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Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers 70%

 

 

My allies in the craft world. Craft beer drinker and chocolate eater, they are American Craft Chocolate makers. Once again coming through with stellar packaging. I LOVE skulls and this entire wrapping is just bad ass. It makes me want to say Suprasternal Notch. If anyone has seen the English Patient then you will know how amazing that word is and what it means. It's in my top five of all time for packaging.

 

 

Dark Chocolate + Serrano Peppers 70%

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Ingredients: Organically farmed  Dominican Republic beans, organic cane sugar, stone ground Mexican hot chilies, Serrano peppers.

Sample size: 2.5oz or 70g

 

Unfortunately I can't fully review this bar. It was broken up inside. I didn't have anything to do with that since it was gift chocolate. Probably banged up a bit in shipping. Normally I would just eat the bar and move on, but I have been wanting to talk about this one for a while.

I have had it a bit longer than I should have as well for Mast Brothers which is another reason why I can't review it in good conscious. Mast Brothers is one of the few chocolates that doesn't have a very good shelf life. Get it and eat it right then. Normally chocolate can go about a year or so depending upon it's wrappings. Mast brothers cannot. As you will notice in the pictures aside from being broken up, the bar is quite ashy.

I am happy that they chose the Dominican Republic for the cocoa beans for this bar. It's a much deeper and richer chocolate. They have been using Madagascar as their base lately for chocolate and I haven't been 100% sold on that. They need a little bit more time to perfect their Madagascar. They are right there on that cusp of greatness though. I liked their chocolate much more when Venezuela was the base. And by base I mean their base for most of their flavored bars, like almonds and sea salt or cranberries.

It tasted sweet and spicy right off the bat. A little waxy, at first bu then it opened up nicely. The heat was a slow building heat. I prefer this. I am a major wuss about spicy foods. If it builds slowly, I can take it. My palate is so sensitive I can barely tolerate medium salsas.

The chocolate flavor is robust and bitter, but not acidic or astringent. Nice sugar balance and the heat is just holding on the background. The peppers also add a nice flavor to the chocolate. Chocolate and chilies are made for each other. The spices help bring out a bit of a dried tart cherry taste on the chocolate which was an unexpected delight. Cherry pie filling lingering on the palate with tingling hot spice left remaining on the tongue. Fantastic.

I am very impressed that they kept the balance of the heat in check. Serrano Peppers is a no no for a wuss like myself, and I could handle this chocolate. The only issue I have with it, is that the heat is a bit distracting from trying to taste any nuances with the chocolate. But then again, that's not the point of something like this. And that cherry flavor is an unexpected bonus thanks to the heat. But that's all I am really picking up through the heat.

It's not a real review, but still fun to taste and talk about. If I were to give this a grade, I would give an A- or a B+.

 

Rogue Chocolatier ~ Piura 75%

 

 

Very small batch, Limited Edition bar from Rogue. This is beyond Single Origin. This is a single plantation bar with a very limited quantity of only four bags of cocoa beans.

 

Colin Gasko explains it best in his words from his packaging and website.

For a year we have been working to bring in this very special cacao from an isolated population of trees in Northern Peru. We have finally managed to bring in a “nano-lot” of only four bags of cacao from Juan Tirado’s 7.5 acre organic cacao farm in Morropon Province in Piura, Peru. This is the smallest micro-lot ever made into a bar. All four bags of this storied “white-bean” cacao come from a single fermentation and drying cycle, giving us the rare opportunity to create a chocolate that will give new meaning to the term “single origin.” More importantly, Juan’s farm produces the finest cacao that we have tasted. This is a result of genetics, but also of excellent post-harvest handling, leading to a distinct floral aroma with an extremely mild, buttery flavor of nuts, cocoa, and raspberries. Each of the fewer than 4,000 bars produced is wrapped in a beautiful limited edition letterpress printed packaging.

 

The Piura Region of Peru is located in the northern region of Peru. The Morropon Province is located in the center of this region.

Via Wikipedia and the image:

This province is located in the center of the Piura Region, being a land of contrast and climatic fusion. It is dotted by tropical forests of the dry-equatorial style in its flat areas were the carob tree predominates. In high areas of an elevation 1,500 to 2,000 metres (4,900–6,600 ft) the landscape changes to smooth high jungle and a lack of varied hilly valleys.

 

 

 

Click to enlarge images.

 

 

 

Piura 75%

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Varietal: Unknown. I will have to ask Colin if he is aware of what the bean varietal is on this bar of chocolate. Peru has all the classic bean varietals plus hybrids and even some unknown or new varietals. Peru a chocolate geeks paradise for discoveries.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar.

Sample Size: 2.12oz or 60g

Bag #: 2

Batch #: 2

Date: 07/05/2010

 

Appearance: Smooth, sleek, un-molded bar. Thin and shiny, completely unblemished... on one side, the other side matted heavily from plastic wrapper.

Score: 85

Snap: Light crisp sound, asymmetrical break lines due to no molding lines. But still firm for a thinner bar of chocolate.

Score: 87

Aroma: Tangy aroma, floral, raspberries, tobacco, slightly nutty aroma, and dry.

Score: 92

Taste: Tangy, lightly acidic, astringent, big wood, big raspberries, inky, a bit of toasted malts. An interesting burst of sugar right after the initial taste, but it is quickly overtaken by astringency.

Score: 91

Texture: Smooth and creamy with a slightly drying finish, medium fast melt time.

Score: 98

The appearance score was tough to give. On one side it was pure perfection for an un-molded bar of chocolate. Completely unblemished except for my finger prints when pulling it out of it's wrapper. On the other side it's the prime example of the some of the unwanted effects from wrapping your chocolate in plastic. However, the plastic allows for the aroma to stay intact and allows for a much longer shelf life. I will always be in favor of this no mater what happens to the appearance.

It's aroma was quite tangy and floral. Normally I don't like to be influenced by what the package descriptions say you should smell or taste on a bar, but sometimes it's just unavoidable and completely not up for debate. The aroma and taste are there through and through. It smelled like big bright raspberries and tasted like it too.

As I mentioned it's highly fruity with raspberries and it's very tangy A little too tangy for my liking, but it had what is becoming a classic Rogue hallmark of cedar woods. I got a lot of raspberries and wood and it didn't allow for some of it's subtleties to come through. A little bit with some toasted malt flavors. The astringency leaves a slightly bitter lingering taste on the palate, but not offensively. Also some lingering coffee notes.

I am in love with the texture. It is a little bit drying on the finish, but the creaminess of it and how it softly melts away is truly amazing. I didn't get a nutty buttery taste on this chocolate like the package suggests, I did get a lovely buttery soft texture.

 

Final Score: 90.6

   score
  B+