Cocoa Content: 55%

Ellen Byrne and Christopher Carlson are the husband and wife duo behind this Portsmouth, New Hampshire chocolate company. Each bar they produce is crafted from the finest French, Belgium and Venezuelan chocolate available and decorated by hand. This week's bar takes its name from a traditional French confection that is typically decorated with raisins, hazelnuts, almonds, and figs, with each item representing the color of a monastic robe. Byrne & Carlson's mendiant bar has a Valrhona semi-sweet chocolate base that is the perfect complement to its jewel-like adornments of candied orange peel, almonds, candied mint leaves, tart cherries, and candied violets. With each bite a new flavor flourishes, and this bar is certain to be a winner with our Saturday tasting crowd.

Fun Fact: Ellen and Christopher have been working together for almost 20 years and have been married for 11. They started Byrne & Carlson Confections in 1999 and have purposely kept the business small so that they can continue to make each product themselves, ensuring that every bar produced will impress the consumer with its appearance and taste.