Today we are tasting a chocolate that is a bit more accessible than most of the others we typically review here on The Dark Chocolate Blog. Today we have the Godiva Solid Dark Chocolate bar. This is the 1.5 ounce bar you typically find at the cash register in book stores and the like. There is no cocoa percentage listed on the package. The bar itself has four rather thick squares embossed with a "G", and is nicely textured with crisp embossing. The bar is a deep mahogany/rosewood color. The snap is notably soft, especially for such a thick bar. The nose has a distinct coconut aroma.

On the palate there is a dominant, very sweet coconut flavor that really buries the chocolate flavor on this bar. There are some notes of chocolate milk and caramel, and loads of sweetness. Chewing the Godiva Solid Dark Chocolate hints at nuts and cedar before another big wave of coconut rolls in. The finish is overly sweet with notes of coconut milk and caramel.

I’ve had several good chocolates from Godiva before, so I was surprised at just how bad this chocolate was. The Solid Dark Chocolate bar was sickly sweet with overpowering coconut flavors, and not much chocolate flavor to speak of. Stay away from this one.

Manufacturer: Patric
Cocoa Content: 70%
Location: Venezuela
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A

Today we are tasting Patric's Rio Caribe Superior dark chocolate bar. This is a single-source bar made from cacao produced near Rio Caribe, Venezuela, a town referred to as "City of the Masters of Cacao". The bar is mahogany in color with orange and red highlights. The nose detects cocoa, espresso and dried fruit.

There is a rich chocolate note up front on the palate. Fruity acidity then builds. There are notes of stone fruit, with a very distinct cherry flavor which goes between bing and maraschinos, along with a bit of nectarine. Nutty notes of walnut and almonds are here along with pistachio. There is a sweet, latte-like creaminess as well. Chewing the Rio Caribe Superior leads to almonds, cherries and leather. The mouthfeel is smooth, thick and creamy. The sweet creaminess carries into the finish and leaves me with the impression of a pistachio sundae covered with chocolate and cherry syrup and sprinkled with nuts.

Color me impressed with the Patric Rio Caribe bar. There is a great, distinct cherry note here that plays well with the rich chocolate, as well as the supporting notes of sweetened coffee and nuts. The construction is perfect as well. This is really a fantastic chocolate that I highly recommend.

Manufacturer: Theo
Cocoa Content: 74%
Location: Madagascar
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Today's chocolate is a 74% cacao dark chocolate from Theo. This bar is made from Madagascan cacao beans. The bar is a light mahogany in color with some orange highlights, which is typical for Madagascan chocolate. The nose has woody cocoa aromas.

The first impression on the palate is chocolate with bright citrus notes. The acidity is immediately present, but it is not overpowering. Citrus notes of lemonade, fresh squeezed lime juice and orange juice are all present. Other fruit notes are blackberries and juicy red wine. Other flavor notes include vanilla and some woodiness. Chewing the Theo Madagascar highlights lemonade, cherries and brownie batter. The mouthfeel has some slight grit/graininess. There is a touch of cooling sensation as well. The finish has lemonade, marshmallow and oak.

Theo has a bar that really makes for a good reference for the typical Madagascan chocolate. The color and the citrus flavor are classic Madagascan characteristics. There is some nice fruitiness without ever losing the chocolate flavor. My only compalint is that the texture is a near miss. If you're starting to get into single origin chocolates, I highly recommend the Theo Madagascar as a reference for what good Madagascan chocolate brings to the table.

Manufacturer: Dagoba
Cocoa Content: 87%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B-

I never thought I'd be reviewing a chocolate bar named after a book in the Twilight series, but I when saw "Dagoba" and "87%" on the label I knew I couldn't leave Whole Foods without this chocolate. The Eclipse is mahogany in color with lots of clay-red coloration. The nose has a chocolate liqueur aroma with highlights of wood and herbs.

On the palate there is a bitter note up front that hints at espresso. The bitterness is rather sharp, although not necessarily out of place in an 87% cacao dark chocolate. There is some acidity here, but it sits in the background. There is a hint of orange-citrus notes along with some woodiness. There is also a notable, tannic red wine note. Chewing the Eclipse brings forward notes of oak, cherries and cinnamon. The mouthfeel is astringent with some cooling sensation. The melt is mostly smooth with just a faint hint of grit. The finish has espresso and wine with woody undertones.

