Bittersweet

I bought a pack of Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares the other day. Figured I could bring some with me to the beach and stave off the munchies. But I had plum forgotten that American dark is more a colour description than taste. The chocolate was so sweet it made my teef hurt.

Bittersweet.

That's how proper dark schokolade is supposed to taste. Where the essence of cocoa beans shines through. The sweetness should never overwhelm the bitter cocoa. Just as goodness and delight must not obliterate the darker aspects of life.

Here is the argument for the world of renunciation. If we know more about consummation, they knew more about desire. If we know more about numbers, they knew more about despair. If we know more about boasting, they knew more about memory. They had foot-kissing, we have toe-sucking. You still prefer our side of the equation? You may well be right. Then try a simpler formulation: if we know more about sex, they knew more about love.

- The Revival, The Lemon Table, Julian Barnes

Room with a morning view