Endangered Species Natural Dark Chocolate with 88% cocoa

About: A chocolate that tries to appeal to pull your heartstrings with pictures (and a brand name) of endangered species should set off warnings. It's fair trade, it's gluten free (!), it's non GMO, and it's certified vegan. I suspect it's even not tested on live animals, wow! Since 10% of the proceeds are donated to "non-profit partners that protect and support wildlife" (a somewhat vague phrase, to my mind, but you can't put a legal contract on a chocolate wrapper), it's an appeal to "do good, never mind if it tastes good."

Well, there is a fairly broad set of chocolate bars behind this brand, and even a chocolate spread. The online blog is a strange mixture of chocolate recipes intermingled with "Tips for a healthy ocean" or success stories resulting from their donation. Want to see a happy African child while indulging in dark chocolatey hedonism? You've found a home.

This is not a bean-to-bar chocolate. It's made from liquor and perhaps you can taste that. I'm not sure I can, but I can tell that while this bar is dark dark dark and doesn't suffer suffer suffer too much from the commonplace over roasting or over fermentation, it's not going to take any part of my heart or much of  my stomach.


Flavor:  It's 88% and so you expect some bitterness. But you could hope for a more fruity flavor and slightly less burned flavor. For that - the carbon overtones - I give it a -1. 

Texture: Quite nice for 88%, where many bars are ever so brittle. This bar is smooth and relatively creamy.

My rating: Nice and dark, and can satisfy a craving for something very dark. But the slightly burned flavor left me slightly disappointed, so I ended up at 4.

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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Trader Joe's 73% cacao super dark chocolate

About:  Trader Joe's sells other people's chocolate, and I don't know whose. They don't make it, but they do sell many variations. Interestingly, these chocolates get ranked very differently by different websites. Their 85% bar, which I found to be overwhelmed by vanilla flavoring and brittle as glass has been ranked high by some. And this bar, which is quite nice, has been ranked low. At the same time, other people agree with my rankings. So.. why are you even reading this? That said, go get their 72% chocolate. It's excellent, and I think slightly better than this one.


Flavor:  This is a dark, earthy chocolate with notes of raisin and a bit of sourness that's not overwhelming. The flavor is strong with solid follow-though. You don't have to wait for it to come in, and it's lasts and lasts. 

Texture: Nice and creamy. Really pretty excellent.

My rating: For a solidly good texture and a solidly completely-okay flavor, a good 6 on the scale below.

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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Cachet 80% Uganda Dark Chocolate

About: Cachet is a Belgian brand. On my first eating of this brand, I wrote: "Not much Cachet here, I have to say. I was disappointed. "  But on second eating, I'm far less disappointed. Maybe that first encounter was just bad luck. Or maybe this bar was made with better beans.
  


Flavor:  In absence of strong competitive chocolate, this tastes fine. It's not overly processed, and the flavor is earthy, if not particularly fruity.I find it quite nice, and so it gets a +1 for flavor. Where it perhaps falls short is that the flavor isn't as long lasting and rich as some of the fresher, better bars.

Texture: Nice and creamy. Really pretty excellent, so another +1.

My rating: For a solidly good texture and a solidly completely-okay flavor, a good 7 on the scale below.

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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L.A. Burdick Single Source 68%-74% Chocolate

About: Founded in 1987 by Larry and Paula, a husband and wife team who fell in love with chocolate and with style. The chocolates are nicely presented and expertly made. I had a drinking chocolate at their Boston store, which was not super impressed with. It was a bit grainy and not well mixed. But.. the bars are superb.

Flavor:  Very good. I really need to describe each single source bar separately, and I'll edit this post to do so. The one I've had was delicate, fruity, full flavored, and rich.

Texture: Creamy. Excellent.

My rating: For a solidly good texture and a solidly completely-okay flavor, a good 8 on the scale below for flavor, texture, and artisanship. 

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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Signature Select Dark Chocolate 78%

About: This is the Vons/Safeway supermarket generic brand, supposedly upscaled by calling it "Select." (Interestingly, "select" seems to be widely used as "crap value" by other manufacturers, such as Pearl Izumi, manufacturer of cycling clothing.) I don't pay attention to the cost, perhaps because in the cost/benefit analysis I religiously calculate on every single aspect of my life from toilet paper to tip toeing through the tulips, the benefit of chocolate far outweighs any potential cost. But I think this is a cheap bar, and you may want to keep that in mind when sitting to eat it. Just lay back and think about the money, honey. Because the experience itself may leave something to be desired.

