20°N & 20°S

Mast Brothers Brooklyn, New York

A quick trip in to Mast Brothers Chocolate in Brooklyn, New York while visiting over the fourth of July weekend.

I have become quite the fan of the Mast Brothers and even welcomed them to be apart of a special beer and chocolate dinner I hosted last month here in Cambridge. 

The American Craft Beer (Fest) Dinner @ 6/16/210

Click on images to enlarge. 

 

 

Their library of chocolate was running low. Despite these hot summer days, chocolate sales are not slowing down. 

There they are, Michael and Rick rocking the beard masks. Word! And some hand packaging of the finished bars. 

After we took a quick tour, I went with Natasha Mast, the lovely wife of Rick, to a cool little beer hall the Radegast Hall and Biergarten, right next door to watch the World Cup games and drink some beers. They brought a fresh Madagascar bar with sea salt and almonds and the new Grand Cru Patanemo Bar from Venezuela. It was soft and melt-y from the humidity outside, but paired with a Munich Dunkel, it was amazing.

Next time you are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, stop by their place and get a few bars of amazing chocolate.

Montezuma's ~ Papua New Guinea 64%

Montezuma's organic dark chocolate with beans sourced from Papua New Guinea. Organic chocolate makers from the UK with a bittersweet single origin bar, part of their "Exciting Bars" collection.

Via their website:

A wild and raw country with an immense landscape that produces cocoa the like of which you will love or hate with some degree of passion. This cocoa comes from smallholder plantations in the Island Regions where the husbandry is uninhibitedly rural without a hint of intensive farming. Combined with uniquely rich and fertile soil the farmers proudly produce cocoa without comparison. 
 
Made from only Trinitario beans, this chocolate has a distinctive smoky tobacco flavour that needs to be savoured and enjoyed in a darkened and private room so nobody can disturb the experience!

Additional Information

Traces of Nuts
Genetically Modified Free
Additive and coloring Free
Soya Free
British Made
Preservative Free
Gluten Free
Vegan Friendly
Vegetarian Friendly
May contain slight traces of milk.

Again, they have the most certifiable details about what is and isn't in this chocolate. I love how that last stamp comes after the Vegan friendly stamp.

As mentioned in the review for the Venezuelan Milk, they have a tremendous commitment to fair trade and natural ingredients in their products. They give great details about their company and their ethics which I fully support.

What's mostly missing from their website though, are more details on the regions they source their beans from. Papua New Guinea is a strange but interesting place where new species of animals, bugs and reptiles are still being discovered. Describing the landscape of where this cocoa comes from would be amazing. Lot's of chocolate makers have a Papua New Guinea bar of some sort in their collection but not too many talk about the region itself.

Yes, in the second image, the dark smudge on the chocolate is indeed from my nose. I couldn't stop smelling the aroma on this bar and was fascinated with a few distinctive aromas. I got carried away.

Papua New Guinea Dark

Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

Ingredients: Cocoa solids (64%), sugar (34%), Vanilla (<1%).

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5oz



Appearance: Smooth, deep brown chocolate color with simple non-monogrammed molding, a few plastic marks on the top surface. And no I am not taking points off for my nose mark.

Score: 92

Snap: Light snap for a thick layer of chocolate. Firm and crisp sounding.

Score: 93

Aroma: Deep, rich smokiness, fire roasted red chilies almost distinctively South American despite the cocoa beans being from Papua New Guinea, pen ink, deep dark berries, roasted cocoa, very slight hints of flowers, and a barely noticeable hint of cinnamon.

Score: 95

Taste: Sweet, deep, rich cocoa flavors, spicy with big chili flavors, woody, inky, a little banana-y, berries, more roasted chilies from retro-olfaction. Big bold flavors, complex, and rich.

Score: 93

Texture: Overall smooth texture but with a a few slight hints of graininess, creamy, medium melt time.

Score: 94

Big bold chocolate with rich smoky flavors, fire roasted chilies on the aroma and lingering finish on the palate. Big berry flavors, wood, and flowery berries. Their website describes smoky tobacco, I didn't pick up tobacco as much as I picked up distinctive roasted chilies.

There is a lot going on with this chocolate. It's very complex  and flavorful, but most curious of all is the chilies. It's all over the aroma as smoky chilies mixed with bold berry aromas.

There weren't a whole lot of subtitles with the flavor of the chocolate. It's all pretty straight forward, but there are a few small hints of flowers and cinnamon on the aroma to keep it interesting.

Delicious chocolate, fun to sit back and think about the complex chilies and smokey aroma.


Final Score: 93.4

score
A-

American Craft Beer (Fest) Dinner @ Green Street 6/16/10

Easily the best beer dinner I have ever hosted. Easily.

For those who are regular followers of this chocolate blog and may not realize, my day job is working for my husband Todd, who is the co-founder with his brother Jason, of BeerAdvocate.com. I manage and organize all the beer festivals we host in around Boston, and I set up tastings and dinners around the city as well.

The American Craft Beer festival was just last weekend. The week leading up to the festival was Boston Beer Week. Our official event was hosted on the Wednesday before the festival at Green Street in Cambridge with our good friend Dylan Black, the owner of Green Street.

We called it the American Craft Beer (Fest) Dinner not only because it was the official event for the American Craft Beer Festival, but because we included all aspects of American craft featuring beer, cheese, chocolate and cooking. All of which are in the same boat in this journey of making quality foods and drinks using the best ingredients all by fine American producers.

With chocolate being a passion of mine, and beer being the main event for the week we decided to host a beer and chocolate dinner including American craft cheese from New England. Emily Shartin, the chocolate buyer of Formaggio Kitchen, worked closely with me to help make this dinner come together. She helped bring in Jasper Hill Farm, one of my favorite cheese makers in the US and helped us secure our orders for the chocolate. She also regularly brings me chocolate to sample and try of some of her favorites and has been a hero to this blog.

We invited my good personal friend and founder of Sixpoint Craft Ales, Shane Welch to come be apart of the dinner. Sixpoint being from Brooklyn and working closely with artisan chocolate makers Rick and Michael Mast of the Mast Brothers Chocolate from Brooklyn, naturally we invited them to be paired together for the dinner.

I also invited a new friend to the Boston area, Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate in Columbia, Mo. to come and be apart of the dinner. He stayed for the whole weekend to check out the beer festival. Hopefully more beers on the market will be made with his products. Pairing beers for his chocolate was the tricky part. With the Mast and Sixpoint, they already have a good working relationship, Alan sells cocoa to Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales, but since Jolly Pumpkin hasn't been available to attend one of our beer festivals for a while, and Patric makes some very serious, and amazing chocolate, I had to find a brewery worthy of the match.

And then it came to me, Cambridge Brewing Co. Local and long time friends Will Meyers and Megan Parisi, both Head Brewer and brewer for CBC. I couldn't have been more right to have chosen them for this dinner and you will see why as I get into this dinner.

This dinner despite all the planning, discussions, and tastings with brewers, really belongs to head chef Greg Reeves. I worked with Greg once before to host the Ithaca Beer Dinner, Green Street's first beer dinner as well as hosting various tastings with Greg for special beer releases paired with Green Street's infamous tacos. Simply put Greg is masterful. If there is a beer he hasn't tried, he just needs a few key descriptors of the beer to knock it out of the park. Most chefs worth their salt can do this, but after having worked with a lot of amazing chefs, I don't think anyone is better at it than Greg Reeves. I do have to honorably mention Steve Brand from Upstairs on The Square who is also very masterful at beer pairings and truly loves beer.

I should preface that this had a very strange sounding menu. Things that sounded odd, and seemed strange ended up being some of the best pairings I have ever had.

I also have to preface that my old, outdated camera that has done me well for so long doesn't like beer apparently. It loves food and gets wonderful shots of food, but never seems to do me any justice on beer pictures. So please don't mind my shoddy photography on the beer.

Welcoming: The Audacity of Hops from Cambridge Brewing Co. A Belgian IPA. From Will's notes, Audacity of Hops (Belgian Double I.P.A., 8.8%): grass/fruit/floral nose, hints of phenol/sulphur yeast Belgian notes, funky. Quick pale malt notes and floral hop finish, medium hop bitterness.

