2008
The Mummy Yummy Chocolate Taste Test
If you’re looking for ‘experts’ to taste test chocolate, where better to go than the school gate? After all everyone knows that it’s a scientific fact that women not only want but actually need chocolate. Or at least if it isn’t it should be.
They may not be nerdy connoisseurs, but if the mummies say it’s yummy, that’s good enough for me. So the other day when doing the school pick up, I brought along bags containing small pieces of these three high cocoa chocolates, marked simply A, B and C, and held an impromptu tasting session.
Fifteen people tasted, thirteen mummies, one teacher (who is also a mummy!) and one daddy, and this is how it came out.
Chocolate A: Green & Black 70%
Price: €2.90 for 100g
This came last. I admit I was surprised as I like it and often buy it. Others were equally surprised when it was revealed which was which.
The one person who liked it best liked it a lot but several people had a “yuck” or “This tastes weird” reaction - which nobody had to either of the other two.
Origin: No country specified, but website states cocoa beans mostly come from Belize and the Dominican Republic
Organic? Yes Fair Trade? No
Cocoa Beans: Trinitario.
Ingredients: Organic Cocoa Mass, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Organic Vanilla Extract.
Nutrition (per 100g): 551 kcal; Protein: 9.3g; Carbohydrate: 36g; Fat: 41.1g.
Chocolate B: Lidl’s 70% Ecuador Chocolate
Price: €1.49 for 100g
This was the favourite one for six people. Several people asked for second samples in order to finally decide between this one and C - or at least that’s why they said they wanted more!
Whatever about it’s popularity with these tasters, there is no doubt that Lidl shoppers love this chocolate. It is recently often sold out and when a box is opened it disappears very, very fast.
Origin: Los Rios, Ecuador.
Organic? No Fair Trade? No
Cocoa Beans: Arriba.
Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifying agent: Soya Lecithin, vanilla.
Nutrition (per 100g): 533 kcal; Protein: 7.6g; Carbohydrate: 31g; Fat: 42g.
Chocolate C: Lidl’s Fair Trade Dark Choclate (70%)
Price: €1.49 for 100g
The narrow but decisive winner, with eight people choosing it as the tastiest. Most of those who found it hard to choose between B and C, and took a second taste of each, plumped in the end for this one.
This was the only chocolate of the three that anyone described as tasting creamy, which strikes me as odd as it’s got the lowest fat content and is the only one with no vanilla, so I’d have expected it to be the most ‘dark’ tasting.
Origin: Ghana.
Organic? No Fair Trade? Yes
Cocoa Beans: Not Specified.
Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin.
Nutrition (per 100g): 525 kcal; Protein: 7.7g; Carbohydrate: 33.1g; Fat: 40.2g.
Which one is my favourite? I like them all but probably would go with the majority and pick the Lidl Fair Trade. But my favourite chocolate of all remains the ultra dark 85% cocoa from Green & Black.
Tags: Chocolate, Taste Test
September 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Thanks for that, Kate. Have you tried the Lindt Excellence 99%? I found it virtually inedible and ended up cooking with it. I mustn’t have a very refined palate. Either that or it’s the Emperor’s New Clothes.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I never even heard of Lindt 99%! Sounds like a bit too much of a good thing to me, almost scary. Must look out for it and at least try it though.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
The Lidl fair trade stuff is great for cooking with. Love it! Cannot eat dark chocolate on it’s own though… too much of a sweet tooth and for the milk chocolate it’s the red Lindt all the way!
Have been trying to get ahold of some of that Venezuelan Black 100% cocoa solids stuff for cooking - doesn’t appear to be available in Ireland yet though.
September 5th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Re. the Venezuelan Black, Is that the guy who had a show on TV about 6 months ago? (forget the name now). I’d love to try it too.
September 5th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I think his name was Willy
September 5th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
It’s funny how this ‘Fair Trade’ sign affects the ‘taste’. Only the bottom one has it, and I bet that by telling people before the tasting, it would also affect their scoring.
September 5th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I didn’t tell them - all I told them about the chocolate was that they were all 70%. they were chopped into tiny unidentifiable pieces and called only A, B and C and were tasted in random order. I told the few people still around at the end which was which - this was school pick up, people came and went - but only after all the tasting was done.
My main worry was that if they knew which was which most would go for Green & Black, cos they’d assume it to be better. And those who I eventually told which was which were very surprised it was the one they least liked, since that had all bought and liked it in the past. All branding has an effect on perception.
September 5th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Great post! I prefer the 46% madagaskar one myself!
September 6th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Will you do a similar one for milk chocolate? I’d be interested to see the results, and I’m just like Deborah when it comes to dark chocolate.
September 30th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Nom nom, love Lidl dark chocolate (also love the Aldi stuff, are we allowed to mention Aldi on here LOL). I am pretty sure I have 85% chocolate from Aldi at home. It’s hard to overeat really dark chocolate but I do my best
October 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
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