[…] draussen ist das wetter immer noch so grau, dass man denkt: jetzt hilft nur noch selbstmord. oder ein stück schokolade. (the weather outside is such that one thinks: the only solution is suicide. or some chocolate.)
the swiss used to have it.
but they gave it away.
like so many things.
their reputation is now nothing but a big lie.
the swiss used to make the best chocolate. and they still make a decent chocolate of the mass-produced kind.
but in the gourmet, speciality, high-quality sector of chocolate production they have long lost their pole position.
to italy. to france. to spain. to belgium.
a small company called domori in italy makes the best chocolate.
(and the worst website i might add… wtf? well to be honest its not that bad, because i was able to order this tasting basket. but please explain to me a page like this one. is it art? they say its the faq). they directly import their cacao beans from venezuela and they only add sugar in the process. if even that. their top of the line product is made up of 100% cacao beans.
and nothing else.
good chocolate is good for your health: its a strong antioxydant, helps the body deal with free radicals, strengthens the immune system, stimulates the body’s own serotonin production and its perfect for women during their pms.
anyway, all this i is nicely summed up in max küng’s “schoggilüge” in das magazin no 12-26.03. – 01.04.2005.
and now, lets enjoy the chocolate. bunnies or not. 100% guilt-free.
edit: actually dale disagrees as seen here: dale’s gourmet chocolate testing. for him, whoever he may be, its the french who make the best chocolate. but he agrees that the swiss are way behind, the first swiss chocolate comes in at position 67 with an 8+.
I just entertained myself with that article yesterday (brilliant one – “eine Stellwand von ausgesuchter italienischer Hässlichkeit”), and I have a correction, if I may: The article does not posit that Swiss chocolate isn’t the best anymore, it says that it never was! That it’s the best is a marketing myth built on a good quality mass product.
Now THERES a real easter posting =)
@ chris: i think it does say that swiss chocolate was the best at one point, its just been awhile. way back in the 1880’s, to be more precise, when the swiss invented the “conchiermaschine” and milk chocolate. but since then, yes, its mainly been a hype.
@ alfie: thanx. but i am curious now, what would be an unreal easter posting?
@zup: I sure don’t want to be a pain, especially not at the prime choc season, but I just checked, and the article doesn’t state anywhere that Swiss choc was best in the 1880s (and implicitly has gone down the drain ever since). Although that perception would be rather fashionable and not surprising at all, it’s not what the article says: “It’s about the cow, not the bean”, meaning that Swiss choc is traditionally well known for its milk chocolate, but not for its high end cocoa centric product.
Which is still possible since Switzerland would have a great image to capitalise on in that segment.
@chris: you are correct to point out that the article does not explicitly say that swiss chocolate was the best at some point, but it certainly implies it.
i think its kind of the starting point of the whole article. even the title – schoggilüge or chocolate lie – implies this. swiss chocolate for a long time had the reputation of being the best in the world. whether that was ever true or not is a whole ‘nother discussion. and its certainly no longer true. sad though it is. why can’t we be best at something at least???
Anyone ever tried that hype chocolate called Domori? I don’t really think so, it is simply not edible. Chocolate is supposed to be sweet, it is supposed to bring joy to your life and it is not some medicine. Or since when do we eat it because it is healthy? Chocolate is pure pleasure and I can’t help but think that some lifestyle popes are trying to promote this bitter and sour piece of brown fat that makes everything cramp inside your body once you have inserted a piece of it. Might be good for lifestyle jerks who are not able to develop their own opinion but only accept what someone else decided for them is a good taste.
i actually quite like that bitter, sour type of chocolate that makes you cramp up inside, so i can’t wait to try domori, to be quite honest.
hier noch mein bericht mit fotos von der domori degustation in der gourmet factory!
greets dani
p.s wer von euch war am freitag auch dort? 😉
ich leider leider leider nicht …