20°N & 20°S

Valrhona ~ Grand Cru Manjari 64%

[Image via coffeeandtea]

This is the first time I have used an image other than my own to headline a chocolate review. My little camera had a hard time getting the right angles without a glare. Shiny packages, what can I say?

Here are a few shots I tried taking. Clearly I need some photography lessons.







Valrhona has a very long and extensive history in the chocolate world. Recognized through out the world as one of the greatest bean-to bar producers of chocolate.

Via the website:

Valrhona Today

Founded in 1922 by a pâtissier from the Rhone Valley - a registered trademark since 1947 - has become a world leader in Le Grand Chocolat. Understanding Valrhona's success story means identifying its vocation to provide support for and assist renowned confectioners and pâtissiers, its ambition to innovate with great restaurant chefs and its passionate quest for excellence. An undeniable inspiration in the world of gastronomy, Valrhona is present in 60 countries and serves around 20,000 clients.

As a chocolate manufacturer, Valrhona offers these internationally recognized professionals a range of couvertures and service products. For chocolate lovers, Valrhona's branded products come in a range of bars, gift boxes and ballotins, available from gourmet food stores, airport boutiques and major department store concessions.

From culinary destinations like Los Angeles to Tokyo and from Madrid to Singapore, Valrhona products are used by the world’s great pastry chefs and served in the most prestigious restaurants and hotels.

Through its wonderful creations, exacting standards and depth knowledge, Valrhona has carved out a long history of taste that totally justifies this recognition from professionals and gourmets alike: the history of Exceptional Taste. And as part of our continuing quest for excellence, professionals from all around the world attend Valrhona's exclusive Ecole du Grand Chocolat. This center for learning and sharing has been welcoming students in Tain l'Hermitage since 1988 and in Tokyo since 2007.

 
Valrhona pursues its passion and expertise for fine and rare cocoas around the world by:

• Developing cultivation methods through long term partnerships with planters that are based on mutual trust and respect
• Selecting the very best plantations and varietals to create the finest profiles in taste, color, aroma and feel.
• Combining fine cocoas of different varietals and sources to create powerfully aromatic blends.

By applying their perfect sensorial analysis knowledge, Valrhona's experts blend the finest, rarest cocoas from different varieties and different origins, creating chocolates of the most authentic compositions, unveiling elaborate and unique flavours.

This perfect expertise of taste is perpetuated throughout the manufacturing process, where each step has been researched to develop the supreme aromatic qualities of each chocolate:

    

• Roasting, adapted to the size and the origin of the cocoa beans,
• Grinding, offering small-sized particles, providing incomparably fine texture,
• Long conching developing intense aromas.

Cultivating taste is one of Valrhona’s fundamental values and the company’s sensorial analysis laboratory is a trendsetter in the industry.

Over 160 people make up a series of focused tasting panels that meet daily at Valrhona’s headquarters to rigorously sample raw materials, products in development and finished chocolates. As a result, the taste of Valrhona chocolate is recognized by professionals and gourmets alike as full-bodied and complex - in a word, exceptional.

This original, unrivalled approach ensures that Valrhona preserves its distinctiveness and perpetuates its taste of uniqueness.

At least 3 of the chocolates I have reviewed so far, one of them to be posted after this review, use Valrhona cocoa as their choice for couverture chocolate. Paul A. Young, Demarquette, and Rococo Chocolates. Many more fine chocolatiers and fine chefs all work with Valrhona chocolate. Their reputation is impeccable.

One of my new favorite restaurants here in Cambridge called Craigie On Main, uses Valrhona for a lovely hot chocolate soup at the end of their meals. It's hot, spicy, and super rich. It's the exact right thing to end every meal with.

The cocoa used for this bar comes from the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. Their packaging notes this:

The rich soils of the Sambirano River valley encourage the release of acidic notes of red berries and dried fruit. These aromas are unique to the Trinitario, a tree not commonly found on the northern side of Madagascar.

