Lindt has launched its first 100% cocoa dark chocolate bar in the UK and it’s completely unsweetened.
The launch means chocoholics who found the brand’s existing 99% offering a little too mild can now go one step further.
The Lindt EXCELLENCE 100% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Bar weighs 50g and contains no added sugar.
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A product listing promises notes of red berries, citrus and roasted cocoa, but anyone expecting the sweetness of an ordinary chocolate bar could be in for a shock, as reported by Whats The Jam.
The new bar has a recommended retail price of £3.50, working out at £7 per 100g.
That makes it half the size of Lindt’s 70%, 85% and 90% cocoa bars, which also have a recommended price of £3.50.
The latest addition sits at the top of Lindt’s dark chocolate range, which already includes bars containing 70%, 78%, 85%, 90% and 99% cocoa.
It is available now from Sainsbury’s stores nationwide, Lindt shops and the company’s website.
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Lindt linked the launch to growing demand for dark chocolate and products containing less sugar.
The chocolatier said Google searches for dark chocolate had overtaken those for milk chocolate during the past year.
It also cited YouGov research which found 70% of Brits perceived dark chocolate as a healthier option.
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Miquetta de Castro, master chocolatier at Lindt & Sprüngli UK, said the new bar offered a “richer and bolder” taste and could also be used in cooking and baking.
But anyone tempted to leap straight from Dairy Milk to the hardcore 100% stuff has been advised to ease themselves in.
Lindt recommends gradually increasing the cocoa percentage of the dark chocolate you eat over a period of two to four weeks.
And the launch isn’t the only recent British chocolate story to hit the magic 100%.
Earlier this month, the University of Reading unveiled a chocolate bar made entirely from British ingredients – including cocoa grown in Berkshire.
The Reading 100 Chocolate Bar was produced to mark the university’s centenary.
Food security master’s student Maha Khan harvested, fermented and processed cocoa grown at its International Cocoa Quarantine Centre before turning the beans into chocolate without leaving Reading.
It is believed to be the first completely British chocolate bar produced since 1932, when Rowntree’s gave six-year-old Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth II, a bar made using UK-grown cocoa.
But despite both creations boasting “100%”, the figure means something very different in each case.
Lindt’s new bar contains 100% cocoa, while the Reading creation was 100% British because every ingredient came from the UK.
Lindt also said all the cocoa it sources is now Rainforest Alliance Certified, with the organisation’s seal set to appear across its packaging.
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