20°N & 20°S

Taza Chocolate ~ 70% Dark

 

 

Oh Taza! What am I to do with you? You are my favorite company of all for chocolate ethics, and detailed information. As I have written about you before, I think you set the standards for what all chocolate companies should be like. But why oh why do your products suck so badly? I take that back. They don't suck that badly or else you wouldn't be that popular, but you have ruined the landscape for what people know to be good chocolate. Your novelty act, and flooding of the market has made it impossible to have rational discussions about what good chocolate is. Your local philosophy has struck a nerve with the purists in this town who buy your chocolate like trendy zombies who seem desperate to be in the loop of what is fashionable in the local/organic scenery. They recite your walking tour talking points as if they fully understand the process and willfully except a mediocre product as if they were given pure Porcelana beans.

You could be so much more than you are. You could be so much better. This stone ground idea should have been a small concept in your arsenal of artisanal chocolate bars. You could be making much more refined bars and really putting out stellar products that make the whole world sit up and take notice. It's not easy being a true bean-to-bar producer and being as dedicated as you are. You have high quality beans that are being wasted, in my god's honest opinion, on these rough, sandpaper, less than enjoyable textured, over-aromatic chocolate bars. You have destroyed what is pretty about chocolate.

I know you think this is beautiful and these products are exactly what you hoped for based on your process. And you have your army behind you to defend you and keep buying your products. But it won't work with me. Not because I am defiant and bullheaded, but because I have never jumped on this bandwagon. It wasn't good the first time I tried it and it still isn't good.

I know, a lot of people will vehemently disagree with this post, but they don't get to taste what I taste. They don't know what I know is out there. Yes, yes, taste is subjective, but you are getting away with it because of the fact that good chocolate hasn't permeated the landscape... yet.

All the power to you as you continue your dominance as one of the few actual bean-to-bar producers in this country. Your success is ultimately good for chocolate no mater what I think. But you and I know the truth. You could be so much better.

*People need to know that as harsh as this is, it's not exactly easy to write. Those who know me, know I have never been a big fan of this chocolate, but I do respect greatly the people behind this company. They are very generous and fun people to hang around as they love beer and are a constant supporter of BeerAdvocate. Their commitment isn't what is in question with me. It's why aren't they better than this? It's been a long time coming however, for me to fully express my dissatisfaction with Taza. And as I go further and further into my own explorations and journeys with chocolate, I grow further and further apart from them.

 

 

Taza 70% Dominican Republic

 

Type: Bittersweet

Bean Varital: Mostly Trinitario with some Criollo.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

Batch #: 369

 

Via their batch number identifcation on their website:

 

Batch #369 - 70% Dark Bar - Taza Chocolate

Batch Information
Variety: 70% Stone Ground Dark Bar
Made On: September 9 2010
Ingredients: Organic roasted cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla bean.
Last Made: August 6 2010

Cacao Origin:
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Provincia: María Trinidad Sánchez
Municipality: El Factor (El Pozo)
Area: Reserva Científica Loma Guacanejo
Fermentery Location: Lat. 19.293363, Long. -69.904128
Varietal: Mostly Trinitario; Some Criollo.

 

Growers & Farm:
Cooperative: Red de Comercializacion Loma Guacanejo
Grower: Hilario Rosario
Farm: El Higuero

 

Additional Ingredients:
Pure Cane Sugar - Jalles Machado
Origin: Sertãozinho (São Paulo), Brazil
Whole Biodynamic Vanilla Bean - Villa Vanilla
Origin: Villanueva (Puntarenas), Costa Rica
Organic Cocoa Butter, Natural
Origin: La Red Guacanejo, Dominican Republic

Roast Profile:
Lot Received On: May 21 2010
Lot #: LR19
Bean Bill: Single Origin Hispaniola Cacao
Roast Date: September 1 2010
Roaster Model: Barth Scirocco 200
Max Temp: 237° F
Roasted For: 48 minutes

Production Info:
Grind Date: September 2 2010
Made By: Mike Schechter , Kellie Silsby, & Greg Lashoto
Total # of Bars Made: 3,482 Bars
Wrapped On: September 6 2010

 

 

Appearance: Simple lined molding with a little thicker squares than a standard chocolate bar molding. Slightly shiny, but over all dull and lackluster.

