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Friday, May 19, 2006
Cafe Tasse: Orange, Extra Noir & Noir PralineThis version of the Cafe-Tasse bars are long and thick and frankly, I prefer this format to the flat ones. It’s more compact and I like a good thick piece of chocolate. The design on these is quite lovely too. Soft, matte paper with some stylish engraved designs. Easy to read and color coded, too!
Extra Noir this super dark 77% cocoa bar is quite rich. Instead of sacrificing buttery smoothness for high cacao, I think they’ve lowered the sugar content, which is just fine with me. The bar has a strong smoky flavor with many hints of tobacco and vanilla. It has a rather dry finish that’s not exactly astringent, but leaves a rather chalky feeling in the mouth. Still, it has a fantastic melt on the tongue, just slipping around in all it’s cocoa-butter goodness. It’s not sweet, but at the same time, it’s not blisteringly bitter - just dense. Noir Praline this bar smelled much sweeter than the others, and had a rather fruity aroma as well. The dark chocolate shell looked the same as the other bars, but inside it was as sweet. After having the creamy richness of the Baci bar, this one really can’t compare. It’s missing that buttery lightness and depth of flavor. I’m not saying it’s not tasty, it’s just had more sugar and sweetness than hazelnuttiness. Noir Orange after sampling the super dark bar, this one seemed quite sweet at first. This bar is only 54% cocoa, so there’s plenty of room for that cocoa butter base as well as sugar and an ample supply of little candied orange bits. The candied orange peels threw me, they’re kind of crystallized, so a bit more sharp and hard than pliable and forgiving. The texture mix aside, the orange infusion is intense and profuse. This is nothing like the Terry’s Chocolate Orange. This is a full chocolate experience with a little fruit essence thrown in. After a while I was hoping for the chewy bits of orange peel. This was by far my favorite of the three. These were a gift but I’ve seen them for sale at Cost Plus World Market, Economy Candy in NYC and online at Chocosphere (the chocolate covered lemon peel looks divine).
POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:06 am
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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Comment by
desertwind on 5/19/06 at 10:05 pm #
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Comment by
david kleijn on 5/21/06 at 8:07 pm #
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Comment by
Scott on 5/22/06 at 6:59 am #
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Comment by
Cybele on 5/22/06 at 6:47 pm #
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Comment by
Bruce on 5/22/06 at 8:08 pm #
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Comment by
Dave on 5/23/06 at 3:48 am #
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.Cybele, your last two posts have hit on my absolute favorite choc combos - hazelnuts and orange.
Do you have a theory why these don’t exist in our American popular candy bar ouvre?
(heh, heh, I really am curious but I also just wanted to write “ouvre”... oh god! have I spelled it right?)
hello we have a candy factory in covina ca would you like to visit us the best to you
Not related to this but I found a new chocolatier that I thought I’d throw your way. http://www.chocgems.com/ THey’re in Black Mountain, NC. We tried the ancho/chipotle truffle, the Earl Grey truffle, the orange/ginger truffle, and the margarita truffle. They were fantastic! The best was the Earl Grey. If I had extra cahs I’d have some sent to you, but lacking that at least I can point them out.
desertwind - I suspect that hazelnuts aren’t as popular in the US because they’re much more expensive than peanuts. I think that’s changing (at least I’m finding hazelnuts more affordable than they used to be).
I really don’t know why orange and chocolate isn’t more popular ... I mean, oranges are popular, chocolate is popular ...
I’m guessing people just don’t like them together as much as other combos.
Scott - ooh! they all sound great! I’ll put them on my list.
David - thanks - I sent you an email
Oh, I adore the orange bar. I wish I knew where to get it locally (Santa Monica/West LA). The only place I’ve seen it is in Berkeley. And now I totally want one.
I’ve always loved orange and chocolate-well, any kind of citrus with chocolate, but orange in particular. I really couldn’t tell you why the combination isn’t popular here. Everyone I know loves the taste. Maybe kids don’t like it?
I have to give you points for trying stuff that might not stand out. The packaging and name of this doesn’t grab me, and I’ve found that ‘extra noir’ varieties are both the most rewarding and riskiest treats. I usually stick with one I like for a while, currently Lindt. It’s not perfect, but good, from packages of flawed thins from Big Lots. They won’t have them forever.
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