Le Chocolatier is a tiny company in Canmore, Alberta Canada. With products this good, we wish them nothing but success.
Take a Hike
Belgian Milk Chocolate with Sun Dried Cranberries and Roasted Almonds 11.16.05 One might suspect that this is a health food bar, given the appetizing, "granola" sound of cranberries and almonds. The presentation is excellent - we unwrapped the bars from their thick gold foil like children opening a present. The bar itself is well designed, with a pleasant imprint and a nice heft. And the texture - oh, the texture! What a delight to sink ones teeth into. The chocolate is superb, melting effortlessly on the tongue. Our only (minor) complaints: Taster 1 thought the cranberries added a lovely color, but not much flavor. Taster 2 wanted a few more almonds. All in all, though, we were ready to pack our bags for Canada. Our rating: 4.5 of 5 bon bons
Pure Milk
12.3.05 Mmmmmmmm... what's not to like? The presentation is excellent, the texture superb, and the flavor - probably the chocolatiest milk chocolate we've ever encountered. Our rating: 4.5 of 5 bon bons
Coal Mine
Belgian Dark Chocolate 1.29.06 A very solid (literally) entry in the dark category. These bars are thick, with a pleasing dark flavor and no bitterness. Taster A thought the flavor might have been the slightest bit chalky, and Taster B thought the flavor was good, but nothing to write home about. Both wished there were a cacao percentage on the wrapper. Our guess was 55-65%. Our rating: 4.25 of 5 bon bons
Dark Almond Avalanche
6.22.06 We love the heft of Le Chocolatier's bars. This one had a pleasing ratio of nuts to chocolate, and a pleasant, though not outstanding, moderately dark chocolate flavor. It also seemed a bit slow to melt in the mouth, but that could be due to the cool weather today. A good choice for the nutty type. Our rating: 4 of 5 bon bons
Black Bear (70%)
6.29.06 A very dark flavor and smooth texture. At first it was a bit brittle, but that disappeared after a few bites. The flavor was straightforward - strongly chocolate with a slightly (but not unpleasantly) bitter aftertaste. Best enjoyed at room temperature or warmer. Our rating: 4 of 5 bon bons
By the way, there is another company with the same name in Florida. I've not tried their products, but have read excellent reviews. Visit them at: www.lechocolatier.com