Trader Joe's Swiss 71% Dark Chocolate

Somewhat bitter, with chalky texture. Few side flavors. 6

Teuscher Chocolate 88 88% Cocoa

Powerful chocolate flavor. On the edge of bitterness, but not too bitter. Some "chalkiness", but finishes reasonably well. Very little sweetness, as would be expected, and no side flavors to speak of. 7

Recchiuti Semisweet 64% cacao

Simple flavor, not challenging. Sweet, no bitterness. Not spectacular. 7

I had fairly high expectations, and while this bar is not bad at all, it doesn't live up to the high marks I gave the Recchiuti Bittersweet bar.

Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate 71% Cacao

Heavy cocoa flavor, no nuance to it. End taste is clean, no bitterness. A presentable chocolate, though basic. 6

Michel Cluizel Noir Infini 99% Cocoa

Biting, bitter, very strong flavors. Not a hint of sweetness, nor of "chocolate." For medicinal use only. 4

In a prior post I stated that this blog would not survey extremely high cocoa content chocolate, however this bar provides a bookend to the set of plantation bars we reviewed last week.

This is a very small bar only 30 grams, so it would be surprising if this were meant to be used for cooking. I usually put the bar's packaging notes in a comment to the main post, but here's the note for this bar:

From the Package:

"This chocolate, with its long kneading process and extremely high content of cocoas, reveals the deep and dense strains of a unique blend, formed for a connoisseur's palate."

So the intended audience for this bar is the "connoisseur." While I did find the flavor complex and challenging, I appear to not be enough of a chocolate tasting connoisseur to fully appreciate this bar.

Michel Cluizel 1er Cru de Plantation "Los Anconès" Santo Domingo 67%

Strong citrus flavor -- tart. The sweetness of the chocolate supports the tartness, providing a clean finish with no bitterness. 8

Michel Cluizel 1er Cru de Plantation "Maralumi" Papua - New Guinea 64% cocoa

Rich chocolate taste. Some citrus. No bitterness and a clean finish. 8

Note that on the front of the packaging, to the right of the plantation name, reads: Primé -- Salon Du Chocolat -- Paris 2005 Awarded