Chocolate Tasting Results 2000 - 2004

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2005 18 chocolates tested
2004 22 chocolates tested
2003 32 chocolates tested
2002B 27 chocolates tested
2002A 34 chocolates tested
2001 21 chocolates tested
2000 43 chocolates tested

2005

Very stiff competition this year. All of the top chocolates are repeat offenders. Surprinsingly, last year's Italian strong men fell out of the competition. I believe it is the first time a French chocolate has won.

Top Ten:

Maker	Name	%	Country	Price	Score	First Round Score
Bernard Castelain	Tradition	71	France	$7.50	4.03	3.79
Trader Joe's	Pound Plus	70	Belgium	$3.95 (500 gm)	3.99	3.87
Cote d'Or	Noir de Noir Intense	70	Belgium	$3.99	3.95	3.73
Dolfin	Chocolat Noir	70	Belgium	$3.45	3.85	3.87
Chocolove	Strong Dark	70	Belgium	$2.19 (90gm)	3.83	3.83
Michel Cluizel	Amer	72	France	$5.10	3.82	3.63
Chocovic	Guyave	71	Spain	$3.95 (80 gm)	3.74	3.63
Trader Joe's	Organic 73%	73	Belgium		3.64	3.70
Bernard Castelain	Macaibo	70	France		3.56	3.75

Average = 3.81

Runners-up:

Maker	Name	%	Country	Price	Score
Chocolove	Sao Tome	78	Belgium		3.61
Guittard	Sur del Lago	65	US	$3.50	3.23
Slitti	Gran Cacao	73	Italy	$8.95	3.19
Slitti	Lattenero	70	Italy	$8.95	3.17
Amedei	Extra 70% Dark	70	Italy	$7.95	3.15
Venchi	Cuor di Cacao	75	Italy	$6.75	2.88
Michel Cluizel	Tamarinda	70	France		1.77

As usual, people's tastes vary considerably, with correlations ranging from 0.91 to -0.76.

2004

Where did these Italian chocolates come from? Throw them into the mix and they practically take over. Over-all, everybody agreed that these were pretty damn good chocolates. This was our first try with two rounds of tastings and it went very smoothly. And what happened to Frey Noir Speciale? It was number one just last year, now it can't even make the final.
All prices are per 100 gms unless otherwise.

Top Ten:

Maker	Name	%	Country	Price	Score	First Round Score
Amedei	La Tavoletta	70	Italy	$7.50	3.94	3.95
Cote d'Or(1)	Noir de Noir Intense	70	Belgium	$3.75	3.80	3.97
Chocolove(1)	Strong Dark	70	Belgium	$2.19 (90gm)	3.78	3.50
Slitti	Gran Cacao	73	Italy	$5.94	3.70	3.62
Cuba Venchi	Cuor di Cacao	75	Italy	$5.99	3.53	3.20
Suchard	Sensations Noir	70	Swiss		3.52	3.23
Dolfin(1)	Chocolat Noir	70	Belgium	$2.75	3.47	3.06
Trader Joe's(1)	Pound Plus	70	Belgium	$3.95 (500 gm)	3.31	3.46
Chocovic(2)	Guyave	71	Spain	$4.24 (80 gm)	3.29	3.07
Chocovic(2)	Ocamare	71	Spain	$4.24 (80 gm)	3.00	3.28

Average = 3.53

Runners-up:

Maker	Name	%	Country	Price	Score
Frey	Noir Authentique	78	Swiss		3.08
Pralus(2)	Ghana	75	France	$5.77	2.99
Caillers	Cacao Extreme	73	Swiss		2.96
Chocovic(2)	Guaranda	71	Spain	$4.24 (80 gm)	2.94
Valrhona(1)	Noir Amer	71	France	$2.20	2.92
Frey(1)	Noir Speciale	72	Swiss		2.83
Grenada Chocolate Company		71	Grenada	$5.50 (113 gm)	2.65
Galler(1)	Chocolate Noir	85	Belgium	$4.60	2.56
Café-Tasse(1)	Extra Noir	77	Belgium	$3.99	2.55
Pralus(2)	Colombie	75	France	$5.77	2.42
Pralus(2)	Madagascar	75	France	$5.77	2.23
Pralus(2)	Vanuatu	75	France	$5.77	1.19

