamy texture to it, and it has a pleasant saltiness that helps to cut the sweetness of it. It can be a bit pricy, though.

Remember, pinkies up.

Now, I'm not trying to imply that there aren't chocolate snobs out there, but it's an objective fact that Hersheys has a more crumbly and far less creamy texture than many higher quality chocolate brands, and it has an incredibly low cacao content. I mean, if you want to tout cheap chocolates, at least go with something like Dove. Just because you grew up on it and love the taste doesn't mean people are inherently snobs for disliking a product of noticeably lower quality than others. Would you say that people who don't like taco bell are snobs now?

 

[rykomatsu]

For enjoying the subtleties of how cacao from different regions taste, I'd say:
Amedei
Michael Cluizel
Valhorna

For enjoying fun combinations of chocolate and other edible things:
Chuao (Rocky road, honeycomb and maple bacon are amazing)

 

[Red]

Certainly not the best chocolate in the world, but Vosges is my personal recommendation. Nice creamy texture to it, and it has a pleasant saltiness that helps to cut the sweetness of it. It can be a bit pricy, though.



Now, I'm not trying to imply that there aren't chocolate snobs out there, but it's an objective fact that Hersheys has a more crumbly and far less creamy texture than many higher quality chocolate brands, and it has an incredibly low cacao content. I mean, if you want to tout cheap chocolates, at least go with something like Dove. Just because you grew up on it and love the taste doesn't mean people are inherently snobs for disliking a product of noticeably lower quality than others. Would you say that people who don't like taco bell are snobs now?

I don't like Hershey's unless it's sandwiched between a graham cracker and a marshmallow. But enjoying a Hershey's bar is not a character flaw. It does not make you a lesser person.

 

[Des0lar]

Godiva is the worst major Belgian chocolate brand.

Fly to Belgium and go here:

Was in Belgium once.

Can confirm.

 

[Kitsunebaby]

I don't like Hershey's unless it's sandwiched between a graham cracker and a marshmallow. But enjoying a Hershey's bar is not a character flaw. It does not make you a lesser person.

Never did I imply that it was, but you seemed to imply that disliking it was proof of snobbery and I very much disagreed.

For the record, I love a good many products that are cheap and low quality. I just wouldn't judge others for "being above" them, no matter how much I might like them.

 

[Red]

Never did I imply that it was, but you seemed to imply that disliking it was proof of snobbery and I very much disagreed.

For the record, I love a good many products that are cheap and low quality. I just wouldn't judge others for "being above" them, no matter how much I might like them.

"I can't take people seriously who are recommending Hershey's here."

I wasn't responding to the dislike of Hershey's, I was responding to the judgment call on other people.

 

[brokenbeans]

This

 

[Monkey_Plunkett]

Whilst on a trip to canada I tried a hershey chocolate bar for the first time, it was also the last time I'll ever try one, awful stuff. The chocolate here in the uk is much, much nicer.

 

[pj]

For straight chocolate bars, amano and amedei are two of the best I've had.

It's hard to justify spending $7-15 for one bar more than once every few months, though.

 

[ExplodingKetchup]

This stuff is pretty damn good.

 

[Zoned]

"I can't take people seriously who are recommending Hershey's here."

I wasn't responding to the dislike of Hershey's, I was responding to the judgment call on other people.

See the context, my friend. Thread is about "The best available chocolate." Hershey's the best, really? I mean really? They don't even make chocolates. They have developed some kind of junk formula which is laughable and despicable.

The Hershey Process milk chocolate used in these bars is cheaper to make than other types of chocolate as it is less sensitive to the freshness of the milk. The process was developed by Milton Hershey and was the first mass-produced chocolate in the United States. As a result, the Hershey flavor is widely recognized in the United States and Canada, but less so internationally, in particular in areas where European chocolates are more widely available. The process is a trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, "tangy" taste, to which the US public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers often add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.

 

[Red]

The context still means nothing. The manufacturing process has no necessary relevance to what people prefer. You are substituting the question of taste with one of moral value.

What makes their process despicable? Help me understand.

 

[Kater]

Get yourself some Zotter chocolate, it's Austria's finest!

http://www.zotter.at/en/homepage.html

Zotter chocolate is available on Amazon, newleafchocolates and xchocolart.

Here are some pictures.

 

[WorldStar]

lol @ everyone recommending drug store aisle chocolate

 

[Warm Machine]

Way ahead of you.

There isn't much good about this country, but chocolate and "french" fries sure is something we do as well, if not better than anyone else.

You forgot about the beer.

 

[CornBurrito]

Now, I'm not trying to imply that there aren't chocolate snobs out there, but it's an objective fact that Hersheys has a more crumbly and far less creamy texture than many higher quality chocolate brands, and it has an incredibly low cacao content. I mean, if you want to tout cheap chocolates, at least go with something like Dove. Just because you grew up on it and love the taste doesn't mean people are inherently snobs for disliking a product of noticeably lower quality than others. Would you say that people who don't like taco bell are snobs now?

Not necessarily, but I consider people like this to be snobs:

lindt, godiva, all this candy shit like hersheys whch is inedible is all bullshit and I pity the person who eats it and thinks "ooh yum". You want good chocolate go to Marcolini:

http://www.marcolini-eboutique.com/en-gb/

Or that Zones guy who called Hershey's (the company) despicable for using a process that adds an enjoyable tangy taste to their chocolate.