Cacao Prieto Dominican Republic 72% cacao

This bar is mellow, as might be expected for a 72% cacao bar, but it has character, as would be expected from a bar of Dominican Republic origin. Some light bitterness, and faint fruit notes. Enjoyable. 8.6

I purchased this bar from Miette store in the Ferry Building.

www.cacaoprieto.com

Kilwins Dominican Republic 80% cacao

An assertive chocolate, fairly bitter but not disruptive. Earthy flavors dominate, with a long aftertaste. 8.0

This is the second bar that I picked up at the Baltimore Kilwins store. The Kilwins Dark was pleasant but not interesting, whereas this bar is less comfortable but more intriguing, challenging, and — as I said above, assertive. Kilwins has put a nice design on the surface of the bar, shown here. Each of the symbols represent the locations of the single origin bars that they make: Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Ivory Coast, Mexico and this bar, Dominican Republic.

Kilwins Dark

Simple, clean, tasty dark chocolate. No bitterness.  No side flavors to speak of, though a hint of nutmeg calls out. 7.9

I came across the Kilwins store as I was visiting Fells Point in my hometown of Baltimore. I had not heard of that brand, so decided to see that they offered. Most of their product on sale was confections of various sorts. I had to look hard to find a bar of dark chocolate, and discovered this one. After purchasing the bar I headed toward the door and noticed a rack with some single-origin bars. Back to the counter to purchase one, which will be reviewed in a future post.

www.kilwins.com

Kilwin's Fells Point

Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa

Not a casual chocolate to consume. This one demands your attention with its strong profile, quite bitter with a persistent aftertaste. This dominates the expererience — so side flavors are not noticeable. 6.1

I gave a higher rating to the 70% cacao version of this bar: Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa.

Dick Taylor Ecuador Camino Verde 76% cacao

Chocolate with a punch! Fairly bitter, earthy, some nutty notes, this bar has it all. This mix often leads to some metallic taste, but there is none of that. Not for the faint of heart, but if you can handle a stout beer, you can handle this. (Hmm, I wonder how this goes with a stout?) 8.1

Marou Vietnam Lam Dong 74% cacao

This is a very smooth chocolate, with no bitter edge. There is a subtle cherry note that adds a sweetness to the taste. The aftertaste is clean, though brief. 9.0

This is the second bar that I have reviewed from Vietnam (the first being Scharffen Berger's Ben Tre bar). The address on the label is given as "Ho Chi Minh City," but the label notes say: "We craft all of our chocolate in Saigon ..." The Marou website has an interesting history of cacao in Vietnam, dating back to the late 1800's during the French administration, when that city was still named Saigon.

marouchocolate.com

Amedei Trinidad 70% cacao

While my first impression of this bar was diminished by an unusual flavor, I found myself wanting to taste more of the bar, and consumed half of it before I knew it. That flavor is mildly metallic, certainly not harshly so, with earthy elements. When chewed, this flavor vanishes quickly. When allowed to melt, the flavor is noticeable at first, but fades. 

The bottom line for a bar is how enjoyable it is, and this one quickly disappeared from my tasting table. 8.2

I notice that the tasting notes on the label mention "fragrant as a Cuban cigar" and then mentions "walnut husk," "vanilla cocoa," and "wood and bark." Quite a range, but these do align with my experience. This is a complex bar with surprising flavors, worth exploring.