Lindt Excellence Caramel with a Touch of Sea Salt

This bar was bought from the French market which explains the French packaging. The dark chocolate was of 47% cocoa and within had 5% caramel and 0.3% sea salt

The aroma was rich. With crème brûlée, chocolate, vanilla, butter caramel, almond and malt coming to mind. The taste started with chocolate and slowly the caramel came through, and when crunching the caramel its flavour was lovely. I'm not keen on crunchy toffee/caramel in chocolate but it did taste good

The sea salt, how I long for, came without warning. It was a nice touch. Salt that sparks up unexpectedly and does not overpower nor result in a salty/briny taste, in any dish, is desirable. The caramel was pretty sweet, but I liked its dark taste

Lindt Excellence 90% Dark Chocolate

Lindt use a "high percentage of flavour beans" and source mainly from Ghana. This 90% cocoa chocolate is an unknown bean blend, and the ingredients is as follows: cocoa paste, cocoa butter, low fat cocoa, sugar, natural Bourbon vanilla beans

I do enjoy Lindt Excellence (also their Creation range!) but I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about this 90% bar. The added vanilla suggested that the beans weren't so flavoursome, but the 'natural Bourbon vanilla' sounded promising 

It was jet black in colour, suggesting over-roasted beans? The aroma was sweet and soft, with the vanilla and cocoa overtones. I liked it, but there were no real subtleties

The chocolate had a sharp snap. When in the mouth, the bitter cocoa was first tasted and persisted. The dusty melt was not enjoyable but the cooling feel was fairly pleasant. There was a vanilla sweetness but the blunt bitterness overpowered 

I understand that this is no fruitful cacao (flavour beans), but for a "premium" and well established brand, who do offer such great chocolate, it's disappointing that I found the taste (and texture) to be so disruptive. I would have liked more cocoa butter. It tasted of cocoa, not chocolate. Though the aroma was lovely

This 90% cocoa chocolate isn't so much "high quality" chocolate, just excellent marketing

Lindt Lindor White Chocolate

A soothing smell of a just-burnt match stick. The caramel-like, dark aroma really caught me off guard as I thought that this, being Lindor, would be overworked with a sugary and buttery smell and taste, but surprisingly it wasn't

Each piece was the Lindor truffle in a flatter rectangular form and easier to eat. I had never tried the white Lindor truffle before so that's why I thought to try this chocolate bar

The texture felt like I was eating butter... not a pretty image to have in your head whilst devouring! But as I think of it now, this was the same with all Lindor flavours I've had in the past. What I notice with Lindor is that cooling feel it has in the mouth as the truffle centre begins to melt

This chocolate had a more buttery opposed to sugar taste which was nice in the sense that it didn't taste overwhelmingly sweet. Its dark taste was then followed with a soft finish, and neither was this chocolate cloying. It's just disappointing to see that vegetable fats comes before cocoa butter in the ingredients list. I was expecting to completely despise this chocolate, but to my surprise it actually wasn't bad for Lindor. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it

Lindt Creation: Velvety Vanilla Almond, Heavenly Crème Brûlée and Tiramisu

Having never actually seen nor heard of Lindt Creation before, I bought these thinking they were rare and that I wouldn't get the opportunity again. I also thought that maybe they were only sold on the continent... *update* - they are actually available in most supermarkets

Aesthetically satisfying: from the Lindt signature, sophisticated cardboard packaging to the curved, smooth tops of the milk chocolate

Velvety Vanilla Almond

A sharp, sweet, toffee aroma; becoming sickly fairly quickly

Each piece consisted of a caramel layer on top of a vanilla flavoured truffle with crunchy almond pieces dispersed within

It tasted very sweet, my initial reaction likened it to ice cream! At first I thought the caramel was pushing this chocolate to beyond desired sweetness, but it was actually the vanilla truffle. The caramel was rich whereas the vanilla flavouring was sharply sweet

I didn't find the almond to be lost in taste, and actually it slightly rounded off that sweetness; however, all still tasted fairly artificial. I grew to enjoy the overall taste, and the milk chocolate (and the caramel) tasted beautifully rich. I liked the texture of this chocolate with the hard coating, soft truffle and viscous caramel

Heavenly Crème Brûlée

Again, a very sweet aroma but this time much more tolerable. I liked it. Having loud notes of cream and malted milk with a touch of vanilla

The caramelised sugar pieces added a crunch, however I wasn't so crazy about this. But the taste was great, a creamy custard with a soft vanilla. Strangely though, it left an almost bitter after taste?

Tiramisu
This bar weighed 150g, followed a different mould and was named 'Extremely Creamy' (the other two were 'Milk'). The aroma was cloying. There was a strong almond and vanilla. The taste took a while to surface coffee, but was very subtle. The flavour was predominantly almond and vanilla

There were pieces of biscuit that added a crunch to the very soft filling. I liked it, but it did not resemble a Tiramisu - it was almost as if it was a mix of the Vanilla Almond and Crème Brûlée...

Overall, I especially enjoyed the firm bite and curved tops of the Vanilla Almond and Crème Brûlée, the Tiramisu felt a lot softer. The bar was divided into large pieces meaning that you had to bite through each piece...thus creating an exciting experience as you're more aware of the texture contrasts; the hard coating against the soft filling... 

Taste wise, it was inevitable that these were going to be sweet, it would have been riotous for them not to be. These Creations were a genius idea from Lindt, and for someone who doesn't really like Lindt (except the Excellence)... I actually really enjoyed these. A must try!

