Domesticity Reviews: Scharffen Berger Nibby Bar

Hi, my name is Meimei, and I am a chocoholic.

Not just any chocoholic, mind you. I approach chocolate the same way I approach alcohol: Why settle for "regular" when the good stuff's still available? There's no way of explaining why I've become such a stickler about this, apart from the fact that I'm getting older and my taste buds aren't what they used to be.

Case in point: Two weeks ago I was able to track down the Scharffen Berger Nibby Bar at Fujioka's in Market City. At first I thought I was never going to be able to eat this at all - I was just so happy to have found one that I almost forgot that I had one at hand. Finally, after days of speculation, I broke down, unwrapped the bar, broke off a quarter... and had my first taste.

Here's the thing: This isn't my first bar of Scharffen Berger, at all. I've had their dark chocolate before, so I'm used to the fact that their dark chocolate often starts off really sharp and metallic on the tongue. (I've experienced the same thing with Lindt's Excellence Dark Chocolate, too, so I'm sure it's not an isolated phenomenon.) That's why I usually have a tendency to eat dark chocolate slowly - letting the stuff melt in my mouth so I could get used to the sharpness and let the other aromas permeate.

Not so with the Nibby Bar. The first time I bit into it, I immediately recognized the crunch of the cacao nibs, which I immediately wanted to crunch on with my teeth. The chocolate used for the Nibby Bar is 62% cacao - which makes it no stronger than your average Toll House morsel - but it's the crackle of the nibs that gets to you. The sharpness eventually gives in to a pleasant bitter-sweetness, not unlike snacking on a chocolate wafer.

This isn't just chocolate, folks. This is instant gratification.

I've heard descriptions of the Nibby Bar as a "candy bar for grownups," which I believe is pretty spot-on. I could come up with a more graphic description than that (ahem), but suffice it to say that for $2 an ounce, it's pretty damn good instant gratification, so grab one while you can.