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.