Review by Robert Tilendis: The Whole Foods web page for this product provides very little information, except for the essentials: 72% cacao, and the ingredients: organic chocolate liquor, organic cane sugar, and organic cocoa butter, with the usual warning that it may contain tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat and soy.

As might be expected from a chain with Whole Foods’ reputation, all ingredients are organic, fair trade, and socially conscious. (Well, the ingredients themselves aren’t socially conscious, but you get my drift.) In this case, the front of the box notes that “a portion of the proceeds helps fund the education of children in the Kyela district of Tanzania.” And yes, the cacao is from Tanzania.

Now to the meat, so to speak. The bar weighs in at a standard 3.5 ounces; it’s rather wide and flat, and indented to allow you to break off large tablets. The color is a true dark chocolate color, darker than milk chocolate but not quite as dark as others I’ve sampled — it looks about right for 72%. It’s a bit brittle, but this seems to be subject to change depending on the ambient temperature — we’ve just come off a hot spell here, and it was rather softer when the temperatures were around 90.

The flavor itself is definitely dark chocolate, a little dry, with not much in the way of overtones except for a slight earthiness and a little tartness in the aftertaste. The sugar content is just enough to take the edge off the bitterness of the chocolate. 

All in all, this isn’t the most arresting chocolate I’ve tasted, but it’s certainly adequate if you’ve got to have some chocolate right now.