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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Antidote 77% Cacao Almond + Fennel Bar

I must say that pursuing my, ughhh, lifestyle choices here in Western Mass is about as close as I'll probably ever get to riding a lollipop train. Perhaps Artemis herself has blessed me with the good fortune to be in love with a wonderful woman. But sometimes just getting through the day requires a meditative Sarah McLachlan sesh and a nightly dose of organic, free-range, Goddess-endorsed, paper-sheathed, raw, adorably designed, empowering chocolate like Antidote, made by incredibly gorgeous chocolatier Red Thalhammer. Am I right, ladies?
These visually appealing bars have features more PC than Chastity Bono and a considerably slimmer profile. No word on if they can dance or not, but they'd sure look good slathered all over Lacey Schwimmer. Nevertheless, nonchalantly sporting Antidote Chocolate's quirky and health/psyche-conscious flavors at the dog park will cause heads to turn faster than a chick with a Justin Bieber haircut. With flavors like mango + juniper and banana + cayenne, it definitely seemed like the type of product that I could not only enjoy for its weirdness, but tout as the ultimate liberal status symbol.
One of these bars, almond + fennel, showcased two of my favorite savory ingredients in a sweet application, with a backside like a work of art. Named after Artemis, the Greek goddess best known for boys-free power, hunting, and acoustic guitar YouTube tributes by girls with crew cuts, the bar features a 77% dark chocolate base with crushed almonds and pieces of dried fennel. The bar imparted a fairly dry texture overall, but had a much smoother mouthfeel than other raw chocolates I've tried.
The dark chocolate was some of the nicest raw chocolates I've had, with an incredibly concentrated flavor of smoke and berries, leaving the Fine and Raw in the dust. However, I found that the main flavor I tasted was the single origin Ecuador chocolate, and it was a challenge to distinguish the flavors of the almonds or fennel.
It's more often the other way around in some embellished chocolate bars, and I was disappointed to see such a beautiful landscape of nuts and spices disappear into the miasma of powerful dark cacao. If raw or vegan chocolate is your thing, you may find this one of the tastiest and beautifully designed bars on the market. Thanks to Aunt Linda for tipping us off!

1 comment:

  1. awesome, I love it! congrats for the blog, God bless you!

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