Average (including the original scores of the top ten) = 2.98

Chocolove from Whole Foods, Trader Joe's Pound Plus and the Chocovic Ocamare and Guaranda from Trader Joe's. The Swiss ones were provided by Frankie. The rest from Chocosphere or Chef Shop.
⁽¹⁾ These are top scorers from years past. Generally they have made it into the top eight at least twice. The rest are all new to this tasting.
⁽²⁾These are all single bean varietals. That is, they are each made from a single type of bean (Forastero, Crillo or Trinatario) from a particular region.

2003

Just so people don't get complacent, this time there were two different repeats of the same chocolate (Chocolove and Rovira). In each case they were different halves of the same bar.

Kind of Chocolate	Country of Origin	Score
Frey Noir special 72%	Swiss	33.0
Baratti 70%	Italian	31.5
Chocolove 70%	Belgium	30.5
Sainsbury Belgian Plain 72%	Belgium	30.2
Thorntons Dark 70%	Belgium	30.0
Poulain 1848 Noir 76%	France	29.9
Gaston Total Eclipse 72%	Belgium	29.6
Starbucks Dark 70%	Germany	29.4
Rovira Rajoles 70%	Spain	29.1
Chocolove 70%	Belgium	28.4
Dolfin Noir 70%	Belgium	28.0
Valhrona Noir Amer 72%	France	27.6
Munz - 70%	Swiss	27.5
Cote d'Or Noir de Noir 70%	Belgium	27.0
Valrhona Guanaja 70%	France	27.0
Rovira Rajoles 70%	Spain	26.7
Villars Swiss Dark 72%	Swiss	26.5
Castelain Macaibo 70%	France	26.3
Galler Chocolate Noir 85%	Belgium	26
Average		25.5
Desiree ?	Belgium?	25.0
Lindt 70%	Swiss	24.9
Sharffen Berger 70%	USA	24.8
Cluizel Amer Brut 72%	France	24.1
Dagoba new Moon 74%	USA	22.3
Cadbury Bourneville 76%	France	22.2
Nestle - Intense 74%	France	20.8
Droste 72%	Holland	20.5
Rechiutti 85%	USA	18.3
Dolfin Noir 88%	Belgium	18.2
Castelain Extreme 85	France	17.6
Valor Pure Dark 70%	Spain	17.0
Cote d'or Brut 86	Belgium	16.8

2002b

We did a special extra tasting before Christmas. The winner was an unknown Belgian Chocolate from Desiree's in Sunnyvale. The Valhrona Noir Amer was tasted twice and got very different results. Some people could swear they tasted them as different, others couldn't tell. They were two different bars, but the same kind.

Brand	Name	Percent Chocolate	Score
Unknown Belgium			57.3
Chocolove	Strong Dark	70%	56.4
Frey	Noir Special	72	55.5
Pierre Marcolini		85	54.8
Castelain	Tradition	71	53.7
Castelain	Macaibo	70	53.6
Gaston	Total Eclipse	72	53.5
Valhrona	Noir Amer	72	52.4
Caffarel	Extra Fondante	72	52.2
Cluizel	Amer Brut	72	52
Schokinag		71	52
Droste	Pastille	72	51.2
Cote d'Or	Noir de Noir	70	50.8
Sharffen-Berger		70	50.1
Cote d'Or	Sensations	70	50
Nestle	Noir Frutee	70	49.3
Pierre Marcolini		72	48.7
Average			48.0
Poulain	Ligne (San Sucre)	70	47.8
Poulain	1848 Noir	76	47
Le Gamin		77	46.8
Valhrona	Noir Amer	72	46.3
Desir	Noir de Noir	74	44.5
Poulain	1848 Noir Ultime	86	43.8
Starbrook Airlines	Extra Dark	77	43.8
Cote d'Or	Brut	86	41.6
Dolfin		88	40.5
Lindt		85	35.8
Cluizel		99	12.7

2002

I've started to limit the selection to 65% and above. There are still too many chocolates to taste before the mouth gets confused.

