This is yet another bar from my holiday stash, and I have to say, I was really looking forward to this one. I am a fan of dark chocolate, but don't usually go in deeper than 70%. It's not on purpose, I just don't seek the products out for myself. Luckily, some friends picked up my slack and got me this bar (along with two other Hageland bars).
I had a very difficult time finding information on the Hageland brand, but I do know it's a Belgian company and that you can buy the bars at Walmart. Even full (English) reviews of the brand were hard to come by, and I couldn't find any for this particular bar. UPDATE: Hageland's website is now up and running, and the link is at the end of this review.
The ingredients list looked promising: cocoa mass, sugar, coca butter, and vanilla. It doesn't say anything about this being a single origin bar, so I'm going to assume it isn't. The box says that the forastero beans from Uganda "renowned for their classic cocoa flavor and low acidity." The opened bar smelled woodsy and earthy, which was also promised by the back of the box.
The chocolate had a very firm snap, and right away tasted a little bitter (but not unpleasantly so). It had a crumbly melt, and as it warmed, it tasted fruity and a little sour or lemony. The finish was earthy and clean (like a chocolate umami, perhaps), with no oiliness or weird aftertaste. The bar was thoroughly interesting, and actually, very good. I wouldn't want to eat it all the time, but I really enjoyed it, and am now looking forward to trying my other two Hageland bars!
A-
Hageland Website
4 comments:
I was just at the Fancy Food Show and I think I saw this company. They are Belgian and called Kim's Chocolates. There are a few brands & levels of their products, I think they also make Cachet chocolate too.
http://www.kimchoc.be/pages/default.asp?langue=3
Interesting! I wonder if they're going to make more of a push into the US market.
Wal-Mart stopped carrying these Hageland Bars which are the best in the World. I wrote them an email in protest; I suggest anyone who likes these bars or would like to taste them, do the same.
i work at kim's and yes this is very good chocolate so thank you for the trust in kim's.
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