I have something I need to get out of the way first.  Why does Lindt insist on calling its new flavors "Intense Whatever"?  They also have Intense Orange and Intense Mint.  Is "intense" the Swiss version of the American "extreme" or (worse!) "xtreme"?  Because I don't see them producing a "Regular Pear," so the use of "intense" as a modifier is completely superfluous.

I recently tried the Chili flavor, and I see that there is a Ginger flavor (which I would very much like to try).  Why are these not Intense?  I would go for an Intense Ginger.  

Okay, I feel better.  

Now we can move on to the next question, "Why pear?"  So far as I know, chocolate and pear isn't a long standing pairing the way as chocolate and mint, or chocolate and orange.  I was also a little skeptical of this bar, because pear is one of those blandly sweet fruit flavors that isn't really a flavor, which is why so many other juices include "pear juice" as a sort of background noise.  (Peering at the ingredients list, I note that they boosted the flavor with both apple and pineapple flavor.)

Pear is the flavor equivalent of filler, so why go to all the trouble to highlight it?  

It turns out that pear and chocolate is actually pretty tasty.  Odd, but tasty.  The pear flavor is remarkably convincing, and you can easily imagine that you have just dunked a slice of fresh pear into a chocolate fondue or something.  It still strikes me as a little peculiar, but it's always nice to mix things up a little, I guess.

The next question I have about this bar is, why include almond slivers?  I see that the Intense Orange also includes almond slivers, although Intense Mint does not.  I guess it's just to provide a little extra something different?  Which strikes me as odd, because the chocolate and pear flavor is already pretty different.

At any rate, the almond slivers give the Lindt bar a nice texture.  I really like roasted almond in other brands, but with Lindt specifically the almond seems not to have a taste, merely an added texture.  

Although this bar is labeled "Dark Chocolate," and although it certainly has that dark chocolate flavor, I can't find a percentage on it anywhere.  Since the Chili bar is a mere 47% cocoa (that information is hidden on the back of the wrapping, as if Lindt is ashamed), I can only assume that this means the Pear flavor is less than 47%.  Lindt is usually pretty good about printing the cocoa content of its dark chocolate, so this is a little surprising.

All in all, I am led to the conclusion that this is an oddball chocolate for people who say they want dark chocolate, but really want something more user-friendly.  Like the people who say they want espresso, but end up ordering a Snickers mocha with whipped cream and sprinkles. 

Nothing wrong with that, and I welcome the addition of more dark chocolate things into the candy aisle.  But this is probably one that you can skip.

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user El Gran Dee