Equal Exchange Chocolates Organic Very Dark 71%

About: I didn't want to like this chocolate. Somehow, the picture of a "small farmer" on the back, especially with the awkward, heart-tugging posture and submissive smile, makes me think the makers are trying to get people to buy the chocolate for reasons other than flavor. But after looking at their website and reading about their motivation, I couldn't remain cynical. Well, I could, actually, but proclaiming that publicly on a blog would make me out to be such an asshole. So I am giving a nod to the wrapping that's more environmentally friendly and  the access they give to small farmers (who otherwise would be shut out of the high volume deals that large producers require). I don't really care about the organic stuff, myself. No nod there.


Flavor: Pretty damn good. It's rich, full, fruity. It's not a bright flavor - just deep and fulfilling. It's frankly hard to use words to describe flavor, which is why we use visual words like "bright." What does that mean? tangy, maybe. In any case, this chocolate isn't burned or sour. It's satisfying and I'd get it again over many brands. 

Texture:This has a middle of the road texture.  A bit firm, but with a creamy finish that's pretty satisfying. My wild guess is that the chocolate isn't ground as finely as some brands, leading to a less creamy consistency, but don't get me wrong, I liked this chocolate a lot.


My rating: I struggled between an 8 and 8.5, as if I have a full extra significant digit of resolution on my crap taste buds. But... let's go for 8.5  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'. Get this bar. You'll enjoy it, and maybe you'll even do a small farm farmer some good.




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Venchi Cuor di Caco 85% Fondent Dark

About: Venchi Chocolate is an Italian manufacturer, proudly making chocolate since 1878 - evidently worn as a sign of accomplishment- which it is. You can't be super-sucky and survive over 100-some years. Starting in Turin, Mr. Venchi started as a chocolatier's apprentice at age 16, went on to found his own shop, and the rest is history (except that I hadn't heard of Venchi chocolate until I stumbled on it accidentally somewhere in Barcelona). The company manufactures a broad array of dark chocolates, as well as, you know, stuff you wouldn't eat that's lighter. They also make cooking chocolate, chocolate cigars, spreads, powders, and (duh, Italy) Chocolate Pasta. Given the broad array of products, it's a manufacturer worth looking at.


Flavor: Well.. it is chocolate. So, like sex, even when it's bad, at least you're having it. But, that's a low bar. The flavor is not very rich. It is, at least, not awful - not burned, not sour, not over roasted. But too many 'nots' do not make a 'omfg, that's good shit.'.


Texture: not that great. What does that mean? It's not particularly creamy; mostly sort of brittle; but the worst bit is the bits. It has little bits of (presumably) nibs, though who knows. Crunchy, clearly unintendedly crunchy, mind you, bits of something that crunch like sand now and then when you eat it. Maybe that's just poor quality control. Maybe it's poor grinding.  But it's definitely poor.


My rating: 6. Not impressed at all, and mostly would not bother unless it was the only option.  This is  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'.


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Newman's Own Organics Super Dark Chocolate 70%

About: Newman's own is a popular brand promoting organic, healthy, social conscious products. I've had some of their stuff, and it was fine. Not this, though. On opening the package, I noticed that the chocolate bloomed. I check the mysterious expiration date of "030447". Shrug.

Texture: Very brittle and crunchy. What the hell - this is the crunchiest chocolate I've ever eaten.


Flavor:Not much.




My rating: Don'e bother at all, unless you want to donate to charity indirectly. This gets a 2.5, but only because there are some really shockingly worse chocolates out there.

Here,  10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother ever at all'.


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Delicata 72% Cacao Puur Chocolade

About: What I wrote about Delicata elsewhere: "This is the Albert Hijn supermarket upscale brand. I like the packaging and even more the thin bar. Nothing is more annoying than having dark chocolate that's too thick and which forces you to strain to get a small piece. Well, almost nothing. There are gnats."

What I have to add now: It's not a bad bar, but it's not a great bar, either.


Flavor: The flavor is fine, if you haven't just finished another bar of excellent chocolate just prior, as I have. In comparison, this bar pales. The chocolate flavor is solid, but comes on weak, stays around only briefly, and departs. The after taste is a bit sour. But.. it's all just fine. And it's definitely not bad. Slightly fruity. Slightly bright. Nice. 


