Chocolove Dark Chocolate with Candied Ginger and Altereco Dark Twist Chocolate

Chocolove is a Boulder Colorado chocolatier that's been in business about ten years. They began marketing their chocolates to organic food stores, and gradually expanded to larger "gourmet" chains like Gelson's and Bristol Farms. Chocolove's Web site also does a brisk business. The branding and name revolves around using all natural high quality chocolate that's packaged to resemble a love letter, down to a poem printed inside each wrapper. The branding includes being very clear about the ingredients of each bar, including clearly displaying the cocoa content on the front of each bar.

I tried the "Dark Chocolate with Candied Ginger" with 65% cocoa. The chocolate is a rich, dense, Belgian chocolate made with beans from Africa and the Caribbean. The ginger is Australian crystalized ginger. The dark chocolate, and the tart, slightly "hot" quality of the ginger are a fabulous combination. This is the kind of chocolate that is best shared, or consumed slowly, possibly with the right cognac.

I picked up a bar of Altereco's Dark Twist Chocolate at the local bargain grocery store. A 3.5 oz bar of the chocolate, made with organic and Fair Trade ingredients by a Swiss chocolatier, cost $0.99. The Website lists the same bar for $5.29. It's a very dark chocolate; the labeling doesn't specify the cocoa percentage, merely "minimum 57%." The bar includes crystalized candied orange peel and orange essence, as well as Bolivian and Dominican cocoa.

I'd be happier if the cocoa content were just a little higher, but this is a very good bar. It's what I hoped the Endangered Species Zebra bar, also dark chocolate with orange essence, would be. It's quite good, and, particularly at the price I paid, well worth going back for more.