Review: Lindt Excellence 70%

Lindy's Rating: 4.5 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 4.5 (previously **)

chocolate maker Lindt bar Excellence 70% year (unknown) cacao trees (unknown) region (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 70% fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring bourbon vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.50

color medium-dark brown texture stripes of smooth & matte aroma coffee, sweet tobacco, hint of cherry snap hard taste cherry, tobacco melt slow start length minimal, almost none finish bitter, dry, ashy

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Lindt Excellence 70% Smooth Dark

As my friend Michael and I were discussing, it's helpful to have some baseline reviews of more common dark chocolate as reference points, so yesterday afternoon I went to a local pharmacy and purchased two bars from Lindt. I'll pick up a couple of bars from Green & Black's the next time I see them.

In my experience, Lindt Excellence 70% has been a reliably good chocolate bar. It has solid chocolate flavor, though lacks the depth and length of better bars. Surprisingly smooth given the lack of an emulsifier. Although not the quality of the best artisan chocolates, it compares well with some of them, and it's a bargain for the price.

I realized that it might be useful to actually see the chocolate, so I'll be taking pictures to include in the reviews.

UPDATE: As of 20 April 2013, the best price I found for purchase online in the U.S. was $3.50 from World Wide Chocolate. However, you can frequently find Lindt Excellence bars on sale for $2.00 or less at local groceries and pharmacies.