Michel Cluizel Madagascar Plantation Mangaro 71% cacao

This bar has both a fruit taste and a buttery toffee taste. The fruit has some cherry notes, but the primary experience is of dried fruit, reminiscent of golden raisins. The aftertaste is mildly bitter and persistent. 8.7

I am reminded of the Michel Cluizel store I visited in 2019. Quite a boutique!

First day in Paris, and I find myself in front of @MichelCluizelFR at Madeleine. They have a small chocolate wall (right side of second photo). pic.twitter.com/BpmP7ynAti

— Steve Nahm (@SteveNahm) September 16, 2019

Seahorse Tanznia Koka Kamili 80% cacao

As with many bars originating from Tanzania, this bar has a fruit flavor which is noticed on first tasting. The fruit taste leans towards cherry and perhaps citrus. There is also a buttery texture with mild bitterness. For an 80% cacao bar the modest bitterness is unexpected, and the resulting aftertaste is gentle and short. 8.7

All of the photos on ChocoCheck are taken of the bars I have tasted. The photo for this bar may be the first which shows a torn label -- sorry! If I have the opportunity to obtain another bar I will take a better photo and re-post it here.

Trader Joe's 80% cacao

This bar has a heavily roasted taste, with smoke and charcoal. This taste drives a strong bitterness that continues through to the aftertaste. 7.0

Ingredients: cacao mass, sugar

I have not reviewed a Trader's Joe bar for some time as most have vanilla as an ingredient. Good to see another bar with just cacao and sugar.

Castronovo Columbia Tumaco 85% cacao

This bar has a robust cacao taste at the onset which moderates as you experience it. The flavor balance between a roasted and earthy profile. On the roasted side the notes vary between charcoal and smoke. On the earthy side the notes rest on wood with a touch of mold. 7.2

Castronovo Peru Valle de Los Rios 70% cacao

This bar has a buttery texture, creamy with a tinge of toffee. There is also a slight roasted quality, somewhat like burnt sugar. 8.9

The back of this bar's label has an a note on how the chocolate maker selected the cacao for this bar. You can read about it at the website. Also noted at the website is that this bar has won a Silver aware from the Academy of Chocolate for 2021.

Sirene Peru Tingo Maria 73% cacao

This bar has a buttery texture leaning towards malt flavor. It also has faint citrus notes.  The aftertaste is mild, though the flavor persists fairly long. 8.8

The label has an interesting note: "Deep in the Amozonian jungle of Peru grow the flavourful beans of Ucayali River Cacao. This area has not been historically known for fine cacao, but some farmers there are now beginning to abandon cocaine production to focus on cacao."

Also interesting are the six accolades this bar has won from 2016 to 2019.  Well done!

Qantu Peru Junin 70% cacao

The initial taste is quite flavorful and fruity. The palette runs from citrus to rum raisin, with some buttery texture along the way. The bitterness is low and the aftertaste tapers off quickly. 9.4

The label of the Qantu bar provides a pictorial summation of the chocolate making process: Going from the cacao pod to drying, inspection, roasting, grinding, and tempering.

Also of note on the label is the Gold award from the Academy of Chocolate for 2019. Well deserved!