20°N & 20°S

Madécasse ~ Rich 70%

 

 

 

Madécasse ~ Rich 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario, Hybrid

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

Sample Size: 2.64 oz or 75g

 

Appearance: Simple square patterned, monogrammed tablet, ashy, medium chocolate brown color, smooth surface. Some minor matted marks on the surface.**

Score: 90

Snap: Good strong snap. Nice audible snap sound, clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Dried wood, soft roasted cacao and huge dried figs.

Score: 95

Taste: Deeply rich cocoa, a bit acidic, bitter, big cedar wood, mild leather notes, cereal grains, and deep in the back of the flavor of this chocolate are cherry notes.

Score: 87

Texture: Medium-hard, dry, long melt time.

Score: 84

 

**I did not deduct from the appearance of the bar based on it's ashy appearance. It's in great shape for holding on to it as long as I have. I am being completely honest about my Madécasse reviews as I have had their bars since the fall. They are not past their prime by any means, they're not close to being expired yet, but it has gone through the winter with me. I didn't expect a shiny bar after all this time. And it shouldn't be taken out on them that I waited this long.

Very simple descriptions on the nose of this chocolate. It was 3 simple things. Dried wood, roasted cacao, and dried figs. The fig aroma was awesome. It was big, but not too big and it didn't push down the other aromas. Well, the other aromas that I could detect anyway. I even pulled out a tin of dried  Turkish figs for comparison, and they were identical sans the wood and cacao on the bar. Simple yet fantastic.

 

It's all bitterness and acidity up front. Mild acidity, but deeply bitter and it interferes with some of the nuances of the flavors. In the middle, it opens up with big cedar wood flavors and cereal grains, some slight leathery notes. But the bitterness and wood flavors trump a lot of the deep and complex fruit notes. There is a cherry presence, but it's buried underneath everything else.

Although I love big wood flavors in chocolate, especially cedar wood, it's a bit much on this chocolate. It's all you really get out of it. The wood flavors coupled with the bitterness of this chocolate makes it taste a bit unbalanced. I could tell that there could be more going on with this chocolate and more flavors wanted to come out and play but the bully's were on the play ground as bitterness and wood.

The texture didn't do it any favors either. It was hard, very slow melt time and dry. It wasn't horrible texture by any means, but if this were softer and creamier, it could have been a lot better despite its dominating flavors.

 

Final Score: 90

   score
    B

20°N & 20°S Presents: The Top 10 Best Chocolate Makers

 

 

This is a collection of the best Bean-to-Bar that I have tasted so far (2010 -2011) with a few honorable mentions at the end. This isn't an exact reflection of what is available on the market, this is based on what I have personally reviewed and tasted so far.

After going through a lot of chocolate, and I mean A LOT of chocolate, and Lord above help me now, I still have WAY more to try, I have decided to present my findings thus far on whom I think are some of the best chocolate makers in the world. It's only me judging. It's based solely on my tastes and preferences and should be considered 100% subjective. This list will change every year, naturally, as more and more chocolate is introduced into my life. If you are a chocolate maker and are not on this list, either try harder for my affections, or send me products because I may not have had it yet!

You will notice if you go back and scroll through older reviews, that my review style is noticeably changing. This is the point exactly of my journey through chocolate. To learn about and grow with it. And to understand my own palate better. I have no intention of changing the old reviews, but rather move forward get better with time. I only bring this up because as I scroll through older reviews, I am totally laughing at myself. Some are vague, and some are overly descriptive. I am learning people, I am learning!

Amano ~ Cuyagua 70% Limited Edition

 

 

 

A limited edition bar of chocolate with beans from the northern coastal region of Venezuela. There has been quite a bit of buzz from the "chocolate elite" or the reviewing community about this particular bar. This bar and Amano's Chuao.

It's to be expected though, it's Amano. They are one of the world's best chocolate makers. Their skills in making cocoa beans show their true potential via aroma and taste is simply unrivaled. The dedication and commitment to the farmers and regions where they source their beans is admirable.

 

I hate to cut and paste everything from their website, but this is a very good description as well as personal insights from Art Pollard himself. I find all of it fascinating and want to highlight it here.

