Green & Black's: 85% Cacao Dark

The folks at Divine Chocolate, who made that simple but nice hazelnut milk chocolate bar that I discussed yesterday, aren’t the only British company shipping their goods over to the U.S. for sale at your local grocery store. Green & Black’s also makes a wide variety of bars that you might find at your neighborhood supermarket –in fact, I spied this Green & Black’s 85% dark chocolate bar at the Giant down the street from me.

This particular bar, made from trinitario beans, has a strong vanilla aroma, which comes along with a hint of figs and banana. The texture is top-notch, with a buttery, almost creamy melt, with no hint of dryness – an impressive accomplishment for a bar with such a high cacao content.

At first, the bar is bitter with a backdrop of vanilla, but a fruity flavor develops as the chocolate melts, with a distinct banana note emerging near the end. A hint of refreshing spearmint is also evident throughout, and adds complexity to the flavor of the bar while cutting back on the bitterness. It is a well-textured bar with a balanced flavor that isn’t overwhelmingly bitter.

Now we all know what we’ll find in my shopping cart next to the zucchini and pears.

What kind of chocolate can you get from your local supermarket? Anything good?