Letterpress Ghana Ashanti 70% cacao

This chocolate has a spicy edge to it, a little peppery. Also present is a mild coffee tinge, adding to a bitter undertone. Aftertaste is lengthy with the bitterness. 8.9

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter*
*Certified Organic

Price: $11 / 2.1oz 

Letterpress Jamaica Bachelor's Hall 70% cacao

This bar has a rich cacao flavor overlaid with caramel and toffee.  It has a fairly low bitterness with a clean aftertaste. 8.3

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter*
*Certified Organic

Price: $18 / 2.1oz

Letterpress Bolivia Tranquilidad 70% cacao

Fairly low bitterness to start, but the aftertaste echoes with a bitter note. Caramel texture and flavor is prominent, with some blueberry richness. 9.1

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Unrefined Cane Sugar (Organic), Cocoa Butter (Organic)

Price: $18 / 2oz.

The label on the bar indicates that the cacao from this bar is heirloom, meaning is cacao is from "ancient and wild" varietals. This likely accounts for the higher price of this bar.

The mold has a nice design which uses the Letterpress logo.

Hu Simple Dark 70% cacao

This bar has a texture that borders on, but does not become, gritty. There is a roasted component, akin to burnt sugar, and a buttery, caramel flavor. The aftertaste is short. 6.6

hukitchen.com

Ingredients: organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter

The label reports that the bar is "vegan | paleo" and lists everything it is not:

• NO palm oil
• NO refined sugar
• NO cane sugar
• NO sugar alcohols
• NO dairy
• NO gluten
• NO emulsifiers
• NO soy lecithin 

A check on what "paleo" is meant to convey shows: "A paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era, which dates from approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago." I wonder whether chocolate was being made 10,000 years ago. 🤔 Wikipedia thinks not.

The sugar element of the bar is derived from coconut, which might account for some of the flavor notes.

RichArt Madagascar Sambiraja 70% cacao

This bar has the flavor and quality of chocolate made from Madagascar cacao which I have come to expect. The taste profile is smooth, with a strong citrus note. There is a hint of vanilla, though note that vanilla is not an ingredient of the bar. The aftertaste is short due to the low bitterness. 9.7







Ingredients: Madagascar cacao Crillo Trinitario (70% minimum), sugar, soya lecithin

This is the last of the bars I purchased on our trip to Europe in the fall. The previous RichArt bar reviewed from the trip was: Richart Dominican Republic Santodino 70% cacao. As before, I include here a picture of the Google Translate interpretation of the tasting notes on the label of the bar:

Edwart Madagascar Sambirano 73% cacao

Creamy texture with a milky profile. The label suggests a citrus/lemon flavor note, but I am not tasting anything but the faintest of citrus elements. Aftertaste is short due to the bar's quite low bitterness. 8.6

This is the second by from Edwart Chocolatier of Paris which I purchased on my trip in September. The first bar was: Edwart Chocolatier Peru Apurímac 72% cacao.

As with that post, I used Google Translate to translate the notes on the label which are pertinent to the manufacture and experience of the bar:

Venchi Perù Lamas Sisa 85% cacao

This chocolate bar has a creamy, smooth texture. The taste is a mix of caramel and molasses with a earthy kick which adds some bitterness on the aftertaste. 8.9

Ingredients: Organic Cocoa Mass from Peru (66.5%), Organic cocoa butter, Organic cane sugar (14%).

I purchased this bar during my exploration of Venice near the end of my fall trip to Europe.

Had a small chocolate tour in Venice today. Visited Vizio Virtù (on recommendation of my wife’ sister Kristin) and Venchi.

It’s fun to wander the alleys of Venice. pic.twitter.com/AGRaWXfbSi

— Steve Nahm (@SteveNahm) October 4, 2019