Score: 90

Snap: Firm snap, loud with clean break lines. It should be noted that the way their molding is leading to fatter squares or chocolate and thicker lines to break in the molding give way to a much firmer snap. But still strong and clean.

Score: 92

Aroma: Huge aroma of pen ink, berries, roasted cocoa, with a big stinky perfume-y floral nose dominating and overwhelming. I could smell this across the room.

Score: 65

Taste:  Sweet for one second then it opens up to a huge bitter, acidic taste, huge floral taste and berries and sugar interacting with acidic, sour notes. Too much competition for the attention on your palate. Sour, bitter, acidic after taste with zero hint of flowers or berries that were so vivid in the center of this chocolate opening.

Score: 35

Texture: Waxy, sandpaper, gritty, but an overall a fast melt time.

Score: 45

 

Okay, I am really not trying to be over dramatic here but this was awful chocolate. Just gross to eat. I struggled to get through this review. I ate one piece and really didn't want to have to eat another one.

The aroma was way too big. From afar you can really smell the flowery perfume of this chocolate with lovely berries, and roasted cocoa. But that's from across the room. Up close, it stank like sitting next to someone on a bus who happened to drown themselves in perfume.

The taste has way too much going on and leaves you with no time to appreciate or fully understand it's complexities. There is a sweet sugary taste with the berries, wood flavors, and floral notes, but they  are in a fierce battle for dominance on your tongue with acid, bitterness, and astringency. And the sour notes win leaving a foul aftertaste that lingers for a while.

As if it couldn't get any worse, that goddamn sandpaper texture destroys your tongue leaving it raw and sensitive while it's being pummeled by the hugely unbalanced flavor profile. To add insult to your injured tongue, you have every asshole who just found Taza or just left one of their tours saying "Oh no but I like that texture. It's supposed to be gritty, That's what they said anyway. It's fun saying the word gritty... Lalalalala." They are regurgitating what they heard on the tour or what they learned in passing. "It's supposed to be gritty." I am sorry but I don't like having my tongue destroyed. I was supposed to review more chocolate after this but ended up having to call it a night so my scratched up tongue could recover.

This is what they want from chocolate? This technique of stone grinding that is supposed to be what all chocolate tasted like before a godsend by the name of Lindt came along and invented conching? I understand that leaving larger granules allows for bigger bolder tastes and more raw chocolate tastes. But this was the reason chocolate became more refined. Chocolate on it's own is very bitter and hard to understand right away and by conching it and grinding it to finer molecules you are releasing some of the acidity that happens during fermentation of the beans. You are blending and balancing the flavors and subtleties in such a way that you can identify them more easily, and get more of an understanding of the chocolate you just consumed.

This chocolate is like having a wrestling match in your mouth. It's unbalanced and it's chaotic to the palate. All the pretty things about this chocolate are slammed in your face and then disappear by acidity and astringency. It's quite frankly too big.

If you don't believe me or think I am being over dramatic, take any fine chocolate at 70%, break off a square and let it sit on your tongue and melt away. Analyze it and really understand it's flavors. Then take a piece of Taza 70% and do the same. You will never look at Taza the same again. And I can promise that no matter how different palates can be.

As I said before, Taza should have made the stone grinding a novelty and a small part of their overall collection. They should use this chocolate to teach classes with about the transformations from raw and unrefined chocolate to the gorgeous bars out there now. This being the raw and unrefined bars. And they should really focus on making refined bars that can compete on a world level. I have no doubt that they are more than capable of that. But sadly these products are not doing Dominican Republic beans any justice. Maybe monetarily wise, but I guess bullshit walks and money talks.

 

Final Score: 65.4

    score
     F

Madécasse ~ Mellow 63%

 

 

I have been sitting on this chocolate for a short while. It's been stuffed in my massive library I have for review. Not too long though. I bought this chocolate with a small note in the order requesting information. They sent right after my order some details about their company along with their emails to contact them with any questions. Very friendly and it shows they are paying attention to the orders.

