Scharffen Berger: Nibby Dark Chocolate with Roasted Cocao Nibs

I’ll admit it: I’m a texture-lover. You can talk about your rich flavors and smooth chocolatey goodness all you want, but if you can’t wow me with your “mouth feel” (not a term I use lightly) you might as well take your powder dustings and melty middles home with you.

This is my warning because, while some of my fellow chocolate testers found the Scharffen Berger Nibby Dark Chocolate with Roasted Cocao Nibs a bit lacking in flavor profile, I was head-over-heels for its crispy, delightfully “nibby” texture.

Scharffen Berger Nibby Dark Chocolate with Roasted Cocoa Bits

Packaging
The paper wrapping of the Scharffen Berger line of chocolate bars is simple and fun in that hipster, “I don’t need to be shiny and aluminum to get my point across” sort of way. I liked the vintage look of the product description, the trade mark goat graphic and the muted hues. I’m not going to lie – the word “Nibby” was 87% why I grabbed it off the grocery’s shelf. That and the 62% cocao disclaimer in the upper right of the wrapper.

Appearance
Smooth and matte on top, the neat geometric triangles engraved in the bar are definitely more for aesthetics than for practicality. Call me old-school, but breaking off unevenly-sized triangles to share with fellow chocolate-lovers was a much bigger pain than identical square bits (some people are sensitive regarding what size triangle they get).

The underside of the bar was much more exciting. Check out the nibs on that bar – they’re nuts! Not really nuts…they’re cocoa. But still. Crazy! They are plentiful and infused evenly throughout, so every bite is delicious and full of fun crunch.

Taste
So maybe this dark chocolate bar isn’t the most drool-worthy is all the history of dark chocolates. It’s hard to really remark on the difference between this bar, claiming 62% cocao, and one that was, say, 25% cocao. It is mild for a dark chocolate, with only a little zippy dark chocoalte-bitter finish.

The cocao nibs, though — wow! I love the crackle, and the cocao bits add a nice nutty crunch to the mix. Every bite is remarkably textured, and it adds some pizazz to an otherwise basic dark chocolate bar. I can picture this bar being a must-have for fellow chocolate texture-lovers who have a nut allergy and can’t enjoy the glories of almonds.