Saturday, April 9, 2011

Babaevsky: Dark Chocolate from Mother Russia

Today, after discussing some semi-illicit British chocolate, I bring you more foreign chocolate. But I’m changing gears a bit. This particular bar is 100% legal, and comes from Mother Russia. I bring you the Babaevsky Dark Chocolate bar.

Why Russian chocolate? Russia is not exactly widely regarded as a source of top-of-the-line chocolate, so how did this come into my life? As yet another gift from a swimmer who I coach, of course; in this case, a swimmer who happens to be from Russia.

It’s like these people know me. Really well. It’s awesome. But how awesome is this chocolate? When I unwrapped it, I noted a very faint fruity aroma, and decided to go ahead and find out for myself by eating some.

When tasting this bar, I first noted the slightly dry texture that compromised the melt. It was a little much to get past and enjoy the flavor, but I did note an earthy taste that is supplemented by a late-arriving fruity flavor and subtle notes of vanilla and coffee. It’s neither overly bitter nor overly sweet, but the texture is a bit much to get past. Folks, use high quality cocoa butter. It’s worth it.

Have you ever had chocolate from Russia?

11 comments:

  1. No I have never had chocolate from Russia! Come to think of it, I haven't really had anything from Russia - except VODKA ;)

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  2. Russian chocolate!! Cant say ive tried any of that yet! Interesting!!

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  3. I've never had Russian chocolate, but I am uber excited that I got to read the label on the one you posted here. Hooray! 2.5 years of high school Russian have paid off once again! ;)

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  4. Nope, but I've had Polish chocolate! It was also quite dry...

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  5. I like Babaev chocolates. Some are better than others. I recommend their squirrels (chocolate covered hazelnut praline) and Babaevskie (found on russiantable.com) which is also a milk chocolate with nutty flavor. Wish they made more dark chocolate sweets, but their milk chocolate candies are more mature than what you find in the American candy aisles.
    Red October candies are also unique, but maybe I connect to those after spending making two trips to Russia before.

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  6. We were gifted a bar of this 75% Babaevsky, and the flavor is spectacular.

    Have to agree though, that the texture is a bit dry and crumbly, rather than smooth and creamy like a high end french, german or belgian chocolate.

    But, back to the flavor, it was spectacular, and so we are searching for a source of this stuff online, which has lead us to this review.

    If anyone knows where to buy this stuff online at a reasonable price, let us know!

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  7. We did see it on Russian table dot com, but at $5 per 200g, seems a bit pricey!

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  8. Scarcely worth eating. The piece I just had was slightly bloomed, so it's not the freshest. The pieces I've tried all have a slightly off flavor, maybe even a bit solventy. Dry consistency, though not gritty or chalky. Flavor like second-quality chocolate chips, not even as good as Hershey's. I'd say don't cross the street to buy this unless there are no other options.

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  9. Babaevsky orange and almond chocolate bar is amazing!

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