E. Guittard Tsaratana 61% Cacao Pure Semisweet Dark Chocolate

Closing out our tasting of this fleet of E. Guittard chocolates:

Light, sweet dark chocolate. Bordering on milk chocolate profile. Easy on the palate. A mix of herbal elements -- rosemary? -- in the flavor mix. 6

E. Guittard Quevedo 65% Cacao Pure Bittersweet Dark Chocolate from Ecuador

Initial burst of flavor, raspberry. Ringing pure sweet chocolate in the middle. A clean, but lingering, aftertaste of sweet chocolate. 8

E. Guittard Quetzalcoatl 72% Cacao Mass Pure Bittersweet Dark Chocolate

Clean dark chocolate taste, some sweet notes, but mostly deep, dark chocolate. No bitterness. Nice. 7

E. Guittard Nocturne 91% Cacao Pure Extra Dark Chocolate

This bar packs a punch, as would be exprected with a 91% cocoa bar. High bitterness, but doesn't overpower. No chalky texture. Little gets past the chocolate flavor -- no side notes detectable. Pulse may quicken when tasting, due to higher caffeine kick. Appropriate only when wanting a serious chocolate event. 6

Valor Dark Chocolate Sugar Free 70% cacao

Good chocolate flavor -- not very complex. Not bitter or chalky. 6

Open tasting comments:
Arun: I hate Aspartame/NutraSweet
Dan: Nice flavor, not particularly unique or anything, and it has kind of a funky, chewy texture. 6 out of 10
Mollie: Sugar free? Not bad -- strange aftertaste.
N: A fullish flavor for a sugar-free. Starts strong and ends nearly as strong.

Bar courtesy of: Alex

GuyLian Finest Belgian Chocolate 70% cocoa Extra Dark

Solid, respectable chocolate. Strong chocolate and cocoa flavors, not much else. Not really a "tasting" chocolate, but will do the job in a pinch. 7

Open tasting comments:
Ravi: Strong flavor, but not very bitter
Jana: Yum! Smooth & not bitter :-)
Sajjad: Not terribly bitter. Good.
Dan: Tastes like Hershey's.
Tim: Good solid chocolate. No side flavors -- would be good for brownies.
Ted: Chocklity!
Anuj: Better than Hershey's, but not better than Nestle's
Courtney: Relatively sweet for a dark chocolate. It's almost deceptive. But I'd still have eaten it all if I'd gotten to the plate sooner!
S: Flour-like to begin with! Reveals some interesting layers as it crumbles (melts), but the memories aren't strong enough to linger.

Bar courtesy of: Alex

New Tree Pleasure Indulgence Dark Chocolate Fine Belgian Dark Chocolate 73% Cocoa

Tart, though not really bitter. Some echoes of nutmeg. On the heavy side of "dark". 7

Brimfields's 60% Cacao dark chocolate

Strong cocoa flavor. Sweet, simple. 6

Open tasting comments:
"Heavenly" - Kitka
"Very good" - Zaur
"Good texture" - Jesse
"Not too rich, in a good way" - Lauren
"Lacks the bitterness usually found in dark choclate. Remarkably sweet for dark chocolate, tempered by a slight bitter, almost tannic finish." - Arun
"Chocklity" - Anonymous

Bar courtesy of: Alex