Dumon bars from the manufacturer, eaten in Belgium

This is the brand that I had packed in my suitcase for the
picnic but somehow disappeared between entrances into the US.

- dark with pistachio/pecan - good chocolate flavor, but the
nuts were beyond their first youth. I found this in the
basement of the Dumon store, where one glum antisocial
woman (the owner's younger sister, it appears) was hiding
out along with this bar.

- dark with ginger bits - same good chocolate liberally
salted with some of the best candied ginger I've had. A+

- dark, plain - the chocolate is 60-70, very intense but
slightly sweet to my taste. Great flavor, I thought one of
the smoothest and most satisfying chocolates of the year.

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Original Happiness is a fancy brand of Delhaize Le Lion,
a unit of Royal Ahold, which also has Giant and Stop & Shop.
Would we could get chocolate of this quality in the
supermarkets over here.

Peru 64 - a strange solventy almost alcoholic opening,
followed by a deep fruitiness. Much bitterer than the
64 would indicate, and a good strong cocoa finish.

Costa Rica 71 - superb smooth pure chocolate flavor, a
little coffee midpalate, a bit of a dusty cocoa nibs
finish. For 1.49 the 100 g bar, one of the better deals
I've seen in recent years.

Tanzania 72 - very smooth, sweeter than I'd have expected,
Coffeeish, caramelly, a bit of dark fruits along the lines
of black cherry, plum, raisin; you might almost say winey.
Pleasant.

Uganda 80 - this was really fruity and really delicious,
with tropical notes and an incredibly long alomst raspberry
finish. It went great with red wine.

Q Chocolate Bianca - a cheaper brand from Belgium

55 - peanutty nose, chocolate-coconut palate, long chocolate
finish, not quite so sweet as I'd suspected given the cacao
percentage; okay plus.

85 - extremely smoky, musty taste, still too sweet -
probably the first non-Hershey dark chocolate I've
disliked for the past decade or more. Dense woodsmoky
tarry finish. A peculiar product, maybe the end of the
barrel or something.

Market Basket cold brew espresso 70% cacao premium dark
chocolate - I've written about my disappointment with the
chain's switch of chocolate suppliers from a Polish factory
to an American one. Not because of the sentiment (Poland
having generally been ideologically and governmentally
dubious for a very long time) but because of the
inferiority of the US product, which I suspect comes from Nestle/Mondelez/Cadbury. This is a less bad offering, a
bit chocolaty, fairly smooth with bits of what I suspect
to be something like Folger's crystals. A little too sweet
but balanced with bitterness. Aroma and taste neutrally
waxy chocolaty like many lower-end products. A bit of a
coffee kick on the finish almost redeems it.

Lagusta's Luscious 66% (Poughkeepsie, NY) - robust dark
flavor with a touch of cafe au lait finish. Very pleasant
- the place calls this semisweet, whereas most would
characterize it as bittersweet. Costs twice what it should.
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