Nestled in a little valley on the Caribbean coast the small village of Cuyagua is home to some of Venezuela’s most highly prized cacao. Cuyagua’s plantation is old -- tracing its history back to the 1600’s. Its trees are tall — many twice the height of that found on other plantations. We buy this special cocoa from Cuyagua’s farmers, import it, and using our proprietary and labor intensive techniques transform them into a truly remarkable chocolate. The flavor can be described as being deep and hauntingly rich with wonderful fruit notes of melon and spice. This is an incredible chocolate — one you will treasure and share with your friends and loved ones (if you don't eat it first).

The Chocolate Maker's Notes:

For me, Cuyagua is a very special village and is home to one of my most precious chocolate memories. Not long after we launched, I went to visit Cuyagua’s farmers. Cuyagua is very remote and difficult to get to. I arrived at sunrise and spent the cool morning working with the farmers until their day was done. We crossed the Cuyagua river to a small clearing where they gathered round. I gave each farmer a chocolate bar that we made with their cocoa. They were so proud to see their village’s name on each of the bars.

We passed around one additional bar for each to sample. One old farmer came approached me and said: “This chocolate is like a river.” I thought this a very strange comment and so I asked him what he meant. He looked at me and said: “This chocolate takes you on a journey of flavor to all these wild wondrous places; the flavor goes on and on like a river.”

To this day, I get emotional when I think about this simple farmer. Here in this remote village was a simple farmer who in his heart was a poet. Somehow, our chocolate spoke to his soul and left a profound impression on him. This experience made me realize that we were making something truly special and caused me to redouble my efforts to respect each farmer’s hard work by making the best chocolate possible. It is my hope that this chocolate speaks to your soul in the same way that it spoke to the soul of this humble farmer.

Art Pollard
Founder / Head Chocolate Maker

 

“This chocolate is like a river.” This is a very true statement and I could tell immediately upon opening it and inhaling the aroma. Very complex, so many details and layers.

 

 

Each one of their bars has specific art work as well. This is an oil painting "Cocoa Flower" by Marcia Baldwin.

 

 

[Image via Surf-Forecast.com]

 

Coastal Venezuelan regions are world renowned for having some of the best cacao. But this chocolate is very different for anything else I have had to date from Venezuela. As far as the aroma goes anyway. I have come to recognize key hallmarks of certain regions where cocoa comes from. Coastal Venezuela generally has deep, robust characteristics and more funky, tar, toasted bread, earthy, and sometimes bright green or new wood characters, deeply roasted  or char characters, with deep berries. This of course, is a generalization and is highly subjective. But it's what I have personally come to recognize from chocolate bars being produced with beans from these coastal areas. Rio Caribe being the most intense region. And while this bar certainly has these hallmark tastes, the aroma masked all of that and allowed a nice "otherness" to be presented about this chocolate.

This chocolate however, is like a delicate flower in the middle of all that chaos of palate inundating flavor profiles. Like the pretty cactus flower that grows a brillaint pink on top of harsh cactus needles. More complicated and softer forcing you to find out it's secrets instead of being hit over the head with it's unique profile. Both on the taste and the aroma.

 

Click to enlarge images.

 

Cuyagua, 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Criollo,Trinitario, hybrid blends.

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

Sample Size: 2oz or 56g

Lot #: 3/4/85C

 

Appearance: Square tablet, small squares, monogrammed molding, a bit dusty on the surface, not so much bloom, but more like a mix of sugar dust and chocolate particles all over the surface. A few nicks as well. A medium dark brown chocolate color.

Score: 89

Snap: Excellent snap. Firm, crisp, clean break lines, and nice audible snap sound.

Score: 95

Aroma: Very complex. Slightly roasted aroma, sweet candy, tobacco leaves, mild smoky hints, oak wood, berries, mild hints of pen ink, light almonds.

Score: 97

Taste: Sweet sugars up front, deep and bold bitter cacao, tar, wood, mild coffee notes, complex berries, pen ink, soft and subtle flowery notes, and buttery toast notes on the finish with retro-olfaction.

Score: 96

Texture: Medium hard, medium melt time, and a creamy texture once it gets opened up.

Score: 91

 

I think it's become a running joke now with Amano bars on appearance. I never seem to get the immaculately pretty bars as far as surface issues goes. But I will hold on to the dream of getting a pristine bar. Kidding aside, it's not a big a deal these minor surface issues, but it does prevent a high score on Amano reviews. I have decided against weighted individual scores.