Grand Cru Manjari 64%


Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

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

Sample Size: 70g. 2.46oz


Appearance: Square bar with asymmetrical molding lines. Smooth, shiny, but had some chocolate bits and chocolate dust at the end of the bar slightly diminishing the appearance of the bar.

Score: 92

Snap: Good, crisp snap sound, clean but asymmetrical break lines as intended by the molding.

Score: 94

Aroma: Robust roasted cocoa and big wood and peanut aromas upon first opening, bright red berries, acidic as indicated on the package, very fragrant and robust.

*Still very aromatic an hour and a half after opening.

Score: 96

Taste: Berries right up front, sweet, acidic and tart but not overly acidic with that jab-you-in-the-neck quality, big wood taste, extremely floral and bright with berries.

Score: 97

Texture: Very smooth and soft, with a quick melt time.

Score: 94

This is fantastic chocolate. Extremely good quality Madagascar beans. Huge aroma, and big, bright taste, and a soft, smooth texture. This whole thing was enjoyable from start to finish.

Immediately when I tasted this chocolate, the red berry notes were very apparent and it was sweet. This probably should be a semisweet chocolate based on it's cocoa content, but it's so big and robust like a bittersweet.

Berries, wood, citric acid that wasn't too sharp or astringent, and a lovely floral character towards the finish of the bar. Over all this was incredibly enjoyable.


Final Score: 94.6

score
A-

Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Dried Cranberries 72%

Mast Brothers

Back to Brooklyn, NY. The last time I had Mast Brothers chocolate I was given a good size collection of their bars from my good friend Shane Welch, founder and Brewmaster of Sixpoint Craft Ales. He uses Mast Brothers cocoa nibs for making beer.

I reviewed the Dark Chocolate + Fleur de Sel, but the others I wasn't able to review because one broke in to a million pieces, I ate one and the others I sat on too long to review and they bloomed. Remember bloom on chocolate does not effect it's taste, just it's appearance. I didn't think it was fair to review them after I let them sit too long. So I asked my homie Shane, to bring me some more if he wouldn't mind. He didn't mind at all because he brought me a ton more of their bars.

The older bars were a big hit with some of my friends I tasted chocolate with. I needed to get rid of the chocolate I had been stock piling after all the reviewing. I did a beer and chocolate tasting and was able to teach them chocolate has a long shelf life and that it was still edible despite the bloom. They all loved it. The Salt + Pepper bar was voted the best of the night based on taste. Those bars however were made with Venezuelan chocolate. It looks like the Mast Brothers have switched the majority of their products to Madagascar cacao and cacao from the Dominican Republic.

Dark Chocolate + Dried Cranberries Madagascar 72% Limited Edition

Type: Flavored Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa, cane sugar, dried cranberries.

Sample Size: 2.5oz or 71g



Appearance: Smooth, shiny bar, basic molding, soft, dark brown color, beautiful red dried cranberries on the underside of the bar. It did have an interesting swirl pattern on the backside with the dried cranberries. Looks like it's how it settled after being poured into a the mold.

Score: 95

Snap: Thin snap sound, but strong snap. Clean break lines.

Score: 92

Aroma: This aroma is not as robust as you would think. It's kind of robust at first, right out of the package, but dissipates fairly quickly. But it's smokey, red berries (on the cocoa), citrus, bright dried cranberries, tar, and rubber.

Score: 91

Taste: Sharp, citrus, very acidic, big cedar wood taste, bitter, tar, tart red fruits on just the chocolate, with the dried cranberries it's all most too sharp on the acid content, but they add a nice fruity taste to tone down some of the harshness of the cocoa. Lingering rubber notes.

Score: 87

Texture: Smooth, medium soft, but long melt time.