We then opened with some of Green Street's famous tacos. We wanted to get the expected out of the way early. Molé is to be expected with chocolate pairings. Savory and classic. So we introduced a chicken molé taco and the Mast Brothers placed some cocoa nibs on each table which we loaded up inside the taco as well. It wasn't a deep brown mole taco, more of an essence to the taco. This ended up being the perfect match to the Audacity of Hops. It was a little spicy, and the hop flavors from the Belgian IPA interacted nicely. The chicken and the sweet malts enhanced one and other.

[The Audacity of Hops on the right in first pic.]



First Course: Cured & cooked hams with mint, basil, melon, cocoa nibs, and a chocolate aioli. Patric Chocolate Madagascar cocoa nibs, and Patric Chocolate 70% Madagascar Bar with nibs.

Beer: CBC's Spring Training IPA, (Will's Notes) American IPA, 6.3%: fruity/floral/grassy nose, low bitterness, clean malt palate.

[My bad pictures of the beer.]

This pairing came together on one request, that we definitely use Patric's Madagascar cocoa nibs. It was the first thing I sat down with Will Meyers and Megan Parisi to taste. Interestingly enough it worked out really well with the Spring Training IPA. Normally I wouldn't have gone this route haven't had little or no success with pairing chocolate and IPA's together. But with these nibs from Madagascar and the hallmark flavor profiles being woody, cedar wood, cherries, and a tart base, it ended up being a natural fit for the grassy and fresh IPA which isn't hop heavy.

Chocolate aioli? What? When Greg mentioned he wanted to make this, I think all of us at the planning meeting were a little curious. It sounded weird, and being paired with melons and ham it really didn't sounds like it would work. I have learned to trust Greg, and I went with it. Mainly because I was curious as to how we would pull this off. It more than worked.

The Sambirano Delta River Valley at the top Northwest of this map. Just barely inside the parallel of 20N and 20S. This is where Patric sources his Madagascar beans. Read my original reviews for the 70% with nibs to get a full understanding of this chocolate.

70% with Nibs review.



The flavors were all in perfect balance. The light floral, grassy IPA being balanced with the salty hams and sweet melons. The basil added the right herbal pop to the dish. The chocolate aioli made with the melted down 70% Madagascar bar with nibs was salty, buttery, rich with roasted cocoa, and savory adding more of a balance in bringing out the ham's flavors and more of a sweetness to the IPA. This course was fresh, light, and extremely flavorful. A great way to get started.



Second Course: Warm handmade pretzels sandwiches with melted Cabot clothbound cheddar (aged at Jasper Hill Farm cellars) with Mast Brothers Patanemo Grand Cru bar 75% (Ocumare de la Costa, Venezuela) melted for dipping.

Beer: Sixpoint's Righteous Ale, 7.2% Rye Ale

Handmade pretzels with kosher salt, and salty cheddar cheese balanced by sweet malty rye beer, and an amazing new grand cru chocolate from the Mast Brothers. This is the one course I couldn't stop dipping my finger in the chocolate until it was all gone.


A new bar for the Mast Bros. from the Ocumare de la Costa region of Venezuela. This is going back to their roots a bit. Originally the base for their bars was made with Venezuelan beans. Not the same region, but still Venezuelan. They have switched to Madagascar, but I didn't think was entirely the right move. While their Madagascar bars taste good, it tastes a bit unbalanced to me. I found their Venezuelan bars more more balanced and refined.

[Source: travelmarcelo.com]

Ocumare de la Costa is in the northern coastal region in the Aragua State of Venezuela.

Via: The Nibble

•Criollo & Trinitario •Darker, robust •Cashews, peanuts •Spice, pepper

Ocumare 67. Originally from the Ocumare de la Costa valley, a Criollo and Trinitario hybridized blend. Interesting flavors of cashews, peanuts, spice, pepper, and sometimes dairy. The tone is a little darker than Ocumare 61 and it does not possess 61’s sharpness. It is more robust than 61 in overall character, with a heavier body.

The salty pretzel and salty cheddar were nearly too dominating, until you dipped it into the chocolate and took a sip of the rye beer. Then it was magic. Originally I thought the chocolate would be melted into the pretzel together with the sandwich, but the chocolate was so rich, it was better to have dipped each bit in the chocolate.

The chocolate was rich, fruity, and bold. Awesome roasted cocoa flavors which helped soften the cheese and pretzel. I wasn't able to fully get the range of this chocolate with everything going on for this pairing, but the rye was a spot on match for the chocolate. The rye actually stood out on the beer and the sweet malts softened the bitter edges of the chocolate allowing more robust fruity notes to come out and helped tame the salt and bitterness of the cheddar.

Once again something no one quite expected and wasn't sure how would be based on the way it sounded. Salty, big, robust cheddar on a pretzel with melted chocolate. And of all things paired with a rye beer. This dinner just kept getting better and better.


Third Course: Pan Roasted Duck breast, Patric Chocolates Rio Caribe (Venezuelan) 70% Chocolate Rissotto, Cherries, chocolate gastrique.

Beer: CBC's The Colonel. Will's notes: Tart barrel aged Porter with Brettanomyces, 6.5%. Complex fruity nose, tart bright acidity, a little funk/barnyard. palate hits tart and fruity first, then roast characters come out with mellow American oak - hints of vanilla and char - in the finish.

 

This is the chocolate I reviewed like a beer geek might review a lambic or a guezue. Very funky, deep, rich chocolate from the North Eastern coastal region of Venezuela. I ended my review of this chocolate with "I am not even sure if I really like this chocolate, I think I just like how raw and aggressive it is. This is not a beginners chocolate."

Rio Caribe 70% review.


Of course both Greg Reeves and Will Meyers loved it as it isn't even remotely close to what you might expect chocolate to taste like. The funkier and more different it is, the bigger the challenge and the more fun it is to pair is how they both looked at it.

The duck breast was cooked perfectly. Soft and game-y and a little steel-y tasting which I happened to love. The cherries and cherry gastrique added the right pop of sweetness to the dish and interacted extremely well with the beer. The sour Brett notes of the beer along with it's roasted porter notes worked so well with the chocolate risotto.

The chocolate risotto was expected to be slightly bitter due to the chocolate, but ended up being amazing. There was no bitterness, only rich, savory, roasted chocolate notes. Lovely chicken stock added a glossy shine to the perfectly cooked rice, and a hint of a spicy character to the risotto.

The beer was something I was slightly concerned about as I am not personally a big fan of Brettanomyces beers. But this was fantastic. The tartness, was not overbearing and the oak flavors added a lovely richness to the steel-y game taste of the duck breast. Naturally the cherries and the the roasted porter notes were a hit. It was extremely drinkable and delicious.

I have never had anything as odd as this before, yet so right.


Fourth Course: Bayley Hazen blue cheese on toasted brioche with a Mast Brothers Madagascar 72% chocolate-strawberry confiture with Mast Brothers Nibs.

Beer: Sixpoint's Old Krusher, 9.8% Barleywine made with farmed Amish Maple Syrup.

A huge way to end the already super-flavorful night. Sixpoint's new barleywine made with Amish maple syrup and Bayley Hazen blue cheese was a big hit.

This blue cheese is a personal favorite of mine with big Earthy notes, salty, bold, and big steel notes from the blue veins. This can be considered a more rustic blue cheese, but don't let anyone fool you and say it's mild. I usually pair this cheese with Double IPA's for the same reasons behind pairing it with an American-style barleywine. Lot's of hops with alpha acids to cut through the cheese, and sweet malts to help mingle with the steel-y blue veins. It's a no-brainer, natural, and amazing pairing.

The strawberries added the right balance of tart to the course with the sweet brioche that had the consistency of an English muffin and it helped round everything out. I didn't notice much of the cocoa except for a few hints with the nibs. I think the cheese was frankly too big to notice the subtitles of the chocolate, but it still managed to work incredibly well with the beer.

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the beer and I didn't do the right thing by taking a sip of the beer first to try and get an understanding of it before the pairing. I do know I liked it a lot with this course and am anxiously looking forward to finding more of it. 

We finished our night with more beer from CBC and samples of Mast Brothers bars and Patric Chocolate bars. I was able to taste that Patanemo Grand Cru from the Mast Brothers in bar form. All I can say is that I can't wait to review it.

It only took 3 cocktails after the dinner to tone down the effects of the chocolate. I heard from several people that it took a long time to finally unwind and sleep after that dinner.