Brand	Name	% Chocolate	Score
Cote d'Or	Noir de Noir Intense	70	28.4
Galler	Chocolate Noir	85	27.2
Gaston	Total Eclipse	72	26.6
Chocolove		70	25.8
Callebaut	Origine Sao Thome	70	25.0
Lindt	70	70	25.0
Valhrona	Noir Amer	71	24.8
Cluizel	Ilha Toma	65	24.4
Villars	Swiss Dark	70	24.4
Valor	Pure Dark	70	24.1
Trader Joe	Pound Plus	70	23.8
Montezuma	Very Dark Organic	73	23.8
Cluizel	Amer Brut	72	23.7
Frey	Noir Special	72	23.6
Castelain	Macaibo Single Cru	70	22.8
Valhrona	Carre de Guanaja	70	22.8
Schokinag	Dark	71	22.5
Castelain	Noir Intense	77	22.0
Galler	Langues de Chat	70	21.9
Guittard	l'Harmonie	64	21.8
Galler	Noir Extreme	72	21.6
Average			21.38
Café Tasse	Extra Noir	77	21.1
Weis	Palets de Chocolate Noir	75	20.8
Bonnat	Ceylan	75	19.8
Sharffen Berger		70	19.2
Swartenbroekx		77	19.0
Teuscher	Chocolate 77	77	18.7
El Rey	Gran Saman	70	17.6
Green & Black	Organic Dark Chocolate	70	16.8
Domori	Blend #1	78	15.8
Leysieffer	Jahrgangs Schokolade	85	14.8
Bonnat	El Rosario	73	13.4
Dolfin	Noir 88 de Cacao	88	12.5
Domori	Barrique	75	12

2001

Smart money was on the French this year. Not only have they traditionally been the top placers, but one-half of the 2001 field came from the land of the parlez-vous. Just to make sure, we imported Phillipe, a French native, to bias the field. Philipe voted patriotically for the Bonnat, but nobody else liked them. Instead, the denizens of Poirot's land galloped into first, with three of four Belgium entrants placing in the top five.
The French were also the most expensive. The Bonnats ran about $6.85 at Dean and DeLuca's and Cluizel cost $5.29 at Draegers.
This year, in an attempt to reduce our choices, I limited it to 65% and above. I also recalibrated our scoring system: Taste was worth 60%, Texture 15%, and After-taste 25%. Again, most of the chocolates came from Oakville Grocery in the Stanford shopping center, with Draeger's, Dean and DeLuca's in Santa Helena and Trader Joe's providing most of the rest.

Chocolate Dark and Dastardly

% Chocolate	Name	Origin	Rank	Avg of 5 pts
72	Droste Extra Dark	Holland		2.6
70	El Rey Gran Samán	Venezuela		2.6
72	Gaston Total Eclipse	Belg	1	3.7
70	Bernard Castelain Macaibo	France	2	3.6
70	Chocolove Strong Dark	Belgium	3	3.1
77	Chocolove Extra Strong Dark	Belgium	5	3.2
71	Valrhona Noir Amer	France		3.1
70	Caley's Marching Chocolate	UK		2.7
70	Scharffen Berger	U.S.A.		3.1
70	Valrhona Guanaja	France		3.2
72	Michel Cluizel Chocoalt Amer Brut	France	4	3.3
70	Lindt Excellence	Switzerland		2.8
70	Fauchon Noir Amer	France		3.1
77	Bernard Castelain Intense	France		2.9
88	Michel Cluizel 1er Cru d'Hacienda	France		3.0
70	Swiss Noir	Swiss		2.6
75	Bonnat Madagascar	France		2.4
75	Bonnat Chuao	France		2.4
75	Bonnat Equateur	France		1.9
75	F'eo D'or	Germany		2.2
77	Swartenbroekx	Belgium		3.0
	Average			2.89