Madécasse (mah-DAY-cas) was formed by two men Brett Beach and Tim McCollum. After being inspired from their Peace Corps work, they decided to make a bean-to-bar chocolate with beans grown in Madagascar, and the bars are made in Madagascar as well. Instead of sourcing the beans and made here in the US, they make their product right there on the spot. They pay their farmers above fair trade prices and according to their packaging, making the bars in Africa "creates 4x more income than fair trade cocoa alone." Also mentioned on their website, 85% of the worlds cocoa is grown in Africa, but only 1% of chocolate is actually made there.

 

We’ve spent over 10 years combined working and living in Madagascar as Peace Corps Volunteers, and beyond. The island became home and the people our families and friends. Our products represent that personal connection to the island, a deeper understanding of the rich and complex flavors hidden inside the varieties of cocoa, vanilla and peppercorns found exclusively in Madagascar. The result is unique, satisfying products unlike anything you’ve tasted before.

 

There are only a few companies out there this committed to actually helping the environment and helping the people where their cocoa is grown and sourced. This is a wonderful thing they are doing. They also make vanilla extracts and sell whole vanilla beans, and pepper corns.

 

 

 

 

Madécasse - Mellow 63%

 

Type: Semisweet

Varietal: Unknown, but more than likely Trinitario or a hybrid of.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla.

Sample Size: 75g or 2.64 oz

 

Appearance: Simple molding with a small monogram on each little tab. Smooth and shiny with only a few minor matted marks.

Score: 93

Snap: Nice firm snap, clean break lines, and a good snap sound.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big aroma right out of the package but soft at the same time. Roasted, a little smoky, cedar wood, soft tar, mild hints of berries. That immediate aroma dissipates quickly leaving a mild roasted aroma with smoky hints.

Score: 93

Taste: Sweet up front, hints of tar and bitter wood flavors, slightly medicinal, big cedar wood flavors right in the center of the flavor profile, finishes sugary and sweet.

Score: 92

Texture: Very waxy, slow melt time, it gets more creamy at the end, but it takes a while to get to that creaminess, opens up to a little bit of some rougher texture at the end but very slight. Overall smooth and creamy at the end.

Score: 82

 

It's certainly lives up to it's name. It's very mellow yet there are strong features on it's aroma. Even the taste that has big cedar wood flavors, yet it's still a rather soft and mellow chocolate.

Despite the waxy texture which really tanks the score here, it's very tasty and lovely soft Madagascar chocolate. This is a nice way to break someone into Madagascar cocoa. It has all the favorite things I love about Madagascar cocoa beans which is that big cedar wood flavor and yet has seemed to mellow some of the other flavors like the tar and medicinal flavors which can sometimes interfere in my opinion with the more desirable flavors. A bit sugary on the finish, but not an unwelcome feature. It is a semisweet after all.

To be perfectly honest I am going to take the rest of this bar and melt in a cup of steamed almond milk for a nice Madagascar hot chocolate. The sugary content of this bar will make for fabulous drinking cocoa. I am sure that's not exactly what they intended, but I as my sweet tooth drifts further away from me as my palate is shifting, this is a great way for me to enjoy it better.

 

Final Score: 90.6

   score
  B+

American Heritage Chocolate

 

 

 

Lovely samples of a traditional colonial chocolate recipe sent to me by the Historical Division of the Mars company. A new line, American Heritage Chocolate, featuring old 18th century traditions of chocolate making and old Pennsylvania colonial-style recipes.

Handcrafted chocolate with natural ingredients with no additives or preservatives. Historians, chefs, food historians, and their chocolate makers collaborated to use only ingredients and spices available in that era. Recipes adapted and tested from Hannah Glasse and John Nott as well as others.

The blend of spices used for this chocolate are cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, red pepper, orange, vanilla, salt, and annatto.

The hand made techniques are detailed as:

-Imported beans from Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

-Cocoa beans roasted over an open flame, and shells were removed by hand.

-Mortars and Pestles ground the nibs. Often leaving behind traces of other spices and chili peppers. Grinding was also done in mills that ground ginger and mustard which would also influence some of the chocolate's taste.

-Heated stones or metate, was used to grind the nibs in to a chocolate paste.

-Then the hardened chocolate was grated into water or milk.

Watch a chocolate demonstration here: 18th Century Chocolate Making

 

 

I love the presentation of it all. From the wooden box it was sent in and the cloth bag the chocolate sticks were presented in. It's very fun.

