Patchi - EIGHTY - Dark Chocolate at 80% Cocoa

I bought this bar of chocolate at a small store in the basement of Ngee Ann City in a cluster of other chocolate stores. This store was quite small, and didn't quite stand out among the colour of the other stores nearby (e.g. The Cocoa Trees). Nevertheless that didn't stop me trying something which seemed new! Staff tell me that the chocolate comes from Lebanon, so that piqued my curiosity even more.

When I opened the bar, it broke quite easily in my hand. I was half ready for a flaky bar of chocolate, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't.

Taste. The taste of the cocoa was strong and thick (duh). There were notes of raspberries and tobacco. The taste only came out after a little work chewing on the chocolate. It left a dull, nagging aftertaste that felt powdery on the tongue.

Texture. This point was a down for me. The chocolate had a 'doughy' texture and was quite chewy.

Some interesting comments from a friend who shared this bar with me. When I asked her opinion of the chocolate, she said this:
"Distant. Coy. The taste doesn't meet you; you have to 'feel around' for it".


Overall: 3/5


Side note: the labelled price on this bar of chocolate was S$7, but when I paid for it, it was S$11. They refused to honour the label, but what was worse was the attitude of a lady staff there (the boss? supervisor?) who said that they couldn't honour the labelled price, and if they did, they would dock the S$4 difference off the staff salary. Needless to say, I paid the difference. So much for service standards in Singapore! This almost leads me to my rant about immoral employers.