Michel Cluizel 72% de Cacao Noir

Stark, strong chocolate. Few undertone flavors (cocoa dominates). Not bitter. 7

Cote d'Or Sensation INTENSE 70% Cacao Noir de Noir

Workmanlike and uninspiring. Not bitter, presentable chocolate flavor. The individual squares are a little on the large size -- one may want to break them into more bite-sized pieces. 7

Dolfin Noir 70% de Cacao Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with cocoa bean pieces

A much more robust and notably bitter taste of chocolate than with other 70% cocoa bars, due primarily to the "cocoa bean pieces" included in the bar. I'm not a fan of this practice -- I would rather have a pure note of chocolate to experience rather than to confuse it with hits of pure cocoa. "Chocolate with cocoa nibs" is a category of its own that really does not belong grouped with the other bars on this blog. 6

Dove Extra Dark Chocolate 71% cacao

Very soft bar compared with others previously tasted. Multitude of side tastes, not all of them pleasant. 6

Venchi Extra Bitter Chocolate 75%

Cocoa. Not the bean, the steaming hot cup of. This chocolate engulfs you in the same smells and tastes that you experience when sipping a cup of cocoa. Of course, it's not hot or liquid. But this bar could be bracing on a cold winter morning. This bar is physically large, one of the largest 100 gram bars I've seen. This makes the bar fairly thin, which adds to the immediacy of the cocoa rush. There's slight bitterness, nothing significant. The chocolate flavor is not very nuanced, just as it's not with hot cocoa. 6

Endangered Species Chocolates Extreme Dark Chocolate 88% cocoa content

This bar is right on the borderline. The taste is rich in chocolate and has a ringing aftertaste. But it stays on the good side of the line of providing a complex and interesting suite of flavors without broaching into the chalky, bitter, overpowering aftertaste. I can't say that I enjoy this more than other lower-cocoa content bars, but it certainly provides something to think about. I rate this bar well above the Hachez 88% tasted earlier. 7

Vintage Plantations 100% Dark Processed at the plantation in Ecuador

Extremely bitter, with the bitterness dominating any trace of chocolate flavor. 2

100% Dark Chocolate (also known as "unsweetened") is not intended to be directly eaten, rather it should be used for cooking, such as making cakes or brownies or other items requiring chocolate. So including a bar of chocolate whose ingredients consists entirely of cocoa (the label says "Ingredients: pure cocoa mass (roasted and ground cocoa beans)") is not really fair. However, my colleague Alex has gotten into the spirit of dark chocolate tasting, and he brought in this bar with the idea of seeing what extreme chocolate is all about. Now we know: It's about extreme bitterness, not extreme chocolate. We each tried one small square of the bar. Alex took one bite and called it quits after a significant distress reaction to the taste. I had a similar outcome, though I did consume the entire square while noticing that my pulse quickened with each bite.

This will likely be the last of the extremely high cocoa bars that graces this blog, but I have not yet determined what lower percentage of cocoa will remain tasteable. The highest cocoa bar I'ved tried to date is the Hachez 88% Cocoa Premier Cru Superior Dark Chocolate, which I rated a 6. Next highest were the Recchiuti Bittersweet 85% Cacao, which I rated a 9, and the Isis Luxury Belgian Extra Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa, which I rated a 6. A 6 is a borderline rating -- okay, but not a chocolate I would seek out. Given the very high rating I gave the Recchiuti 85%, I am skeptical that I will meet a chocolate of higher cocoa percentage that I will be able to rate as highly.