I had a wonderful time meeting the Rick and Michael Mast of Mast Brothers Chocolate and Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate. It was a very big deal to me that they would travel all that way to come to my beer dinner. And of course it was great to hang out with Will and Megan both of whom I have known for years and absolutely love. And I can't forget my close friend Shane Welch, whom helped me convince those hipsters at Mast that coming up for one of my events would be more than worth it. Dylan Black of Green Street really did a great job of hosting this event and making it all possible for us.

A big thank you to Valerie Conyngham of Vianne Chocolat for coming to attend the dinner and David Goldstein of Boston Chocolate Tours for attending as well. Also on hand were the chocolate makers of Taza Chocolate. 

I am sure a lot of this dinner sounds interesting, bizarre, weird, strange, amazing, fantastic. It was all of the above. If you missed it, I can't say I feel sorry for you unless you live out of town. It was truly an amazing dinner and Greg Reeves is amazing. Everyone had a lot of fun and left very happy and full.

Look for more events of this nature from me through BeerAdvocate as I launch a new series of beer dinners called "Things We Love." I have no doubt chocolate will come up again.

Montezuma's ~ Venezuela Milk 43%

As I wind down the last few bars of the British Chocolate Invasion, I draw close to the end with an organic chocolate producer from London called Montezuma's. Luckily I have five bars to go through from Montezuma's.

Alas, a chocolate website after my own heart. Chock full of information. I hate it when I don't know much about a producer and have to go digging for information further than I need to go which should be the very source of the product it self. It's not about lazy blogging, but sometimes you have to read 20 pages or more of other sources just to gather up enough information for one post here.


About Montzuma's:

Ex-lawyers turned chocolate entrepreneurs, Helen and Simon Pattinson, founded Montezuma’s in 2000 hand making their chocolate with one little machine and one shop in Brighton.

"It seems incredible that just a few years ago the smell of chocolate was one of the things that made Simon and I want to abandon our careers in the law despite the fact we had spent many years studying to become well paid solicitors in a large law firm in London.

Having become totally disillusioned with London, law and all the trappings of a money dominated life, we resigned from our jobs, sold our Putney house and put all our possessions into storage, leaving for South America virtually on the next plane.

We cannot remember why South America attracted us but I think it was probably the huge diversity of climates, cultures and landscapes . . . we were not disappointed.

Read more about their story here. 

Ideals and Fair Trade:

We have founding principles that we shout about and aren’t shy to thrust into the limelight.  We call this Trading Fairly.

These principles haven’t been bolted on or constructed to join a bandwagon, and for us that means working in harmony with the environment, our partners, our customers, and of course the societies we touch. 

It’s fair to say our ideals run deeper than our pockets and always will do.   Even if you’re mad and don’t want to buy any chocolate, please, please, read some of this stuff about what we actually do and think; including why we are not always comfortable with “Fairtrade”.  Shock horror!

Our Mission

Our World

Our Trade

Only Natural Ingredients:

The difference between good, bad and ugly foods depends largely on the quality of the constituent ingredients and chocolate is certainly no exception. 

We take great pride in sourcing and using only the finest ingredients; from Dominican Republic cocoa beans we consider to be the world’s best to fine and dark Madagascan vanilla.

The only thing missing from the website is the region of Venezuela the beans come from. Just a vague description of a "Lost World" type of environment some where in Venezuela. But there is a definite answer on bean varietals using Trinitario and Criollo blends. The beans were probably sourced from the northeast coastal regions of Venezuela.

But they do make up for it with the tags for this chocolate on their website indicated extensively what is and what isn't in this product and who this product is suitable for.

Traces of nuts.
Free of Genetically Modified ingredients.
Additive & coloring free.
Soya free.
Preservative free.
Suitable for vegetarians.
Gluten free.
Contains dairy.
British made.

Venezuela Milk

Type: Milk, 43%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario and Criollo

Ingredients: Cocoa solids 43%, milk solids 19% whole milk and powder, sugar, and vanilla.

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5 oz



Appearance: Smooth and shiny bar with basic non-monogrammed molding. Virtually blemish free and gorgeous light caramel coloring.

Score: 98

Snap: Fairly good snap for a milk chocolate, but still rather dull with a low thud versus a crisp snap. Clean break lines.

Score: 92

Aroma: Butter, cream, caramel, soft roasted cocoa.

Score: 95

Taste: Sweet, huge caramel taste, lovely light roasted cocoa. Tastes like a rich hot chocolate made with milk in bar form.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth, creamy, fast melt time.

Score: 94

This was fantastic milk chocolate. It tasted exactly the way a rich hot chocolate made with steamed milk tastes. It also had wonderful, rich caramel notes. Soft roasted cocoa aromas with a lovely roasted cocoa taste. With 43% cocoa for a milk chocolate, it's borderline on a dark-milk giving way to much richer cocoa flavors that interacted well with the milky and caramel tastes.

It was a touch sweet, but balanced by rich butter caramel flavors. It had a creamy smooth texture with long lingering cocoa and caramel flavors. But interestingly enough it finished fairly dry on the palate.

Sometimes I don't need to go into a lot of detail to explain why something tastes so good. It is what it is and I say it's great. It's as simple as that. Given what I have said about butter, caramel, creamy hot chocolate flavors, that should be enough to let you know that you should buy this product. And buy a lot of it.

Final Score: 95

score
A

El Rey ~ Gran Saman Chocolate Oscuro 70%

El Rey Gran Saman

Chocolate Oscuro translates simply to dark chocolate. This is a bittersweet chocolate from El Rey at 70% using Carenero Superior beans from Venezuela. El Rey uses 100% single origin Venezuelan beans.

El Rey only uses two kinds of beans. The Carenero Superior or Rio Caribe. Here are some quick blurbs about Carenero Superior form some trusted chocolate sources.

Via The Nibble:

•Trinitario (mostly) •Caramel, citrus, vanilla, berries, honey •Chocolate undertone •Light acidity

Carenero Superior. Mostly Trinitario. Carenero refers to the port from which the cacao was once shipped, and “Superior” is a reference to higher quality beans. Typically, Carenero has a strong underlying chocolaty presence that hides underneath a myriad of flavors, such as spice, caramel, citrus, vanilla, berries, and honey. A light acidity also adds further depth to the profile.

Also via The Nibble:

El Rey’s Carenero Superior line was launched in 1994. Each bar is made exclusively from one type of bean: the highly acclaimed Carenero Superior. Carenero grows in the fertile and humid region of Barlovento, just northeast of Caracas. The well-fermented and better quality beans get deemed “superior”—hence the Carenero Superior designation. The beans are prized for yielding a complexity of spicy and fruity flavors and aromas.

Via Chocolate Alchemy:

Carenero refers to the port from which this cocoa used to ship out of. Superior of course is a reference to the higher than average quality of this Trinatario. It is a solid Trinatario, with a medium break. This has a bit more body to it (compared to Ocumare), a bit more brightness and acidity, but also a deeper chocolate flavor. From the very diverse nature of the region, the preparation is often quite varied, but that also leads to a complexity and flavor profile unique to Carenero Superior. There is a clean earthiness and rum like flavor that I have always enjoyed in this variety.

Simple ingredients on this chocolate using only cocoa butter and cocoa solids with some sugar. I have been really coming to appreciate the more natural bars of chocolate. I still don't think using soy lecithin or vanilla is a deal breaker or bad for chocolate as some over the top purists would say. But straight up chocolate that can stand up on it's own

One thing that is good to know is that the El Rey website gives a detailed list of what is in their chocolates. Every person who sells chocolate, uses chocolate, or makes chocolate in some way should list where the chocolate comes from and what exactly is in it. The more technical the better.

El Rey Technical Data.

This was a tasting box I received from Aroa Fine in Boston who works exclusively with El Rey chocolates.

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

Ingredients: Cocoa, Cocoa Butter, Sugar.

Sample Size: 27 5g Bite size bits.

Appearance: Deep dark brown color, single bit size pieces with monogrammed molding, shiny, and smooth.

Score: 94

Snap: Yes even these squares gave good snap. Light and crisp yet still fairly firm. 

Score: 92

Aroma: Lightly smokey, subdued red wine aromas, subtle dried fruits and soft roasted cocoa.

Score: 92

Taste: Sweet, fruity, sugary, deep dried fruits, slight tangy notes.