 

Single Chocolate stick, pack of four chocolate sticks, and a block of chocolate.

 

 

 

I took one stick for one normal coffee cup and steamed *almond milk. I did take a small nibble off the end of the stick to see what the texture and chocolate tasted like on it's own. Naturally it was very spicy, but the texture was fairly waxy. One of only two issues I had overall with the chocolate.

It smelled fantastic. The spices were a good mix for the chocolate. It did however leave a bit of a cloying taste at the end though due to the spices. But I didn't care about that because it was very soothing and comforting to drink.

 

 

I do think one stick for the cup wasn't rich enough. Though I don't know how it will effect the spiciness with added sticks. After using all of my leftover chocolate scraps from reviewing chocolate and making hot chocolate out of them, I prefer a robust and bold hot chocolate. That's also from being spoiled from the richness of L.A. Burdick's insanely rich hot chocolate. I would try it with one stick for a normal coffee cup, and then gradually add more if you think it needs it.

I haven't baked with it yet, but as the holidays roll around, I will certainly find something to do with the block. For now, I am left with four sticks of the drinking chocolate. That means about 2 more cups. I will make sure I save them for an especially frigid night.

Even with this being a product of a "Macro" chocolate company, this is fun chocolate. This cool little experiment in history and recipe searching. You can find it at historical sites for now to purchase, such as Williamsburg, Va., Mount Vernon, The Smithsonian, Monticello and the Fortress of Louisbourg in Canada. And even better for me being in Massachusetts, I can get this in Deerfield, Ma. The also have teas and coffees.

 

 

*I have recently had to give up milk. It's one of two reasons, either the amount of hormones added to milk here in the United States, or the pasteurization of milk causes a make reaction with my skin. It's been the most devastating thing to ever have to give up. But in Europe, I had raw milk and nothing happened to my skin. Adding milk to my coffee, nothing happened. I still have yet to talk to a doctor about the matter, but my findings so far are leading to me to think it's the pasteurization. When milk is pasteurized a crucial enzyme in milk that helps human bodies process it is destroyed. This could be the reason it's taking it's toll on me. However as a life long milk drinker, this is first time I have ever noticed such damaging effects.

But not all is lost. Almond milk has really come through and saved the day. Vanilla Almond Milk to be more precise. It has vanilla in it, it's sweeter, very thick and creamy. It's like going through the process of making homemade hot chocolate but cutting out all the steps. It's very tasty. And despite being made from almonds, the nuttiness doesn't interfere as much as you would think. It's there mildly, but over all it enhances the richness of the chocolate being added to it. Without Almond milk, I might have considered tossing myself off a bridge if I had to live without milk.

Friendly Chocolate Trades

 

 

Sometimes I get chocolate right from the source or shipped out in pristine condition, perfect and ready for review. And sometimes I get some disasters. Chocolate that somehow got destroyed in transit. I don't think this is a fair way to review chocolate, but I do think that even with broken up bars they can still be talked about and discussed without having to be so technical or score them. Though deeply I would love to rate a few of these, this will make for one hell of a post instead.

 

 

A friend of mine though twitter was in New York a few weekends ago for a chocolate show. I happened to be in town on some other business. The two of us decided to meet and do a little chocolate trade. Unfortunately, all of the chocolate bars she brought to me were damaged. But the brilliant news is that my new friend, Louise Thomas, happens to be a chocolate consultant in London. She shares a passion for chocolate and brought me some really wonderful bars. As I mentioned before, these bars didn't quite make from London to NY and back up to Boston, but just because I can't fully review these, doesn't mean all is lost. And it certainly doesn't mean I am ungrateful for having the privilege of these chocolates even reaching me. Louise is a thoughtful person with a deep passion for chocolate and she was kind enough to bring me some gems.

Let's put all that aside now and just sit like friends and talk about chocolate for a change instead of hardcore reviews.

 

Duffy's Corazon Del Ecador Milk 43%

Red Star Chocolate LTD. Made in Lincolnshire and sold at Paul A. Young in London. Single origin bean-to-bar chocolate maker. They use organic bean, though no certified a organic, and practice fair trade.

