Valor – 85% Dark Chocolate Sugar Free
Some things are a hotbed for debate, and something that there never really seems to be a consensus on. Sugar is the one thing that the world at large finally has consensus on, in that it’s bad in large quantities, and most of the things that taste good heap sugar on it. If you want to be pessimistic about it, it’s essentially doomed a generation or three because of big sugar hiding the impacts behind blame on cholesterol and fat. This has had some very far reaching consequences, and many scrambling to find a way to achieve the same effect as sugar without all the bad implications of it. Artificial sweeteners are one thing that there’s a lot of back and forth on, and it’s not really clear on what’s true or what isn’t. For a while aspartame was the top choice, and now it’s widely vilified and Stevia became the “it” sweetener. Now people are complaining about Stevia and looking to other alternatives. And so the cycle continues.
I mention all this because typically when I see a product say it has no added sugar or is sugar free, my gut reaction is “ok so what do they use instead?” Often times it’s one of the more popular sweeteners, which these days is either stevia or xylitol, or some other scary chemical sounding name. I personally don’t have a preference, but I do notice it doesn’t hit quite the same as actual sugar, so it doesn’t fully sate the same craving.
This is an 85% chocolate, but with no added sugar, and no dairy. The ingredients are quite simple, mostly just being cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. It is however, sweetened with Stevia, if that’s something that concerns anyone. While normal dark chocolate at 85% tends to not have a whole lot of sugar in it, it is still that someone with diabetes would give pause and caution, so I can see why they would want to use Stevia. I won’t get into the whole arguments for and against artificial sweeteners, that’s ultimately a choice each person has to make for themselves. That being said, it makes sense why they would add a bit, as 85% chocolate can be a bit chalky and smoky, so the sugar or sweeteners help a bit with the aftertaste.
True to expectations, this is what I envision chocolate at 85% – it’s smoky, bitter, earthy and rich in cocoa flavour. People who enjoy darker chocolates will note that the flavour has an almost liquor like quality to it, which makes sense given that some of the flavour notes come from the fruity acidity during the fermentation process.
The texture is pretty standard for a darker chocolate, with it being quite brittle, but not to the point it snaps and leaves a mess of crumbs. It does leave some crumbs though, so be wary. The actual mouth feel is a bit chalky, and leaves a sensation in your mouth that is not that different from other darker chocolates. The uninitiated would likely have trouble having too much of these before their mouth feels grippy and off.
While for me it is barely noticeable that this has no added sugar and uses sweeteners instead, I get the impression most people won’t notice it at this percent, and it largely has no big impact on the overall experience. If you like dark chocolate this is a good alternative.
