Vosges Calindia Bar

Posted by Edmund in Chocolate, Featured Articles, Gourmet Chocolate Bars, USA | 1 comment

Composition: Indian green cardamom, organic California walnuts, Dried Plums, 65% Venezuelan Dark Chocolate
Region of Production: USA
Price: $7.50 from the Vosges’ store

Looking at this chocolate is a downright shame. As you may have seen in some of my other reviews (e.g. the Vosges Black Pearl Bar), I’ve been having quite a few problems with Vosges’s presentation, largely because its chocolate seems especially susceptible to chocolate bloom (i.e. discoloring due to the cocoa butter separating from the chocolate). It may be due to poor shipping, but at this point I’m beginning to think that the packaging itself may be the problem. While I’ve had other chocolates suffer from the same problem, none have even come close to the smeared appearance of the Vosges bars. The end result is downright disturbing, as I opened up this bar to find a mutilated chocolate, faded across the top into a dusty, light, cocoa-powder. This is the third time it’s happened with a Vosges bar, and I’m not pleased at all.

It’s a shame, too, because this bar is absolutely delicious, having some of the most balanced sweetness and some of the most interesting flavors you could ask for in a dark chocolate. Unlike some of the other Vosges bars, the Calindia bar goes all out in the flavor department, mixing in a whole slew of walnut and dried plums straight into the chocolate. In every single bite, you get an overflow of very crunchy walnut bits, which combine with the far fewer, but still prominent, chewy plums and the smooth dark chocolate for a complex combination of the fruity, nutty, and chocolaty. It is, in fact, a perfect balance between sweet and bitter.

The Indian cardamom just elevates it to the next level, adding a subtle, herby undertone that softens out the intensity of the cocoa and leaves you refreshed in every bite, even leaving you breathing out a bit of herby aroma in the aftertaste. That herby aroma is apparent as soon as you open the bar, too, and it really infuses the whole bar with a freshness that you just can’t find in others. The balance only continues in that aftertaste, as the light bitterness of the chocolate deliciously lasts on the palate with just a touch of the cardamom. And I do mean the chocolate lasts: You’ll be savoring it for a few minutes after you eat the bar, which is quite rare for a flavored milk chocolate bar.

There are, however, some technical difficulties. Given that this bar is so overloaded with ingredients, it’s practically a rock. The Calindia Bar doesn’t even really melt much because it’s been so hardened by all the chunks of ingredients. The bar is still very enjoyable, but it’s hard to really savor it, roll it around in your mouth, etc. Instead, you have to munch it down, unleashing an explosion of flavor with every chew. Even the chew, though, can be problematic, specifically because some of the dried plums are also too hard, in contrast to the much easier munch of the almonds. On the positive side, I did like that, precisely because this bar is so hard, I could finally snap it into perfect squares—something I haven’t been able to do with any other Vosges bar.

As a side note, typically I fault Vosges for its use of soy lecithin (an artificial emulsifier), which gives the chocolate a candy-like melt. Here, though, it really is necessary to give the chocolate some consistency, given just how many chunks are included. Moreover, because the flavors are so bold and pronounced, and because the chocolate is so hard, it’s really hard to notice that fake creaminess that typically results from lecithin.

Finally, while the chocolate is very much a key component, it’s quite easy to lose track of it, given how strong all the other flavors are. The Calindia Bar is thus not for someone looking just for an intense chocolate experience, where the chocolate is center stage. Instead, this bar is about the perfect harmony of very, very flavorful ingredients, which are all on equal footing with the chocolate. This isn’t much of a weakness, but rather a warning for people who want to savor the chocolate, rather than the ingredients.

Nonetheless, this is a delicious bar, and one with which I find few complaints. The flavor profile is amazing, demonstrating a true respect for balance and complexity, as well as for satisfying, varied textures. It is so good, in fact, that I, even as the reviewer, felt the need to sneak in an extra piece or two, even after I had finished my review (I typically eat only as much as necessary to write a review).

How Vosges can go from making such utter garbage, like the Oaxaca Bar, to making this masterpiece is beyond me, but sometimes you just shouldn’t question a good thing.

Presentation: 0.0/5.0
Taste: 4.7/5.0
Flavor: 4.8+/5.0
Melt: 1.5/5.0. But melt really isn’t what this bar is going for, so you can’t penalize it.
Length: 4.2/5.0. While very subtle, it’s so aromatic and refreshing that you don’t mind at all.
Value: 4.2/5.0. Try finding a better combination of fresh, quality ingredients in a chocolate bar!
Overall Score (excluding presentation): 4.5/5.0+. Really, if you have any interest at all in very fresh, natural flavors, or if you’re just looking for a very edible, easily enjoyable dark chocolate, you can’t go wrong here.