Texture: Perfectly reasonable, but nothing to cream about. It's smooth, and there's not chalkiness or harsh brittle waxiness.Slightly brittle and okay overall.

My rating: A solid 7.5 or so. There are other cheap, better, solid go-to daily bars, so I wouldn't really bother with this bar, but if you're stuck with this or some horrible abortion like Godiva, take this.  

Here,  10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'.


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Perugina 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate

About: Perugina is an Italian brand that started in 1907 in Pergnia and was bought by Nestle in 1988. They are proud (and known) of their Baci (Italian for kiss - are you reading this, Hershey?) chocolates, but they have a broad line of chocolates and even hard candies (ewww.. lack of focus... eww... confection contamination ... oh well, never mind, I'll get over it). There are a number of not-that-great Italian chocolate makers with international reach, but Perugina isn't one oft them.  Their chocolates are excellent.

Flavor: Mellow - not sour, bitter, or harsh. It's a rich, mouth-filling flavor that lasts and lasts, with fruity follow-through. If I have a criticism, it's that it's slightly sweet for my taste, but that's personal. This is an excellent chocolate bar. 

Texture: Creamy and quite smooth. 


My rating: 9.0  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'. This is one of the better bars I have had.




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Filthy Rich 71% Dark Chocolate by Chocolate and Love

About: This company is a work of love by two people with a passion for chocolate and organic food. So it's organic. It's manufactured in Switzerland, but the company is from the UK (where a number of surprisingly good chocolates are made). The chocolate itself doesn't look like a pure bean-to-bar chocolate. The proportions of cocoa butter and powder are probably fiddled with, not that this is a problem. Overall, this bar is really excellent.

Flavor: Full flavored and satisfying. No sourness. No bitterness. Just rich, full, long-lasting cocoa with lots of sweet notes. It's great. 

Texture: Creamy and good. It's perhaps slightly on the brittle side, just a tiny weeny bit, compared to some of the shockingly good bars out there, but it's very rare to find a bar that this creamy.


My rating: 9.0  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'. This is one of the best bars I have had.




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Lindt 90% cocoa Supreme Dark Chocola

About: Lindt is a major manufacturer of chocolate with fantastic distribution. You can buy this chocolate everywhere in the world, and you're getting a decent bar. In today's world of boutique this-and-that's, a major, widely distributed brand is automatically labeled as not quite as good. How can you boast about the fantastic find you made on a major international brand? But though Lindt creates some fantastic chocolate, for example their Lindt balls, which are sweet but to die for, this bar in particular is not one of their stronger offerings. 

Flavor: The vanilla flavoring in this bar comes through very strongly. It completely dominates initially, with the chocolate only coming in after. There's nothing wrong with vanilla, but I see this as a weakness. While the chocolate flavor here is smooth - the cacao doesn't seem to have been burned, and it's not burdened by the severely bitter and sour taste that many other dark bars  suffer, I find it to be somewhat flat. The flavor is not nuanced, and the rich, earthy fruity flavors you can find in top-notch bars is missing here.

Texture: It's okay. Somewhat brittle, and not a world class level of creaminess, but it's pretty good. 


My rating: 8  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'. This is one of the best bars I have had.




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Hachez Premier Cru 88% Cacao

About: Hachez is a German chocolate with a well deserved reputation for taste. No really. This chocolate is well differentiated from most other chocolates. Check out the 77% bar review, also. My guess is that they put a lot of cocoa butter into this bar; from the ingredients, it doesn't look like it's just cacao beans sugar and vanilla (and lecithin), the regular regimen of many bars. They seem to mix the cacao powder and cocoa butter separately. What ever they are doing, it works. 


Flavor: Full flavored and very smooth. Many high cocoa content bars are bitter or sour, but this bar is flavorful without any unpleasant "oh I must suffer through this sour bit to get to the chocolate flavor" going on. On tasting a sample, it takes a couple of seconds for the flavor to come in. But it is full and fruity, and it lasts and lasts.

Texture: Frankly, I just don't know how they manage to get this bar to be so smooth and so creamy. The texture is not at all brittle, an almost ubiquitous property of high-content chocolate bars. This bar is velvety. Fantastic.


My rating: 9.5  on the scale of 1-10, where 10 means 'mind shockingly good' and 1 means 'would not bother'. This is one of the best bars I have had.




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