Score: 93

I wasn't as happy with this bar as I thought I would be. It looks very pretty, but it's too tart based on the cocoa content. The cocoa is not balanced at all and too acidic. The pretty dried cranberries only added to the tartness. They did give a bit of a good fruity kick but then the bitterness and lingering tar and rubber notes took over for the finish. It just didn't finish very pleasant. Now if you are a person who likes coffee, no sugar, no cream, you might enjoy this.

I usually love Madagascar beans. I wasn't a fan of this. The bitterness and acidity was too much. You couldn't enjoy the nuances of Madagascar cocoa beans. It had all the classic hallmarks, but they were hard to focus on.

They need to work on smoothing out that Madagascar cocoa a bit more or make the dried cranberry bar with the Venezuelan cocoa again.

They still have the most gorgeous packaging paper in the business!

Final Score: 91.6

score
B+

L.A. Burdick ~ Madagascar 64%

L.A. Burdick

Single Source chocolate collection, Madagascar 64% semisweet chocolate bar.

Another website that doesn't offer a ton of information about their specific products. All I know for sure is that this is part of a collection of single origin bars that Burdick's makes. I have reviewed the Grenada bar so far, and have the Venezuela bar to go.







Madagascar 64%


Type: Semisweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Unknown

Sample Size: 3.5 oz 100g



Appearance: Smooth, Shiny and glossy, a little bit matted in placed from the plastic wrapper, simple molding.

Score: 94

Snap: Deep, firm snap. Deep, but not crisp snap sound. Clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big roasted cocoa, a little bit smokey, woody, fruity, sweet and sugary.

Score: 95

Taste: Sweet, roasted cocoa, tangy, orange citrus notes, bright cherries, and wood.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth, moderately creamy, medium melt time.

Score: 94

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I think more sugar and lower cocoa percentages help tame a lot of the stringency and tartness Madagascar beans tend to have. Made it much more fruit forward and bright cherries came through.

It's pretty straight forward chocolate on the aroma and taste. It has all the classic hallmarks of Madagascar beans with the wood, and tart citrus notes, but the sweet and creamy texture make it fruitier and very enjoyable.

I have liked just about everything I have had from Burdick's. From their hot chocolate, to their truffles and their single origin bars. My only suggestion to them would be to include more information on their website about their products. Ingredients and more in depth information on the sources these beans are coming from.

Final Score: 94.4

score
A-

Madagascar Chocolate Cookies

I was sent  a care package of chocolate bars from Patric Chocolate. Along with it came Roasted Madagascar Cocoa Nibs, and a package of Madagascar Cocoa disks for hot chocolate.

Having recently discovered that I can no longer drink milk, I didn't want to waste the Hot Chocolate on soy milk. I also found a recipe for Cocoa Nib Cookies on Alan McClure's blog. I decided to blend them and make some super cookies with Madagascar cocoa.


Patric Chocolate Nib-Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ lb unsalted butter (two sticks)
1 cup dark brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 egg
¾ cup Patric Chocolate’s Roasted Cacao Nibs
1 package of roughly chopped Patric Chocolate Hot Chocolate disks (about 3/4 cup)



My flour isn't pictured because it's a massive 25 pound bag that doesn't fit on my tiny counter tops. God Bless Costco. Also I only had light brown sugar which worked out fine but definitely use dark brown sugar if you have it.

Procedure:

1) Preheat oven to 375 F. Adjust oven
rack to middle position.

2) Combine flour, salt and baking
soda in bowl.

3) In a mixer cream the butter and mix in sugars.

4) Add the vanilla and egg to the
butter mixture and beat to combine.

5) Beat the flour mixture into the
butter mixture until just combined.

6) Stir in the Patric Chocolate Cacao
Nibs and chopped cocoa disks.

7) Refrigerate dough until cool and
stiff.

8) Drop by rounded teaspoons onto
a good quality baking sheet (thin black baking sheets are not good options).

9) Bake for about 10 minutes and remove from oven. After several
minutes remove to a rack to cool.