Having recently tasted several excellent chocolates in the 99-100% cocoa range, I must admit I was a little disappointed in the Dagoba Eclipse bar. At 87%, the bitterness level seemed higher than some of the better 99-100% chocolates. There was quite a bit of astringency, reminiscent of a red wine with loads of tannins. I found this to be a bit much and it definitely seemed to throw the chocolate out of balance. What it boils down to is that the Eclipse meets my expectations of a chocolate bar named after a sparkly vampire movie, but I was hoping for much more from Dagoba.

Manufacturer: Domori
Cocoa Content: 75%
Location: Venezuela
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A-

Today's tasting is the award-winning Domori Puertomar. The Puertomar is part of the same Criollo line as Domori's Puertofino and Porcelana. The bar is deep mahogany in color with purple highlights. The nose detects a deep chocolate aroma with cherry jam.

The immediate impression on the palate is rich chocolate with Domori's typical jamminess. Distinct notes of bread and caramel are here. There is a moderate level of acidity but lots of fruitiness. Red raspberries, pomegranate, Rainier cherries and orange are all here. There is a notable bitter espresso component, but the bitter kick is somewhat mitigated by all the fruitiness. The bitterness does seem to fade in and out in waves, and combines with the fruit to leave an impression of hops. Chewing the Puertomar opens up sweet cherries, mint and tobacco. The mouthfeel is smooth with a slight cooling sensation. The finish is jammy with cherries and shortbread cookies.

The Puertomar is instantly recognizable as Domori with the big fruitiness and jammy flavor. I find the overall flavor to be similar to their Porcelana, but the fruit tends to be a bit less "in your face". There are some big jam/fruit notes here, but the great thing is that the chocolate flavor never gets lost. Another classic from Domori here.

Manufacturer: Valrhona
Cocoa Content: 64%
Location: Venezuela
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B+

Today's tasting is the 2009 vintage of the Valrhona Palmira. The Palmira Estates where these criollo beans are grown is located near Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, the home of some of the world’s finest cacao. The Palmira is an orange-mahogany in color. The nose is on the lighter side with some aromas of earthy chocolate.

The first impression on the palate is sweet chocolate with herbal (mint in particular) and earthy notes. Acidity slowly builds, along with nuttiness and roasted flavors. Acidity leads to notes of citrus and sour cherries. There are roasted notes of roast cashews and medium-roast coffee along with some notable earthiness. Chewing the Palmira opens up cherries, leather and earth notes. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with some cooling sensation. The finish has coffee, cherry pie, mint and nuts.

I have some mixed feelings about the Valrhona Palmira. On one hand, there is a wealth of complexity in this chocolate bar. But on the other hand, there is a notable lack of rich chocolate flavor. It may well be that I am experiencing this chocolate past its prime as this is the 2009 vintage. Still, this chocolate does show a lot of promise for vintaged single-origin chocolate. I'll be curious to see how more recent vintages compare to this one.

Manufacturer: Patric Chocolate
Cocoa Content: 70%
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A-

Today we're tasting the Patric Signature Blend, which is a 70% dark chocolate bar. The bar itself is quite eye-catching as it is emblazoned with the Patric logo and has a textured finish. Notably absent are the squares most chocolate bars are divided into. The bar is mahogany in color with some red streaks showing along the edge when snapped. The nose has chocolate and coffee notes which, while pleasing, seem to be pretty standard fare.

On the palate there is coffee initially, followed by building acidity. The acidity brings forward both lemony citrus notes as well as berry notes of blackberries and blueberries. All the while there are nutty notes competing with to be heard over the fruitiness, with almond and hazelnut. Espresso then comes back along with a light oaky highlight. Chewing the Patric Signature Blend leads to sweet nuttiness of pistachio and cashew as well as sour cherry/blackberry notes. The mouthfeel is smooth, creamy and a bit juicy with some cooling sensation. The finish continues the complexity with mocha coffee taking the lead and supported by lemon zest, almond, caramel and chocolate milk.

In contrast with the Amedei "9", the Patric Signature Blend takes a different approach in blended chocolate with some very bold flavors and acidity. The end result is still a great, complex chocolate that let's the beans' flavor shine through. Bold fruit is dominant here, and the citrus leads me to believe that there is some Madagascan chocolate in the blend. Coffee and nuts are pretty big components here as well. The flavors have a great evolution as new flavors are constantly introducing themselves throughout the melt and finish. The one drawback is that the wealth of bold flavors tends to hide the actual chocolate flavor a bit. When the chocolate does finally kick in it reminds me a lot of milk chocolate with caramel and creamy undertones, which is very interesting for a dark chocolate. The Patric Signature blend is quite snackable because of this. This is a great blended chocolate. I can't wait to dig into some of their single-source bars.