Score: 93

Texture: Soft, smooth, and creamy with a fast melt time.

Score: 96

The aromas give almost no clues to the flavor of this chocolate. It's so subtle and soft you would have no idea how big this chocolate is based on the aroma.

This is very tasty chocolate and it hits all the right marks technically, but overall I find this chocolate okay for eating but probably a better fit for baking with. The recommendations on the website call for mousse, ganache, and fillings. Rich things. That I can see.

The issue with this chocolate is too much sugar. Though it is very bold on the flavors and deeply rich, I feel like it would have been better if it were more raw and less tamed with sugar. 

There is a very interesting fruity/flowery taste the dominates the chocolate and opens up right in the middle of the tasting. It was hard to pin point what it was. It was like flowers mixed with pen ink, and dried fruits mixed with slight hints of medicinal herbs. Think Fernet-Branca on the medicinal herbs. An interesting flavor to say the least.

It finishes fairly clean with with soft hints of roasted cocoa and it drys up pretty quickly. It does have larger cocoa particles that can leave for a slight gritty texture, but still very smooth over all due to the initial creaminess. The larger particles are meant for a more robust flavor. It's certainly a deep flavor, but I feel like this chocolate will be best for baking. Or served to those who love dank, earthy, medicinal, herb flavors like Fernet-Branca.

Final Score: 93.4

score
A-

Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs

 

Mast Brothers Madagascar Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs

Type: Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa nibs

Sample Size: 2.5 oz 71g


Appearance: Shiny and smooth top surface with simple non-monogrammed molding. Slight ashy and streaky underside with pretty Madagascar cocoa nibs sprinkled on top.

Score: 91

Snap: Firm snap, with slightly dull snap sound. Clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big roasted cocoa, full rich aroma, tar, hints of rubber.

Score: 93

Taste: Sweet upfront, tar, cherries, citrus-y and acidic, tart, nuts and wood flavors from the cocoa nibs.

Score: 95

Texture: A little chalky texture on the chocolate, medium melt time, crunchy

Score: 93

This is a very tart and citric bar of chocolate. It starts of sweet and then opens up into classic Madagascar notes of tar and rubber. But then opens up into full bright tart cherries.

I haven't noticed the cherries or fruit characters as much on other Mast Brothers chocolate using Madagascar cocoa. I have been finding them a bit unbalanced with the acid contents. This bar on whole, is largely unbalanced too, but the bright cherries really come through and save it. They are much sweeter and flavorful than they are tart. There is a much better sweet character on this bar as well with sweet sugar notes right up front. The sugar content really helps balance out the tar and rubber flavors.

The cocoa nibs added a lovely woody character and nutty taste as well as a crunchy texture. They added a lot more depth to the flavor of the chocolate.


Final Score: 93

score
A-

Meletti Ciccolato @ Craigie On Main, Cambridge, Ma.

 

I met Carrie Cole, the bar manager at one of my favorite restaurants in Cambridge, Ma. called Craigie on Main, at a charity food event a couple of months ago. We talked about Meletti Ciccolato. A new-to-me Italian chocolate liqueur that is pretty much my whole world right now by being serious chocolate lover and lover of fine cocktails.

I stopped by on Friday with my husband and some friends to try out a few cocktails made with the Meletti and got a few snacks in the process.

Silvio Meletti

The story of Meletti:

The Meletti Anisette was invented and produced for the first time in 1870 by Silvio Meletti, who perfected and improved an aniseed-based liquor produced by hand in his mother's small shop. Silvio Meletti had the idea of offering the country a product of an ever higher quality to stand up to the competion of the extremely expensive foreign anisettes, and threw himself into the study of Italian and French manuals on the distillation and production of liquors until he was able to design and supervise the production of a bain-marie still, with very slow evaporation in order to obtain an alcoholate as aromatic as possible. It was found that the very delicate taste and special aroma of the Meletti anisette came from the quality of the aniseed (Pimpinella Anisum) carefully cultivated in certain areas of clay soil around Ascoli Piceno, favoured by the very special conditions of the land and the climate.

In 1904 the distillery was built near the railway station in Ascoli Piceno. The anisette produced was aged in iron casks in the large cellars, of which there were many at the distillery. Now, more than 120 years since it was first produced, Meletti anisette is still made with the systems developed and established by our founder. The aniseed is produced in the province of Ascoli Piceno. The central aspect of the production is the distillation of alcohol in the presence of aniseed. With suitable stills the alcohol absorbs the aromatic part of the aniseed. The result is a liquor with a high alcoholic content known as "aniciato", which is the raw material for subsequent processing.
The production of anisette involves the addition of a special "aroma" which is also produced through the distillation of various spices. The resulting anisette is then transferred into special tanks of more than 10,000 lt. for the ageing process. The ageing is necessary because in this stage the anisette clears, forming a deposit on the walls of the recipient, and amalgamates the various components which give it that unmistakable flavour.

Today they offer many products Along with their classic aniseed flavored liqueurs including lemon liqueurs and the ciccolato. The also have Caffe Meletti in the Piazza del Popolo in Ascoli Piceno since 1907 which includes a cafe, a restaurant, and a pastry shop. 

[Image via Flaviakappa]

Situated in the renaissance style Piazza del Popolo heart of the city, Caffè Meletti has always been part of the piazza and vice versa. This close tie with Piazza del Popolo (which was used as a forum in roman times has always been very important for the city) has transformed the café, since its opening, in a meeting place for both the people of the city and its numerous tourists.
The building and its portico were built between 1881 and 1884 inspiring itself to the style of the 16th century piazza. Initially the building was used as the head office of the post office, then in 1903 Silvio Meletti (an Italian businessman who owned a distillery that produced a famous aniseed liquor) bought and transformed the building into a luxurious café.
The building was cleverly modified in liberty style inspired by other historical café.
The new café Meletti was opened on Saturday the 18th of May 1906. It soon became very popular, famous in all of Italy thanks to its elegance, its excellent products and its refined services. It was sold by Meletti’s heirs in March 1990, to every ones surprise the new owner closed the historical café in June of the same year.
The “Foundation of Cassa di Risparmio” bought the building in 1996.
Caffè Meletti was elegantly restored and opened to the public as it was on the 19th of December 1996. The tie between the city of Ascoli Piceno and Caffè Meletti has become more important. The Café has become a valuable meeting place not only for its excellent products but because it also allows all its clients to be spectators and protagonist of the city life.
Caffé Meletti has hosted in its years many famous people (from Vittorio Emanuele II in 1927 to Mascagni, Piovene, Sartre, Del Monaco, Gigli, Guttuso, Soldati, Licini, Gronchi, Saragat,
and the De Filippo family), it was used for film sets ( “I delfini” by Maselli in 1960 and  “Alfredo,Alfredo” with Dustin Hoffman by Germi in 1972) and also as setting for commercials and photo shoots.

Meletti is located in Italy in the Marche region on the Adriatic sea. Located at the very bottom of the region in a town called Ascoli Piceno.

[Image via: Angelo Recchi]

Vintage artwork featuring Meletti Anisetta:

Meletti Ciccolato:

The Meletti family, through skillful blending, has created a delicious cocoa based liqueur. Meletti Cioccolato was created by Silvio Meletti as a winter drink, intended to be served warm. However, fans of Meletti cordials soon discovered its versatility. It can be used in a variety of drink and food recipes and is delicious cold as well as warm. As with all Meletti products, only the best ingredients are used and personal attention is afforded to every phase of production.

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Meletti has been described as "adult fun", "chocolate pudding," "uncooked brownie mix," or as I describe it, "like a super rich chocolate syrup with alcohol," or simply "pure awesomeness."

The best thing about it is the price. It's fairly cheap at around $19 to $25 a bottle. That means there should be no excuse to run out and get a bottle right now and keep for your collections or begin mixing up your own cocktails with it right now.

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The first drink I asked for at Craigie was a Brandy Alexander made with the Meletti Ciccolato instead of dark creme de cacao. It was very rich and thick, but not cloyingly sweet as one might think thanks to a nice brandy the drink was made with. Nice and rich and boozy. Just the way I like it. And the classic spicy kick of nutmeg sprinkled on top.

This next drink was something Carrie created using the ciccolato, bitters, and bourbon. I liked this drink quite a bit, but it was fairly stiff, and not too sweet. I think most people wouldn't expect this drink to be as dry and robust as it is.

