Bernique Sugar Free Dark Chocolate

I chanced upon this curious brand of chocolate at a local supermarket in Mumbai and picked it up because one rarely sees a dark chocolate variety that is also sugar free. Most Indians would find that combination unpalatable. But I wanted to see what a weight management, diabetic friendly chocolate tasted like.

Bernique is one of the many chocolate brands manufactured by the Malaysian company Francestle (nope, no website!). Its other brands include Alfredo, Chaumet, Checkers, and D Cocoa, of which Checkers and D Cocoa are value-for-money brands, while the other three are more high end. Alfredo and Bernique have a lot of varieties. Bernique's range includes sugar-free milk chocolate, Tiramisu, milk chocolates with fruit & nut, hazelnuts, almonds, and even white chocolate.

Established in 2009, Francestle produces Halal-certified chocolates and they are sold in countries like Japan,China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Africa, India, and Vietnam among others. Besides their own brands, the company makes chocolates on contract for private labels. The brand is known to use 100% pure cocoa butter for its chocolates - at least the high end ones.

Elegant yet fuss free in its packaging, the Bernique Sugar Free Dark Chocolate is appealing in an elemental way. The chocolate bar is basic looking too, with no branding on it. You might as well be eating chocolate compound as far as appearances are concerned.

The chocolate itself is rather pleasant to taste and has a wonderfully smooth texture. The pack doesn't mention the cocoa percentage, but I would peg it around 55-60%. It isn't bitter nor does it have any strange aftertaste as happens with most sugar free products due to artificial sweeteners.

A 100 g pack costs INR 210. While it is quite steep, it would make for an ideal gift for a chocolate-loving diabetic or a calorie-counting freak.

RATING: 3.5/5