Letterpress Costa Rica Hacienda Azul 70% cacao

This bar has earthy and roasted components. There is a sharp tobacco tinge, accompanied by a coffee touch. These give the bar some bitterness, but the resolution in the aftertaste is moderate. 8.3

Ingredients: Cacao Beans*, Unrefined Cane Sugar*
* Certified Organic

$11 / 2.1 oz.

Omnom Madagascar 66% cacao

This bar has a crisp snap and a crunchy chew. The taste is sweet, with caramel flavor with a touch of fig. The aftertaste is short and on the sweet side. 8.2

Ingredients: Cocoa beans from Madagascar, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin (E322).

$9 / 2.1 oz

SOMA Crazy 88 Dark Chocolate 88% cacao

This bar is quite bitter, as would be expected from an 88% cacao chocolate. It has a roasted profile, edging on charcoal. The aftertaste is persistent and continues as bitter. 8.4

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, Organic cane sugar

$13 / 2.3oz (65g)

When a chocolate maker includes their own tasting notes on the label, I usually include them as comments to the main post.  However, if the notes vary significantly from my experience of the bar, I include them in the main post with comments on how my experience differs.  For this bar, the notes are: "Tasting notes: black tea, balsamic vinegar, fresh cream, lemon, jasmine, apricot, toast." Quite a list!

My experience for these is:

• black tea: black tea can be fairly bitter, so I can see this as an element of the taste
• balsamic vinegar: this is also on the bitter side, but has a flavor dimension which I did not notice
• fresh cream: I had no experience of this with the bar
• lemon: this is also missing from my tasting
• jasmine: I consider this a floral note, and I did not notice any floral aspect to the bar
• apricot: this is a fruit note, and while I did not notice any fruitiness, apricot can have an edge which might pertain to this bar
• toast: if the toast was well toasted on the dark side then I would agree, given my charcoal comment

The label also notes the the cacao which makes up this bar comes from three origins: Hacienda Victoria in Ecuador, Ucayali in Peru and Canoabo in Venezuela.

The bar's mold is also worthy of a photo:

Keller Manni Peru 75% cocoa

This bar is made with extra-virgin olive oil, and would not be a candidate for review on ChocoCheck. However we recently (early March) visited Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, so this bar caught my eye at the store.

The olive oil taste dominates the experience, taking the lead over flavors which could have been found from the Peru-origin cacao. The label suggests "notes of orange blossom and quince," which I can agree with.

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic Manni extra-virgin olive oil, organic soy lecithin.

Our dinner at The French Laundry was superb from beginning to end, and we felt lucky to be able to enjoy it when we did.

Castronovo Mexico Soconusco 70% cacao

This bar has a buttery profile, with a hazelnut taste. It has a very nice cacao flavor, and the aftertaste is mellow. The label mentions several flavors: plum, walnut, citrus and vanilla. I could see the vanilla aspect from the buttery profile, but the plum, walnut and citrus flavors escape me. 8.9

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*
*organic ingredients

$13 / 2.2 oz.