Unfortunately I didn't catch that this picture was a bit blurry until the next day. However, it was the best drinks of the night. Made with Meletti Ciccolato, Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur, Luxardo, and Rum. Smooth, nutty, and creamy. And once again not as sweet as it might seem with the ciccolato.

 

I also asked for a little tasting glass for the Meletti so that others at my table might try it on it's own. It's something that has to be seen and tasted on it's own to be fully appreciated. Most people who have probably had Meletti have had it in a cocktail of some sort. Most likely a chocolate martini. While, it's certainly ideal for a chocolate martini, it should be tasted as it is first.

I think the viscosity of this drink is gorgeous. It makes you want to lick the glass.

As for the food, well we ordered a few fun things from the bar menu to be shared around the table and it was all fantastic. Craigie on Main is hands down one of the best restaurants in the Boston/Cambridge area.

Chef Tony Maws has incredible culinary skills. I still marvel to this day about the time I had dinner there and tried one of their tasting menus. One of the courses had squid pasta. Not squid ink, but actual squid in the pasta. So flavorful and unbelievably good. 

Crispy Potato Galette with salmon roe, bacon bits, and horseradish cream sauce.

Oysters on the Half Shell.

"Les Cochanailles" Many tastings of Pork.

Assiette of house-made charcuterie: Duck rillettes, Pate de Campagne, Foie Gras au Torchon.

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Valrhona Chocolate Soup with ancho chili and cardamom.

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We were treated to a selection of cheeses and were serves these little chocolate and nut treats with the check. They look a little bit like Preacher Cookies.

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We managed to make an entire evening out of chocolate at Craigie. If you are going to go all out on rich and fabulous foods and drinks I can't imagine a better place than Craigie on Main. I am so grateful that this place is only a two minute walk from my door to their door.

Thank you Carrie, for having me in and testing cocktail creations with me. I will gladly be your guinea pig any day.

Brandy Alexander Coolatta

I had an idea for a blended coffee drink with melted down chocolate and lots of booze. I decided to test it out this afternoon.

This is came out more like a Brandy Alexander Coolatta. Technically a Brandy Alexander is roughly brandy, creme de cacao, cream, and nutmeg. This is kind of like that only with real chocolate and lot's of booze.

4 oz Brandy
12 oz strong roast coffee (or sweet flavored coffee)
2 oz Kahlua
2 oz Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
1 bar of chocolate, 70% to 85% (no higher) melted
2 oz give or take of Half and Half
Ice
Nutmeg (optional)

Brew coffee and set in an ice bath to cool quickly.

Once coffee is thoroughly cooled, break or chop chocolate bar down into small bits and microwave until it's softly melted and blended. You can use double boiler, to melt chocolate, but the microwave is quicker and less of a mess.

Add ice to blender about half way full and pour in all liquid ingredients in adding the melted chocolate last. Cover wit lid and blended until nice and smooth.

Pour into glass and lightly sprinkle the top with a small pinch of nutmeg, serve immediately.

Makes about 3 to 4 servings.

A couple of things to point out. I should have rimmed the glass with the melted chocolate but the top layer of the drink will be a frothy layer of chocolate soilds foam. An added chocolate rim would have made for a messy face drink, but super tasty.

I used left over chocolate I had previously reviewed from CocoMaya in London. The chocolate I used was a sweeter bar of chocolate called Guanaja 70%. I figured it would be good to use since I wasn't adding sugar to the recipe. It's an overly sweet bar of chocolate from London. I have come to know the chocolate scene in London quite well Thanks to my British Chocolate Invasion collection. They like their chocolate on the sweeter side.

If you don't want to melt chocolate down to blend into the drink, use Meletti Cioccolato. It will make for a boozier drink and you may have to adjust the recipe a bit.

The Armagnac I used is something I have had in my house for more than 10 years. I tried looking it up, I have found slight references to it. I don't know if it's a super expensive Armagnac or not, but I did find one blurb online that indicated it's fairly cheap. Around €15 or so. It blended great with the chocolate. Big oak-y tastes with the rich nutty chocolate. Also added was the nutty coffee. This is just about what you want to use for a funky mixed blender drink. It tasted fantastic with the chocolate.

Speaking of coffee, I used a light roasted flavored coffee. It's for my Keurig coffee maker. I used a Mocha Nut Fudge. I figured it would be fairly sweet and bump up the chocolate and nutty coffee flavors. But any robust strong roasted coffee would probably be a better fit. Especially if you don't have a super sweet tooth.

Up next for a trial and error session with melted chocolate drinks will be testing with Courvoisier.

Truffles and Wine

My husband was wrapping up a meeting in Boston yesterday, when he stopped by Au Chocolat and picked up a wine sampler box of mixed truffles from Belgian Chocolatiers Neuhaus.

He found a collection of truffles meant for pairing with wine. The "sommelier" collection. Maxim de Muynck voted Sommelier of the Year in 2009 by Gault & Milau has designed this collection.

There is some good news for beer lovers. Two beer selections made into the booklet for a pairing recommendations.

He chose Lindemans Framboise for the Suzanne. It makes sense being a Belgian beer paired with Belgian chocolate truffles. Also raspberry on raspberry flavor profiles for both the chocolate and the beer.

However, to many beer lovers Lindemans is like "Kool-Aid." While it tastes awesome and is perfect for desserts and is very interesting for what can be done with beer, it tastes nothing like what we would consider traditional beer. However, for chocolate this is not the wrong way to go as it is very much like a dessert on it's own.

Lambics are a style of beer classic to Belgium made by a process called spontaneous open air fermentation. I am sure many beer geeks can break this process down better than I can, so I will spare you all the geek talk, but it's basically beer fermented by wild yeast in the air and other funky bacterias. This particular beer is then dosed with 500 lbs or more of various fruits and sugar. These are known as lambics which are wild ales. Many different styles have similar processes such as geueze, and other Belgian sours or unsweetened lambics. Lindemans happens to be the fruitiest, sweetest, and most palatable to the average person.

The other beer recommendation was Mc Chouffe from Brasserie d' Achouffe in Belgium. This is a spectacular Belgian-style brown ale which is unfiltered and then re-fermented in the bottles or a process known as bottle conditioning. It's an 8% abv beer with big sweet malts, a bit roasted, and fruity. Perfect for desserts and chocolate.

When Maxim chose this beer for the 1875, this made perfect sense with the cinnamon biscuit center of the truffle. The cinnamon and the toasted biscuit flavors.
 

I chose Heron Pinot Noir Vin de Pays de la Mediteranée to go through the truffles with. Next time I will take a collection like this and take to a wine bar and work out various combinations with wines. Otherwise it's unrealistic to sit here on my own and crack open various wines to fit the suggestions of the sommelier.
 



The Suzanne; Infused chocolate ganache with raspberries.

Light subtle flavors of raspberries on the  soft centered ganache, waxy chocolate shell, dried bits of tart raspberries on top.

Works lovely with the Heron Pinot Noir. Allows some drier woody, and more tart notes to come out on the wine. Tames it makes it a little earthy.






Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Cuvee Sakura 2003 raspberry and cherry wines from Roisin, Belgium

Lindemans Framboise Raspberry Lambic, Belgium

Zéro Pointé Rosé, Loire, France

Bugey-Balivery Cerdon Sparkling wine, Bugey, France




Grand Place; Dark chocolate shell coated with sugar with a soft ganached hinted with nigella.

Nigella is a spice that is mainly used when cooking Indian flat breads, such as naan, and vegetarian dishes.

The spice has a strong taste that is similar to oregano.

The Nigella spice is the seeds of the plant called Nigella Sativa. The seeds are tiny and black in colour. The seeds themselves don’t have much of an aroma but the oregano aroma is released when the seeds are fried or crushed. The taste is a bit like cracked pepper and is bitter.

Via Curry Focus


Deep rich chocolate shell, once again waxy mass produced taste, but extremely soft ganache center with big sweet caramel notes and a peppery nigella taste, sweet lingering sugar notes from the chocolate.

Works fairly good with the Pinot Noir. A bit borderline meaning there was almost too much alcohol overbearing on the palate. The major indications that you have a wrong pairing with wine and food. Same rules apply for beer. But still fairly good pairing.






Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Ojai Santa Barabra 2006 Syrah California.

5 year old Malmsey Blandy Madeira, Portugal.

Commandaria Ekto or Keo Sweet dessert wines, Cyprus

Marsala Vecchio Samperi de Bartoli, Italy




Criollo; Bitter dark chocolate with a fresh butter cream center.

Bitter, sweet, dry, soft center, still has a waxy taste that so far all of the truffles have had. Roasted cocoa and coffee notes underneath this trademark waxy taste.

Works very well with the Pinot Noir. Enhances the wine to be more earthy, but the bittersweet chocolate lingers on the palate to be fairly dominant.








Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Darroze Bas Armagnac, France

Ojai Santa Barbra Syrah, California

A generic recommendation of Bordeaux wines from the left bank.



Ganache Amère; "A happy marriage of the sweetness of créme fraîche and the magic power of chocolate, with a sublime, pure bitter flavour."


Sweet, rich, same waxy taste, roasted cocoa, slightly spicy in the beginning.

So far it works the best with the Pinot Noir. They tame each other. The rich sweet chocolate is toned down by the earthy wine, but the creaminess allows them the marry instead of contrast. The earthy notes on the wine tone down and let spicy characters come out.

Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Monastrell Dulce, Alceno

Pedro Ximénez, Toro Albala, Spain

Monastrell Dulce, Alceno, Spain

Maury Vintage, Dessert wine, France



1857; Milk praline with cinnamon biscuit-y center known as speculoos.

Light, milky creamy taste coupled with the same waxy taste, crunchy center, light cinnamon hints.

Works okay with the wine. It's borderline. The crunchy center wants to clash with the wine, but the creamy, milky chocolate taste recovers it and rounds out the wine stopping it from being a wrong pairing. It's not exact, but it's not bad either.






Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:


Mc Chouffe, Brown, strong ale, Belgium

10 year old Grant Burge Tawney, dessert wine, Australia

Domaine des Rosiers, Confidence 2005 vintage, France




Sapho; Milk chocolate with almond praline center.

Basically a milk chocolate shell with a super soft almond-chocolate center. Kind of like giandja made with hazelnuts. Same waxy taste, but a hit of pepper up front. The waxy taste makes it practically no different than gianduja since this waxy hallmarks has hazelnuts. It's just a bit butterier than gianduja.

This works really well with the Pinot Noir. It's all about the nuttiness playing off the earthiness, and creamy texture smoothing out the alcohol edges of the wine. This was pretty good. Not exact, but very close.







Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Neipoort or Burmester tawny port, Both from Portugal.

Chȃteauneuf du Pape or a Domaine Gremenon La Mémé 2006, France




Galerie; Caramel center, with chocolate center in a chocolate shell.


Salty and very gooey caramel with a thin layer of a chocolate ganache in the center gives off sweet and salty contrast, but that same damn waxy chocolate taste overtakes the lingering palate.. This would have been the best balanced truffle if it wasn't coated with this generic chocolate shell. That waxy taste ruins the balance.

The wine works well with the pairing based on all other descriptions from the previous truffles. It's creamy and salty and the butters work well with the earthiness of the wine. The sweet chocolate brings out more of the earthy flavors.








Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

East India Solera de Lustau, Sherry, Spain

Neisson Rhum Agricole, Rum,  Martinque

Rivesaltes Ambré, Domaine de Rancy, France

Domaine des Rosiers, Confidence 2005 Vintage, France

Generic recommendation of Red Bordeaux from the left bank, France

Le Chȃteau La Rame, Cuvee La Charmille, I ères Cȏtes de Bordeaux, France



Passion Amande; White chocolate shell, cocoa butter, sugar, and caramlized salted almonds.

This is basically a white chocolate shell with soft chocolate and minced almond center. Barely salty, barely noticeable almonds, and it tastes like gianduja more than it does almonds.

Having said that, it's creamy, and the white chocolate is not over powering with a dominate milky or cocoa fat taste. It is like all other truffles in the collection, waxy and nutty. I wish the almonds were not minced to a finite crunch. There is no sense of caramelized anything let alone being barely salty enough to handle the chocolate.






Maxim de Muynck Suggestions:

Bartoli Moscato del panteliria, Italy

Chȃteauneuf du Pape or a Domaine Gremenon La Mémé 2006, France

Le Chȃteau La Rame, appelation Sainte Croix du Mont, France



More specific wine pairings:


Elysium Black Muscat

Suzanne

Grand Place

Criollo

Passion Amère



Oloroso Sherry

Sapho

Passion Amande

1857

Galerie


Overall this is a decent collection to share with friends. But you might have noticed my impatience with this collection. It's all same-y, and mass produced. The trademark waxy quality on these truffles leaves little to be desired. It's an odd milky, waxy, and nutty (hazelnut) flavor that permeated all of the truffles. This is a hallmark I have noticed on other Belgian chocolates as well. I am not sure if it's because it's mass produced with additives and preservatives or if it's just from blending chocolates. The single origin bars from Neuhaus are spared of this effect.

I am wondering if it's just a Belgian hallmark in general. I have been noticing regional hallmarks lately. England chocolate bars tend to be a lot sweeter than the American, French, and Italian versions. European chocolate in general tends to be milky, and creamier Especially with Swiss, German, and Belgian chocolates.

It also could be because these came in a sealed mass produced collection box. I am willing to bet if these truffles were made fresh and bought from a tiny shop in Belgium it would taste worlds different. It's always different when you are traveling and in the moment.

Still fun none the less trying to figure out which one of these truffles would end up clashing with the wine I chose. Interestingly enough none of them did clash, though a few came close to not working.

Get some wine, get some friends and crack open a box of truffles. Even if you don't choose Neuhaus, there are plenty of truffle makers locally you can chose from and go from there.

Tonight's focus was all about wine, and while I will always worship wine and chocolate, I am going to say that beer and chocolate is much cooler to work with and much more interesting finding out why things work and why they may not have worked. I love vino, but I am always going to be a beer girl at heart.

Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Almonds, Sea Salt, Olive Oil

Once again I am dealing with the chocolate makers who have some of the finest wrapping paper in the business for their chocolate bars. A lovely fleur-de-Lis print.

Mast Brothers in Brooklyn, NY. Dark Chocolate + Almonds, Sea Salt, and Olive Oil. Using Madagascar cocoa beans and handmade techniques to make some fine bean-to-bar offerings.

Something I have come to love about the Mast Brothers, is subtly. I have had their chocolate before and I have requested more for review. My buddy Shane Welch of Sixpoint Craft Ales in Brooklyn, often hooks me up with Mast Brothers Chocolate. But having their Dark Chocolate + Sea Salt or their Dark Chocolate + Salt and Pepper, the balance is soft and delicate on these bars. The salt is present but never overwhelming and the pepper on the salt and pepper bar is unique and worked incredibly well with chocolate.

There is also another connection to Mast Brothers that I fully support. It's their motto of American Craft. As someone who works in the craft beer industry, the idea of American Craft is something I fully appreciate and understand. Our bean-to-bar producers in the US are really coming around and making some unbelievably good chocolate. The rest of the world should sit up and take notice. As they should sit up and take notice of our craft beer scene. It's the best in the world!

Type: Flavored, Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, Madagascar beans

Ingredients: Cocoa, cane sugar, almonds, sea salt, olive oil.

Appearance: Smooth and shiny surface, almond covered underside a few streaky lines on the underside with the almonds, simple non-monogrammed molding.

Score: 93

Snap: Light, airy snap. Firm, but relatively light with an audible snap sound.

Score: 91

Aroma: Dry roasted cocoa, slight medicinal, slightly tarry, a light tart and astringent aroma.

Score: 93

Taste: Salty almonds, tart cocoa, hints of cherries, astringent cocoa, medicinal notes, and hints of tar.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth creamy chocolate with medium melt time, with crunchy, salty almonds.

Score: 94

I don't know if I am all the way sold on the Mast Brothers using Madagascar beans as their primary base for their bars, but in this case I am very sold. The tart and astringent cocoa was balanced by the salty almonds. The nutty taste of the almonds and the salt really interact well with the brightness of the cocoa and the cherry flavors and medicinal tar flavors. Harder to detect any discernible wood flavors like cedar which is classic for a lot of Madagascar beans due to the almonds, but the almonds are a welcomed flavor.

