Five Great Brands of Dark Chocolate

Late last month, the Sphere of Health wrote about the many health benefits found in dark chocolate.  Cacao contains a wide variety of antioxidants, as well as essential trace minerals and elements that are necessary for optimizing your health.  The darker the chocolate - the higher percentage of cacao, generally the greater the benefits.  One caveat to this is that when the cacao content gets up into the 75+ percent range, some people find that to be too bitter for their tastes.  Very dark chocolate can sometimes be an acquired taste.  Though, once acquired, there are few things more delectable to the taste buds.  If you have difficulty with the bitterness, you can gradually build up your taste by following the directions in this hubpage article.

An assortment of chocolate bars of varying cacao.  If your tongue is not yet acclimated to handle at least 70% cacao, scaling up by using the slightly less dark would be an effective way to gradually build up your taste.
Author Gaël Chardon, under the license (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Source http://www.flickr.com/photos/26294314@N00/5539879732/

Michel Cluizel

This French company started out as a pastry business that expanded and evolved into chocolate.  Highly regarded worldwide as one of the exceptional gourmet brands, it has been around for over 60 years.  They leave out the lecithin in their recipe.  This affects the texture to make it slightly pasty.  But it also feels very smooth in the mouth, and is exceptionally rich.  They have a wide variety of flavors.

Valrhona

This company has been around since 1922, founded in France just south of Lyon.  Their chocolate and cocoa are used in high end restaurants, including Michelin starred ones, and for good reason.  Their chocolate is considerably less bitter than many other brands at the same cacao content.  It fills your mouth with a rich, creamy sensation.

Dolfin

This is a Belgian brand that has bars with a varying range of cacao content.  They also have a very wide selection of bars that have added fruit or spice flavor to them.

Amedei 

Located in Italy, in the region of Tuscany, this company's chocolate bars have won numerous awards over the years.  The bars are of single origin, meaning the chocolate from each product is made from only one type of bean from one region.  They do not blend the cocoa beans from various regions in one product.  The downside to Amedei is that most of their bars are quite expensive.  One particular product, Amedei Porcelana, is the world's priciest.  While you will probably enjoy this brand in moderation, you will definitely get everything you paid for when you do.

Guittard

Founded in the 1850's, this American chocolate company has stood a long test of time.  Their chocolate is coverture, using extra cocoa butter.  It gives the product a very creamy flavor.  Established by a French immigrant, Etienne Guittard, the chocolate is tempered and prepared using French methods.