Ritual 75% Belize Toledo Chocolate

About: I really wanted to like this chocolate. You can tell that a lot of thought and love went into it even from the packaging, which unfolds nicely (and recloses!). The chocolate is hermetically sealed and delicately thin. And it's a chocolate + sugar recipe, bean-to-bar.

The company's tag line is "small batch fine chocolate crafted at 7000 feet." The company was founded in 2010 and makes about 10 dark chocolate bars - it doesn't seem to get lower than 60%. They also make a drinking chocolate, nibs, granola and an almond chocolate spread. But it's clear from their web site that it's about the chocolate.

I'm not sure what the 7000 feet thing is all about. They claim to mix European tradition and American style. So... kinda fluffy, huh ? And how are they ever going to grow and sell in parts of the world that don't measure in feet, and why is high chocolate better, and it's made in Utah. Utah. It's the state with the highest consumption of porn. That's not relevant, but still... why not "chocolate made in the porn state".

Flavor: Well, look. It's good chocolate. The flavor is fruity, though it's sour; I don't know why that is, but I always imagine it's due to a lot of fermentation. I was going to write "over fermentation," but who am I to say what's over and under. All I can say is: slightly on the sour side, and that leaves a slight after taste. I feel that I'm being overly critical, because the chocolate is completely fine. It's just not as exceptionally fine as the luxurious packaging made me hope.

Texture: Just very slightly brittle, but eventually smooth, with very very very fine grittiness.

My rating:  Solid 6. Worth eating, though not overwhelming.

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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