This is a delicious bar of chocolate and very easy on the eyes with the gorgeous almonds. But unfortunately without the almonds I believe this bar of chocolate would be unbalanced. I think they need a little more work in taming these Madagascar beans. Also the almonds helped tone down a bit of the tar characters and minty medicinal notes. It's still there on the taste, but thanks to the salt and almonds, it's covered up pretty good. Or a better way to look at is is that those flavors are blended into the background more.

Still, this was very enjoyable. I enjoyed crunching this one up. I love salted almonds and these were just right on this bar.

Final Score: 93.4

score
A-

Fine & Raw ~ Bonbon Bar

Oh yes! A bar of chocolate made with all natural ingredients and filled with a truffle center.  The Bonbon bar. Word to your moms!

This bar was given to me by my friend Emily Shartin, the chocolate buyer of Formaggio Kitchen. She wanted me to try a very flavorful bar of chocolate from a solid chocolate maker in Brooklyn, NY.

Fine & Raw is a chocolate company out of Brooklyn using natural ingredients and green methods of sustainability.

FINE & RAW is a fresh new company that believes the future is beautiful. To help bring this thought to life we strive to be green and sustainable where ever possible.

We'll be the first to admit we're not perfect. From the big issues, like fairtrade and carbon foot prints, down to using energy efficient light bulbs, we're learning to be greener all the time.

Our cacao is fairtrade and comes from a small cacao farmers co-op that practices sustainable farming. Cacao is a shade grown plant requiring a foliage canopy to grow. Our cacao farmers maintain the rainforests which provide natural symbiotic canopies for the plant. The farmers also grow an heirloom variety of cacao, which promotes bio-diversity of plant species within the rainforest ecosystem.

All our ingredients are organic, which means no unnecessary toxins, chemicals or pollutants are pumped into the environment. Our packaging is recycled and the inks we use are non-toxic and vegetable based.

We want the planet to be strong so it can grow more chocolate.

I have only had one previous experience with Fine & Raw. I reviewed their Mesquite bar. A strange bar that one was. Funky flavors mixed with chocolate. Bizarre yet fun. It's one of those bars that you have to try at least once and you might not enjoy it just as a bar. I found it kind of odd but then I started to think about melting it down and making variants of Mole sauces with it. It was only after thinking about what could be done with it that I fully began to appreciate it. 

I am not going to lie though. I was mostly excited for the Mesquite bar because of the wrapper. A vintage cowgirl with a lasso. It's pretty bad ass. 

Type: Filled bar.

Bean Varietal: Unknown, beans from Ecuador.

Ingredients: Raw cacao paste, cacao butter, blue agave, virgin coconut oil, cacao powder, himalayan sea salt.

Sample Size: 2oz or 54g

Description:

Dark raw chocolate bar with a thin line of bonbon truffle running down the inside center (2oz).

Appearance: Very damaged. This could come from a number of reasons, but it had a very oily and greasy feel to the bar. The oils in this bar began to separate from the cocoa. The foil wrapper was completely saturated with oils. It has a soft truffle center but the shell of the filled bar was very soft. This gave way to a poor snap character. I doubt there would have been a viable snap character anyway with the soft truffle center. But there would have been a small sound with a crisp chocolate shell. I don't know if this bar is always supposed to be this soft or if some how there was an issue along the way with heat exposure or any other reasons. 

I have had a similar experience with a set of truffles that came to me from Patric. They were Elbow truffles made with Patric chocolate. They tasted so fantastic, but they got damaged along the way some how. They had a matted appearance and a bit of a sunken in effect from super soft truffle centers. It's a hard call when things like this happen. They might look messed up, but still they tasted like heaven. This bar was no exception.

Because of this I am not reviewing this chocolate like a standard bar. I am going to talk about the taste, texture, and aroma. I will give it one overall score.

Aroma: Huge coconuts, almonds, and rich roasted cocoa. Once again, a bar of chocolate that smells like a deeply rich Almond Joy. Obviously the coconut oils impact the aroma. I was hoping that the coconut was a natural aroma based on other chocolates I have reviewed with a robust coconut and almond aroma. But none the less, this aroma is unbelievably good. The bar was so fragrant that my entire living room smelled like rich coconut and almonds.

Taste: Coconuts, lovely hits of sea salt, rich roasted cocoa, nice bitter notes blended with sweet cocoa notes, and slight bit of astringency on the first taste.

Balanced flavors with the sea salt, richly roasted cocoa, and coconut make for a fantastic tasting bar. It's delicious and robust. It has a good balance of sweet salty, and bitter cocoa.

Texture: Soft chocolate shell, a bit oily on the surface, smooth soft center, creamy, melts fast.

The taste, creamy texture, and aroma completely save the day for this bar. I just wanted to eat more and more of it. The sea salt gave this bar a perfect balance. Rich cocoa notes big coconut taste and aroma, bittersweet and sweet cocoa tastes where rounded out by the contrasting sea salt taste. Excellent flavors and tastes.

It may not be totally fair to not score this bar based on appearance and snap, but this is an unusual bar of chocolate as it's filled with a truffle center. I am not sure where the issue happened with it's appearance, but it deserves a solid letter grade based on how good it smells and tastes. It's quite a fantastic bar of chocolate overall.

score
A

Neuhaus ~ São Tomé 74%

If you know Belgian chocolate, then I am quite sure you have heard of Neuhaus. A large bean-to-bar company with wide distribution who are well known for their pralines and truffles.

With history stemming back all the way to 1875, including inventing the praline which in Belgium is a truffle but still called a praline, in 1912 and creating royal collections specially made in 1960 for they have a long standing history and reputation for fine Belgian chocolates. 

In 1912, Jean Neuhaus junior, grandson of the founder, took over the business.  He gave free rein to his creativity and invented the first filled chocolate  bouchée, which he named "praline".

In 1958 and 1960, Belgium celebrated the marriages of King Baudouin and Fabiola and of Prince Albert with Paola.  To commemorate these occasions Neuhaus created 4 royal pralines named Baudouin, Fabiola, Albert and Paola.

A little clarification on Truffles, Pralines, and Bonbon's via The Nibble.

• As mentioned on Page 1, in 1912, Jean Neuhaus created the molded, filled chocolate bonbon and called these filled chocolate shells pralines, the same word used to describe the caramelized almonds that had been made by the French (and known to the Belgians, who speak French) since 1636. The word praline in French refers to the sugar-coated almond. Why did Neuhaus use the same word for his filled bonbons? We don’t know, but it sure has created confusion ever since.

Some chocolatiers

subsequently enrobed their ganache centers (i.e., the original truffles), either by hand dipping (the way all chocolates were coated prior to Neuhaus’ invention) or in hard chocolate shells. In France or America, these enrobed ganaches would be called truffles. In Belgium, they are still called pralines.

Thus, when chocolatiers immigrated to the U.S., they might be selling pralines, truffles, bonbons or assorted chocolates, depending on their nationality. And, although the name of what they sold differed, the product might be the same.

This bar comes from their Origine collection. São Tomé and Principe are islands off the coast of Gabon right near the equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It's a Portuguese-speaking nation with São Tomé being the larger southern island.

[Image via Step Up OLPC]

[Image via Wissenladen.de]

Check out this post about São Tomé and Principe called "Chocolate Island" from Sarahan Vibe. 

[Image via Saharan Vibe]

Type: Bittersweet, 74%

Bean Varietal: Not indicated, possible Forastero.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, soya lecithin.

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5oz

Lot #: 09259

Appearance: Square bar with simple "N" monogram, a bit dusty from chocolate particles and a small corner nick that ruins the smooth shiny appearance. Deep dark brown color.

Score: 91

Snap: Deep firm crisp snap, clean but asymmetrical break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Big coconut aroma, coffee beans, almonds, wood, small floral hints. Smells like a fresh and natural Almond Joy. Huge coconuts but mixed in with roasted cocoa and coffee beans. Amazing aroma.

Score: 97

Taste: Nutty, wood characters up front, cinnamon, coconuts, almonds, dry,  mildly bitter, no acidity, a little hint of smokiness and a bright green character towards the finish. Slight hints of bananas. Big roasted cocoa finish through retro-olfaction.

Score: 94

Texture: Smooth, creamy, a bit waxy, but still very smooth, medium melt time.

