Review: Fresco 211 Ghana

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Fresco bar 211 region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year 2011 size 40g ~ 1.4oz cocoa solids 73% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture lined, scoring, bubbles aroma roast (tobacco), earth, fruit (prune), sweet (molasses), spice snap medium hard taste earth, roast (cocoa), wood, fruit, sweet, hint of sour, hint of nut melt smooth length medium finish somewhat bitter, slightly sour

United States chocolate maker Fresco numbers each of their chocolate bar formulations sequentially, and are presently making 209 through 218. The packaging for each of these single origin bars reveals not only ingredients and cocoa solids percentage, but also the general roasting and conching strategy that was used. All chocolate is made in a nut-free facility.

Recipe 211 contained 73% cocoa solids (cacao beans from Ghana and added cocoa butter) plus 27% cane sugar. The chocolate was made using a medium roast and a medium conche.

Fresco's bar are small, only 40 grams. They are scored into 10 pieces, with each alternating piece lined either horizontally or vertically. 211 came wrapped in silver foil-sided wax paper inside a paper box. The production date was December 19, 2011 (one of the 570 bars of batch #11-028). The best before date was January 2014.

The color of 211 was a medium-dark brown Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317). The bar had small bubbles in one or two corners of most pieces, but otherwise looked great. It had a medium-hard snap.

211's aroma contained roast, earth, fruit, sweetness, and some spice. The roast was that of tobacco. The fruit scent seemed to be mostly prune. The sweetness smelled of molasses.

The chocolate initially tasted earthy, with a cocoa roast. As it melted, I experienced wood, fruit, and a hint of nut. Sweetness and a hint of sour were also present.

The melt was smooth. The length made it just into medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting about 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was somewhat bitter, with a slight sourness.

You can purchase Fresco 211 online for $7.00 in the U.S. from Chocolopolis or Cocova.

Review: Divine 70% Dark

Richard's Rating: 5.5

chocolate maker Divine bar 70% Dark region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.99

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth, scoring, lined, scuffing aroma roast (tobacco), earth, spice, vanilla, coconut snap medium hard taste roast (cocoa, hint of tobacco), sweet (molasses), vanilla, fruit, hint of earth melt smooth length short finish very slightly bitter

Divine Chocolate is part-owned by the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative of cacao farmers in Ghana. They make fair trade chocolate and two unflavored dark chocolate bars: 85% Dark and this one: 70% Dark. Both are single origin chocolates made with cacao from Ghana.

This chocolate contained 70% cocoa solids and had ingredients of cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and vanilla. The 100 gram bar was scored into 24 pieces, each imprinted with horizontal and vertical lines separated in half with a diagonal line. It came enclosed in brass-colored foil inside a black paper wrapper covered with gold Adinkra symbols. The best before date was February 2013.

70% Dark had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The surface was smooth with some scuffing. The snap was medium hard.

The aroma of this chocolate was a tobacco roast with earth. Scents of spice, vanilla, and coconut were also present.

The chocolate tasted of a cocoa roast, with little of the tobacco or earthiness of the aroma. There was a sweet molasses flavor as well as vanilla and some fruit I didn't identify.

70% Dark had a smooth melt. The chocolate flavor lasted about 10 to 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a short length. The finish was very slightly bitter.

Overall, 70% Dark was superior to 85% Dark, lacking the bitter flavor and much of the bitter aftertaste. It's one of the better chocolates at the $1.25 per ounce and under price points, as you can see on our Best Chocolate Values page.

You can purchase 70% Dark for $3.99 in the U.S. directly from Divine USA or for £2.00 in the U.K. directly from Divine.

Review: Divine 85% Dark

Richard's Rating: 5.0

chocolate maker Divine bar 85% Dark region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 85% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients cocoa powder list price $3.99

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth, imprints, scoring aroma roast (coffee), vanilla, earth, spice, coconut snap hard taste roast (coffee, cocoa), earth, nut, somewhat bitter melt smooth length short finish bitter

Kuapa Kokoo is a cooperative of cacao farmers in Ghana that helped establish the Day Chocolate Company in 1998 to make a fair trade chocolate bar from their cacao. In 2007, Day Chocolate became Divine Chocolate. Kuapa Kokoo owns 45% of Divine Chocolate. You can read more about the interesting history of this company on their website.

Divine makes two single origin unflavored dark chocolate bars: 70% Dark and 85% Dark. 85% Dark obviously contained 85% cocoa solids, and was made from cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, and vanilla. Note the addition of cocoa powder to this chocolate.

