Review: J.D. Gross 81% Arriba Superieur (**)

And she dangled the deep red package in front of my nose… women, don’t you love them? Ever since I got hold of the 60% and 70% origin chocolate of JD Gross, I searched every Lidl to find the illusive 81% Arriba Superieur. But it was always sold out.
Last week I went shopping with my wife, and yet again another empty display of 81%. Until my girl decided to dig in deep in the row of 70%. And guess what she found! Right! The price was even lower than last time around. I wonder how they’re even able to produce such a 125 g bar at this discount price.

Once more, the packaging looks very luxurious, with lots of glossy print and a golden wrapper hiding the chocolate.

Bean: Arriba
Origin: Rio Esmeraldas – Ecuador
Production: J.D. Gross for Lidl ( Made by Rausch)
Price paid: € 1,29/125 g

Colour: Deep dark brown with a reddish hint.

Aroma: dark cacao, not really revealing many other tones, other than an expected high cacao butter content.

Taste: Chocolate mousse… I know it sounds crazy, but that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. A deep cacao taste, combined with a sweet, buttery tone. A gentle bitterness accompanies the dark roasted taste of the beans. Much like the chocolate mousse my mother makes.
But I do miss a refreshing zing to it, something to cut through the thick, heavy chocolate taste. There is some coffee hidden but other than that it’s clear this chocolate has a higher than normal cacao butter content, wich makes it a little heavy on the palate. Ending with a soft, sweet touch. The aftertaste follows the main taste like a mirror, it doesn’t evolve at all and isn’t as long as hoped.
I had high expectations about this one, as it’s so hard to get in the shops near me, but the 70% is better in my opinion, more balanced.
I do believe some chocolate producers actually add way to much cacao butter to high percentage chocolate, as it hides the more earthy taste in its creamyness. But that means so many subtle tone get lost. To bad, a missed chance…