Review: Grenada Chocolate Company 82%

Lindy's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Grenada bar 82% region Grenada plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 82% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $4.60

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with image imprint and scoring aroma floral, earth, roast (cocoa), hints of fruit and sweet snap hard taste floral, bitter, roast, earth, sweet, bread melt more smooth length short finish somewhat bitter

The bar arrived broken in two pieces.

The Grenada Chocolate Company makes single-origin chocolate bars with beans cultivated at their plantations in Grenada. They also make the chocolate bars on location in their factory, only a mile away from where they ferment the cacao beans. Their cacao is USDA and CERES certified organic, and for the 82% bar, they add organic raw sugar from Paraguay, organic soy lecithin, and organic vanilla beans from Costa Rica. The best before date on the 3 ounce bar we reviewed was March 2012.

The bar had a pretty stylized image of cacao imprinted in the center and was scored into four pieces on either side of that image. Grenada 82% had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. It had a hard snap that was somewhat brittle.

The chocolate had a strong floral scent that provided a nice background to the earth, cocoa roast, and hints of fruit and sweetness we also smelled. Lindy described 82% as having a "four star aroma".

Grenada 82% had a somewhat slow start before it released an omnipresent floral taste, as suggested by its aroma. We also experienced some bitterness, roast, earth, sweet and bread flavors. All of them seemed slightly muted. While interesting, I didn't especially like the taste of this chocolate.

The melt was more smooth, which was a bit surprising given the lack of any added cocoa butter. The length was short, with the chocolate flavor lasting roughly 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was somewhat bitter.

Overall, Lindy and I both rated this chocolate ***. At $1.53 per ounce, it is the lowest priced bar we've yet reviewed that we both rated ***. You can read more about our ratings in the context of price on our Best Chocolate Values page. Grenada 82% won a Silver at last month's Academy of Chocolate's 2011 Awards.

You can purchase Grenada 82% online in the U.S. from Chocosphere for $4.60, or in the U.K. from Rococo Chocolates for £4.50.