Lindt’s dark chocolate leaves a sweet taste in the mouth

Can good chocolate be appreciated like fine wine? Lindt & Sprüngli (Lindt) thinks so.

At a Chocolate Appreciation Class held on 11 July, Master Chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler introduced attendees to four new flavours of Lindt Excellence dark chocolate, and the best way to savour them.

Before caving in to the samples of chocolate in front of us, we were treated to a brief history of chocolate and Lindt’s involvement in it. It was interesting to find out that chocolate wasn’t even consumed as a solid food until 1828 - before that it was only used in beverages. Furthermore, it originally had a crumbly, bread-like texture - it was only with the invention of the conche in 1879, by Rodolphe Lindt, that the smooth, sweet chocolate of today was formed. The conche is a kind of automated rolling pin which is now used in all chocolate manufacturing. Over the course of 72 hours, the friction formed by the conche grinds down the particles in the chocolate, allowing the bitterness of the cacao beans to evaporate, other flavours to develop and the smoothness to form.

But really good chocolate can’t fully be appreciated, said Schnetzler, unless you use all five senses in your sampling of it - a bit like you would with wine tasting. He outlined what you should be looking for in the chocolate with each sense:

• Sight - an even surface with a rich matte sheen
• Touch - silky and smooth, starts to melt on contact
• Sound - sharp snap when you break it
• Smell - rich aroma
• Taste - allow it to melt in your mouth, so you experience the texture, consistency and subtle flavour undertones

Lindt has now launched four experimental new flavours worldwide which can be enjoyed with these points in mind. It is hoped that the flavours will help change people’s perception of dark chocolate, which is still second to milk chocolate in consumption levels. They include Strawberry Intense, Passion Fruit Intense, Coconut Intense and A Touch of Sea Salt.

Strawberry Intense would definitely be the most mainstream of the releases. Made using real, crunchy pieces of freeze-dried strawberries, it has a strong fruity flavour, which Schnetzler explained would cater to Australians’ sweeter palate. This definitely seemed to be the case on the night, with the majority of attendees favouring this type above the others.

Passion Fruit Intense certainly has a more complex flavour, carrying the slight sourness of its fruit but mixing it with the sweetness of the chocolate. Although strong on first bite, the flavour tends to soften as you chew. Combined with flaked almonds for texture and contrast, this is one of the more interesting chocolates.

One flavour which Schnetzler believes will particularly appeal to Australians is Coconut Intense. The coconut pieces are slightly crunchy but the chocolate itself is soft, which may be to do with the caramelisation of the coconut flakes. Contrary to its name, the coconut flavour is actually quite subtle - definitely not as strong as the fruit flavours - and this means the bitterness of the dark chocolate is more noticeable. With the others, it is barely recognisable.

The final flavour is A Touch of Sea Salt, with Schnetzler explaining that salt is currently a fashionable flavour. However, he emphasised that the chocolate is made using the “Rolls Royce of sea salt”, Fleur de Sel - a fine hand-harvested sea salt from Brittany in France. The chocolate carries the familiar tang of the salt, but not the actual taste, making its addition more like a feeling than a flavour, and a very agreeable one at that.

The new flavours bring Lindt’s total amount of releases to 32 (including limited editions), 13 of which have reached Australia. Andrew Curran, Marketing Director for Lindt, explained that Australia has received so many due to our broad range and willingness to try anything. However, Schnetzler noted that the company is yet to release its Wasabi flavour on the Australian market, as we might not be ready for it yet.

As for the concept of chocolate-as-wine-tasting, it has actually been around for a while. Schnetzler told What’s New in Food Technology & Manufacturing that Lindt has been working with wine experts for over 10 years, holding events in which good wine is matched with good chocolate.

Furthermore, in the last eight years, Lindt has been holding Chocolate Appreciation Evenings like this one, which have incorporated everything from chocolate tasting to chocolate making. But Schnetzler pointed out that you don’t need a professional class in order to appreciate good chocolate.

“You can do it at home,” he said. “Bring the girlfriends round and see what chocolate goes with what wine.”

Lindt’s new flavours certainly make such events sound appealing. With complex, rich flavours that excite all five senses (as long as you let them), they show that chocolate can be more than just a sweet snack, and dark chocolate in particular can be more than a slightly healthier but more bitter alternative to its milky brother.