Vosges Black Pearl Bar

Posted by Edmund in Chocolate, Featured Articles, Gourmet Chocolate Bars, USA | 2 comments

Composition: Wasabi, Ginger, Black Sesame Seeds, and 55% Dark Chocolate.
Region of Production: USA.
Price: $7.50 from Vosges’ store.

When I saw the ingredient list of the Vosges Black Pearl Bar, I couldn’t resist. Wasabi, ginger, and black sesame? How can a bar with so many bold, interesting ingredients not be packed with flavor. Yet Vosges managed to do just that and produce one of the dullest, most tasteless chocolates I’ve had in a long time—odd given its success with other bars.

The problems started with the presentation. I’ve already discussed how I’m not a huge fan of the look of the Vosges bars, which are divided into simple squares with dull alternating images of a woman and the Vosges signature. Far worse, though, was that about half of my chocolate had bloomed, meaning the cocoa butter had separated from the chocolate due to improper temperature control and had re-solidified on the top. It was so intense that the images on each square of the bar were smudged. Fortunately, while that bloom can lower the shelf life of the chocolate, typically it shouldn’t affect the taste much if the chocolate isn’t too old. When I tasted the Black Pearl Bar, it didn’t seem to be in bad condition, so I will assume that I tasted a decent batch. Moreover, some parts of the bar were completely unaffected, so I should have gotten a pretty decent taste.

Regardless, the Black Pearl Bar has problems all-around. It has a satisfying crunch to it, especially because of the pieces of ginger integrated within, but it’s far too hard, particularly for a 55% dark chocolate. The whole bar is as tough as a brick, so that you have to actually break it apart with your teeth, as it’s difficult to snap off the 8 squares. Not surprisingly, the melt isn’t that smooth, even with the artificial emulsifiers that this bar contains. Like I said, this is a bar to chew down, and if you don’t, it will barely melt on its own.

Even worse is the flavor combination, which is far too subtle to make much impact. The Black Pearl Bar packs actual ginger and wasabi, yet those ingredients only come out in small bursts. The problem is largely that the chocolate itself isn’t actually infused with the flavor. Instead, the Black Pearl Bar just integrates those ingredients in large chunks, so you only taste them when you actually chew into a chunk. Even so, I was still surprised that the flavor was just so light, given how spicy wasabi and ginger should be. On the positive side, when I did taste the chewy ginger or the crunchy black sesame seeds, I did find myself enjoying this bar. That wasn’t a frequent occurrence, though.

Finally, the chocolate is so dull that it too compounds the flavorlessness of the bar. First, it’s a dark chocolate, yet it comes off as far too sweet, somewhat overshadowing the ingredients. Second, the bar has that waxy, artificial melt to it that comes from the use of artificial emulsifiers. That creaminess, in fact, helps to cover up the flavor of the ginger and wasabi pieces even more. Third, this bar barely lasts on the palate.

In turn, not only can I not recommend the Vosges Black Pearl Bar, I recommend avoiding it at all costs.
Presentation: 0.0/5.0
Taste: 0.9/5.0
Flavor: 1.0/5.0
Melt: 0.5/5.0
Value: 0.0/5.0
Length: 0.5/5.0
Verdict: 0.6/5.0. Really, quite a failure of a flavor, especially for something that costs $7.50.