Scharffen Berger chocolate now available at Ralphs

I was looking for some high quality chocolate bars for making hot chocolate (by melting them directly in milk) at Ralphs. I would have been satisfied with a Lindt Excellence bar, but instead I saw several classic-looking pastel-colored chocolate bars. These are Scharffen Berger bars! Scharffen Berger was the first company in the US to take chocolate from beans to bar. It was bought by Hershey in 2005 but remains one of the highest quality chocolate manufacturer in the US. I bought 2 bars, a 62% and a 41% bar.

The 62% bar is more exotic. It's fruity, a little bit bitter but still manageable by most people. It reminds me of a certain kind of berry and has a wonderful finish. The 41% is a milk chocolate lover's dream. It is VERY creamy and smooth, with an intense chocolate flavor that can rival darker bars. My girlfriend cannot stop eating it, so be careful if you are going to share it with anyone...
At $4.99 a bar, it's $1 more than most other bars like the $3.99 Lindt Excellence. It's a luxury chocolate but it's worth every penny. To confess, I haven't made hot chocolate from these chocolate bars because they are so good! They are simply perfect by themselves. It's just hard to fight the urge to eat the entire bar at once :)