Customer Reviews

Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate ( 3.5oz / 100g )

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I have been buying Lindt 70% Cocoa bars for over a decade. It was the best dark chocolate for the price. However, the new recipe, as of Fall 2010, lacks the full rich flavor of the original recipe. It is now bland and too sweet and definitely not work the price any longer. I bought one bar of the new recipe and won't be buying any more. I will probably start buying Green & Black's 70% Cocoa bar instead, unless I can find another better 70% cocoa chocolate that costs less than $3 or $4 per bar.

As another reviewer has noted, Lindt has changed their previously great recipe as of Autumn 2010, and this chocolate now has the texture and taste of bottom-shelf waxy, cheap American dark chocolate. Not even mediocre American dark chocolate, but BAD American dark chocolate. It reminded me of the candy you got behind the windows of an Advent Calendar when you were a kid.

This is unfortunate, and apparently, this new recipe has been incorporated into all of their dark chocolate with the possible exception of the 85% version.

Avoid this, as this is now one of the worst chocolate bars on the market at any cost.

UPDATE:
As of 11/10/2010, I've started to see the regular recipe bars re-appear on shelves. Hopefully this isn't just old stock, but instead a sign that Lindt got the hint and has reverted to the excellent old recipe.

Other reviewers have already said that the Lindt-70% new recipe is terrible. I would like to add, that after reading the labels carefully, one can clearly see that the new Lindt is manufactured by an American company in New Hampshire, while the old one was manufactured in France and then distributed by that American company. What's pity! -- another great product has been ruined. The change of the recipe and of the production place must be related to the dollar weakness relative to the euro.

As of autumn 2010, Lindt has changed the recipe for their "Excellence 70%" dark chocolate. The new recipe is very different--much more sweet and bland. It does not have the delightful intensity of the original recipe, which was my regular chocolate for years. The original recipe was exceptional, but the new one is just another ordinary chocolate. I'd skip it.

Who let the marketing director screw with the recipe? This had to be related to cost savings. Please give me back my chocolate.

I have been addicted to Lindt 70% chocolate bars for a long time. It was fine European style chocolate with all natural ingredients and the best value for the money around. However, the last time I purchased one it was labeled "NEW FORMULA" and it was absolutely terrible. It was mealy and oily like cheap chocolate and much too sweet. I think they have adapted their recipe to appeal more to the American market, but if I want cheap chocolate I can pay 50 cents at any grocery store around. I get Lindt so I can experience fine chocolate. Skip this one. If you are a die hard dark chocolate fan, get the 85% bar (which as of December 2010 they haven't screwed up yet), but eat it with a cup of your favorite hot beverage to help it melt since the 85% does not melt well without the extra heat. I am currently on the search for a replacement for my old recipe Lindt bars and wondering why they couldn't learn from history not to mess with a winning product. (I mean did anyone like New Coke?) Lindt, if you are reading this GO BACK TO THE OLD FORMULA AT ONCE!!!!!

I have been a regular consumer of Lindt Excellence 70% cocoa Dark Chocolate bar for years and have recommended it to many people, not only for the wonderful taste and texture, but b/c of the purity of this product (only four ingredients, including natural bourbon vanilla beans that gave it a most delicious flavor). My most recent purchase ... their "new recipe," as stated on the label, was quite a shock to my taste buds. By adding soy lecithin to the recipe, they are now producing a bar that is not only tasteless but has a waxy texture that I find disgusting. I can only conclude that the soy has replaced some of the more costly ingredients, thereby becoming cheaper for Lindt to produce. Apparently, this has happened only since Lindt started producing the bar in the U.S. and the original formula is still in use in France and Canada but they will not ship it to the U.S. I am extremely disappointed in Lindt for this change and will never buy this product again, unless they go back to the original recipe. What a shame that lovers of dark chocolate have lost the opportunity to enjoy this formerly great product. And let me add that you didn't have to be a connoisseur of dark chocolate to know just how great this product was...all it took was one bite!

I do not like the new recipe at all. They messed with a good thing. There is plenty of chocolate that tastes like the "new" recipe already. Bland and waxy. You just lost a long time customer Lindt.

I enjoyed Lindt Excellence 70% as a lunch treat for over ten years. It was a real favorite of mine, and I trusted a company like Lindt to not mess with a 165-year tradition. I was wrong. Lindt seems to be pursuing Hershey (or worse) now, instead of keeping a proud tradition alive. (The recipe has, by the way, only changed for the US market.)

Lindt is still calling this Excellence 70% Cocoa (although the tag at the bottom does say "Smooth Dark" instead of "Intense Dark"). But it is a (literally) pale reflection of the original recipe, and an insult to the Lindt tradition. At least when Coca Cola screwed up, it had changed the name to New Coke so it could easily bring back Classic Coke. Lindt is now stuck, by drastically changing the recipe but not changing the name. Those who liked the old recipe have abandoned them with this change, and are not likely to trust them again, and those who like the new recipe will react the same if they change it back. I think this one will be studied in biz schools as a "how not to do it" case.

As many of the other reviewers have pointed out the new recipe is terrible! I love chocolate, but have always been picky on what actually deserves to be called chocolate. This new 70% bar should not be considered chocolate and Lindt should be embarrassed for selling it with their name attached. I bought three bars of the original before the stock was replaced with the dreaded new recipe. Too bad chocolate doesn't keep well, I would have bought a box! If you like dark, coco tasting chocolate and are not fond of greasy tasteless bars that call themselves chocolate...don't waste your money on the new recipe. I hope Lindt gets the message and brings back the ORIGINAL recipe!