The aroma was a bit of surprise. As mentioned above, it had virtually no characteristics of what I have come to expect from coastal Venezuela beans. So much going on too. I truly believe Amano are masters at drawing out the true potential in chocolate. It had everything on it from sweet, sugary candy notes, to oak-y woods, and tobacco leaves. A bit of some smoky characteristics and and light, sweet almonds. So much going on. I had to sit with it for a while and really let it all sink in.

The taste had more of what I expect from this region. More tar flavors, toast, pen ink, and deep berries. I am struggling to identify the specific berries. Forgive me for being vague on that. But there were nice mild coffee flavors and wood, but most surprising was a sweet and flowery taste hidden underneath all it's layers.

It's quite intense on the palate, yet the flavors are subtle. Some pop out more than others, but usually from what I have noticed about coastal Venezuelan beans, is that it's robust through and through and there are very specific flavors. Usually they are front and center and all of the nuances are harder to detect. This is however, let's everything come out and play. Delicacies and bold flavors alike all share equal footing.

This is why it's unlike anything I have ever had before. The aroma is soft, and gives off this impression of a delicate chocolate, the flavors are bold and complex yet soft at the same time. They show themselves without kicking you in the face. This is why I compared it to a cactus flower. A pretty little delicacy among giant and not so pretty flavor descriptions. It's as if this is the true nature of these regional beans and it should be kept a secret. Don't let anyone know just how dynamic these beans really are, let them think the region is rustic, bold, and unforgiving on your palate. That this is a region for bitter palate adventurers. Meanwhile, the rest of us will covet these glimpses underneath Venezuela's skirt.

Okay, okay, maybe I am romanticizing this a bit too much, but I am very happy with this chocolate. Not since Rogue Chocolatier's Sambirano, have I been this excited about a flavor experience. And not since Amano's own Dos Rios, have I been this intrigued by an aroma. If this chocolate were just a tad softer, I think it would be a damn near perfect representation of highest quality Venezuelan chocolate.

It's just really nice being reminded just how good chocolate really can be.

 

Final Score: 93.6

   score
   A-

Melange ~ Mixed Flavors, White, Milk, and Dark

 

 

Angelo comes through for me once again. I asked specifically for some more Melange Chocolate tasting samples, or as I call them, chocolate straps. Thin tasting bars of flavored chocolate. Last time the flavor pack was all dark chocolate. This time I thought it was an all-milk tasting. To my surprise, it was a mix pack of white, milk, and dark.

 

 

Unless things have changed at Melange, the chocolate base used for these chocolates is from Belcolade, Belgian chocolate couverture.

I don't review these particular tasting straps the same way I normally review chocolate. They are too thin for a snap quality, they have been damaged by travel from the UK to the US (Not anyone's fault, they are just very fragile.) Some people have more of a weighted system towards their review marks, but I do not. I take the time to explain in full detail what each score means and why it received the mark that it got. With these kinds of tastings, I will just explain the taste, texture, and aroma and give a general score based on my own personal tastes.

 

Matcha & Strawberry (White Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 28% cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, matcha, and strawberry.

Type: Flavored White Chocolate, 28% cocoa butter

 

It's appearance doesn't quite show up the way I wanted it to in these pictures. It looks more yellowish based on the photos, but really it's more of a soft lime green color.

It smells like classic white chocolate, creamy, fatty, buttery, and soft. It has more of a lime aroma than a strawberry aroma. More citrus and fatty cream notes. Classic white chocolate aroma is dominating over everything else. I don't smell the matcha which hardly has an aroma anyway unless it's wet leaves or it's flavored, and the strawberry is barely there leaving a tart aroma that is more like limes.

Tastes like very rich and creamy white chocolate, buttery, rich creamy texture, virtually no strawberry taste at all, it's a little fruity, but mostly it's rich, and milky, has a bit of a grassy lingering flavor from the matcha. The last flavors on this chocolate are the strawberries. I'm a little disappointed that it's that faint or subtle. At least it presents itself though, but not until the very end through retro-olfaction.

I think this is actually fairly nice for white chocolate. I am not a big fan of it in general, but this was very nice. I only wish the flavors were a bit bigger. More of that grassy, green, matcha flavor, and bolder strawberries. The white chocolate flavors dominate so much that you are only left with lingering tastes of the matcha and strawberries. It could be so much better.

   score
   B-

 

Coriander & Grapefruit (Milk Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 33% cocoa mass, cocoa and cocoa butter, milk powder, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, coriander and grapefruit.

