I agree that date is a tad ambiguous. I kind of liked the “made” label myself. I can’t think of something better though. My problem with “Date” is that it is a tad ambiguous as to whether it is the expiration date or manufacture date.

If these do get shipped internationally you should note that the dates have the potential to be ambiguous. You might want to consider three letter abbreviations for the month. I’m trying to think of a single word that would make it clear that “date” isn’t an expiration date, and I’m coming up blank.

I failed to mention that my kids liked all the chocolate very much. They want more.

Yes, a few people suggested the change so the rest of the packages were wrapped with that other label. Both bars now say Date rather than Made. However we still had quite a few bars wrapped with the older term.

I admit the Ocumare is by far my favorite, although I love both. I’ll check on the Pirate O’s status.

I have obtained two of each of the bars from Liberty Heights Fresh. The boxes are impressive and labeled as to lot number and the date made. Oddly the Madagascar label lists the date under “Made:” while the Ocumare using the clearer term “Date:”.

Here is my first impression of each:

I opened the Madagascar bar and saw the back of the bar first. It showed some swirls and bubbles on the back of the bar. Turning it over the front of the bar is shiny, bloom free, and the molding is very detailed. I have to compare the thickness to my favorite bar, the Lindt Madagascar. It is about twice as thick as the Lindt bar. I prefer a thinner bar as it is easier to snap into little pieces and those pieces melt easily on the tongue. This is a very fruity chocolate, it seems to have a sweet flavor that makes it less bitter than I might expect a 70% bar to be.

The Ocumare bar is smooth on the back without any of the swirls and bubbles visible on the Madagascar. It has a very unique flavor, which comes through clearly. My initial impression is that it is almost minty. It has a slight herbal quality to it. It has a slightly darker taste to it than the Madagascar, but neither is bitter in the way that some 70% or darker bars are.

Both have an extremely smooth texture. Pay attention to a Hershey’s bar after eating one of these and you’ll think the Hershey’s is very gritty.

We had a small taste test with me, my two children, and my brother involving the two Amano bars and a Lindt Madagascar. My brother preferred the slightly milder Lindt bar, followed by the Amano Madagascar and then the Ocumare. I think I might have a new favorite in the Amano Madagascar bar. I like the stronger flavor. In my book the Lindt came in second followed by the Ocumare, but all are excellent and variety is the spice of life, right?

I’ll continue to pick up Lindt bars at Target ($2.99 for 100g) and get the pricier Amano bars ($5.99 for 56g) when I have the chance at Caputo’s or Liberty Heights Fresh. If they show up at Pirate O’s (walking distance from my house) then I might have a serious problem on my hands.

A friend of ours came by today. Chocolate is banned at his house because his wife gets migraines from it. Imagine his glee when I offered him some of the bar (because I’m nice like that). He loved it. (He said he’s been known to mix cocoa powder and butter and eat as is.) It’s good chocolate (much better than the Lindt 70% I recently tried.) Congrats again on a job well done.

BYU might be carrying it but their purchase person was pretty overwhelmed right now with Valentines and preferred that we not talk to her until after things are over.

Ali, feel free to contact me by email. Here’s the problem though, we can’t guarantee things internationally. Chocolate is fairly temperature sensitive. I wouldn’t expect it to be a problem – especially in the winter – but you never know. I just shipped off a big order of 20 bars over night via Fed Ex to a guy in Louisiana who read the review in the Wall Street Journal. (I didn’t even know they were doing a story on us and haven’t seen it yet)