For some reason I feel moved to tell you that I have 5 different bars of chocolate in my desk draw:
- 70% Irish handmade dark couverture by Ó Conaill
- 66% Caraibe Grand Cru by Valrhona
- 75% Equador Grandi Cru by Baratti & Milano
- 68% Dark Fruit and Nut by Divine
- 70% Irish Exotic Chilli by Wildes
Too much information?
Not this... 
Not enough information. Pictures would be appreciated.
You posted this yesterday so I am curious how many of those are still in the drawer today :)
Hey, looks cool to me.
It’s hard not to appreciate that post.
Let’s arrange to swap chocolate bars next time we’re at a conference together. I can bring some interesting New York chocolate makers like Jacques Torres and Martine’s among others.
Allison, yes, pictures would be fun. I’ll try to get round to that. Some of the packaging is lovely.
Perrin, that would be great. I’ve never had an American chocolate that came close to the best of the Europeans. I’d love to find one. (Remind me before OSCON.)
lcsa99, I’m more of a nibbler than a gobbler when it comes to real chocolate. I’ll usually have no more than a square or three per day.
Sometimes I’ll have a square (a piece) from each of two or three bars so I can try to work out which I like best. It’s hard to remember the subtleties and depth of the complex flavours from one day to the next. So comparing the chocolate ‘side by side’, nibble by nibble, works well.
One of my favourites was a slab of 70% single-origin Cuban chocolate from http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk – looks like it’s no longer stocked so I can’t link to it. (Here’s something similar in style: http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/St-Lucia-72-Single-Minislab-Box-P310056/) It was amazingly ‘light’ flavour for a 70% bar, almost like a milk chocolate made with cream, but a very clean taste, without any of the clacky texture or muddy tastes that milk chocolate can have. So far nothing has topped it.
So much for watching my money this month. Your description of that hotel chocolate has me drooling :)