Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar Review

Hellooooooooo, chocolate! Today's review is of Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar. This is an 85-percent bar, meaning 85% of the ingredients come straight from the cocoa bean. Chowhound has a detailed explanation of cocoa percentages if you're interested.

Dark chocolate is widely considered to start at 55%, so this Trader Joe's bar coming in at 85% is DARK. For comparison, the straight-up, pure baking chocolate that we all probably bit into while our moms were baking (and got a mouth full of disappointment) is 100% cocoa. 

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar weighs in at 3.5 ounces and costs $1.79. Inside the box, you'll find the chocolate actually divided into two thin bars. The bars are individually packaged and scored into small rectangle pieces. 

The chocolate is described as "smooth and fruity" on the packaging. It comes from the Tumaco region of Colombia. In our store, these bars are with the other chocolate, above the ice cream section.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar Review

She said (Bridget): This is my absolute FAVORITE dark chocolate of all time! Yes, it's dark, but unlike a lot of other dark chocolate, it's not bitter. As the package states, it's smooooooth, but I don't get "fruity." What it tastes like to me...is a brownie. A rich, luscious brownie. I read a book recently all about the health benefits of dark chocolate, and after trying many, this is my dark chocolate of choice. Typically, I have a few pieces of this bar EVERY DAY! Break off a piece, place it on your tongue, and let it melt. It's heaven. While I usuallyeat this straight up, I did use it to make this ice cream recently, and oh baby...that was a smart move! 

Overall rating: 5 of 5 stars

He said (Mark): Before the review, I'll confess...I was consuming chocolate wrong. I wasn't letting it "melt in my mouth" for the full experience. If I hadn't learned that, I'd be giving this a lower rating. This 85% cacao dark chocolate bar from TJ's starts off slow and then ramps up in flavor. It's smooth. Not as smooth as milk chocolate, but still excellent. I didn't pick up on the fruity so much. I do like coffee from Colombia, so why not chocolate from there as well?

Overall rating: 4 of 5 stars

Would I buy this again? Yes! I buy a few bars on every Trader Joe's outing!

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar: Honestly I'm a little heartbroken not to give this chocolate a unanimous 5-star review (because I think it deserves it!), but still high marks from both of us! 

While I eat this straight-up 99% of the time, here are some recipes you might want to try it in:

• banana muffins with olive oil and dark chocolate (How Sweet Eats)
• dark chocolate peanut butter ice cream (Bake at 350)
• chocolate pie (The Pioneer Woman)