Mazet Chocolate Noir 72%

About: Mazet chocolatier traces their roots back to 1636. That's a lot of roots, even if Mr. Mazet himself only joined the story around 1893. You can figure that there must be some basic goodness in the chocolate if it's survived over 100 years. They are based in Montargis, France a village of 15 thousand people which is sort of near Orleans (which is sort of near Paris). France is filled with boutique artisans that make amazing great food, and maybe this is one. They make a few different flavors of chocolate, but their main claim to fame are their carmelized almond Mazettes. This bar isn't that claim to fame.

Flavor:The flavor is mild, if somewhat bland. Really barely any flavor, but.. read below.

Texture: The bar I have was horribly brittle, and I suspect it suffered some heating and cooling (or some other aging process) that caused the cocoa butter to become nastily brittle. I'm going to conclude that this isn't the normal state of affairs, but this bar was not really edible. Sigh.

My rating:  Hard to say. I'd send it straight to hell with a 1 for the texture and lack of flavor, but I'll have to suspend belief. I'll try another bar and see.

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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Akesson's Single Plantation Chocolate 75% Trenitario Cocoa with Red Pepper

About: I bought this bar in a market in Singapre, and I assumed this was a Swedish chocolate. I mostly assumed right, as Akesson's own plantations first in Madagascar and then in Brazil and Indonesia. It is a (Swedish) family run business focusing on single source cocoa (the name of which was designated by a Swede, it seems!), with almost all the bars at 75% or more. They threw in a white chocolate and a 45% and 55% bar for the hoi poloi, shrug.

Their bars are available world-wide, but you can still find a list of every shop that sells them on their website, so it's not the distribution machine of a major producer. I had high expectations, but I didn't look carefully when buying the bar...

Flavor: The bottom line here is that I prefer my pepper on steak, not chocolate. The pepper hits you first when you eat this chocolate, with a one-two punch that it's hard to come back from. The chocolate itself only kicks in a long time later, with a rich, smooth, earthy flavor..... that your indifferent and shell-shocked taste buds will not thank you for.


Texture:The pepper is crunchy. The chocolate is relatively smooth.

My rating:  I don't know what to say. I would definitely get another bar of theirs to try, but this one is not to my liking. If I were rating purely on execution, it would be a 7 or 8, for the texture, flavor, etc. But for me, this is a never-come-back-again 3 or 4. I can't get past the pepper.

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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Ocelot 88% Chocolate

About: Ocelot is a labor of love, created by a couple (who look oh-so-loving in the write-ups about them). I don't know if their relationship is lovey-dovey, but their chocolate is. They're a Scottish boutique manufacturer(currently 4 people) with a few bars ranging from 70% to 88%.

Flavor: You can tell this is a bean-to-bar chocolate, as it's full of fruity flavor and a complex flavor profile. This Porcelana bean bar will fill your mouth with flavor. It's slightly bitter and slightly sour, but the flavor comes on strong (for an 88% bar, especially). It's raison-ish,

Texture:Wow, smooth - not crunchy at all for this much cacao. Nice.


My rating:  Solidly 8, with a stretch to 9, maybe, for flavor and texture that's much better than average. It fell short of 9 for me because of the sour flavor and slight bitterness.

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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Mast Dark Chocolate 73%

About: The Mast brothers are notorious in chocolate circles for making  their chocolate from bean to bar, or possibly for pretending to while actually just remelting it. There are some distinctly unflattering articles about them and their chocolate. They probably do make their chocolate from beans now, but you couldn't tell by tasting it.

The Mast brothers have been manufacturing a handful of chocolates since 2007 in Brooklyn, and theydistribute their chocolate as an upscale and expensive confection. 



Flavor:  Earthy and perhaps slightly fruity. But nothing overwhelming, which bitter aftertaste.
Texture: Creamy, but slightly chalky.

My rating:  Regular average chocolate. Good points for flavor, demerits for after taste. Credit for creaminess, but demerits for chalkiness.  

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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Le Chocolat Des Francais Dark 72% Cacao

About: Alarm bells should have been going off when I bought this chocolate in Hong Kong, as it's clearly meant for exporting to people who think that anything labeled as 'PARIS' must be great. The bars focus on the cover art - the founders of the company met in art school. They claim to make the chocolate from cocoa butter (no other oils), which is something of a mystery. But they are French. They have Paris locations. And it is chocolate. But not great chocolate.

Flavor: Underwhelming, though it's not bad. There's just not that much to recommend it. The flavor is direct and not over processed, burned, bitter, nor fruity, complex, or long lasting. It's earthy and sweet and completely fine.

Texture: Smooth, if not completely creamy. 

My rating:  I suppose it's a 5. Nothing wrong with it.

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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Artisana Venezuelan Chocolate Caco Criollo Dark 85%

 























About: I've written about the 75% version of this bar. It is a Swiss-made chocolate, made from Venezuelan beans. I can't quite figure out if Artisana is a marketing organization for someone elses chocolate manufacturing, or if they really make it themselves. They sell nut butters also, and I do believe they manufacture those, because their FAQ is all about that. Nevertheless, the chocolate is fine, and the emphasis on organic and health and whatever is not over the top.

Flavor:This is a full flavored bar with a complex flavor profile that has a bitter finish. It's not as fruity as I'd like from a bean to bar chocolate, but perhaps just just the age. This poor chocolate has been around the world and back.

Texture: Perhaps slightly brittle, but with a very creamy finish.

My rating:  Pretty much 6 for okay flavor and texture that's not mind blowing.

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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Poco Dolce Hazelnet 68% Cacao

 























About: Poco Dolce is (yet another) San Francisco chocolatier. They started in 2003 as a baking company, and now they make confections. They use chocolate made by Guittard, a San Francisco chocolate maker.

Flavor: The hazelnut is pleasant, though my bar had a slight bitter after-taste. The chocolate is full flavored and, to be honest, better than I remembered Guittard chocolate being.

Texture: Silky smooth.

My rating:  Pretty much 7, for flavor and texture bordering on better than average.

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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