Patric Chocolate ~ Madagascar 70% & Madagascar 70% with Nibs

Following up from my first introduction with Patric Chocolate from a care package sent by Alan McClure, I am going right into a review of Patric Chocolate 70% Madagascar bar and 70% Madagascar bar with Nibs. 

Sambirano Valley Madagascar beans from a family farm.

 






70% Madagascar Sambirano Valley

Type: Bittersweet 70%

Bean Varietal: Hybrid

Ingredients: Cocoa beans and sugar.

Sample size: 1.75oz or 50g

Lot #: 101835

Appearance: Very smooth, shiny, simple monogrammed molding. Softer, deep brown color.

Score: 96

Snap: Good, loud snap sound, clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Nutty, roasted cocoa, mild hints of tar, very slight hint of flowers.

Score: 92

Taste: Bitter, big fruity complex notes right in the beginning, berries, acidic and tart, big roasted cocoa flavor, citrus, mild vodka esters, finishes dry and clean.

Score: 93

Texture: Smooth, soft, fast melt time.

Score: 95

Softer edges on the aroma than the 67% Madagascar bar. This was a little big more subdued in it's flavor over the 67%. Hints of tar were more present on the taste than the nose. It's what gave it it's initial bitter quality on the taste.

Complex berry flavors this time right in the beginning, but were quickly over taken by tart, acidic citrus notes. Finished dry and clean, but not before exposing fantastic, rich roasted cocoa flavors. Vodka esters were present, but not as dramatic as they were in the 67% bar.

Final Score: 94

score
A-

70% Madgascar Sambirano Valley With Nibs

Type: Bittersweet 70%

Bean Varietal: Hyrid

Ingredients: Cocoa beans and sugar.

Sample size: 1.75oz or 50g

Lot #: 101830

Appearance: Smooth and shiny, simple monogrammed molding, gorgeous and liberal coating of cocoa nibs on the underside of the bar.

Score: 97

Snap: Good clean break lines, deep snap sound.

Score: 94

Aroma: Citrus, nutty, smokey, roasted cocoa, and a hint of cinnamon.

Score: 93

Taste: Roasted cocoa taste from the nibs, sharp acidic citrus notes, cherries, soft hints of wood and slight lingering hints of black pepper.

Score: 94

Texture: Crunchy cocoa nibs, soft smooth texture on the rest of the bar.

Score: 96

I found myself in love with the crunchy texture. The nibs were fantastic on this bar. Straight forward flavor profile with beautiful roasted cocoa flavors, although more acidic than the previous bars I have tasted from Patric. No vodka esters this time, but lovely notes of deep cherries and soft wood hints.

I found this more more delightful than previous bars I have tasted from Patric.  This bar is simply more fun to eat. The nibs were wonderful and added a gorgeous texture and look to the bar. 

Final Score: 94.8

score
A

Patric Chocolate ~ Madagascar 67%

For at least year, I have been talking to Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate located in Columbia, Mo., through Twitter. I found him in the beginning days of wanting to start this blog. That was back in May of 2009. I didn't have much to talk about when it came to this blog because I didn't really begin to upload my previous reviews of 2009 until Jan of 2010. "Hey, I am a blogger with no content yet, but I want to know more about your product."

Once I began to get the ball rolling, I became reacquainted with Alan and Patric Chocolate. As he tells it, he kept running across my site as I began uploading the reviews and and he kept asking, "Who is this person? I think I have talked to them before."

I had a similar experience in finding his brand. Twitter searches of chocolate, Google searches of bean-to-bar producers, his name repeatedly came up. So I started to follow him. I watched all the tweets come in for new releases.

Very envious and jealous that I wasn't one of the recipients of these special release bars, I began writing about everything I have had or was getting my hands on. Eventually our paths crossed again and this time I was fortunate to be on the receiving end of a sample collection from him. Most generous of him.

How lucky am I to have this life?

Alan sent me his whole line from drinking chocolate, cocoa nibs, to a collection of his bars. All of his bars using Madagascar beans, which currently happen to be my favorite region. Plus his newer release of Rio Caribe, from Venezuela.

