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Bonnat ~ Madagascar 75%

 

 

 

Madagascar 75%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, but most likely Trinitario.

Ingredients: Cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar.

Sample Size: 100g

Lot #: A

 

Appearance: Broken bar, scratched, nicked, and scuffed surface, muted shine, rich mahogany color, monogrammed signature Bonnat molding.

Score: 83

Snap: Firm snap, but dull snap sound, a little softer than usual. Clean break lines.

Score: 87

Aroma: Smoky, very jammy, tart, soft and floral.

Score: 94

Taste: Tart and tangy, deeply bitter, very fruity, big wood flavors, tart jam flavor, tar, roasted cacao, mild hints of coffee grinds, deeply hidden pen ink and red wine.

Score: 93

Texture: Silky and chalky at the same time. A little out of synch with the balance. It has extraordinary melt time and is creamy, but not smooth. It's fairly chalky. Not what I am used to Bonnat texture.

Score: 89

 

Here is the direct opposite of the Ceylan bar I reviewed before this. This had a nice aroma, and a much fuller and brighter taste than the Ceylan, but texturally it was odd. Unbalanced and chalky with a fast melt time. I was torn about what to score it. The flavors are all about jam. Big fruity jam on the aroma and flavor. It's tart and full bodied with big wood flavors. It's quite big on the flavor. The aroma was still fairly soft, but more distinctive.

I am miffed about why the snap was weak too. It wasn't pathetic, but again, it wasn't the quality I am used to with Bonnat. Such a mixed bag for this bar of chocolate. Full flavor, nice aroma, lame snap and texture. This will be good to chop up and bake something with so not all is lost.

 

Final Score: 89.2

 

   score
    B

Bonnat ~ Ceylan 75%

 

 

 

Single origin Sri Lankan cacao made by French Chocolatier, Bonnat. Sri Lanka is just barely apart of that optimal range for cacao growing. But the conditions were right and here we are with the finished product.

 

I don't know really anything about Sri Lankan Cacao, but I found a good source for some quick information from The Spice Council. Word is that the whole island is a fragrant beast (The Perfume Isle) with the spices and terroir impacting some of the aromas and flavors.

 

Ceylan 75%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa, cocoa butter, and sugar.

Sample size: 100g

Lot #: A

 

Appearance: Signature Bonnat molding, large tablet with small tablets easy for breaking and tasting, soft brown color, shiny surface with a few matting marks on the surface.

Score: 91

Snap: Excellent snap. Nice and audible, clean break lines, very firm snap.

Score: 93

Aroma: Soft berries, a little tart, light roasted cacao, mildly smoky, slight aromas of tobacco and wood.

Score: 89

Taste: Deeply bitter, a little acidic, but not astringent, very mellow flavors, oak wood, char, rubber, roasted cacao, very subdued berries and toasted biscuit flavors, and soft hints of floral vanilla. Some lingering fruits left on the palate, like a soft nectarine and strawberry flavor mixed with cream. Like a lassi maybe. Can't put my finger exactly on it.

Score: 90

Texture: A little hard in the beginning, but then opens up to an insanely silky smooth texture with a medium fast melt-time.

Score: 96

 

Bonnat just slays me with their texture. I don't know they manage it, but it's my favorite. It's like pure silk and creaminess. This bar was a little hard at first but then the true texture revealed itself. It's one of the reasons Bonnat was on my Top Ten last year and probably will be on there again this year too for the texture.

I expected more from the flavors and aroma. It was very soft on those areas. If Sri Lanaka is a big flavorful spice island, then how come this are didn't really reflect that? I can't speak for where cacao is grown, but certain Asian bars are known to have picked up very distinctive banana flavors and other flavors that terroir. I expected more flavors like that the present themselves. Cool mango/strawberry lassi flavors on the finish but very soft. It's a nice way to leave the bar instead of the more dominant char and rubber flavors in the beginning.

The flavors and aromas were just average, but again the texture of this bar is the major defining factor. I wish I could see the techniques they use to make their bars.

