Manufacturer: Nirvana
Cocoa Content: 72%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

Up for review today is a 72% cocoa chocolate bar by Nirvana Belgian Chocolates. This bar is made from 100% organic Trinitario beans from the Dominican Republic. The chocolate is dark mahogany in color with a purple hue. The small, unadorned squares break with a crisp snap.

The Nirvana 72% bar has both bitterness and sweetness prevalent. There are roasted notes, salt, espresso, earthiness and nuttiness on the palate. The sweetness also accentuates flavors of apples and caramel. There is just a touch of acidity as well. Chewing the chocolate brings out notes of cherries, hazelnuts and marshmallows. The finish trails with roasted coffee and roasted nuts with some of that sweet marshmallow flavor.

Overall, the Nirvana Belgian Chocolate 72% Cocoa Bar seems rather sweeter than the 72% cocoa content would lead you to believe. There is a nice balance and some complex flavors in this bar. Despite the complexity, I found the flavor to be rather flat. If there was a deeper richness to the chocolate, then this bar would really meet its potential and earn a much higher score.

Manufacturer: Kilwin's
Cocoa Content: 70%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: C

On my recent trip to Panama City Beach, I happened to stop in at Kilwin's for some ice cream. When I saw several chocolate bars from their "Authentic Origin Collection" sitting by the register, I decided to grab a few to taste. First up is their 70% cocoa bar of Tanzanian origin.

The Kilwin's 70% Tanzanian dark chocolate bar is mahogany in color with orange-tan highlights. There are flavors of bread, cocoa and plantains. There is some fruitiness reminiscent of cherries, berries and apricots. A fair amount of sweetness is detectable as well. There is some slight acidity present. Chewing the chocolate intensifies the fruit undertones a bit. The finish has cocoa and marmalade notes.

The Kilwin's 70% Cocoa Tanzanian origin bar has a smooth, though somewhat thin mouthfeel that seems slightly waxy. I did find the taste to be rather flat. I can't help but wonder whether the lack of vanilla in the bar may contribute to that somewhat. Frankly, this chocolate bar reminded me of some of the chocolate that I remember from generic Easter and Christmas candy as a child. And that is certainly not a good thing. I'm hoping that the other bars I picked up from Kilwin's are better this one from Tanzania.

Manufacturer: Lindt
Cocoa Content: 99%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Last, but certainly not least, we come to the big bad 99% Cocoa dark chocolate bar from Lindt. This one is not for the faint of heart. This is as close to eating pure unsweetened chocolate as you can get. The bar itself is fairly thin, and the squares it is divided into are rather small compared to your standard dark chocolate bar. This is for good reason as a little bit really does go a long way here.

The Lindt Excellence 99% Cocoa bar is dark ebony, nearly black, in color. There is a strong bitterness that hits the palate almost immediately. After a moment, the bitterness subsides enough to notice the rich, deep chocolate flavor. There are roasted coffee notes, along with earthiness, nuts and a hint of tofu flavors. Chewing the Lindt 99% bar opens up more earthiness and some tobacco notes. The mouthfeel is smooth and rather thick. The finish is that of a strong dark espresso with some peat and coffee grounds. The finish lingers for a good long while. I could still detect bitter coffee notes more than 20 minutes later.

The Lindt Excellence 99% Cocoa Dark Chocolate is an interesting novelty. It is well worth it for serious chocolate tasters to give this a try. It is a good match for scotch and espresso if you're looking for something to savor. For my tastes, however, this is just a little too potent to want to try more than once every great while. Chocolates on the 85%-90% range tend to show as much of the rich chocolate flavor that the 99% does without overloading the palate.

Manufacturer: Lindt
Cocoa Content: 90%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A

Today we continue to climb the ladder to 90% Cocoa percentage in the Lindt Supreme Dark Chocolate Bar. The Supreme Dark is deep ebony in color, with a hint of reddish-orange along the snap line. It has a very firm, hard snap to it. The Supreme Dark has bitterness and some smokiness up front on the palate. There is a deep chocolate flavor. Some faint acidity is present with notes of cherries. There are also notes of almonds and earthiness. Chewing the chocolate releases notes of tobacco, pepper and vanilla.

