Today I decided to test some of America's most gourmet commercial chocolate-
Lindt, and immediately afterwards, taste what some people deem the worst chocolate ever made- Hershey's.
Lindt is technically a Swiss company, but the production country doesn't ensure the quality of chocolate. Besides, many chocolate companies claiming to be Swiss, or claiming a Swiss as a founding father, are now produced almost solely in other countries and have no claims to such "illustrious" Swiss chocolate heritage.
For America, this is about as good as supermarket chocolate bars get, but it definitely doesn't give Valrhona, or any other high-class chocolatiers, a run for their money.
I bought the 90%, mostly because it was about 20 cents cheaper, and it would create greater contrast with the Hershey's bar.
I think we all know the packaging of a Lindt bar- elegant enough, wrapped in thin silver foil.
The chocolate is thin and gleaming, a very deep ebony color. Scents don't assault until a nose is pressed to the chocolate. The smell is strong enough, but not bursting with tantalizing bouquets. I was actually a bit disappointed. The smell is of strong chocolate, and almost equally strong vanilla- too much vanilla in my opinion.
If scents presage taste, I could tell this would not be a taste journey expressing complex flavors so much as comforting quality. My prediction was justified.
The bar snapped, but with only average crispness and strength.
Tasting
The
texture is surprisingly smooth, melting easily in the mouth, which may account for the unimpressive snap.
I definitely didn’t get a rush of flavors at first bite. I had to wait for it to settle on my tongue. After that,
the taste is uniform. Maybe this is what they call, “balanced” (the description on the back of the bar).
There is almost no progression of flavor. I could distinguish only one stage. I caught notes of just vanilla and cacoa- a cacoa too cultivated and processed to retain its primal pungency, replete with the flavors of its soil and climate, as unique and complex as a vintage wine. None of that here. The beans are drained of their rough character by a company obsessed with uniformity.
But I was impressed that
there is no taste of bitterness- a difficult feat for a 90%. Maybe the heavy vanilla was added to temper the bitterness. Once swallowed, the flavors quickly leave the palate desolate, with just some
powdery cocoa on the tongue. I'm not sure if the cocoa residue is standard for a 90%.
I could taste nothing wrong with this chocolate- it is clearly high quality, smooth, rich, with the undeniable taste of vanilla. But it isn't interesting enough to allure me in my dreams and draw me to the fridge with promises of sensory excitement.
Thank you, Lindt.
P.S. Another reviewer caught notes of wood, vanilla, and a bit of salt, notes my untrained palate didn't catch. It was nonetheless described, as "mellow" with, "nothing there to hold my interest."
Now to your anti-thesis, the chocolate of the masses, the quintessential all-american treat:
Hershey's.
Chocolatiers and connoisseurs are brutal in their treatment of this bar. It has been called, "waxy," "sour," "gritty," "chalky," and "cheesy." Some don't deem it worthy of the name, "chocolate."
As an American, I am well accustomed to the Hershey's empire and products. But I have all but forgotten the taste, and even in childhood, raised by two very health-conscious parents, Hershey’s were saved for the rare campout when smores were a necessity.
After all this fine chocolate, I wonder what I'll think of it.
There is not much to say for the packaging, and you are probably familiar with it anyway- it’s practically a banner of American heritage. A brown plastic wrapper, printed with giant silver letters, “Hershey.”
Well, the chocolate doesn’t snap. It's more of a tear, like, er, wax.
It exudes a strong scent of vanilla and sugar. In fact, that’s all I smell. If I didn’t know there was some cocoa in this bar, I would believe you if you told me if was brown food dye. Its namesake has very little place here.
Tasting:
Sugar. Vanilla. Once again, I taste only a subtle note of chocolate, mostly masked by sugar. The aftertaste is slightly acidic, the unnatural waft of chemicals.
At first I thought, "Well, it's not SO bad. I would never buy a bar, but would probably accept it if it were offered." After my second square, I wasn't so sure....
After tasting what chocolate COULD be, or rather, what is SHOULD be, and eating that second square of Hershey’s- really concentrating on the flavors and not the sugar high that many consume it for, I can’t finish the bit I have left. And I’d really rather not. Now I’m wondering if I would take it if it was offered to me, even if I was really, really hungry. If I was starving, yes. But I would probably eat
unsweetened wax if I was starving too.
But thanks anyway, Hershey's. At least your mediocrity is widely appreciated.