Again, Oakville Grocery in the Stanford Shopping Center had the best over-all selection, including the Gaston and the Cluizel. Dean and DeLuca's provided the Castelain and Whole Foods the Chocolove. The Chocolove is probably the best bet for your money: the Cluizel generally is the most expensive.

2000

Our plans this year are to divide the chocolates into three categories,

Bittersweet - with chocolate solids between 51% and 57%,
Mid Dark - between 58-69%,
Dark - 70-88% chocolate solids.

Interested in just my opinion?

Bittersweet

% Chocolate	Name	Origin	Rank	Total
55	Continent Noir Dessert	French		22
?	Ülker Bitter Lüks Çikolata	Turkey	2	32
55	Chocolove Dark Chocolate	Belgium	1	35
56	Valrhona Noir	France	2	32
52	Neuhaus Plain Dark Chocolate	Belgium	2	32
56	Côte d'Or Noir de Noir	Belgium		27
55	Valrhona Equatoriale	France	2	32
55	Verkade			29
54	Delicata	Dutch		26
52	Droste	Dutch		30
?	Trader Joe's	Belgium	1	35
	Average			30

Mid Dark

% Chocolate	Name	Origin	Rank	Total
60	Laboratorio Artigianale del Giandujotto	Italy	3	38
58.5	El Rey Bucare	Venezuela		30
60	Bossner No. 777 Luftschokolade	Germany		27
60	Feodora Edel-Bitter	Germany		32
60	Michel Cluizel Chocolat Amer	France	1	40
60	Callebaut Bittersweet	Belgium		30
64	Hawaiian Vintage Kea'au	USA		31
64	Hawaiian Vintage Kona Estate	USA		36
64	Van Leer Break up	USA		32
66	Michel Cluizel 1er Cru d'Hacienda Concepcion	France		33
66	Valrhona Caraïbe	France		33
65	Chocolove Rich Dark	Belgium		35
60	Luxus	Germany	2	39
	Average			34

Dark

% Chocolate	Name	Origin	Rank	Total
72	Droste Chocolade Extra Puur	Holland		30
70	El Rey Gran Samán	Venezuela		34
73	La Maison Du Chocolat Cuana	France		35
74	Nestlé Grands Chocolats Noir	France		24
70	Chocolove Strong Dark	Belgium		34
77	Chocolove Extra Strong Dark	Belgium		32
71	Valrhona Noir Amer	France		34
70	Valrhona Pastils Extra Noir	France	1	39
70	Scharffen Berger	U.S.A.		30
70	Valrhona Guanaja	France		30
72	Michel Cluizel Chocoalt Amer Brut	France	2	38
70	Lindt Excellence	Switzerland		33
70	Callebaut Extra Bittersweet	Belgium		31
70	Dolfin Chocolat Noir Extra	Belgium		31
88	Dolfin Noir Extra	Belgium	3	36
70	Swiss Noir	Swiss	1	39
77	Hachez Cocoa D'arriba			24
77	Arks Edelbitter			33
70	Kunzli			33
	Average			33

The best selection of Chocolates I've found in Sili Valley is at Oakville Grocery in the Stanford Shopping Center. Draeger's, right around the corner, is also pretty good. Whole Foods usually has Chocolove and some Valrhona. Beverages and More used to have more, but their selection is going down. Prime Chocolate, at www.primechocolate.com, provided the Hawaiian and Dolfin varietals.