Elah Dufour Novi

Flavor:  Look.... you're eating chocolate, so stop whining. And honestly, if you're just eating it alone without comparing to another bar, it's completely fine. It's chocolate, not sour or bitter. It's not burned. The flavor won't fill your every sense and leave you shocked. The fruity notes are subtle here. But I'd eat this happily if there are no other options.

Texture: Quite okay. This isn't a brittle hard bar. Moderately creamy.

My rating: For a solidly good texture and a solidly completely-okay flavor, a good 5 on the scale below.

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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Novi NERO 70% Cacao Arancia e Mandorle (Orange and Almonds)

About: Novi is an Italian chocolate that has a wide range of products but takes pride in their dark chocolates. They have chocolate lines from different sources, and their use of real orange peel (as opposed to flavoring) suggests a dedication to authentic ingredients. They have a heritage that stretches back more than a century to their founding in 1903, though this is now a part of a larger confection conglomerate, Elha Dufour Novi. Overall, the bar is not expensive, and it's a bargain for the value.

Elah Dufour Novi

Flavor:  Quite nice. I would say the chocolate isn't amazing - just solid with nothing wrong. The orange flavor comes through nicely. It's a good bar. The orange overwhelms any subtle notes in the chocolate itself, but what's there is good.

Texture:Texture is creamy, though the orange rind in the chocolate ends up like a small, tasteless wad of cellulose in your mouth.  Overall, though, the creamy chocolate wins the day, and I rather enjoyed it.

My rating: For a solidly good texture and a solidly good flavor with the extra pleasant orange flavor, a good 6 on the scale below.

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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Carrefour BIO 70% Cacao Extra Fine Chocolate - Cioccolato extra fondente

About: Carrefour is an international French supermarket chain, and this chocolate is their brand chocolate in Italy. It's very inexpensive, and it reminded me in flavor, texture, and marketing of the Albert Hijn chocolate with a very similar name.

It wouldn't be a surprise if they are made by the same manufacturer (though they have slightly different forms), but who that is remains a mystery. ooooh!

Flavor:  Flavor is solidly fine. You will not be bowled over by fruity notes and earthy tones or 72 virgins, but you won't be furrowing your brow about sour notes or over roasted burnt tones ruining your experience. It's a solid chocolate flavor that comes on quickly and lasts a short time before leaving.

Texture: Like the Albert Hijn version, this chocolate is very creamy. If I were a suspicious man, I'd say it was unaccountably creamy. What's the secret? I used to think it was extra cocoa butter, but maybe that would make it more brittle? Perhaps it is some sort of cheap tempering process, because after all the bar is not expensive, that magically results in a very creamy texture.

My rating: Well.. this was a toughy. It's probably a high 5 or low 6, but overall I guess a 6 on the scale below, for the texture. The strange thing about this bar was that even though the flavor is good and the texture is great, I didn't find myself just wolfing it down. There was something undefinable that was amiss, which is why the 6 is grudging. Perhaps some future, more refined, version my myself will understand what wasn't exactly right.  

Rating Value	Meaning
1	Really bad chocolate. There's something just really really wrong here in almost every imaginable respect.
2	A bar with this rating has at least two drawbacks.
3	A bar where something is starting to get seriously wrong.... for example, really weak flavor with an otherwise acceptable texture.
4	This bar is below average, but just slightly. Mostly it's not worth eating again. Something isn't quite up to par, for example a poor texture but fine flavor.
5	This is an average good bar that's worth eating. There's nothing really wrong with it, but also nothing particularly spectacular. Or, perhaps it has a good characteristic that's evenly counter-weighted by something weak.
6	A solidly good bar with one characteristic that's above par, for example a great texture.
7	An solidly good chocolate that has two above par characteristics, but nothing mind-blowing. Good, above average flavor, but nothing to die for.
8	An excellent bar with no weaknesses and at least one characteristic that's super.
9	An awesome bar to die for with amazing texture and flavor.
10	You have been touched by God.

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