Review: Newman's Own Super Dark

Lindy's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Newman's Own bar 70% region (unknown) plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 92g ~ 3.3oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane juice emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with circled N imprints and scoring aroma roast (smoky), sweet (molasses) snap hard taste sweet, roast (tannin), fruit (orange), nutty melt more smooth length medium finish slightly acidic

Newman's Own Organics produces six chocolate bars in their Signature Series. All of them have both the USDA organic and Rainforest Alliance certification. The darkest of them is this Super Dark bar, with 70% cocoa solids.

The Super Dark bar was scored into 8 large pieces, each with an imprint of a "N" circumscribed by a circle. This chocolate had a medium-dark brown color like that of Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). Its snap was hard.

The aroma was roast and sweet. Lindy found the roast scent to be smoky. The sweet aroma reminded me of molasses. The taste also contained roast and sweet. However, rather than smoky, the roast flavor was more of a tannin. We did not identify a more specific flavor for the sweetness. There was also the flavor of fruit, a citrus that we experienced as orange or perhaps tangerine. Finally, Lindy also noticed some nuttiness.

The melt and length were great, and the finish had no bitterness. The melt was more smooth and the flavor lasted 25 to 30 seconds: a medium length. There wasn't much aftertaste, only a slight acidity.

We both rated Super Dark a high **. I purchased this bar at our local QFC grocery store for $3.59. At that price, this bar is not expensive and definitely worth trying. You can compare the relative value of this chocolate on our Best Chocolate Values page (permanent link in the right column in the pages section).