Delhaize Dark Chocolate and Dark Chocolate with candied orange peel

Another two supermarket brand bars, but this time both are fair trade bars. The plain dark bar is a 74% cacao with Arriba beans from Ecuador. A little sugar, so not a bitter bar. Good fragrance and depth of flavour, but a hint of sourness. I don't remember the price but expect they were most likely ~1.50E each, so very inexpensive.

The second bar is full of tiny pieces of peel, making for a good orange flavour. Although candied, the pieces of peel are not sweet. I like this a lot better than some other overly sweet bars. As with many flavoured chocolate bars, the actual flavour of the chocolate itself is hard to discern. No sourness as above though. Also a 74% cacao bar made from Ecuadorean Arriba beans.

Both were way, way better than the equivalent Monoprix bars.

Delhaize Tarte Citron and Santander with Passionfruit

Delhaize Tarte Citron

Another supermarket bar made to resemble a branded counterpart, Lindt's Lemon Mousse bar in this case, this consists of sweet milk chocolate (30% cacao) enclosing a lemon filling (40%). The chunky pieces have a sweet milk chocolate fragrance with a strong lemon component. Tiny bicuit pieces in the filling add a surprising but pleasing crunch. According to the ingredients list there are meringue pieces but I haven't been able to taste them. I have not tasted Lindt's version, so can't compare them, but I really like this bar. While much sweeter than my general preference, the lemon and crunchy bits make this perfect for days when I want a change from dark chocolate. Did I mention that the glossy yellow and white packaging is also very elegant?

Santander with Passionfruit

A Colombian single-origin bar with 70% cacao and tiny crispy(!) passion fruits bits scattered throughout, this is a fairly creamy, smooth-textured bar. Slightly sweetened but not overly so. The chocolate itself has a good flavour, slightly fruity. Not acid, sour or bitter. Wrapped in thick gold foil and packaged in glossy black cardboard, this is certainly more attractive than Santander's plain single-origin bars. Definitely worth trying. I like the chocolate, but am not sure the passionfruit flavour is strong enough.

Hazelnut chocolates

I love hazelnuts with chocolate and wonder why it's so hard to find in the Anglo-American world. Lucky I was able to acquire these two huge 200g bars on my recent travels. Just your basic supermarket brands, but I did spring for the whole hazelnuts rather than the shards in cheaper bars. Supposed to be dark chocolate but these are only around 52% cacao. Still better than the regular 30%. The chunkiness of the pieces and the whole hazelnuts create a satisfyingly comfortable and chunky treat.

Two small bites

These Delhaize Espresso praline and Jacques praline croquante bars were consumed whilst on a much-anticipated holiday in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Both were surprisingly cheap and excellent. The praline in the espresso bar was smooth and the coffee flavour good, though I would have preferred it to be still stronger. This grocery store house brand bar was obviously meant to mimic the more upscale Galler bars. Having tried the Galler bars in the past, I the praline filling in those richer, to the point of being slightly too rich for me, so the Delhaize bar was in this regard preferable. The Jacques (Callebaut) bar was sweeter with a crunchy praline filling. I just wish I bought more Jacques chocolate.