The full 100 gram bar was scored into 24 pieces, each with either an imprint of the stylized Divine name or an Adinkra symbol. It came enclosed in brass-colored foil inside a black paper wrapper with reflective Adinkra symbols. The best before date was April 2013.

The medium-dark brown color of this chocolate was Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314). The surface was smooth with some spots of adhered chocolate bits. The snap was hard.

The aroma of 85% Dark contained scents of a coffee roast, vanilla, earth, spice, and coconut.

85% Dark tasted primarily of a coffee and cocoa roast. Flavors of earth and nut were present. I also found it somewhat bitter.

The melt was smooth, though towards less smooth. The length was short, with the flavor lasting 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone and leaving a bitter aftertaste.

You can purchase 85% Dark for $3.99 in the U.S. directly from Divine USA or for £2.00 in the U.K. directly from Divine.

Review: TCHO Chocolatey

Lindy's Rating: 6.0

Richard's Rating: 5.5

chocolate maker TCHO bar Chocolatey region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 58g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $5.48

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth, scoring, curving lines aroma roast (cocoa, hint of smoke), earth (soil), fruit, hint of spice snap hard taste initial sour, roast (cocoa, malt), sweet (caramel), hint of vanilla melt more smooth length short finish slightly acidic, slightly tannin

TCHO is a U.S. bean to bar chocolate maker based in San Francisco that crafts chocolate based on flavors rather than origins. The TCHO flavor wheel has six flavors: Chocolatey, Citrus, Earthy, Floral, Fruity, and Nutty. At present, they do not make Earthy or Floral chocolate. TCHO prides themselves on innovation and leveraging technology to make their chocolate better. They work closely with their cacao farmers to improve fermentation and drying practices.

Chocolatey is a single origin chocolate from Ghana that was made with cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and vanilla beans. The chocolate contained 70% cocoa solids. The two ounce bar was scored in 9 pieces and came wrapped in gold-sided wax paper inside a paper box. There was not a production or best before date for the bar we reviewed, but the box did have a sticker with the number 2021.

The color of Chocolatey was a medium-dark brown close to Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The surface had a smooth finish and was imprinted with an intricate pattern. Depending on the lighting angle, we observed many small lighter squiggles (that appear darker in the photo -- more easily seen if you enlarge the photo and look near the center of the top), as well as a pattern on the back from filling the mold. These are minor, though, and overall the bar had a nice temper.

This chocolate gave off a cocoa roast aroma, with a bit of smoke. A hard snap revealed a strong earth that Lindy identified as damp soil. We also smelled a little fruit, and I detected a hint of spice.

Chocolatey had a brief initial sour flavor that quickly faded below a cocoa roast and caramel sweetness. The roast also included some malt, and I tasted a hint of vanilla.

This bar had a nice more smooth melt. The chocolate flavor lasted 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone, not quite reaching a medium length. Chocolately had a slightly acidic and slightly tannin finish.

Overall, we found this to be a good basic chocolate bar. As Lindy described it, "nothing detracts, but nothing exceptional."

You can purchase TCHO Chocolately online directly from TCHO for $10.95 for two bars.

Review: Francois Pralus Djakarta

Lindy's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Pralus bar Djakarta region Ghana, Indonesia plantation (blend) cacao trees Criollo, Forastero?, Trinitario? year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price €4,00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma earthy, roast (cocoa), sweet snap hard taste hint of bitter, roast (cocoa), fruit (apple, citrus), hint of dairy melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter

Despite its name, Pralus Djakarta is a mixed-origin bar from Ghana and Indonesia. The wrapper indicated the beans were a mixture of Trinitario and Criollo, but Pralus wrote on their website that Djakarta was made from a combination of Forastero and Criollo beans. The latter seems more likely, given Ghana as the origin of the non-Criollo beans.

Djakarta was made of 75% cocoa solids, with sugar, added cocoa butter, and soy lecithin. This bar was packaged as usual for Pralus chocolate bars: paper wrapper over gold foil-covered chocolate. The 100 gram bar we reviewed had a best before date of 3 February 2012.

The bar was scored into 24 small pieces and one large piece (that is the same size as 8 small ones) with the "Pralus" imprint. The color of the chocolate was a medium brown Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317). It had a hard snap.

Djakarta had aromas of roast in form of cocoa, an earthiness, and some sweetness. The initial taste gave a slight bitterness, and then revealed the cocoa roast we smelled, along with some fruit flavors. Lindy identified apple and I found some citrus. I also noticed a hint of dairy.

