Elysia NOIR 70% Orange Chocolate

About:  The Belgians colonized the Congo and brought chocolate, which came from South America, to grow there. But they brought multiple varieties of chocolate, and (so goes the lore) supposedly developed more flavors because of that. Traditionally (goes the lore), the Belgians also conched their chocolate in multiple steps, using both a "dry" and "wet" conching step, which removes some of the bitterness.

And this chocolate - from Belgium, if you haven't figure that out from the context, dum dum - is indeed very smooth and not at all bitter or sour. If anything, it's mysteriously smooth and creamy, but more about that below.

This chocolate is made by Elysberg, which now seems to be making chocolates under the Emoti brand, which started in the early 2000s. Still, somehow the packaging claims they've been making chocolate since 1895. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of company history to be found online. Shrug.

Flavor: Well, I want to like it. But the orange flavoring is flavoring. It's a bit tang-like (if you know the breakfast drink of astronauts). I'd have liked it better with some real orange peel in there. But, honestly, it's not bad. It's only the pretentious gourmand in me that likes to pretend orange flavoring isn't as good. And the chocolate itself is completely good.

Texture: This chocolate is creamy beyond all reason. I don't know what process makes it so smooth, but whatever it is- wow.

My rating:  Pleasant. Solid 6 for solidly fine flavor and excellent texture.

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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