Batch # 100103

Size: 80g

Ingredients: Organic sugar, cocoa beans, cocoa butter, and milk powder.

 

Unfortunately this was the most destroyed bar in the bunch. All I can say is that it has simple molding and a fairly decent snap for a milk chocolate bar.

Nice aroma for an Ecuadoran milk bar. Beans from Ecuador or Arriba Nacional beans haven't been my favorite. They are very subtle in flavor and it takes some real tricks to get their true floral aroma to present itself. It also has a drying effect to the palate which sort of wipes the slate clean from lingering flavors. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it's a nuisance.

Here is where it gets tricky. There were some nicks in the foil wrapping. No doubt a lot of the true aroma has dissipated. However, the subtleties of Nacional beans could also be a big contributing factor to a lighter aroma. I won't be able to tell until I can do a round two these bars.

What I did pick up from smelling it was a sweet, mildly roasted cocoa nose, light, peanuts, slightly buttery, wood, mild hints of spice and *cinnamon.

*I found cinnamon to be a common theme in a few of these bars.

Cinnamon was the first thing I noticed on the taste as well. Tasted like a rich hot chocolate, slightly musty, sweet at first them creamy and buttery. Slightly chalky texture, with a medium melt time.

I really enjoyed how buttery am creamy this chocolate was. The texture was okay a Little dry and chalky. Could be refined a bit more. I think I like Montezuma and Rococo's milk chocolates a bit better, but their didn't have the big buttery taste that this one has. They just happen to be a little bit more refined which is what I personally like. For those who like it a bit more raw, then this would be a good milk chocolate for them.

 

Duffy's Corazon Del Ecuador 72%

Batch #: 100144

Size: 30g

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, organic sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin.

 

 

Smaller bar, custom molding versus the standard squared tablets. Once again broken up but not as badly as the milk bar. Light nose and again this could be based on the bean varietal, mild roasted notes, lightly nutty, light wood aromas, buttery, and cinnamon. Thin snap, but fairly decent for a small 30g bar.

Sweet, sugary, tart, acidic, citrus notes, wood, berries. A lot smoother texture than the milk and a faster melt time and a creamier texture.

A hallmark British chocolate. I have noticed that British chocolate tends to be a lot sweeter (a personal observation). This is a very sweet bar of chocolate for a 72%. Very sugary, but this helps tone down some of the citric acidic notes. Clean but sweet finish with some lingering berries. This is pretty robust in the middle and has big fruit characters, but like all Nacional bars, those profiles stick their heads out, and then disappear and the palate is completely dried out and wiped clean. You forget that there were deep berry characteristics and some citrus notes from the acidic content.

 

Let's move on to something a little fancier, or maybe not?

 

 

The Purist Chuao 70%

Lot #: 10214

Ingredients: Cocoa and soy lecithin.

 

Word on the street is, this might not be real Criollo. I am not going to come out and call them liars, but there has been a recent movement of bars being released and being called Chuao or Criollo with no real proof to back up those claims. Chuao is a small village in the northern coastal region of Venezuela where some of the most prized cocoa beans in the world come from. But pure Criollo is not an every day find. It's not unheard of by any means, but the bean is hard to maintain as Criollo is very susceptible to diseases hence all the hybrids like Trinitario for strong varietals (that's a vague nut shell description). Calling it Criollo sounds good, and these are rare and delicate beans. Also the Chuao region is known for hybrids as well as pure Criollo beans. But no mention of genetic testing leads to suspicions that these most prized and rare beans are being used for their name sake but not really in the finished product.

Here is a good article written by Allan McClure of Patric Chocolates that explains some of the issues with pure varietals like Criollo and hybridization. 

Chocolate-Myth Busters #3: Criollo Cacao tastes better than other types?

Having said all that, I shouldn't be taking out on them what a lot of companies are more than likely practicing today. And having never have contacted them to prove their beans are real, it's not exactly fair to single them out. However, I will note the pricing of this bar. For such rare beans, £5 for a bar of this so called rare chocolate seems a little low.... Maybe not by UK standards.

