Power Rankings #3: Alter Eco

Because Alter Eco is a brand that makes a lot more than just chocolate, I went into these power rankings with lower expectations for quality. I was quickly proved wrong when even the bars I didn't care for had really nice flavor balance and quality (there was only one of the 8 bars that I wouldn't eat again). The box-type packaging was particularly useful in my case. (I keep eating all my bars before I get a chance to take photos.) The boxes make it impossible to tell how much chocolate is or is not there. ;) 

I purchased these bars at Whole Foods in Lynnwood, WA. They happened to be on sale when I bought them ($3, on sale from $3.99/bar). There are two bars missing from my power rankings- "Dark Brown Butter" and "Deep Dark Sea Salt." Deal with it. :)

1. ***Dark Velvet - "a touch of milk MELTY SMOOTH" - 47% cocoa - Nice snap, especially for a milkier chocolate. This one had me saying “MMMMMMMMM CHOCOLATE”. I LOVE a good quality milk and they are SO few and far between.

2. ***Dark Mint - "cool crispy mint BOLD AND BRISK" - 60% cocoa - There is something so refreshing about a good combo of mint and chocolate. MMMMMM. I started eating this bar with no intention of finishing it all. I had to stop and write this review before gobbling the whole thing up. And now I’m left with the delicious aftertaste - the true mark of quality chocolate.

3. ***Dark Cacao - "crunchy cocoa nibs BITTERSWEET BITE" - 63% cocoa - I like the crunchy of the nibs and the slight bitterness it adds to the bar. It is still plenty sweet. A great combo of bitter and sweet.

4. **Dark Quinoa - "nutty toasted quinoa LIGHT CRISPY CRUNCH" - 60% cocoa - This unique bar is clever. I am always a fan of crunchy chocolate, you can hardly tell this is quinoa. Upon reading the labels, there isn’t a significant nutritional difference between this and other similar bars, like one might assume.

5. **Dark Almond - "slow-roasted TOASTY NUT" - 60% cocoa - This is a good bar. Not great. Forgettable but pleasant. I feel like I’m beginning to sound like Simon Cowell.

6. **Dark Coconut Toffee - "butter and sea salt CRUNCHY AND TOASTED" - 47% cocoa - I am not usually a big fan of toffee...but this bar was so deliciously milk chocolatey smooth that I quite enjoyed it. There was some saltiness which was nice, but I feel like that is executed better in other bars. I would eat it again, but given a choice I’d go for the straight milk “Dark Velvet.” Sidenote - I don’t know why this brand calls all of their bars “DARK” when two of them were 47% cocoa and very milky in flavor…

7. **Dark Blackout - "bittersweet cocoa DEEP FRUITY INTENSITY" - 85% cocoa - I can definitely taste the fruitiness of the dark chocolate. It’s just not something I enjoy enough to choose. The nib bar was a much more preferable dark for me. Although, there are 10g of fiber and only 12g of sugar in an entire bar (2 servings)! A FiberOne bar only has 9g of fiber but also less sugar at 10g. All in all...pretty comparable!

8. *Dark Twist - "crystallized orange peel VIBRANT AND TANGY" - 60% cocoa - This bar has a good flavor balance with the orange. The “crystallized orange peel” chunks could have been smaller to give it a smoother feel. Some of them were big enough to get stuck in my teeth which makes me prefer Chuao for a dark chocolate orange fix. 

Have you ever had Alter Eco chocolate? What do you think of my rankings? We'll see this brand again when I move on to truffles. 

Cheers!