Slitti Super Novanta Cioccolato Fondente Extra 90%. Super Ninety, extra bitter dark chocolate.
Slitti are a family of coffee roasters stemming back from 1969, who added the addition of chocolate making in 1988 by Andrea Slitti, son of Luciano. Luciano ventured out to make and roast his own coffee to serve superior coffee instead of the coffee he was serving, which he thought was swill.
Following his fathers footsteps and building upon his own creativity, Andrea ventured off into chocolate. A jump that didn't take much pushing since they pursue cacao beans from the same regions they source for coffee.
More about Andrea here, plus accolades and awards.
This was picked up for me by Angelo Scarnera on a trip to Italy. Tuscan chocolate! I can barely contain myself. My love for Italian chocolate knows no bounds and Angelo knows it. I have a special place in my heart after trying Venchi's 85% Cuor di Cacao. It's a big chocolate that you wouldn't know just how big it is based on how well they smoothed out the edges of of this chocolate. No sharp acidity. Lot's of bold flavors and less sugars, but unlike any other big chocolate I had tasted before. That was my introduction into fine chocolate and was the standard I held for a long time against other chocolates. Not wanting some big, robust, acid bomb chocolate that jabs you in the neck when you eat it. Once I knew it was possible to tame chocolate this way, I had to learn more.
I am hoping this big 90% bar will yield similar results. I have such a sensitive palate towards bitters. It's surprising being that I am also a major hop head in the beers I like. Double IPA's bring them on. Women tend to have a higher sensitivity to acidity and bitters. This was from research I have previously done on super tasters, women, and beer. Beer is the best example I can give here, if a beer is 60 IBU's (International Bittering Units) a woman's palate can taste it as high as 65% and in more extreme cases 70% due to a sensitivity to acids and bitters. So, like the beer it's interesting when you find women that like their coffee extra bitter, or their chocolate extra robust. This is not the case for every woman or every person. Taste is 100% subject and there can be many factors that effect a persons individual palate.
Now, we'll just have to see if the review for this bar matches what I was hoping for.
Type: Bittersweet, 90%
Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and natural vanilla.
Bean Varietal: Unknown, probably Criollo and Trinitario blends.
Sample Size: 100g or 3.5 oz
Lot #: 1623
Appearance: Smooth shiny surface, large-squared tablet, simple molding, a few matted marks on the surface from plastic wrapping, very dark and deep rich brown color.
Score: 92
Snap: Firm crisp snap, light cracking sound, clean break lines.
Score: 93
Aroma: Very light aroma. Soft roasted cacao, light hints of coffee, almonds, wood, a very subdued layer of berries, and small hints of cinnamon.
Score: 93
Taste: Bold, deeply bitter, no acidity, surprisingly fruity, coffee notes, excellent wood flavors and leathery notes, very complex.
Score: 95
Texture: Dry and hard, slow melt time. It does eventually open up to a softer and creamier texture, but still very dry on the palate.
Score: 87
Despite it's texture this was most excellent. It renews my faith in Italian chocolate makers. The texture is rather dry and chalky up front. It does eventually soften up but is still very dry. It's the only qualm I have with higher cocoa percentage bars. That is if they're balanced right, it's the only beef I have with them.
I try not to take too many points away for plastic matting marks unless it's really bad. These were a little bit bad and make the shiny bar look a bit ashy, but it wasn't ashy. I should be more critical of that, but I like chocolate kept in plastic. It retains it's freshness longer. And a few superficial marks like that shouldn't be a big detraction. Especially not when the bar is in pristine condition. This bar had no nicks, no ashy qualities, no tempering issues. Just some minor plastic issues.
The flavors are deep complex. Very bold, biter and rich cacao, huge fruity, berry flavors coupled with big roasted cacao flavors, wood, and leather. This is definitely Venezuelan cacao, and definitely not coastal. I wish I knew where in the Venezuelan Amazon they were sourcing their beans from. As small as Venezuela is, they have the most distinctive regions for cacao growing. It's amazing that the more I taste chocolate the more adept I am becoming at identifying regions. I am not that good yet, but it's coming along.
I am most impressed by the taming of the acidity. It's just what I wanted from this bar. All bold and rich complexities of the chocolate, bitterness included, but no offensive acidity that interferes. All raw flavor.
Hardcore beer drinkers will no doubt love something like this. They tend to lean more towards the less sweet and more robust and raw flavored chocolates. While this chocolate is still a bit too big for me to regularly eat, I will most definitely bake with this and it will be wonderful. I can only imagine now how fruity and deeply rich the cake will be. Surely, it will be a cake as the next thing I bake.
Final Score: 92
B+
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