Manufacturer: Ghirardelli
Cocoa Content: 72%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Up for review today is the Twilight Delight. This dark chocolate weighs in at 72% cocoa and occupies the middle of Ghirardelli's Intense Dark line based on cocoa content. The Twilight Delight is deep brown in color with reddish-orange highlights.

The Twilight Delight has a rich chocolate note up front. Acidity slowly builds to a moderate level with notes of orange peel and red raspberries. There is a mild bitter kick of black coffee. Roasted walnuts and almonds are here as well as a faint earthy note in the background. The Twilight Delight melts smooth and creamy on the tongue. Chewing the chocolate brings forward notes of vanilla, walnuts and a faint earthiness. The finish is straight-ahead semisweet chocolate with lingering espresso bitterness and a hint of lemonade.

While it does little to set itself apart from the crowd, the Twilight Delight is a very good dark chocolate bar. What it lacks in complexity it makes up for in rich chocolate flavor. I'd love to see Ghirardelli branch out into some single-source chocolates, because this bar shows their potential for producing top-notch chocolate.

Manufacturer: Ghirardelli
Cocoa Content: 86%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B-

Today's tasting is Ghirardelli's dark chocolate bar with the highest percentage cocoa, the Midnight Reverie. The Midnight Reverie is deep ebony in color with some reddish-orange highlights. The initial flavor impression is unsweetened cocoa. There is notable espresso-like bitterness. Acidity starts out mild and builds to a moderate level with notes of orange, sour cherry, blackberry and citrusy hop flowers. There are some herbal and earthy undertones as well.

Chewing the Midnight Reverie brings out notes of citrus along with faint spice and earthy notes. The Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie has a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that is slightly drying. The finish has espresso, citrus and herbal notes.

The Ghirardelli Midnight Reverie is a decent chocolate with some nice flavor. It is somewhat lacking in the complexity department, and it is missing the powerful chocolate flavor I would expect from a chocolate in the 80%+ cocoa range.

Manufacturer: Ghirardelli
Cocoa Content: 60%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B-

Up for review today is the "Evening Dream", which is a 60% cacao chocolate bar from Ghirardelli's Intense Dark line of dark chocolate. The Evening Dream is deep brown in color with a hint of orange-red. It has a deep, rich chocolate flavor. There is a hint of bitterness present. Red fruit flavors of sweet cherries and pomegranate are highlighted by a mild acidity. Nutty notes of chestnut and walnut are present along with sweet notes of vanilla and marshmallow.

Chewing the Evening Dream bar brings forward notes of of vanilla and hot cocoa, but a funny bitter undertone is also highlighted. The Ghirardelli Evening Dream has a smooth mouthfeel. The finish is short and chocolatey, with a hint of pomegranate.

I found the Ghirardelli Intense Dark Evening Dream to have a nice flavor, but it was rather lacking in the complexity department. There was a slight off taste with the bitter note that keeps this from scoring higher marks. I am looking forward to tasting some of the darker chocolates from this line, in hopes that the higher cocoa content will open up greater complexity.