Áine Dark 70% cocoa

Cocoa flavor dominates. The bar is not very bitter, and has a gentle aftertaste. Subtle notes of vanilla may be noticed. 7.0

This is the second Irish-made chocolate bar that I brought home with me from my trip to Ireland in October. As with the Brona bar this bar has soya letchin, but no added vanilla, and regular sugar as the sweetener.

www.chocolates.ie

Rogue Bolivia Tranquilidad 75% cacao

Clean and flavorful. The bar is thin, making it easy to experience the taste. Light butter and molasses come to mind. Very clean finish. 8.9

Brona Dark 54% cocoa

While I was in Ireland I picked up a few bars of chocolate. This is the first one of that group, more of a "semi-sweet" bar. It has a rich cocoa flavor with some side flavors that may be derived from the "additional ingredients." Slightly chalky on the finish. 6.0

There are three ingredients that need noting: First, vanilla, which I usually try to avoid when tasting dark chocolate. Second, Soya Lecithin as an emulsifier. Finally, the sweetener used for this bar is Maltitol, 75% as sweet as sugar, but half as caloric.

When selecting your dark chocolate, my recommendation is that the bar should have two ingredients: cocoa (aka cacao), which may include cocoa butter, and sugar.

www.bronachocolates.com

Middlebury Belize Maya Mountain 80% cacao

Rich cocoa flavor, with subtle hints of herbs. Clean finish with a pleasant aftertaste. 8.0

This is the second bar from Middlebury I have tasted. Their label says they strive to create "beautiful chocolate. Not perfect chocolate, just beautiful chocolate." Hmm, beauty is a visual assessment, and while the packaging is attractive, and the bar itself appears well made, I would not call either beautiful. However, more likely the statement is attempting to bend "beauty" to the taste of the bar, which is quite respectable.

Now if you want to talk about beautiful bars, take a look at a Dick Taylor bar, or Coppeneur's bar, or Charm School's bar.

Omnom Papua New Guinea 70% cacao

The initial take for this bar is a sharply bitter thrust. This quickly resolves into rich cocoa flavor with faint butterscotch and cranberry notes. 9.0

I believe this is the first bar I have tasted that was manufactured in Iceland. Checking out their website, I came across their blog in which they announce that this bar is being discontinued due to "the quality and consistency of the raw material." That's too bad, but they promise new bars to come.

www.omnomchocolate.com