Panel test: this is the tastiest (and most disgusting) chocolate letter from the supermarket
Those who are good get treats. And preferably a whole alphabet of chocolate letters, please. Well… One letter is not the same as another. So we’re still pretty picky. Which letter gets a big 10 and which one should not be mentioned at all? The expert test panel tested 10 letters and came up with a very surprising result.
The panel consisted of 3 members: Per Vonk, Ruben van Trigt and Kees Raat. Per Vonk is co-owner and co-founder of chocolate manufacturer The Chocolate Explorers. Together with his business partner, he makes his own chocolate products under the name Mesjokke, among other things. Ruben van Trigt is a young and promising pastry chef and chocolatier. In 2018, he won the Doble Pastry Battle: a pastry competition for pastry and chocolate professionals. Ruben is also the owner of Frivolité patisserie & chocolade. Kees Raat, finally, is a chocolate expert, maker and artist. He also wrote the book Chocoladebijbel. So this panel is the crème de la crème of the chocolate world.
Supermarket letters
Before the tasting, the panel was quite skeptical. They expected to taste many letters from the same factory, which are generally too sweet and contain too much lecithin. The latter is a substance that makes chocolate chewy. Sounds delicious, but that’s not the idea: you actually want a chocolate letter to snap. In any case, they hoped for artisanal letters from bakers and chocolatiers. But yes, the test was about chocolate letters from the supermarket. To be honest, I often find them pretty tasty myself. Those luxury letters from Lidl, for example: divine, if you ask me.
The letters tested
Those luxury Lidl letters were not tasted during this test. The ‘regular’ Lidl letter was: Favorina. Other own-brand products tested were those from Jumbo, G’woon, Aldi, Dirk (1 de Beste) and Albert Heijn (Delicata). The HEMA letter was also judged. And leading brands? There were 3 of those: the letter from Tony’s Chocolonely, Droste and Verkade. Every chocolate letter was milk chocolate. There wasn’t really any difference in the letters themselves. Whether you eat an M or an I, every letter weighs the same. So all the Irmas and Ivos can stop picking fights with the Michaels and Mirandas.
The losers
Right, then, the test itself. Which letters disappointed? All three leading brands, in any case. Tony’s Chocolonely gets a 5.5, Droste a 5+ and Verkade even a 4. Verkade therefore comes last, Tony’s Chocolonely is in 7th place and Droste in 8th. So what’s so disappointing about them? Tony’s Chocolonely smells good and isn’t too sweet, but lacks crunchiness. That snap they mentioned earlier. Droste was called ‘hardened chocolate milk’. And Verkade… The panel wanted to get rid of that one as quickly as possible. Ouch.
The winners
Then the good news. Which letter was the ultimate favorite? Drumroll… The HEMA letter! The panel was wildly enthusiastic about the chocolate. The taste, aroma and color were top-notch. Sweet enough, but different from other bars, and in a positive way. The panel gave the letter an impressive 8+: more than twice the score of the Verkade letter. Jumbo’s letter came in 2nd place. According to the panel, this one also tasted good and had a good snap. The top 3 was rounded out by Dirk’s own-brand letter, 1 de Beste. It was a little too sweet, but had a good mouthfeel and a pleasant crunch.
So no perfect 10 was awarded. But we now know that we don’t have to spend half a month’s salary if we want a reasonably tasty letter. For comparison: the Verkade letter costs € 1.83 per 100 grams, while the HEMA letter costs € 1.25 per 100 grams. Do the math!
Also read:
- Panel test: this is the tastiest cola zero from the supermarket and it costs next to nothing
- Bring that bottle of prosecco home: HEMA sells prosecco pong
- You’ll want these this year: chocolate letters with liqueur
Source: AD/BNDeStem
