I am not a Philistine.

I joined my sister and her oldest for a little holiday shopping today. We ended up at one of those discount import stores buying sweet treats for stocking stuffers and such, plus a few goodies for ourselves--chocolate bars. I'm not sure I fully understand the source of it, but my sister seems to have, if not rediscovered, re-energized her interest in chocolate in recent years. Her refreshed interest has intersected with the trend in the chocolate industry to produce new higher-end chocolates that emphasize much higher-quality ingredients; an emphasis on less-sweet, darker chocolates; and a new trend toward the idea of terroire in chocolate (a French idea, naturally, that argues that the same crop grown in different places will have different flavors, and that if you don't blend the crops, you can produce unique flavors--think wine).

She bought several pricey bars of chocolate, labeled as 70%-85% cocoa content--much higher than my preferred milk chocolate. We ended up going to dinner and sampling several of the chocolate bars: a Lindt 85% cocoa bar, a Lindt 70% cocoa bar, and a Godiva 72% bar. I actually do have a reasonably discerning palate (and if any of you read my posting about milk, I swear I'm not lying here!). My sister was confident that the Godiva bar, which was much more expensive, would be the clearly superior taste. The truth is that the 85% bar was something I found overpoweringly bitter, hiding subtler flavors in favor of the roasted notes of the cocoa but missing some of what makes good chocolate a complex, satisfying taste. The Godiva bar lacked complexity and tasted more like a very refined Hersey bar.

But oh, that Lindt 70% bar! I've always felt strongly that Lindt makes some brilliant chocolates and a side-by-side tasting made me feel justified. Like my experience with the Lindt milk chocolates that I prefer, the Lindt bar had so many flavors going on: fruity high notes, roasty flavors, and even a hint of toffee. Go to your local import discount place and get some now.

But I still think of chocolate as a flavoring for cakes and brownies, or a coating for peanuts, mints, or raisins…

CDs listened to today:

• Funki Porcini: Hed Phone Sex
• Alban Berg: Lulu Suite