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The flavor only lasted 10 to 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a short length. The aftertaste was slightly bitter.

Overall, Lindy described Djakarta as enjoyable to eat, and rated it a low ***. I found it somewhat less desirable and rated it a high **.

You can purchase Pralus Djakarta online directly from Pralus for €4,00, or from Chocolopolis for $7.99.

Review: Francois Pralus Caracas

Lindy's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Pralus bar Caracas region Ghana, Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees Forastero, Trinitario year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price €4,00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma sweet, earthy, spice, hint of smoke snap hard taste sweet, fruit (coconut), almond, hint of tart melt smooth length short finish very slightly acidic

Caracas is a misleading name for this chocolate bar from Pralus. It is not a single-origin bar from Venezuela, as it includes beans from Ghana. The Trinitario label is also misleading, as this chocolate is made from a mixture of both Forastero and Trinitario cacao beans.

Pralus Caracas is made of 75% cocoa solids, sugar, added cocoa butter, and soy lecithin. This bar was packaged as usual for Pralus chocolate bars: paper wrapper over gold foil-covered chocolate. The 100 gram bar we reviewed had a best before date of 6 August 2011.

The bar was scored into 24 small pieces and one large piece (that is the same size as 8 small ones) with the "Pralus" imprint. The color of Caracas was a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). It had a hard snap.

This chocolate had aromas of sweetness, some earthiness, and a spice that I thought might include cinnamon. Lindy also noticed a hint of smokiness.

Caracas tasted sweet, and included flavors of fruit, coconut, almond, and a hint of tartness. Lindy playfully described it as the "Almond Joy" chocolate due to the coconut and almond flavors, even though it tasted nothing like Almond Joy candy.

The melt was smooth, and the length short. The finish was not bitter, with the aftertaste being only very slightly acidic. Overall, Lindy rated Caracas a low *** and I rated it a high **.

You can purchase Pralus Caracas online directly from Pralus for €4,00, or from Chocolopolis for $9.50.

Review: Pralus Ghana

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Francois Pralus bar Ghana region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees Forastero year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price €4,00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1518 Puce texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma ashy, smoky, spice, hints of vanilla, cherry, and coffee snap medium hard taste coffee, spice (cinnamon) melt creamy length minimal finish somewhat bitter

Francois Pralus Ghana is a certified organic chocolate bar made from Forastero cacao beans in Ghana. It was one of the bars we tasted at our recent blind chocolate tasting. Although it was ranked lowest among the bars at that event, both Lindy and I felt it should have ended up somewhere nearer the middle.

The aroma of this bar was a bit weaker that the other bars at the tasting, but interesting none the less. People detected scents of ash, smoke, and spice, along with hints of vanilla, cherry, and coffee. The taste was experienced more consistently, with nearly everyone noticing coffee and spice. Lindy and one other person identified the spice flavor as cinnamon.

The melt of this bar was creamy and better than any of the other bars we tasted that evening. Sadly, the flavor disappeared quickly after the chocolate and left a somewhat bitter aftertaste.

Unfortunately, we did not take an opportunity to photograph the opened chocolate bars at the tasting, so I only have a picture of the wrapper.

Review: Divine 70% Dark

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Divine bar 70% Dark region Ghana plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.60

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1518 Puce texture lined with scoring aroma vanilla, floral snap medium-hard taste vanilla, molasses or brown sugar melt smooth length short finish very slightly bitter

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Divine 70% Dark

Divine Chocolate is 45% owned by the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative of Ghana cacao farmers. All of their chocolate products are fair trade certified. You can read more about Divine Chocolate, its interesting history, and their fair trade chocolate on their website. Divine makes several chocolate bars and other chocolate products, but the 70% Dark is their only unflavored dark chocolate.

The Divine 70% Dark bar gave off an immediate aroma of vanilla, with an added floral scent. Lindy also noticed some sort of spice, perhaps clove. This chocolate also tasted strongly of vanilla and sweetness. Lindy experienced the sweetness as molasses; I did as brown sugar.

The melt was smooth, though for me it was a bit less smooth. The flavor of the chocolate disappeared quickly, lasting just long enough to give it a length of short rather than minimal. The finish was minimal, with just a very slight bitter aftertaste.

Divine 70% Dark is available online directly from Divine at the price of 3 bars for $10.79, as well as at over 1100 retail stores in the U.S. and hundreds in the U.K., Canada, Europe and Japan. You can use Divine's StoreFinder application to find a retail outlet in the U.S.