Manufacturer: Pralus
Cocoa Content: 75%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Up next is another tasting from Pralus's dark chocolate "Pyramide des Tropiques". Today we have the Pralus Trinidad up for review. The Trinidad is deep brown in color with merlot highlights. The first impression on the palate is a rich chocolate flavor with a noderate bitter kick. The flavors that open up are earthy with herbal and vegetal notes, similar to grilled asparagus. There is a hint of spice. A mild acidity is present that gives rise to some citrus and black cherry notes.

Chewing the Pralus Trinidad opens up more earthy notes along with some tobacco. There is a slight grittiness to the texture as the chocolate melts on the tongue. The finish is well-balanced with smoke, bitterness, slight acidity and herbal earthiness all present. The lingering herbal and bitterness do lend themselves to a slightly medicinal taste on the tail end.

Overall, the Pralus Trinidad has a good chocolate flavor. Like many other selections from the Pralus Pyramide, the taste profile of the Trinidad is very distinct. The Trinidad focuses on aromatics, herbs and earthy flavor notes to create a unique chocolate experience.

Manufacturer: Michel Cluizel
Cocoa Content: 66%
Location: Venezuela
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Our next review from Michel Cluizel's 1ier Cru de Plantation line is the "Concepcion" from Venezuela. The Concepcion bar is deep brown in color with faint purple hues. On the palate, the Concepcion has a nuttiness with peanut and walnut notes. There is a moderate acidity that brings out citrus, blackberry and dark cherries. Vanilla, roasted notes and "grilled" notes are also detectable.

Chewing the chocolate opens up notes of grilled vegetables, earthy/mushroom flavors and sweet lemonade citrus notes. The finish has a nuttiness along with a bitter note that combine to leave the impression of hazelnuts. The Concepcion's mouthfeel is smooth and creamy.

While the Concepcion didn't quite "wow" me the way the other chocolates from the 1er Cru de Plantation line have, this is still quite a tasty chocolate. Michel Cluizel's chocolates always seem to have just the right texture, along with balanced acidity and complex flavor. What more can you ask for?

Manufacturer: Guittard Chocolate Company
Cocoa Content: 65%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

Up for review today is the Ambanja dark chocolate from E. Guittard. The Ambanja is made from Criollo cocoa beans from the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. The bar is rather light brown in color for a 65% cacao chocolate, along with some orange/red/yellow highlights. The Ambanja leads with a rich chocolate flavor on the palate that has notable, yet balanced, sweetness. Acidity slowly builds to a moderate level. Red fruit notes of pomegranate and cherry are present, along with a banana/plantain note. Some floral and herbal flavors are present as well.

Chewing the Ambanja opens up sweet aromatics of vanilla and caramel, along with some floral notes. The finish has cherries over a faint bitter note. The mouthfeel has some barely noticable grit, but is otherwise thick and creamy. While the Ambanja leaves a nice initial impression, I find that the floral notes clash a bit with the bitterness and acidity in a way that ends up leaving a bit of a medicinal aftertaste. A decent chocolate, but has some room for improvement.

Manufacturer: Pralus
Cocoa Content: 75%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Today's tasting is yet another dark chocolate from Pralus's "Pyramide des Tropiques". As you can probably guess, the cocoa in the "Tanzanie" dark chocolate bar comes from Tanzania, which is located just south of Kenya on the east coast of Africa. The chocolate bar is dark mahogany in color with hints of orange and red. The initial flavor impression is a bitter note resembling black coffee or bitter, IPA-style hops. There is an acidity that builds and highlights orange and citrus notes along with tart berries.

Chewing the Tanzanie dark chocolate brings forward floral and herbal notes, along with cherries, tobacco and pepper. The finish is rather long with a bitter/tannin note resembling hop flowers, along with some fruit notes and a hint of spice. The texture of the Tanzanie has a bit of grittiness to it.

I really found the flavor of this bar to be quite interesting. The bitterness plays off the floral/herbal flavors as well as the citrus notes to give the impression of a hoppy India Pale Ale. Being a big fan of hoppy beer, I really enjoyed this flavor combo. The only thing keeping this chocolate bar from scoring higher was some texture issues. This chocolate is well worth searching out if you like both bitter beer and bitter chocolate.