Lindt Cherry & Chili Chocolate

Swiss chocolatier Lindt has yet another winner in their line of high-quality chocolate bars: Creation 70% Cherry & Chili. Chile pepper-infused cherry filling is sandwiched into a bar of Lindt's gorgeous velvety dark chocolate, and the result is a confection with a surprisingly complex cascade of flavors.

The experience starts, of course, with the dark chocolate. Unlike some other 70% darks, Lindt's is as smooth as butter, without a hint of graniness. Subtle backnotes of coffee, cashew, and burnt toast gradually fade as the cherry flavor comes forward and blends with the intricacies of the chocolate.

Most chile peppers have some degree of "pepper flavor" that is completely separate from the element of heat. To me, it usually tastes like toasted paprika, a fruity and smoky essence that is almost experienced as an aroma rather than a flavor. This smokiness is also evident as the cherry flavor builds. Curiously, though, there is very little heat...

...until just at the end, when the chocolate has melted and the cherry has faded away, the chile's warmth builds up in a gentle and very subtle way to leave your palate with a faint glow.

Chile and chocolate is a winning combination, but chileheads shouldn't buy this Lindt bar looking for a firey burn. Lindt has taken a great deal of care to balance the flavors and "mouth effects" of this chocolate in a way that choreographs the chile, chocolate, and cherry notes almost perfectly. It's the ideal chocolate if you want to introduce the wonderful chile/chocolate combination to someone with little interest in peppers, but if you're the kind of person who turns to capsaicin strictly for your "endorphine rush" fire, skip it.

Links:

Lindt's website.

Lindt Creation 70% chili-cherry-chocolate on the Chocablog.