 

Final Score: 91.8

   score
  B+

PB Crave ~ Razzle Dazzle

 

 

Razzle Dazzle

Raspberry, dark chocolate, white chocolate, honey flavored peanut butter.

 

Okay so this review might be a little random for Chocolate Advocate, but there is chocolate in this product so it totally counts. Who am I to say no? Once again we start our story with an, "I am just kidding if you're just kidding. But I am serious if you're serious" post. Random people following each other on twitter and then I happen to see a tweet about sending out samples to bloggers. I am not going to lie, I asked about it and the next thing I know, not one, but four jars of peanut butter ended up on my door step. Insanely generous! They asked if I blogged, and I said yes but only about chocolate but this totally counts. They told me all of their products have chocolate, hence the four jars being sent out.

 

I was worried about it at first. It boasts as an all natural peanut butter. I have issues with natural peanut butter. It's always wrong. It's never salty enough, never creamy enough, always overly oily and then the rest of the peanut butter ends up dried out because of that separation. Commercialized peanut butter is the only form of food blasphemy I willfully except. That and the McDonald's McRib. Bring on the hydrogenated oils, sugars, salt, and pure processed grossness. Just so long as that texture is silky smooth and can last through four nuclear holocausts in my pantry, I will be all set.

But honestly this peanut butter was a huge surprise. Not only did it taste really good, all the flavors worked out wonderfully, but the texture was smooth. It did have a little bit of oils on top, but it wasn't swimming in it and it didn't completely separate. It just needed a little bit of stirring up. But again, smooth, right balance of salt, a little sweeter than a normal peanut butter and a minor lingering raspberry extract taste that hung on longer than it should, but other wise a fantastic natural peanut butter. I am so happy I can finally enjoy and all natural peanut butter.

 

Not only that, but the flavors meant no jam necessary. See I like my peanut butter in the morning time on toasted English muffins. Normally I put PB&J on it, but this just needed a little schmear of the good stuff and that's it. Honey, white chocolate, chocolate, and raspberry. Seriously, how can you go wrong?

One other thing to note, a minimum of 2% of the sales of each jar of peanut butter goes to help Project Peanut Butter. Please read more about it here.

Cookie Nookie, Choco Choco, and Coco Banana flavors will be coming up as soon I can get through one jar at a time.

Galler ~ Éclats de Cacao 70%

 

 

Éclats de Cacao 70% (Cocoa Nibs)

 

Type: Filled, bittersweet 70%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa paste, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla aroma, and cocoa nibs.

Sample Size: 80g or 2.8oz

Lot# L1531108

 

Appearance:Smooth textured surface from molding, thin tablet with long tablet squares, monogrammed molding, bubbly texture on the back surface from nibs.

Score: 91

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

Score: 92

Aroma: Very light aroma, soft almonds, smoky, oak wood, vanilla, and a little spicy.

Score: 92

Taste: Slightly sharp and acidic at first, cocoa-y, vanilla, sweet, subdued fruits, biscuit flavors, nutty nibs, smoky hints, lingering strawberry hints.

Score: 89

Texture: A little hard and waxy at first but smooth once it opens up, medium melt-time, crispy nibs, but overly milled and too small.

Score: 88

 

**Archived Notes

This bar was okay. I think the flavors were a little stronger on this bar than the regular 70% due to the nibs, but the aroma was much softer. I liked the cocoa nibs in it, but they shouldn't have been broken down or chopped as much. While they were crispy and good, they were too small for good texture.

Same texture as the regular 70% but with the added bonus of the nibs, but again I wished they were bigger nibs. It was a litle sharp in the flavor at first but then really mellows out. It has a nice cocoa-y flavor up front, some subdued fruits, a little biscuit-y, and some nice nutty flavors with the nibs and a lingering strawberry flavor.

Decent bar of chocolate, but nothing to really write home about.

 

Final Score: 90.4

 

   score
  B+