Sugarpova Dark Chocolate 70% cacao

 























 

About: Celebrity can market anything. In this case, tennis markets chocolate. Sugarpova is a candy line market using international tennis player, Maria Sharapova. She likes candy, it we are told. So she created a candy business, we are told. The candies are in her own style, we are told. Game. Match.

So there's all kinds of candy here, but also chocolate. One bar to hit all the standard chocolates: white, milk, dark, Orange, and .... are you sitting? ... cookies and cream. The chocolate is made in Poland, by Baron chocolates a maker with a 30 year tradition. They make a handful of bars with different cocoa concentrations.



Flavor: Sweet and totally acceptable. The flavor is rounded, without astringent flavors. It's not fruity, and it's not deeply earthy, but what do those terms mean anyway? The bar is good mostly because it's not bad. I enjoyed eating it, but I wouldn't trade this for a fresh bean-to-bar bar, if I were in a bar. Even not in a bar.

Texture: Definitely smooth and creamy. This got this part down well.

My rating:  7 for texture and okay flavor.

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.

Back to the list of bars

La Maison du Chocolat 74% Cuana Noir

 























About: Founded in 1977 in Paris, the Maison du Chocolat now has a number of boutiques worldwide. They make various chocolate confections, including a handful of dark bars. These are not bean-to-bar chocolates; they include vanilla and lecithin, but they are full flavored and the craftsmanship is apparent in the flavor. 

Flavor: Full bodied and mellow. There are no burned or sour after tastes. It's light on fruitiness, but round, earthy and pleasant.

Texture: Pretty good, if ever so slightly chalky.

My rating:  8 - good flavor, pretty good texture. Above average for sure.

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.

Back to the list of bars

Holy Caco 70% dark chocolate Venezuela

 























About: This is an Israeli bean-to-bar chocolate. They make a handful of chocolates, mostly from single sources and as low as 45%. There's a bit of religious politics on their pages, which honestly detracts from the love of chocolate, but... it's a difficult part of the world to live in.

Flavor:The flavor is good. This is an above average bar. But if you compare it to a great bean-to-bar bar, it falls a bit short. The flavor is fruity with raisin hints, but light. The profile lasts, but not that long.

Texture: Nicely smooth. Again, on it's own, it's a fine bar, but it falls short compared to where it could be.

My rating:  8.

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.

Back to the list of bars

Francois Pralus Fortissima 80%

 
























About: Francois Pralus is the son of Auguste Pralus, who invented the Praline in the mid 20th century. He was born in Mars, France, if we're dropping names. Francois carries on in the same boutique, where he produces 15 pure varieties and 4 blended bars.  


Flavor: This bar has a 'warm' round flavor, with strong smokey notes. It's not that fruity, and the flavor is overall subdued.

Texture:Nicely creamy, though not as much as some of the large brands, like Lindt.

My rating:  A solid 7 or 8. I'm waffling here on 7 or 8. But I just can't decide.

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.

Back to the list of bars

Suchard 85% cocoa

 






















About: Suchard is another Mondelez brand (Eeek Milka! Cote d'Or!). But the company has roots in Switzerland, where its founder, Phillipe Suchard, was born and (supposedly) recognized the potential of chocolate at age 12. They've been making chocolate since 1826. Their website is slick, but I can't even find this bar there. Shrug.

Flavor: Pleasantly okay. It's a bit bitter and it's not particularly fruity, but it's solid, earthy and full.

Texture:Very smooth, as seems to be the case with the larger (older?) producers.

My rating:  7 or 8. The Texture is great. The flavor is really okay.

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.

Back to the list of bars

Cocoa Parlor Into Dark 80%

 
























About:  Made in Laguna Niguel in Southern California by Karen. No last name, but she's also a surfer, and the whole website is beach themed. Worked for me, to be honest. This is the darkest of their handful of different bars.

Flavor: Not as good as I'd hoped but okay. They make their own bars, but at least this bar didn't have that fresh, fruity flavor I'd have expected. It's dark and earthy, but also tastes a bit over roasted to me.

Texture: Honestly, and somewhat disappointingly, not super smooth. If I compare (unfair! unfair!) to the similarly dark 78% Lindt bar (unfair! unfair!). the latter is super smooth; unbelievably smooth. This bar is chalky.

My rating:  Kind of a 5, le sigh.

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.

Back to the list of bars

Figaro Sladka Vesen 70% cacao (Kakaa)

 
























About: Figaro is a Czech made chocolate, owned by Mondelez International (who makes Milka (shudder) and Cote d'Or (okay, whew)). This is a slovenian brand with heritage going back to the 1890.

Flavor: This chocolate has an interesting round flavor that I can't quite describe. It's smokey. It's not very fruity, and it's not very long lasting. But the smokey flavor is different and interesting.

Texture: Completely reasonable.

My rating: 7 for being interesting. not sure how much I actually LIKE it. But interesting.

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.

Back to the list of bars