Lindt 90%, Theo 85%, Chocolove 77%, and Green and Black 70%

So I ate some chocolate bars and didn't take pictures.  Here are some quick thought:

Theo's 85% bar is disappointing.  I often find 85% bars disappointing, and I'm not sure why.  I think maybe they are just sweet enough that you don't get the Pure Chocolate Feeling of 90% but still bitter enough that the sweet taste feels a bit fruity?  Or in this case raisin-y?  Or maybe I just call everything I don't like either "fruity" or "raisiny" as a post-hoc explanation?  I'm not sure.  I think I'm still bitter that they discontinued their 91% special edition Venezuelan-origin bar, which was maybe the best bar I've ever had.  That said, I usually like Theo, so maybe just avoid this bar.

Green and Black's 70% was much better.  There was really nothing special about it, but it tasted like 70% chocolate, which, when you think about it, is something really damned special about it.  I'll eat that stuff all day.

I also had Lindt's 90% (for the 100th time since I reviewed it) and Chocolove's 77% (for the first time since I reviewed it), and my opinions were unchanged.

This is also a good time to talk a little bit about tempering and chocolate storage.  All these bars were purchased at bodegas.  Bodegas increasingly have a good selection of chocolate, but they do not do a good job of storing them.  As a result, they freeze or melt (as the season demands) and then reform "good as new."  But it's not good as new, and you can tell.  They lose their shine and their snap, and there is often white bloom all over them.  But worse is the texture problem.  You bite in, and they crumble in your mouth.  Or they are waxy.  In fact, the reason I went so long without eating a Green and Black bar was because I used to buy them in bodegas, and they were super waxy and gross.  This bodega had done a better job of storage, and the bar was leagues better.  In contrast, the Lindt bar's texture was all wrong -- Duane Reade's perfect air conditioning generally keeps the bars in much better shape than whichever bodega served me the bar more recently.

Bottom Line: Where you buy the bar of chocolate can be almost as important as which bar you buy.  Unfortunately, there's no good way to find out a shop's ability to store chocolate until you open the bar.  But once you do, it's important to keep track.

Guest Post by Angel: El Ceibo 77% Cocoa Nibs & Uyuni Salt

Angel, a great friend of the blog and the only person we know who is as into chocolate as we are, was kind enough to grace us with a review of El Ceibo's nibs+salt bar.  Her words and pictures follow:

The El Ceibo is not the best, but it is good.  It has a smooth velvety texture.  The taste is fruity with a nice sweet/bitter balance.  The aftertaste is slightly milky and bitter.  It's strangely not very nibby or salty.  I wouldn't even notice the salt if I hadn't seen the label.

After nibbling on it at work for a few days, I realized that I was just eating it because it was there, not because I craved it. I think the fruity profile of the chocolate was just a bit too much. I would eat it if offered, but I would not buy it again.

Bottom Line:  It is perfectly serviceable chocolate, but I would not go out of my way for it.

Storm Rations B4: Chocolove 77%

Chocolove is an extremely reliable brand.  I've never had a bad bar of theirs, and the 77% is no exception.

The bar is simple and chocolatey.  It's uncomplicated.  It sits at a nice percentage, where high percentage lovers will not think it overly sweet, but they can share the bar with far more casual chocolate fans.

I also like the design of the bar.  It breaks easily, into nicely sized pieces.  There is this trend to have giant pieces in bars, and I never really understood the advantage to that.  Chocolove does not fall into this trap.

Bottom Line:  A simple, nice bar of chocolate.  Can't go wrong.