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| |  | Gourmet Food | Home » » Scharffen Berger Chocolate Bar, Markham Valley Semi-Sweet (68% Cacao), 3-Ounce Bars (Pack of 6) | | | | | | | Description: | | Scharffen Berger's Chocolate Maker's Series - While searching the globe for the finest cacao, occasionally we find a limited supply of exceptional single-origin beans that deserve to be savored on their own. We bring this taste experience to you through our Chocolate Maker's Series limited edition chocolate bars. This edition of our Chocolate Maker's Series was created EXCLUSIVELY for Amazon.com | | | Features: | |
• Pack of six 3-ounce (85g) bars, 18-ounces (510g) total
• 68% Cacao Semi-sweet Chocolate made from cocoa beans grown in the Markham Valley of Paupua New Guinea
• This chocolate is pleasantly creamy, with notes of red fruit, cherry and raisin, with a hint of vanilla
• OU Kosher certified
• Manufactured by Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker; Robinson, IL, 62454
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Weight:
| 18.0 Ounces | | Package Length:
| 7.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 3.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 2.0 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.25 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 50 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 50 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Oh My Yum! Wish I Had Never Tasted These--Too GoodDec 01, 2011
By Mayflower Girl
"amazon-junkie since 1996"
It was Black Friday and I saw these on special. On a whim, I ordered them. I almost wish I hadn't. I don't know if I can ever go back. I hope Amazon starts offering these on subscribe & save.
Really really good. Tastes much sweeter/creamier than I would expect for the percentage of cacao. I think these could easily become an affordable indulgence. About 1/3 of a bar is my limit, though. Enough to give me all the flavanoids and pleasure I want. Eat it slowly. Savor it. Great for any chocolate fan you know.
29 of 37 found the following review helpful:
Dark, Complex, DeliciousNov 02, 2011
By Brenda Frank
"Eclectic Reader"
A subsidiary of Hersheys, Scharffen Berger is a small company in San Francisco that actually makes chocolate, from the beans. It deals directly with the growers to select and purchase high quality cacao beans of specific origins. Scharffen Berger does not advertise its chocolate as "Fair Trade" chocolate, but has a policy of not buying beans from the west coast of Africa, where the industry is know to practice slavery and use child labor. Note: this chocolate is not labeled "organic."
This chocolate bar is labeled as a semisweet "limited edition," single origin bar from Markham Valley, Papua, New Guinea with 68% cacao. Covering the preliminaries, the appearance is perfect, nice and firm with a smooth gloss. The bar breaks with a sharp snap, indicating proper tempering of the chocolate. The smell is of dark, intense chocolate. No kid stuff, here. Although labeled semisweet, 68% cacao is just 2% less that Sharffen Berger's bittersweet bar, with 70% cacao.
On the tongue, the chocolate melts with a luxurious creaminess, totally smooth and rich. If you allow it to linger on your tongue, you do get hints of raisin and cherry. Isn't it interesting how chocolate can have these fruity, complex overtones, just like a good wine? The finish is of intense chocolate, as you would expect. This is high quality, serious, adult chocolate, good for a special occasion or when you need a real boost.
16 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Amazing!Nov 30, 2011
By S. D. Fischer
I am not a chocolate connoisseur but have enjoyed Godiva chocolates and small batch artisanal chocolate from a variety of stores. This is by far the best chocolate I have ever eaten, which was a bit of a surprise since it is a mass-marketed chocolate bar.
The aroma even before the bar is unwrapped is a preview of the flavors. This limited edition bar is part of the Chocolate Maker's Series and has 68% cacao. It is described as semi-sweet (although an introduction by Alice Medrich in Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg states that "Most standard semisweet chocolate is 55-60% cacao.").
I hosted a chocolate tasting at work so that I incorporate more feedback than just my own, since taste is so subjective. This chocolate got nearly-universal rave reviews. There is no bitterness (despite the relatively high percentage of cacao) and it dissolves nicely on the tongue with no unpleasant aftertaste or oiliness. The label aptly notes the flavors of cherry, raisin and vanilla which are noticeable (unlike wine which I haven't often found to taste like the description). The only taster who didn't like it said it was too fruity.
The 3oz bar is approximately 3" x 6.5" - the perfect size for a stocking stuffer!
I didn't see nutrition information listed in the description, so here it is for anyone who wants it.
Serving size: ½ bar (43g)
Calories: 210
Calories from fat: 140
Total fat: 17g (saturated fat: 11g; transfat: 0)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 0 mg
Total carbohydrates: 20g
Dietary fiber: 4g
Sugars: 14g
Protein: 4g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 10%
Ingredients include cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, non-GMO soy lecithin, whole vanilla beans. The label notes that the bar is gluten-free.
his chocolate is definitely worthy of enjoying on its own, but if you are interested in incorporating it in recipes, I recommend Essence of Chocolate: Recipes for Baking and Cooking with Fine Chocolate and Deep Dark Chocolate.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
 A different taste experience.Dec 14, 2011
By Your neighbor
I purchased the special Amazon deal of 6 bars of Scharffen Berger Limited Edition Markham Valley Papua New Guinea 68% cacao. I was very much looking forward to a hugh taste experience since high cacao content is my taste preference and having the flavonoid properties.
The bar breaks clean without tiny brittle pieces even though you have to use a little more strength to break your desired piece as compared to another cacao bar I will mention at the end of this review. The label states pleasantly creamy. I honestly think it tastes some time in your mouth before you notice the creamy taste.
The label states notes of cherry and raisin. Well guess what, the second piece I tasted actually had notes of cherry and raisin. However, as I wrote in my title the overall general taste is very unusual unlike any high cacoa bar I've tasted before. The unique and unusual taste I find uninviting. Actually for me a disappointment since I am comparing this product to another I truly enjoy 100% each time I take a small healthful treat.
The other cacao bar I prefer in taste is Green & Black's Organic 70% dark Chocolate. The pieces do not break clean like Scharffen Berger but it breaks easier. You get very tiny brittle pieces. The creamy taste is immediate in your mouth. The smooth chocolate taste is so pleasant and delicious, you want more and more.
For these reasons Scharffen Berger gets 3 stars. I suggest you try both cacao bars and do your own taste test.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
OMG - Does it get any better than this?Jan 15, 2012
By P. M. Hawkins
Once I bought my husband a bar of Valrhona while traveling and he thought was the best dark chocolate ever. He forgot the exact percentage though, and the next time I went through that airport, I picked him up another bar. It was bitter and darker than the one he loved so much.
I bought the Sharffen Berger Markham for my hubby on a lightning deal just before Christmas. He forgot about them and pulled them out of the pantry yesterday. All I can say is WOW! I felt a little bad eating half of a bar on my own (my husbands present!), but what started as needing just a "tooth" of chocolate, quickly grew after my first taste. The bar is exceptionally creamy, perfectly dark and sweet enough all at the same time. The addictive taste reminded me strongly of dark chocolate-covered raisins. I went for another tooth after dinner tonight, only to find the bar gone. My husband loved it too, and announced that these bars beat the Valrhona experience, hands-down. Turns out 68% is the magic number!
I don't think my (umm, I mean my husband's) "six-pack" will last long. I am back to Amazon because we noticed the words, "limited edition" on the label and need to get some more before they are all gone!
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