1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:I’d say astringency is most often a bean characteristic
Ok, that's pretty much what I was guessing but wasn't sure. Guess it's a good thing the no-origin/type-given nibs were just for the initial learning phase. I'm still going to do a batch of milk with them and see how that turns out. If this batch doesn't tone down a little on the astringency, it will probably be destined for uses other than a bar.
Edit: or if the milk turns out better, I suppose I could melt the dark, toss it back in the machine and add the necessary stuff to turn it into milk as well.
45 minutes ago, curls said:Might the flavor mellow or meld witha bit of aging? I remember when we toured Soma the mentioned that they age their chocolate liquor... I just don’t remember why they did that. Anyone remember or have more information?
It will be getting some aging regardless of whether it helps anything or not, the bar molds I ordered haven't come in yet. 