 

I love the molding that makes it look like a swath of chocolate with a simple monogram. Smooth shiny surface with some marginal mated patterns and one break in the bar. This is in pretty good shape considering the others. There are some long streaks running across the top, but that is from other things being pressed upon the bar. The packaging is very nice with pictures of the farms and brief descriptions about the rare beans in the bar.

The original founders of Hotel Chocolat, Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, went to St. Lucia for Rabot Estate and use those beans from the Caribbean. I praise them for their commitment to regrowing cacao on St. Lucia, revitalizing that industry and working towards producing natural and pure chocolate bars. But unfortunately in my opinion, they over conched their beans and conched a lot of the good flavors right out of those beans with a gimmicky longer conching process. And like the St. Lucia beans, they have given these Criollo beans a 96 hour conch. If Criollo is so delicate, then why would they need to go through such a long process? Criollo is the exact kind of bean you wouldn't want to conch for long to protect it's delicate flavors. Granted I am not a Criollo bean expert or a Chuao regional expert.

 

It smelled like Venezuelan beans that's for sure. Those notes of rubber tires and tar, a little chemical and medicinal. I always pick those notes up on coastal Venezuelan varietals. Inky, nutty, sweet notes like honey, dried fruits. Very sweet, tangy, lightly acidic, bright fruits, fresh, green wood characters, red wine grapes Very smooth and creamy texture. Fantastic tasting bar.

Very complex fruits and deep flavors. I like this chocolate very much. It is far more superior than that of their Rabot Estate bars. But again I am left with the above questions, why conch these beans to death if they are so delicate. I think by far this was one of the best tasting bars I have had in this entire group, but show me the money. Show me some genetic testing behind this bar and then explain why such an excessive conch was necessary for delicate and rare beans.My guess is that these were hybrid beans falling victim to a silly gimmick such as excessive conching times. Luckily for them it worked.

I realize most people don't know this about Criollo beans or the Chuao region. And that the things I am asking are in fact geek-shit when it comes to chocolate tasting. But as someone who is a novice and just a taster, this is how I think. Imagine what it's like for the industry at large?

Whatever the case may be behind this bar, and my apologizes if this stirs up some shit for these people, (as if a small time blogger ever could get that sort of reaction), this is great chocolate. I liked it very much.

 

 

 

Duffy's Star of Panama 70%

Batch #: 100124

Ingredients: Cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin.

 

I haven't had cocoa from Panama before. I was anxious to try this too because it smelled differently from the other bars of chocolate. It was more dank and had descriptors that wouldn't necessarily sound that appealing. Not in a classical sense anyway. A lot of beers or cheese have similar funky descriptors. This chocolate isn't that dramatic but by citing cheese or funky beers, you get the idea that even though something may not sound very appetizing, that doesn't mean I am saying it's not good. You will find that I often do this with certain funky chocolates. More notably for the Patric Rio Caribe in which I compared it to a funky gueuze.

 

 

The aroma was dry wood, Earthy, musty, underlying stone fruits like apricots. Typical non-monogrammed molding, but good snap quality.

This is pretty bold chocolate. The taste was sweet up front, a little smoky up front as well, but then it opens up and is buttery, smooth texture, leather notes, musty, more sweetness as the chocolate opens up on the palate, dried wood, mild medicinal hints.

The flavor descriptors on the package say: Deep Chocolate, buttered toast, warm chestnuts, with a sweet almond aftertaste.

I get the chestnuts for sure and yes that sweet almond after taste and buttery. But I got more dried wood than buttered toast. More like oak barrels or whiskey barrels followed up with sweet sugary notes. Musty basement tastes mixed with chestnuts. Strange flavor, profiles but I really liked it. My husband said peat moss notes and nuts.

 

 

 

L'Artisan du Chocolat Jamaica 72% Dark

Lot #: 00003971

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and soya lecithin.

 

As part of their single origin bars collection, this is a limited edition bar using Jamaican beans. And my first time sampling some Jamaican beans.

 

Huge aromas. big wood, nuts, char, ink, roasted cocoa, soft and subtle berry and floral aromas on the top of this big aromatic bar.

Sweet up front, licorice, pen ink, buttery cocoa, and wood. The packaging did say licorice was a big flavor profile on this bar of chocolate. They weren't lying. But they also mention plums and jasmine which I feel like were totally lost on this plate due to other conflicting flavors.