Lindt Creamy Milk Cookie Crunch

Through the creamy, indulgent milk chocolate (typical of Lindt) was the smell of rise crisps which was of course the cookie pieces, with a notable malt aroma

As I took my first bite it didn't feel like Lindt. It just didn't seem sophisticated enough: in taste, the way it looked and even the name: Cookie Crunch. However, I was reassured that it was Lindt by the creamy, rich, sweet milk chocolate (although little of that could be tasted as the cookie flavour dominated)

But saying that, the cookie element didn't even taste like cookies, or what we call here in England: biscuits! It really just tasted like rice crisps (with a poor, crumbly texture) and that was seriously disappointing. But, I did like how that distracted away from the sweetness and creaminess of the Lindt milk chocolate...  making me actually quite enjoy it as it didn't have a cloying taste/finish 

If you're to stumble across this chocolate, don't be tempted

Lindt Swiss Classic Milk Chocolate

The aroma was very sweet, creamy and resembled Lindt's Lindor truffles. A definite soft toffee scent which I liked but soon became sickly. The milkiness was very prominent, though I'm not surprised as the Swiss are famous for their milk (and milk chocolate)

The taste was very rich and creamy, with a smooth melting texture. The flavour wasn't as sophisticated as Lindt's Excellence range, as it was buttery and overwhelmingly sweet. This also meant that after a while (with the smell too) it all became a little bit too much. A toffee flavour was also present, with pleasurable dark tasting sugars

I guess I did enjoy this chocolate, but I think I just had too much that it became ever so sickly. The smell lingering on my fingers ended up giving me a slight headache

It was indulgent but this Lindt milk chocolate was definitely not for me. I never was a fan of the Lindor truffles (very similar, if not the same, taste). And I now believe that when it comes to Lindt, I'm only a fan of the Excellence

If I ever want a standard milk chocolate of which I can easily get my hands on (from the supermarket)... I won't be opting for this bar

Lindt Excellence White Touch of Vanilla

The Madagascan vanilla aroma was calm, soft and gentle yet distinct. Silently thanking Lindt for not making the vanilla too overwhelming, the "touch" was perfect. The elegant paperboard packaging of Lindt's Excellence range is something also to admire

I loved seeing that the vanilla was all natural, and the taste certainly reflected upon it. A soft, but firm bite leads you into the smooth texture, and right away an unmistakeable white chocolate flavour is initiated. The melt was quite long, allowing the vanilla to develop. Further with the taste, I did sense a 'touch' too much sugar, but I only noticed this after many pieces

You will always find Lindt chocolate on supermarket shelves. So, if you are craving white chocolate you really have no excuse not to choose this one! Lindt chocolatiers take pride in using fine 'aromatic' cocoa beans, so to choose a cheap white chocolate, filled with artificial flavourings and being immersed with too much sugar, over this sophisticated Lindt Excellence would almost seem a sin

Lindt Excellence Strawberry Intense

The strawberry aroma was intense and I'm glad that Lindt use real strawberries opposed to just flavourings. The strawberry pieces provided a fun texture with bursts of extra flavour, which overall enhanced that strawberry overtone

Although it's referred to as 'fine' white chocolate, I imagine it does taste fine but with this dominating strawberry flavour I really could not experience the white chocolate as much as I was hoping to. But then again, I guess that's why this chocolate doesn't taste too sickly; it's perfectly balanced. I think if the white chocolate had any more influence it would just be far too sweet

I enjoyed the overall texture: the smooth, creamy melt of the Lindt chocolate counterpointing the light crunches of the strawberry pieces. The aroma, to begin with, was pleasant but eventually almost became too much. And the taste? I did really enjoy it, well I had no reason not to enjoy it! Obviously couldn't have too much of it though because it was very sweet

I think that many people tend to avoid this chocolate combination because they feel that white chocolate is packed with sugars and too much vanilla with an artificial strawberry flavouring, resulting in an overly sickening sweetness. However, this particular chocolate is an exception. The white chocolate is light tasting, and the strawberry flavour is natural. I probably wouldn't buy this Strawberry Intense again, but I'd be interested to taste other of Lindt's fruity chocolate

Lindt Excellence A Touch of Sea Salt

I'm ashamed to say it, but this was my first time trying salt in chocolate

Lindt's salted dark chocolate was of 47% cocoa solids with a minuscule 0.3% fleur de sel (sea salt)

I love Lindt Excellence's cardboard sleeve packaging and the design upon it. The contrast of dark colours against the white looks sharp, elegant and impressive

This dark chocolate wasn't as intense as some of the Lindt Excellence chocolates, i.e. 70-99%. I liked the fact that it was only of 47% as it could do wonders for a sweet craving without having to revert to milk chocolate. However, butterfat being enlisted on the ingredients may make this a milk chocolate

The aroma wasn't as potent as the higher cocoa percentages of Lindt. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I much prefer my chocolate to have an intense and intricate aroma to allow for a dynamic experience (as they say you taste predominately with your nose)

The salt crystals within accumulate and accentuate the sweetness of the chocolate allowing itself (the salt) to delicately come through, resulting in a subtle savouriness against a dominating sweetness. When taking the first bite I didn't notice the salt, but then it softly touched me quite suddenly. The feel of the crystals were what really made this chocolate live up to Lindt's prestige. The best way to experience the salt crystal texture is by allowing the chocolate to melt slightly (or completely), and feel them with your tongue and then bite

Overall, the salt flavour wasn't as clear cut and defined as I was expecting, but the chocolate resulted in a flavour that was delightfully enhanced by the sea salt which I really enjoyed. This bar was certainly made sweeter by the touches of salt. I would recommend this bar for sure! However, i'm not completely satisfied that this bar is dark chocolate, with that butterfat included... but never mind, I liked it nonetheless