The Good: Good taste, Decent quantity, Generally natural ingredients, Beautifully dark, A decent value, Smart serving size/nutrition information
The Bad: I’d prefer a little less nutty, a little fruitier, but they have almost the ideal balance now!
The Basics: More flavorful than truly dark and “intense,” Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares find almost the perfect balance between chocolate and fruit flavors!
Last night, for watching the season premiere of Doctor Who (reviewed here!), my wife picked us up some special treats. Chief among those treats was a bag of Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares. This was an odd choice for her for me because there are very few chocolates that combine fruit and nuts and dark chocolate that I come to love. My wife, however, was convinced that this combination sounded delicious and she was right. Despite not being absolutely in love with almonds, Ghirardelli found the right thing to pair with almonds with their Cherry Tango squares. The flavor of these chocolate squares is enough to make a believer out of those who question how good chocolate, fruit and nuts can be together!
Basics
Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares are one and a half inch squares of chocolate that are about one-quarter of an inch thick. Each of the squares comes individually wrapped in a dark, opaque brown wrapper (which looks just about black). It is worth noting that while I usually rail against the environmental impact of such things, it is hard to imagine Ghirardelli chocolate squares not wrapped. This keeps each one clean, unmelted and intact.
Each chocolate square is a seamless square that is solid. In this form, the 4.87 oz. bag, the individually-wrapped chocolate squares are packaged together in a thick foil paper bag. This size has thirteen squares and the thick foil paper bag does little to protect the squares. The bag is not resealable, though this matters very little considering that the chocolate squares do not go bad as they are individually wrapped.
One of these bags tends to run in the $5.00 range and they are competitively priced at that.
Ease Of Preparation
These are candy, so preparing them is as simple as opening the bag and then opening one of the foil wrappers around the actual chocolate square one wishes to eat. There is no grand secret to eating Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares. This is a flavor that is good at room temperature or frozen; it has a delicious solid flavor to it that carries the taste in all temperatures.
Taste
The Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango smells entirely fruity. The scent is powerfully the scent of cherries and chocolate and the net result is an aroma that smells like black cherries and a much lighter chocolate than the chocolate actually is. The scent is entirely devoid of a nut scent, so this prepares the consumer for a good blend of chocolate and fruit.
In the mouth, the texture from the almonds, chipped up into the chocolate, provide an immediate sensory experience that separates this from other chocolates. While the almonds do not contribute much to the flavor, they seem to prepare the tongue beautifully for the cherry flavor. The Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares are sweet and fruity and the chocolate carries the cherry flavor wonderfully. The sweet cherries are reminiscent of maraschino cherries and they sweeten the dark chocolate enough to keep the bitterness of the dark chocolate from actualizing. The result is a chocolate flavor that is full and rich, without finishing bitter.
The sweetness of the cherries also prevents the Cherry Tango chocolate squares from having an aftertaste. Even the sweetness of these chocolates fades within a minute of one consuming them.
Nutrition
These are candy, so they are not healthy, but the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares are not nearly as bad as they could be. The primary ingredients are semi-sweet chocolate, almonds, and freeze-dried cherries. There is nothing unpronounable in these candies and everything in these could be readily identified by me.
A serving of the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares is a single square, which is a user-friendly serving size, especially for those of us who are calorie/carb conscious. From a squares, one takes in 50 calories, including 3.5 grams of fat. There is no sodium and a gram of protein, but no vitamins in these chocolate squares. There is, however, 4% of one's daily iron in one square, so they are not devoid of nutrition.
These are not Vegan-compliant (as they have milk in them), nor are they recommended for anyone with a nut allergy as they contain almonds. They are, however, kosher.
Storage/Clean-up
The bags of these Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares remain fresh for quite some time. The bag we bought two days ago would expire in February of 2015, though I am certain mine will be devoured long before then! One assumes that if they are kept in a cool, dry environment they will not melt or go bad. Given that they are individually wrapped in a very sealed package, it is hard to imagine just what it would take for these to go bad outside melting and refreezing.
As for cleanup, I applaud those who actually throw the wrappers away in socially appropriate places, as opposed to litter. Outside that, there is no real cleanup needed, unless one is eating them in a hot environment. In that case, it is likely one would need to wash their hands, though these squares do not easily melt. When these chocolate squares melt into most fabrics, they will stain.
Overall
Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango chocolate squares are a pleasant surprise and they are one of the newer flavors of Ghirardelli chocolates that should survive as a permanent addition to the company’s chocolate line!
For other Ghirardelli chocolate squares reviews, please check out:
Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares Sublime White Vanilla Dream White Chocolate With Vanilla Beans
Cookies And Cream Chocolate Squares
Dark Chocolate & Strawberry squares
9/10
For other food and drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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