Type: Flavored milk chocolate, 33%.

 

Light creamy milk chocolate color, lightly citrus-y on the nose and soft and subtle coriander. Creamy milk qualities with a very slight smoky aroma. They coriander was big right out of the package as was the lightly smoky aroma, but then it tames itself down for a nice creamy soft milk chocolate aroma with light hints of the citrus grapefruit and the spicy coriander. Soft and creamy texture, but a little bit of grit from the coriander spice.

Coriander right up front, very soft grapefruit, more like sweeter red or pink grapefruit, less tart and bitter citrus notes. Very soft and gorgeous flowery taste on the finish. Very slight though. Creamy milk taste on the chocolate with a few peanut notes. Sweet milk chocolate. The coriander and grapefruit are toned down quite a bit on the second and third tastes of this chocolate. The first taste the spice and the fruit are very present, the rest of the time it's all about the creamy milk chocolate and that lovely aftertaste.

   score
    B

 

 

Coffee and Aniseed (Milk Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 33% cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa solids, milk powder, lecithin, natural vanilla, coffee and aniseed.

Type: Flavored milk chocolate, 33%

 

Black licorice. That is the dominating aroma. Not even subtle aniseed aromas but straight-up black licorice. Creamy milk chocolate aromas with a subtle smoky hint. No coffee on the aroma at all. Light brown color with black flecks pepper through out the strap.

Sweet milk chocolate, excellent balance of coffee and aniseed up front. The coffee makes the peanut-y taste on the milk chocolate present itself more. Coffee is more roasted at first taste and then has more of a grind flavor. Despite the black flecks in the chocolate, it's not gritty. Coffee ends up the dominating flavors int he end. The aniseed was very much up front on the first taste of this chocolate and then takes a back seat. Creamy, soft texture.

I only wish the licorice hung around longer and interacted more on this chocolate. It dominates the aroma and then plays nicely with the coffee but then never comes back through the rest of the tasting. Overall though it was good tasting milk chocolate with a good blend of flavors.

   score
    A-

 

 

Raspberry & Rosemary (Dark Chocolate)

 

Ingredients: 72% cocoa solids, Cocoa butter and cocoa solids, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, raspberry and rosemary.

Type: Flavored bittersweet, 72%

 

This one had an interesting nose right out of the package. It had tart raspberries, a little smoky chocolate, and a strange aroma that reminded me of yellow mustard and ketchup mixed together. The rosemary on the aroma wasn't as dominating as you might think which left a strange interaction between the cocoa and the raspberry. Deep dark chocolate color.

Nice rich dark chocolate flavor, lightly sweet, light raspberry, and lovely rosemary. Despite the strange aroma, the flavors are really nice. The texture is a little chalky and dry, but it's not overbearing. Deep dark chocolate, roasted cocoa interacts nicely with the rosemary, raspberry flavors are very soft, and hard to find in the middle of the bold and rich chocolate and dominating rosemary flavors. The rosemary is strong but not overpowering. There is a little bit of raspberry at the end of the tasting. It lingers on the palate and you can taste it through retro-olfaction.

Very nice chocolate. It is getting the score it's getting for that initial strange aroma, and being a bit drying and chalky on the texture. But the flavors are awesome with the deep rich chocolate. I just wish the raspberry stood up more in this chocolate. It's there but kind of hiding in the background to the rosemary.

   score
  B+

 

 

Cardamom & Cloves (Dark Chocolate)

 

 

Ingredients: 72% cocoa mass, cocoa butter and cocoa solids, sugar, lecithin, natural vanilla, cardamom and cloves.

Type: Flavored Bittersweet, 72%

 

All cloves on the nose. A slight undertone of green cardamom, but the predominate aroma was cloves. Some roasted cocoa on the surface of the aroma, but it's dominated by the spice. Deep, dark chocolate color.

All cardamom on the taste. Bright green, fresh cardamom and deep roasted chocolate. No real hints of the cloves like the aroma suggests, a little spicy kick to the chocolate too. A nice roast-y, deep cocoa flavor lingering on the palate.

