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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+

Amano ~ Chuao 70%

 

 

 

Sometimes I like the imperfections of my pictures. I haven't mastered the art of lighting yet. But with a high gloss package from Amano, dark setting in my apt. due to eco lights which I truly despise, and needing a flash to capture the details for this pic, I have covered all flaws you can imagine with this one shot. Finger prints on the package, blurry top, and a reflection of the flash. I am getting good. Note the sarcasm here.

 

Image via SeventyPercent.com art work by Diane Whitehead.

Seventy Percent also wrote a really good detailed blog about Art Pollard's journey with working with Chuao beans.

Amano - Chuao

 

Special Edition Chocolate from Amano. The infamous Chuao bar. 70% dark chocolate.

Now, a couple of things to take notice of, major shift in price on these bars of chocolate. This let's you know that these are pretty rare beans or at least very pricey beans. A normal bar from Amano runs about $6.95. Specialty bars arounf $8.95. This one runs for about $9.95 not including mark ups from various retailers. I made notice of this on another bar of Chuao I recently tasted. It was relatively cheap for such a special bar of chocolate. If it's so rare and illusive then why is it not being charged for as much? They responded and assured me that it wasn't cheap for them to get. A small, inconsequential, observation, but one that gets me thinking. 

No word on genetic testing for this bar either. It's important to note that as Chuao is an infamous chocolate region that produces highly rare and pure Criollo beans, but also a lot of hybrid varietals. Amano's packaging does mention Criollo, but doesn't say pure Criollo. Even if the beans are from this region, that doesn't guarantee that they are in fact pure Criollo. It's becoming quite easy for people to stamp Criollo on their packaging without anything to really verify that it is. On this matter though I still give Amano more credit as their history and work ethics with cocoa farmers in South America is truly commendable. I have no doubt that they do get very hands on with the farmers and know inside and out the kinds of beans they are working with. Still an authentic stamp of approval is becoming a necessity these days to weed out the poseurs.

There is this note from Art Pollard himself on their website explaining how he has worked extensively with these beans. Unfortunately, I still think we need more proof. Chocolate is trendy now and there is becoming more of an understanding of regions and varietals. It sucks to put such good chocolate complanies on blast, but again if your work is true and pure, prove it and be done with the questions.

 

The Chocolate Maker's Notes:

It is not often that one has the opportunity to work with true greatness. From Amano's inception we have worked with the world's greatest cocoa. The farmers we work with truly care for their trees, their cocoa and are the very best there are. Even so, there has always been one cocoa sorely lacking -- Chuao. Famous for its cocoa since at least the 1600's Chuao's flavor has become legend. Many consider Chuao's cocoa to be the world's best; no American chocolate maker had ever released a chocolate with these beans.

I spent an extensive amount of time conducting tests and researching the flavor properties of Chuao's beans. I did not want to release a chocolate until I felt I had fully understood the beans flavor and how each of the flavor notes interacted with each step of our process. Additionally, I did not want us to release the chocolate until I felt confident that the finished chocolate would be better than the best Chuao chocolate yet made. I believe I have achieved both of these goals. The flavor of the finished chocolate is amazing and has top chefs with whom I have shared samples raving. I believe that this very special chocolate will do the same for you.

Art Pollard
Founder, Head Chocolate Maker

 

 

 

 

Amano Chuao 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Varietal:Criollo/Hybrid.

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

Sample Size: 2oz or 56g

Lot #: 3/4/83B

 

Appearance: Monogrammed molding, square tablets, ashy in appearance and a muted, matte surface.

Score: 87

Snap: Very solid and firm snap, crisp snap sound and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Softer, sweet nose, lightly spicy, berries, a little inky, nutty, soft floral overtones. There were a big more dry and tannic aromas once I snapped a piece off.

Score: 92

Taste: Sweet sugars right up front, bold and bright blueberries, plums and a bit of pen ink mixed in. Tasting notes on the package suggest almonds and molasses as well as the blueberries and plums. I am not tasting molasses and the almonds are there but ever so slightly and a little toasted. Might be more dominate the more fresh the bar is. A soft floral aftertaste that lingers a bit on the palate.

No astringency or acidity to speak of for such a high percentage of cocoa in this bar. Very mild.

Score: 95

Texture: A little grainy at first be smooths out to a super creamy and soft texture with a medium melt time.

Score: 92

 

I am totally fascinated by the big blueberry taste on this chocolate. It's kind of amazing tasting blueberries on chocolate. It's so distinctive. The plums were there and the almonds were very subtle and a little toasted but I didn't find molasses on this bar. Just a softer, sweet bar of chocolate with lovely blueberries. There isn't a whole lot of subtleties with this bar. It's pretty straight forward despite being delicate in it's flavors.

Overall, I like the Chuao bars that I have tasted so far. I don't think it's by far the best bar of chocolate I have ever tasted though. I think there is way too much hype around Chuao and Criollo beans. But that's not to say this isn't fantastic chocolate. It's pretty damn good bar and those blueberries are amazing.

 

Final Score: 92

   score
  B+