GHIRARDELLI INTENSE DARK Chocolate Bar, 86% Cacao, 3.17 Oz Bar (Pack of 4)

If you're wondering what percentage cacao chocolate to get, I can describe this 86% as having just enough sugar to take the ragged edge off of the strong bitter astringency of plain cacao but not enough to make it perceivably sweet. It's bitter. (86% is the percent of cacao, the rest is mostly sugar, milk powder and butterfat). I've seen 90+% cacao chocolate, I have to question the point. To melt and bake with sure, but not to eat. If you're going to bake with it, get unsweetened baker's chocolate. I drink straight espresso all day long, I like bitter, but 90-95% cacao is too much. I'm heavy into keto and daily intermittent fasting- a square of bitter chocolate per day indulges me with keto positive, heart healthy fat and without much sugar. If you want a slightly sweet chocolate, get 70%. My favorite thing to do with very dark chocolate like this is to sprinkle a little salt on it- Himalayan pink salt. It makes it taste slightly sweeter and the interplay of bitter chocolate with salt, what it does inside your mouth is magical. Alchemy. You can sprinkle sugar on top as well to take off some of the bitter edge. Some hot ground chile- cayenne. Garam masala is outstanding. It's a great canvas. I'll sometimes melt a thin layer on top with a BBQ lighter or creme brulee torch then sprinkle the salt into the melted chocolate so it hardens and sticks. And it's great by itself for the purity of high quality cacao. Oh, and it has a LOT of caffeine and theobromine. 1 square will have you fidgeting.

I love this cacao. It’s smooth tasting and arrived in perfect condition. I’m giving up cocoa for cacao because it’s not highly processed. I decided to take a chance and I’m glad I did.

Delicious smooth dark chocolate. You can tell it’s premium dark chocolate. Comparable to Swiss chocolates. Eat it sparingly since it’s so rich.

Good value. Wish they were still in stock.

Delicious, if you like dark chocolate

Maybe, I just got lucky, but after ordering this due to the health benefits, I found out it's one of the best. What's it best for you might ask well, there's a problem with many of the biggest name brands of dark and not so dark chocolate. Heavy metals, specifically Cadmium and Lead. Some brands have 200 percent more than the recommended safe level. This 86 percent dark had low levels of both better than the majority of name brand chocolate. As for taste, I know someone who can't stand any level of dark chocolate. A level over 20 percent cacao would turn her off. As a benefit she always gives me any dark chocolate items she gets. She loves white chocolate, which I don't believe is chocolate at all just coco butter. That said I like dark chocolate, but 100 percent is too bitter, and not crazy about 92 percent, however 86 percent is delicious and for chocolate lovers should be no problem. So, what is the reason for eating a small amount perhaps an ounce daily. Well especially when we get older, an important component to healing is stem cells. Did you know that you can grow back part of a lung, lobes of the liver and granulate back deep layers of skin tissue. I know that last one having had some skin surgeries in the past. Well, stem cells, undifferentiated, can be programmed to make and grow lots of repairs. The body renews itself all the time, but there are less circulating in the blood stream as we age. According to several studies, dark chocolate around 80 percent or higher can double the number of stem cells circulating in the blood vessels. I've started to each an ounce daily and this is a relatively safe quality brand compared to others. Recommended.

I never do reviews, but this is ridiculous: it is obvious that these were from lots that were exposed to high heat, etc, and if you happen to get a good case, you are lucky. The pack I got basically had one set of squares on one end melted and discolored, so 1/4 of the bar was inedible, although for several of the bars, half the bar was throwaway. I purchased and had these shipped in November and I live in a northern state, so this did not happen in shipping. Here's a photo of a bar. I was hoping that these were simply wholesale or bulk purchase, but these were obviously from damage lots. Buyer beware.

Definite dark unsweet

The chocolate was very dry and not edible