A nice play of flavors depsite only smelling one, and tasting the other. But the cardamom and dark chocolate together were very nice. And not all was lost for the cloves on the taste. I got a little tiny spice nugget later on that finally impacted the flavor.

  score
 B+

 

 

The biggest theme with these chocolates was a sort of bait-and-switch with the flavor profiles. The nose has one strong aroma, and the flavor dictates another taste all together. Both of the dark chocolates were the best example of this. They were also the most surprising to me. Despite it's score, the Milk Chocolate Coffee and Aniseed was my favorite. The white chocolate had a lot of potential but I needed the flavors to be a lot stronger. The classic flavors of white chocolate just dominated the palate. It's one of the reasons white chocolate is not my favorite.

Once again, a very nice collection.

Santander ~ Dark Chocolate 65%

 

 

 

 

My first experience with Santander from Colombia. A bean-to-bar producer in the north eastern part of the country, in a state called Santander. With beans sourced from 3 different municipalities, San Vicente de Chucurí, El Carmen, Rionegro and Landázuri.

 

Images via Wikipedia, and Zonu.com.

 

A fair trade company with corporate distribution that focuses on fair treatment to farmers and their families.

Via their website and Compañía Nacional de Chocolates.

• Fair prices and cash payments to growers.
• Permanent attention to maintaining good working conditions for all our personnel.
• Contribution to the wellbeing of workers and their families.
• Support to research and new technological developments at the Company’s agriculture farm.
• Promotion of sustainable and friendly agricultural practices.
• Establishment of a new farm with other sector members.
• Strengthening of cooperatives and growers associations.
• Improvements to growers’ competitiveness and returns, emphasizing sustainable environmental management of crops.
• Active participation in the Cocoa National Council, the Sector’s Policy Committee and the Technical Committees that direct and determine the sector’s future.
• Sponsorship of educational programs in cooperation with the Presidency of the Republic.
• Execution of the educational program “Nacional de Chocolates loves children” in existence for more than ten years.

 

 

 

Dark Chocolate 65%

 

Type: Semisweet, 65%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario, Criollo, blends.

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

Sample Size: 2.46 oz or 70g

 

Appearance: Large squared tablet with monogrammed molding. Deep dark brown, smooth surface with some very minor streaking on the surface.

Score: 92

Snap: Very firm snap, clean break lines, and nice audible snap sound.

Score: 93

Aroma: Opens up buttery, woody, and sweet. Then comes the big peanuts and coffee aromas. At first the nuttiness was a little bit almond-like. Then it opens up and it's all peanut butter and coffee. The coffee is a very rich brew on the aroma, a slight hint of honey and flowers, and a wee bit of spiciness on the aroma.

Score: 93

Taste: Sweet, roasted cacao, more sugars, big, flavorful, lightly astringent, fairly bitter for 65%, coffee, peanuts, peanut butter, slight hints of berries and a little spicy character in the center.

Score: 91

Texture: A little hard, medium-fast melt time, slightly creamy when it opens up, smooth texture.

Score: 92

 

I am wondering how much is natural and how much is a bit of forced influence on the aroma with the big coffee notes? They have bars with coffee beans in them and espresso, so how much of those bars are influencing the aroma or is this a natural effect with coffee being grown close by the cacao itself?

Whatever the answer is, I am loving the aroma. It's big roasted coffee and peanut butter. When I first opened this bar, it was very different. Almonds on the aroma with huge sweet butter notes and wood. After about 30 seconds to a full minute, the peanuts on this bar and coffee take over. The coffee is almost a layered effect with the peanuts. You don't smell the roasted coffee at first because of the peanuts, but the finish of the aroma is all fresh, and strong brewed coffee.

I lightly tanked the taste score on this chocolate not because of the flavor profile and character markers, but because of the excessive sugars. There were too much sugars in this bar and they interfered with the flavor profile.

The bar is a bit inundated with coffee which leads me once again to ask, is the coffee a natural effect from the cacao growing close to coffee? Or is it from the factory where the other coffee chocolate bars are made. Based on how roast-y the aroma is and how much it's like brewed coffee on the taste, I am going to say it's from the factory.

Peanuts, and a mix of peanut butter. I realize that sounds strange but it has distinctive peanut flavors and commercial peanut butter tastes. There are some spicy notes in there, and some deep berries, but all of that get interfered with by the sugar, coffee, and peanut flavors.

I think this will be good to melt down in some milk or almond milk for a steamed hot chocolate. It's very sweet, but it does have big flavors that would make for a nice roast-y hot chocolate. It might be April now, but I live in New England. There is still time for a cold night that requires a hot chocolate.

 

Final Score: 92.2

   score
  B+