Wednesday, October 01, 2008

chocolate review! Cafe-Tasse 77%




It isn't cheap, but it's not a fortune either. At least, not for a fabulous imported dark.

Cafe Tasse was recommended to me by one of the experts behind the counter at Bittersweet on College Ave. in Rockridge. If you haven't been to this cafe and you live in the area and you call yourself a chocolate lover, it's a must-visit.

I basically asked for an accessible dark, and she pointed right to this one. I can see why-- it has everything I like about a good dark chocolate and none of what I don't. Namely:

- it's got a rich, true chocolate taste that's, well, bittersweet, without being too astringent.

- it's not even a teeny bit gritty. Utterly smooth.

- it has a creamy quality in both flavor and texture, which is kind of a surprise at 77%, but a welcome surprise.

I'm not one of those dark chocolate lovers who completely snubs milk chocolate, but I will say that you can easily lose your chocolate bearings when you're lost in a sea of milk, milk solids, sugar, corn syrup solids, and all the cheap fillers that give many milks a bad name. So the creamy quality paired with the rich flavor at 77% was pleasantly surprising.

I think I paid around $5-$6 for the bar, which will last me a good long while. I don't buy this stuff very often (every couple of months, if that), so to me it's worth it to get the quality bar. Let me know what you think of it if you try it.