I am trying to come up with the best way to use those nibs. I hope I can find a worthy enough recipe. He does have a recipe for cookies using his nibs. I will make sure I blog that adventure when the time comes.

Look for two newer bars to hit the market soon. All Alan will say about it, is that one is a refined version of a classic in his profile, and the other one will be an entirely new origin. I can't wait. They better end up on my door step.

                         [Image via Scrumptious Street]

I just spoke with Alan today for about an hour and a half about various matters including his love for Madagascar beans, beer, which brewers are using his cocoa beans, and how he can venture into the beer world with his cocoa nibs, and what he thinks of 20°N & 20°S.

When I asked Alan, about how he came to use mostly Madagascar beans, he described it like finding music worth buying. Talking about how you hear pop music and you nod your head to it, but the music you really want to buy blows you away. It was sort of like this when he found the flavor profiles of Madagascar beans.

He and I both agree, that while there are very different regions with different experiences and flavor profiles, Madagascar beans tend to be the most interesting. At least for the time being. You never know what is going to come around the corner and wow you. Be it a new hybrid, or an old classic.

His beans from Madagascar in the Sambirano Valley, come from a family owned farm. It was split off from a larger plantation. The beans originally came from Java, but little is known about the exact origins of how chocolate came to be in Madagascar. Some have noted that it was the French who brought the beans to Madagascar.

Alan is reluctant to talk about specific bean varietals. With 12 known genetic families and many, many hybrids around, he takes the safe route in not specifically identifying a varietal. Without genetic testing, there is no way to know for sure. The original beans arriving in Madagascar were Criollo probably from Mexico or Venezuela. But later imports added more of a genetic variation. This is general information collected from the back of the Patric Chocolate bar.

Alan has a good blog where he talks more extensively about the myth of the Criollo bean. I have this highlighted on my side bar about chocolate information.

Something Alan and I have in common aside from many tattoos, is beer. As he begins to sell his nibs to brewers, he is beginning to make the same comparisons as I have with craft beer and craft chocolate making. It's all about the care and effort put into your product. Drinking craft beer and understanding how it is made, has made me understand my palate better. It's helped me to taste and understand chocolate better. All the same nuances of smelling and tasting apply. We are one in this community of making craft artisanal products. It takes time to branch out and get your name out there. And it takes advocates such as myself to push brands we like and care about into the forefront of our taste experiences.

This begins my journey with Patric Chocolate. Well technically my journey began by tasting amazingly delicious truffles made with his Madagascar cocoa. But this begins my journey with his bean-to-bar creations.

Patric Chocolate Madagascar 67% (Sambirano Valley)

Type: Bittersweet 67%

Bean Varietal: Hybrid

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter (3.75% by weight of coco butter added. Cocoa butter is made with the same Madagascar beans.)

Sample Size: 50g or 1.75oz

Lot #: 101835

Appearance: Simple molding with a monogrammed P. Shiny and smooth, a little lighter in color than the usual deep rich browns.

Score: 94

Snap: Excellent crisp snap sound. Clean break lines.

Score: 97

Aroma: Big almonds upon first opening, hints of mint and tobacco like a minty snuff tin. Mild tar and rubber notes, roasted cocoa.

Score: 95

Taste: Sweet at first, then tart citrus, acidic, bold flavors, big vodka taste and cedar notes, roasted cocoa, and black cherries.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth and creamy. Fast melt.

Score: 94

There is a lot going on here. The flavors are so big and robust. Big, sharp citrus, wood, and vodka. I still to this day do not know what causes that characteristic, but it is all over this bar. It finishes with a little bitterness, black cherries, and classic roasted cocoa flavors.

I love this bar for it's big characteristics. One of the few bars with a score this high was the Rogue Madagascar Sambirano 70%. That bar had the same big vodka esters but was a lot softer on the edges. I loved it for the soft edges. But I love this Patric bar for the bolder flavors. It's so bright and kicks you in the face with flavor. This bar has all the classic hallmarks of the region the beans are grown in. 