The 90% Supreme Dark has a smooth mouthfeel with just a slight hint of grittiness. There is also a tannin-like astringency. The finish lingers with strong chocolate flavor. While the level of bitterness may mask some of the more complex flavors in its lower cocoa percentage brethren, this is made up in spades by intense chocolate flavor. This is definitely not a chocolate bar that most people would eat in one sitting, but it is well-suited to savor a few pieces at a time. This is one chocolate where the higher cocoa level really brings out an intense chocolate flavor.

Manufacturer: Lindt
Cocoa Content: 85%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A-

Continuing on with out flight of Lindt Dark Chocolate is the 85% Cocoa Extra Dark. The Extra Dark is dark blackish-brown in color. It has a nice firm snap to it. First to hit the palate are some faint roasted notes. From there bitterness starts to take over. There is also some acidity notable. Notes of citrus, ash and plum are present. Chewing the chocolate seems to de-emphasize the bitterness to a small degree. Notes of earthiness, tobacco and black pepper are detectable upon chewing the chocolate.

The Lindt 85% Extra Dark Chocolate has a fairly thick, almost pasty mouthfeel. There is a fine hint of grit, and a slight pucker from the acidity. The finish lingers with notes of tobacco and finally fading to a creamy latte flavor. While I generally prefer chocolate in the 70% cocoa range that is more suited to snacking, this chocolate has some great complexity in its flavor. The bitterness is strong without being overpowering. If you're ready to step up to some higher cocoa percentage chocolates, this is a great place to start.

Manufacturer: Lindt
Cocoa Content: 70%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A

Up next for today we have the 70% Cocoa Lindt dark chocolate bar. The Intense Dark is a deep, dark mahohany color. It breaks with a firm snap. The initial flavor notes are light roasted notes with some light bitterness. From there acidity hits the tongue and starts to build with a citrusy squirt of lemon. The level of sweetness is well balanced. Chewing the chocolate brings some sweet fruit notes to mix in with the acidity with notes of black cherry and mango.

The Lindt Intense Dark has a smooth mouthfeel. There is a slight puckering sensation from the acidity. The finish is rather short with the acid fading out first leaving a faint espresso note. All in all, this is a damn good chocolate. I've found that a lot of the European chocolatiers tend to shy away from bold acidity in their chocolate, so this is a refreshing change. This is a must try for dark chocolate fans.

Manufacturer: Lindt
Cocoa Content: 50%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

First up for review in our flight of Lindt dark chocolate is the 50% Cocoa Smooth Dark chocolate bar. The Smooth Dark is deep mahogany in color. It has a firm snap to it with a hint of deep brownish-red visible on the snap line.

The flavor profile of the Lindt 50% cocoa bar is fairly sweet. There are notes of cocoa, marshmallow, cherries, banana and caramel. The Smooth Dark bar has little bitterness or acidity to speak of. There is a smooth, slightly thin mouthfeel with a creamy cocoa finish. This is a good example of the typical flavors present in a low-cocoa percentage dark chocolate, but the flavors seemed to taste a bit watered down for my liking.

It's been a while since we've featured chocolate here, so for this week I have a full flight of dark chocolate lined up from Lindt. Most of you are familiar with the very tasty Lindor Truffles that have become ubiquitous as impulse buys at the cashier of so many retailers. Lindt also produces a great line of dark chocolate. This week we will be featuring a flight of Lindt dark chocolate tastings starting with their 50% cocoa bar and working all the way up to their big bad 99% cocoa chocolate.

Day 1: Lindt Excellence Smooth Dark 50% Cocoa Bar
Day 2: Lindt Excellence Intense Dark 70% Cocoa Bar
Day 3: Lindt Excellence Extra Dark 85% Cocoa Bar
Day 4: Lindt Excellence Supreme Dark 90% Cocoa Bar
Day 5: Lindt Excellence 99% Cocoa Bar