Vosges Bars: Creole

I became a big fan of New Orleans cuisine on a business trip to the Big Easy last winter, when I ate more gumbo than I care to admit to. Creole food is some unique and tasty stuff, so I was interested in what the Vosges Creole bar would be like.

Inside the package is a deep bittersweet chocolate bar with some cryptic writing on it.

The chocolate itself has a very strong flavor, and is so bitter that it almost tastes a tad burnt, though that might be from the espresso and cocoa nibs mixed in. The chocolate is fairly smooth for a bittersweet chocolate with 70% cocoa solids, though it edges on a bit dry overall with the cocoa nibs mixed in. There is purportedly chicory included in the mix, though the espresso and nibs dominate so much that it gets lost. A little more sugar could be beneficial to balancing out the bitterness of the espresso and nibs, and perhaps a better balance of chocolate and nibs would cut back on the bitterness as well. The overall creation wasn’t sweet enough for me and came across as a tad dry, though a true coffee connoisseur would likely devour it.