Middlebury Belize Maya Mountain 80% cacao

Rich, chocolaty taste, with cherry and walnut flavors. Moderately bitter for an 80% bar, with clean and short aftertaste. 9.1

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

I previously reviewed this bar in 2015. At the time it had different packaging and I gave it a lower rating. Not sure whether the change is in me or in an improvement of Middlebury's manufacturing technique.

Ritual Bourbon Barrel Aged 75% cacao

Hearty flavors flow from this bar, including cherry and honey. This bar is "aged in bourbon barrels," but I am not noticing oak notes. The finish is clean and moderately bitter. 9.3

$16 / 2.12 oz

Ingredients: cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Auro Philipine Savoy 70% cacao

Very flavorful bar with robust nuttiness. Also noticed are caramel notes, nearing on butterscotch. Clean afertaste. 9.0

www.aurochocolate.com

Raphio Tanzania 72% cacao

This is a very flavorful bar -- classic Tanzania cacao. Fruity and sweet, with a honey element. Minimal aftertaste. 9.5

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Butter

www.raphiochocolate.com

Letterpress Peru Ucayali Private Reserve 70% cacao

This is a flavorful chocolate, with cherry and a faint maple note. The aftertaste is short-lived, but rewarding. The bar has a thin profile, allowing the chocolate to develop well on tasting. 9.3

Expensive at $18 for 2.3oz from Chocolate Covered. It is on the borderline of "worth it."

Godiva Dark Mexico 68% cacao

Rich chocolate flavor, tart with cherry notes. Clean aftertaste. 8.0

Ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cacao butter, butter oil (milk), natural flavor, emulsifer (soy lecithin).

I assume that the "natural flavor" is vanilla.

Koruna Pralines 80% cacao

This bar is quite bitter, not surprising from an 80% cacao bar. Earthy and woody flavors accompany the basic cacao taste. As expected, the aftertaste is persistent. 7.3

pralines.cz

Website is in Czech. This is the second bar brought back from my colleague Kyle's recent European trip.