Japanese chocolates (Lotte brand)

Most of the dark chocolates by Japanese brands are not very good, and we've tried most, if not all of them in our search for a yummy, readily available dark chocolate to indulge in. Most either have a strong artificial vanillin flavour, a gritty rough texture or don't taste very pleasant. They are, however, still significantly better than Hershey's brand, which remains right at the bottom of my list of chocolates (and may it remain there forever). There is one brand that we found to be quite good - both taste and texture. We've tried many varieties of dark chocolates by Lotte and have liked them all. Apparently, Lotte is the first Japanese company to employ the Swiss methods of conching chocolates to produce the smooth texture that we appreciate so much in chocolates.

These are the ones we have tried and loved. We started out with the 77% chocolate and gradually moved onto the 85% one which we now appreciate in all its bitterness. Both are quite smooth, with the 77% one a touch sweeter. The 85% chocolate is not as smooth, but has a richer chocolate taste. Both are not too pricey, with the 77% one going for 238yen (~AU$2.40) for an 82g pack of individually packaged mini-chocs (the chocolate bar version is shown in the photo which I think they are being phased out), and the 85% one costing 188yen (~AU$1.90) for a 70g bar (which is being taken off the shelves and replaced with the more expensive individually packaged ones). (Munz Swiss Premium is actually cheaper than Lotte, but too bad it's not readily available at the groceries stores.)



There's also the special 70% Cacao Selection (330yen for 65g), featuring chocolates made with cocoa from Venezuela, Ecuador and Trinidad Tobago. All start out bitter, but leaves a pleasant slightly sweet aftertaste on the tongue. The differences between the three are quite subtle, and our tastebuds are perhaps not refined enough to detect the exact differences. The differences are easier to pinpoint when tasted in close succession to each other. The chocolate from Venezuela is a bit rough and has an almost gritty texture. Quite bitter, actually. Our favourite is the Ecuadorian one - smooth with a rounded chocolatey flavour. The Trinidad Tobago one is as smooth as the Ecuadorian one, but does not taste as creamy. It has quite a bitter overtone, which some may prefer. What we learnt from this is that we ought to try more Ecuadorian chocolates!