Score: 92

I am sure some of the chocolate purists will turn their noses up to a mass produced Belgian chocolate producer, but this is the second single origin bar from a mass produced company that really hits all the right marks. It's not as raw as a smaller chocolate maker might produce, but that makes it a bit more palatable for the masses. There isn't anything wrong with that, but as I said some chocolate purists might turn their snobby noses up at that notion that chocolate can be flavorful and delicious and not so overly nuanced.

This bar had an amazing aroma of almonds and coconuts, and a big wood taste with ripe green features and spicy notes. It finishes creamy and soft like most Belgian chocolate do. It had a bit of a waxy texture but it only lasted for a second.

This is chocolate you want to start a good tasting with. It's very solid for an beginning taste and then you want to work yourself into more raw and less refined chocolates.

I can see this being a work chocolate. The one you keep in your desk and take small bites off of when you desperately need a chocolate break. It's mild enough for that kind of thing, but complex enough in it's flavors to satisfy a deep craving.

Final Score: 93.6

score
A-

2010 MSPCA Walk For Animals

 

Taking time out from chocolate to talk about Team BeerAdvocate for the MSPCA Walk For Animals.

BeerAdvocate.com and now my newest adventure 20°N & 20°S, generally focuses charity efforts towards one cause, animals. We are animals lovers and we care deeply about what happens to them. This is the focus we want to aim our efforts towards. It doesn't mean we do not support other causes. It just means that our general focus is towards animal charities.

For the past two years, Team BeerAdvocate has been the number one team donating in all of the Boston area. We keep getting better and better thanks to die hard beer lovers, friends and families, and animal lovers in general.

In our first walk, I only found out about it with one month before the walk. We managed to bring in about $1500. The next year we set the goal at $3,000. We ended up with just over $6,000. And then there was last year's effort. We set the bar at $6,000 and ended up with over $9,000. And of all things, we managed to raise that monster number during an economic crisis.

We had a lot of help from our friends who joined the team and businesses who contributed to our efforts. It has been truly unbelievable for to be able to manage this kind of fundraising. The folks at the MSPCA have said no one has rocked it like that before. The usual top teams before us managed around $3,000. Granted they don't have access to our huge network around New England or the country for that matter. But I am egotistical and want nothing more than to win and generate money for animals, so I feel no shame about my connections to a vast number of people.

This year we decided that if we could raise as much money as we did last year in an economic crisis, then we should be able to go even bigger this year. We set the goal at $15,000.

This means we are going to need all the help we can get. Small or large donations, we don't care as long as you can help in some way. I am asking that all my readers pitch in and help out to donate to Team BeerAdvocate. You can join our team or just make a donation to our teams effort.

The walk will take place on Sunday, Sept. 12th on the Boston Commons.

For businesses, breweries, restaurants, stores, chocolate makers, or any other business who wishes to contribute to our team, we are offering a deal for your company's name to be on our team shirts. For donations of $150 dollars or more, you will get your company name printed on the back of our shirts as supporters.




[Click to enlarge images.]


Our team shirts are donated by qrsts.com, the wonderful people who print all of our BeerAdvocate shirts. Whatever extra shirts we have left over from the walk, we take to the next beer festival we throw, and sell them to add to the next years walk team total. Last year we sold $200 worth of extra shirts. We will be adding that total to the team this year. Every single dime we raise in effort to the MSPCA, goes directly to the MSPCA.

To join our team follow this link and the password is beerlovers. Make a donation of $25 dollars and you will be apart of our team. You can also help us fundraise by getting your own friends and family to donate to your efforts and you customize your own donation page with images of your pets. I have Miss Chicken Von Waffles and Pork Chops Applesauce on my individual page.

Or you can simply send a donation to benefit the team effort without actually having to join the team.

If you care about animals as much as we do, please help us reach our massive goal and help us be the number one team donating for a 3rd year in a row. Do it because you love beer, do it because you love animals.

Vosges ~ Bacon Caramel Toffee

Vosges Bacon and Caramel Toffee

What on earth could exist in a finer combination than chocolate, caramel toffee, and bacon? Nothing! The answer is nothing.

Vosges has a collection of chocolate and bacon goodies. I took the plunge and ordered their Bacon & Eggs, Bacon Caramel Toffee, and a few of the Mo's Bacon Chocolate bars. Oh and lest I forget, their Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix.

Word is Bomb!

"I began experimenting with bacon + chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima® syrup, as children often do. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of sizzlin' bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. And then, the magic—just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the two. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point; for on that plate something magical happened, the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it–chocolate.

From there, it was just a matter of time…and what began as a love of salt and sweet quickly unraveled into an obsession. No sooner could I wait to unveil the royal coupling in solid bar form, a deep milk chocolate with bits and pieces of applewood smoked bacon and just a sprinkling of Alder salt. Really, what doesn't taste better with bacon?"
–Katrina

Now I have to admit, I wasn't so easy on the Bacon & Eggs review. I had a taste in mind when I ordered these, and I didn't feel like they hit the mark for me personally. They were kind of small, kind of expensive, and overly sweet. I felt like salt was missing from the equation. It needed to be a salt caramel in the center and larger bacon bits. I also felt like they should have been in milk chocolate, not dark.

But then I tasted these bad boys and all was right with the universe again. This is what it's all about. Sweet and salty caramel toffee covered in chocolate with bits of bacon throughout the square, and yes they are covered in milk chocolate. The exact right balance I was looking for.

There is only one problem with these though. They taste so fucking good (excuse my language), and there isn't nearly enough in the package they come in. This is like drug dealer stuff. "Let's get them hooked on our special crack in the form of Bacon Caramel Toffee, and they will be begging for more! Muhahahahah!"

Damn you Vosges! DAMN YOU!!!

They did come in a silver package and were not just nestled in the box. Once again I do find this product kind of pricey for the amount you get, about $12 for four ounces or five chocolate covered squares. But based on the way these taste, I would say it's totally worth it. Vosges are crack dealers. You need to know what you are getting into with them. You will be hooked.

Ingredients: Toffee (58.6%) (sugar and butter), Milk Chocolate (42%) (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, vanilla), Uncured Bacon (10%) (pork, sea salt, raw sugar, white pepper, dry juniper berries, celery juice, lactic acid-starter culutre) salt, corn syrup, water, flavoring: natural hickory smoke.

The bacon revolution continues. 

Paul A. Young ~ 100% Manjari

Paul A. Young

Type: Extra bittersweet, 100%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: 100% Madagascar cocoa beans from Valrhona.

Sample Size: 50g 1.76oz



Appearance: Deep dark brown color, matted looking bar, spotted surface, simple non-monogrammed molding.

Score: 89

Snap: Very firm snap with excellent crisp snap sound and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Pure roasted cocoa, fruit forward, very green, bananas, coffee, sweet and a little astringent on the nose. Fairly simple and straight forward on the nose. Not a lot of complications with this aroma. What is there presents itself and that is all.

Score: 95

Taste: Extremely bitter, wood, tar, acidic, berries are present but completely buried but bitterness, there is big green taste on the finish even some bananas but the bitterness once again completely overtakes the palate.

Score: 91

Texture: Smooth, creamy, medium melt time.

Score: 92

This was extremely bitter and almost sour tasting due to the extreme acidity. It hits all the right technical marks, but 100% bitter cocoa is just not for me. Especially with the characteristics of Madagascar beans being typically tart and acidic anyway even with sugar and cocoa butter smoothing it out. It's hard to rationalize that too because I like extraordinarily hoppy beers like big American Double IPA's and even Triple IPA's, I have a palate for extremely bitter offerings. But this is a different kind of bitter that I just do not enjoy. I gave the taste higher marks for the individual notes you can taste, but it's not as high for all the notes that were obliterated by it's intense bitterness. The berry notes were just dying to present themselves but just could not stand up to how deeply bitter this chocolate is.

But this is a statement chocolate. This isn't just for those who enjoy the insanely bitter side of chocolate, this is for the integrity of chocolate, that this is what it is without fluff and no additives. Like a model without make up, a cake without frosting, or bread without butter and jam.

If you are someone who loves black, robust coffee with no sugar or cream or a straight up espresso, this might be something you would enjoy. It's something you would want to have to gain a better understand of raw chocolate, and then expand on with different percentages and blends using the same kind of beans. As a base if you will.


Final Score: 92.2

score
B+