Chocolat Bonnat Surabaya 65% milk

This French-made 65% Indonesian milk chocolate is the third bar I've had of Bonnat's. The first two were not good experiences: the Madagascar 75% then the Haiti 75%. As this milk chocolate had such a high cocoa percentage it sounded very interesting

The aroma was milky, full on creamy. The taste was Dutch-processed cocoa mixed with milk - here you taste the absence of sugar, or I should say "of so much sugar". It tasted of horse's barn, with a mild chocolate backdrop. Melting slowly, with an almost greasy texture but foremost a buttery melt, there came smokiness in taste. A smokiness, although very subtle, that reminds one that this is Indonesian chocolate!

It takes time, but this chocolate becomes pleasing. It has too much cocoa butter in for me. A 65% milk chocolate sounds like a dark milk chocolate, it just wasn't 'dark' enough. The fat content is almost 50%, so having too much begins to feel uncomfortable

This bar is the best Bonnat I've had ... 

Chocolat Bonnat Haiti 75

I bought Bonnat's Madagascar last time I was in France. After being disappointed with it, seeing as I was in France again, I thought to have another go with Bonnat, as it could have just been an unfortunate bar; Bonnat have had excellent acclaim

Haiti is to the left of the Dominican Republic, sharing one single island. I love Dominican Republic cacao - so being a Hispaniola chocolate, and having a 2€ higher price tag than some other Bonnat bars, I had high expectations for this deep pink wrapped chocolate bar

The aroma was ... um ... eventually green, tea leaves ... caramel

The taste was ... um ... buttery, eventually cocoa bitterness, deep roast slowly became toasty. Later there were hints of acidity. The texture was incredibly buttery, almost greasy, and with the lack of flavour I imagined just eating cocoa butter

French chocolate is butter rich, but overdo it and the flavour is lost. Bonnat overdo it, in my humble opinion, whereas French maker Cluizel manages to just get away with ample cocoa butter, as does Pralus, both of whom's chocolate burst with flavour, unlike Bonnat ...

My third attempt, which was the next morning, showed improvement. There was more acidity, though still very subtle. The roasted profile suggests over-roasted beans

The good about Bonnat is the old-fashioned packaging and how it feels wrapped, that the ingredients list is simple: cocoa mass, cocoa butter and sugar

Chocolat Bonnat Madagascar 75%

I bought this chocolate when in Nice, and I chose it because Bonnat is a highly acclaimed French chocolate manufacturer (making bean-to-bar) and because it was made with beans associated with fruitiness - Madagascar! Bonnat make their chocolate bars with more cocoa butter than sugar, which creates the 'traditional' style, but this style is one that I am not so keen on. I like smoothness, but not so much when it becomes a buttery texture and impacts on the flavour - and especially when compared to the rustic style of craft chocolate

The aroma was cream crackers, nothing more. The taste was bran-flakes, toasty, cocoa in water (dutch-processed), buttery. This chocolate was so, so, so buttery - taste and texture, and lacked complexity. Its taste reminided me of a couverture brownie, it lacked that intense 'chocolate' edge

With my third approach at this bar, I did actually sense some acidity. It was only really in the aroma, a little in the taste, however it was not enough to be fruity or give a more prominent flavour. I am convinced this chocolate bar was just an unfortunate bar (a poorer harvest), as I have seen only positive critiques of this Madagascar, and it's been said to be very fruity. Though, if it had been fruity I still don't know whether I would have enjoyed it ... as it was far too buttery. Bonnat, although creamy and mellow, didn't seem to have Cluizel's or Domori's finesse in velvety smoothness