Review: Amedei Toscano Black 70

Lindy's Rating: 5.5 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Amedei bar Toscano Black 70 region (unknown) plantation (blend) cacao trees Criollo, Trinitario year (unknown) size 50g ~ 1.8oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text imprints and scoring aroma spice, earthy, floral, roast (tobacco), sweet snap hard taste fruit (cherry), sweet, roast melt smooth length short finish slightly acidic

Amedei Toscano Black 70 is unsurprisingly made from 70% cocoa solids. They use only Criollo and Trinitario cacao beans from farms producing exclusively for Amedei. The bar came wrapped in yellow foil inside a folded black paper container in the standard shape for Italian chocolate maker Amedei. The 50 gram bar was scored into 10 pieces, each with an Amedei text imprint and some lines.

The color of this Toscano Black 70 bar was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). It had a hard snap. The aromas of the chocolate were spice, floral, and earth. Lindy also detected some sweetness and I smelled a tobacco roast.

Toscano Black 70 had a strong cherry flavor that was somewhat too sweet, and a roast that I thought hinted of coffee. The melt of this chocolate was smooth. After the chocolate was gone, the flavor lasted 10-15 seconds, giving it a short length. The final aftertaste was slightly acidic. Lindy was also left with just a hint of cherry that didn't seem to go away.

As you can see from the sticker on the package in the picture at top, Toscano Black 70 won one of the gold awards for best bean to bar chocolates at the 2009 Academy of Chocolate. Unfortunately, Lindy and I didn't like this bar anywhere near as much as the judges liked the bar two years ago in 2009. Lindy rated Toscano Black 70 ** and I agreed, though it was a high ** for me. Amedei does not have a list price for Toscano Black 70. However, you can purchase it online for $6.50 at Chocolopolis. At that price it is currently the most expensive ** bar on our Best Chocolate Values list.