This one has been my least favorite of the bars so far. It's big and bold in it's flavors but it's almost like they don't match on the taste. The packaging did say licorice was a big flavor on this bar of chocolate. They weren't lying. But they also mention plums and jasmine which I feel like were totally lost on this plate due to other conflicting flavors. Buttery cocoa and licorice flavors competing leave an awkward flavor. The char and ink flavors dominate covering up any berry flavors or subtleties.

I absolutely loved the aroma. It's big and has so many layers to it you could hold it to your nose and smell it for hours. But the taste didn't work for me. But too many contrasting flavors all vying for your attention on the palate and it left an undesirable aftertaste.

It's hard to say what the score on this one would have been. High marks for aroma and lower marks for taste.

 

 

 

Zotter "Labooko" Brazil 70% Amazonia and 60% Medicilândia

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, cocoa butter, raw cane sugar, salt.

70% minimum cocoa, and 60% minimum cocoa.

 

 

 

A two for one package with some funky art on the cover make for an interesting bar(s) of chocolate.The artist responsible for the designs is Andreas H. Gratze. It makes for wonderfully cool packaging. I encourage you to look at the Zotter website (especially on their Austrian site) and see the rest of the products and designs. Also important to note is the environmentally friend paper and ink used for the packaging.

The idea behind this series is to compare cooperatives, regions, and percentages in cocoas.

I only worry about one thing with the way they are packaged. They should be sealed in plastic if they are going to sit on top of or right next to each other in their package. If one has a bigger or more robust aroma, it could infect the other bar or interfere with the aroma of the other bar.

Here is a bean-to-bar producer from Austria, Josef Zotter, who prides himself on using fair trade products and certified organic ingredients. It is sold through out the UK which is how it came to be in my collection.

Another first for me as I have not had Brazilian chocolate before.

 

Brazil 70% Amazonia

Amazonian rain forest cocoa, mildly roasted, slowly rolled, and intensely conched for 32-34 hours.

The only negative about the name would be to have a more specific region to detail or list. Saying Amazonia might as well be like saying the world since the Amazon jungle is so big. I realize that's a small detail but consider this: Venezuela could probably fit inside the Amazon at least four or five times over. They have at least 8 specific regions where the flavors of the cocoa beans are so drastically different from one and other. Not to mention that 60% of the vast rain forest is inside of Brazil.

 

This, like the Duffy's Star of Panama, was most interesting on the nose. Subtle dry aromas like paper, roasted cocoa, musty, burnt notes, a little acidic, and medicinal, cherry Robitussin. Again I know how funky this sounds, but this doesn't mean it's bad.

Sweet upfront, tart, roasted cocoa, cherries, lightly acidic, mild charred and burnt flavors, cedar wood, and a slight herbal hint on the finish

It's very fruity and Earthy at the same time with the rich wood flavors. It's so much like Venezuelan beans. Bright cherry flavors a little acidic and tart, but followed up with rich woods and roasted cocoa flavors.

This is very nice chocolate. It's complex and fun at the same time.

 

 

Brazil 60% Medicilândia

Located at what Zotter calls a town like the "Wild West" in Medicilândia at the Trans-Amazonian Highway. The major highway that crosses through the country and rain forest.

 

Both images via Wikipedia.

 

The aroma on this bar has a much softer aroma, nutty, cinnamon, slightly creamy like a candy bar. Like a milky way or nougat.

A much creamier taste and texture. It's almost like a dark-milk chocolate. Again some tangy notes, but very sweet and rich. Rich tobacco notes, milky, caramel, cinnamon, some complex fruits underneath the cream, and lightly hidden wood characters. Some lingering astringency on the palate.

This is delicious chocolate. It's a good balance for the milk chocolate lovers and the dark chocolate lovers. It has the best of both worlds as far flavor profiles go. I would definitely give this an A.

 

And there you have it. Excellent chocolates from the UK. Once again I am grateful to Louise for thinking of me and making a good trade with me. Zotter was my favorite in the tasting experience with a side by side tasting of two regional Brazilian cacaos. I think pound for pound the Duffy's is great chocolate but the Hotel Chocolat Chuao bar was by far the tastiest despite whatever controversies I may have drummed up for it.