Said Madagascar 64% cocoa

Quite bitter for a 64% cacao bar. Earthy with a maple back flavor. Fairly long aftertaste carried along by the bitterness. 7.2

www.said.it

This is the last bar from my October trip to London and Ireland. Quite a long run of reviews from the hoard!

After opening this bar, I looked for the Best By date and noticed that it said "Best Before 03/10/2015." That's October 3, 2015, not March -- but I bought the bar during the third week of October last year, so it was already past the "best by" date when I purchased it. There is a good chance that I saw the label, and decided that it was worth buying it after the best by date for an opportunity to taste a new bar. I probably should have put it at the front of the queue of bars to review.

The surface of the bar was slightly oxidized. I doubt that the bar's age significantly changed its taste, but that is a possibility. I'll need to try a Said bar again when I can find one that is before its "Best Before" date.

Whole Foods Costa Rica 71% cacao

The label describes this bar as "smoky," and smoky it is. There is more bitterness than is usually found with 71% cacao. The bar ingredients include "vanilla flavor," which may contribute to some of this smoky flavor dimension. 7.3

Thortons Dark 70% Cocoa

Basic cocoa flavor, easy finish with moderate bitterness. 7.0

thorntons.co.uk

This bar is from the October London visit. For the record, the best before date is 30/09/2016, which is 09/30/2016 for we Americans.

The label mentioned "almost a little bit fruity" as a tasting note. I tasted no fruit flavors.

Whole Foods Tanzania 72% cacao

Nutty flavor on first taste. Minimal bitterness. Smooth cocoa texture leads to an easy aftertaste. 7.7

www.wholefoodsmarket.com

This bar has been sitting in my chocolate backlog drawer since before my trip overseas in October. I have just one or two more bars from that trip to review, so I will be pulling bars from the backlog for future reviews.

The store where I purchased this was in San Mateo, located in the same plaza where the San Mateo Supercharger is located. You will likely find a few Tesla owners visiting this Whole Foods store.