This review is a tricky one for me. I am torn in two directions equally. I'll first say this. Goodnow Farms Chocolate is, hands down, the best "American Made" chocolate and is among the best chocolate in the world. Here's a challenge. Pick up a chocolate bar and look at the ingredient list. Most chocolate uses soy lecithin as an emulsifier which is far cheaper than natural cocoa butter. Soy Lecithin dumbs down cocoa flavor and creates a waxy mouth feel. Not only does Goodnow Farms use cocoa butter but they use the cocoa butter from the same pod the cocoa bean was extracted from. It's mind blowing. This results in the smoothest and silkiest chocolate I've ever had with rich and nuanced flavors. My suggestion is to order several kinds of chocolate and taste them back-to-back in order to compare the differences. As generic as this sounds, I loved each of these chocolates equally. What you might find surprising is that whichever bar you choose, the flavors are subtle. For instance, the Almond bar uses almonds so finely slivered that you barely notice they're there. Brown Butter and Maple Sugar are equally subtle. Only the Coffee bar has a pronounced "coffee" flavor profile. With Goodnow Farms, the taste of pure chocolate is the top, middle, and bottom note held together by rich cocoa butter. So why am I torn? Goodnow Farms Chocolate is very expensive. I payed $86 for 7 bars ($12 a bar). Since each bar is a mere 55 grams, that's 385 grams of chocolate in total. Photos make the bars look substantial but, once opened, the chocolate bar is as thin as a fruit rollup. For comparison, the equally excellent Amaro Chocolate Brick from Italy (available at Gustiamo) is also made without compromise but it costs $39 for 300 grams, 1/2 the price of Goodnow Farms. Additionally, many Gold Medal award winners from the "International Chocolate Awards" make bars for 1/2 the price of Goodnow Farms. While Goodnow Farms makes some of the best chocolate in the world, only you can decide if it's worth the price. Unfortunately for me, Goodnow Farms chocolate will be a special indulgence only. Cry me a river.
