Chocolate Wednesday - Chocolate Palette by Trader Joe's

I might be stretching the 'Wet Wednesday' template a bit for this one, but my chocolate review is in the same spirit as a beer review or anything else. If you are the type of person who likes tasting and experiencing new flavors to expand your palette, and you like chocolate, then I strongly recommend Trader Joe's Chocolate Palette.




The link above from the Chocablog review has some descriptive (if effusive) tasting notes on the different chocolates, as does this review by Choco Check. I personally loved the Tanzania, Ghana, and Peru chocolates. They were all very interesting and educational, however.

More so than the delicious factor, the educational aspect is why I would recommend this set. The reason, as described by The Chocolate Bottle's review, is that single origin chocolate helps you learn much more about the character of the chocolate you're eating. This makes perfect sense - the same is true for single origin wine (from a specific vineyard or plot in a vineyard, even) and single origin coffee. Just like tasting a Sauvignon Blanc from California vs. France vs. New Zealand will reveal different characteristics, so too does the dark chocolate from Ecuador vs. Papua New Guinea vs. Sao Thome have different traits. I loved experiencing flavors that ranged from spicy with dark fruits to smooth, creamy vanilla as I went through the palette.

It was $10 for a pack of eight 45 gram chocolates, and I'd recommend picking it up from Trader Joe's if you want to explore different expressions of dark chocolate. It has definitely made me a bigger dark chocolate fan.

1 comment:

  1. I love this twist on Wet Wednesday, especially since I am in a land that worships and reveres chocolate. But, for my money, the Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Truffle bars are second to none. It's like cacao crack.

    But, not to stray too far from the Wet Wednesday origins, I share this interesting bit of article with all of you: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/jun/24/american-craft-beer-hippest-hops

    Love that one of my faves, Sierra Nevada, is getting a foothold on the Island of Ales. Just wish some of those would sneak across the Channel, dammit. What, the French have never heard of hops???

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