Two American small-batch producers of chocolate have rocked my world by way of bean-to-bar. This completely reminds me of American craft beer. All the classic beer making countries have their traditions and history, but it's the Americans coming in with these small craft creations and are completely stealing the show. Stealing the spotlight, the thunder, and all other analogies you can think of.

Final Score: 95.2

score
A

Elbow and Kakao Truffles Made With Patric 70% Madagascar Cacao

70% Madagascar cacao from Patric Chocolate made in to truffles and bon bon's by Kakao Chocolates and Christopher Elbow, specially released for Valentine's Day.

I ordered these right away when Alan McClure of Patric Tweeted that there were a few orders left. Alan had previously sent me his whole profile of bars and drinking chocolate (reviews still to come), and knowing that these truffles were made with Madagascar beans, I jumped all over it. I have been a major fan of Madagascar beans lately.




I must say, I was rather disappointed with the condition of the Elbow chocolates. They arrived at my apt. last week. I opened them and that was the condition they came in as pictured above. I am usually less critical of chocolate appearance, but in this case, what a disappointment. They lost their luster, were not shiny, blotchy, sunken in a little bit, and some of them were cracked. And it wasn't just one box of the Elbow. I bought two of each from Elbow and Kakao. Both boxes of Elbow looked like that.






The packaging though for Elbow was fantastic. For the Kakao truffles, it was a little basic in plastic wrap with little to protect the truffles. Interesting that they held up better than the Elbow truffles.

The Kakao truffles smelled like wood and citrus. So much citrus the nose was astringent. The Elbow bon bons smelled more buttery. Softer and more delicate cocoa notes with hints of wood and citrus as well.

The Kakao truffles were soft in texture, tangy with big citrus flavors, slight hints of wood, a bright cherry finish. Lingering spiciness.

Excellent!

The Elbow bon bon's were very soft. Soft texture and taste. Tastes like rich roasted cocoa, wood, cherries, and creamy butter, slightly tangy but not astringent. Very delicate and nuanced.

Excellent again!

Next time Patric, Elbow, or Kakao announce the release of these special truffles and bon bons, make sure you order yours right away. Hopefully they will come in better condition than mine came in, but if it's the taste that is all that matters, then you will be blown away by these rich and decadent offerings. Once again Madagascar beans proving to be my favorite.

Update: I just received an email from Alan McClure of Patric Chocolates with amazing customer service offering to refund me my money for the state of the Elbow truffles. I refused of course because these truffles were simply amazing. I ate them and was happy to have had them. But it was worth noting the level of customer service Patric Chocolates will go to to make sure their customers are happy.

British Chocolate Invasion

 

A few weeks ago, I contacted a good friend of mine named Angelo, who lives in London, to "pretty please, with sprinkles on top" bring me back a collection of chocolate from some of the shops in London. He was coming out to visit Boston for our BeerAdvocate Extreme Beer Festival. I figured it would be a great way to save myself individual ordering and shipping costs.

Well, he certainly completed the mission and now I really don't know what to do with myself. I already have about 25 bars of chocolate in a queue up for review. I can't say my life is hard. I won't allow anyone to pity me. No, don't. Do not feel bad for me.

Long chocolate Bar from CocoMaya.

 

Chocolate stiring cubes and chocolate bars from Melt.

 

Melange Chocolate flavored chocolate strips. Not even bars, but rather delicate, thin straps of chocolate.

 

Paul A. Young chocolate bars.

 


Willie's World Class Cacao chocolate bars.

 

William Curley chocolate bars.

Demarquette chocolate bars.


 

 
 



Montezuma's Organic chocolate bars.

Rococo chocolate bars.

A single bar from The Grenada Chocolate Company.

Theobroma Cacao Single Origin buttons.

And this is going in the garbage because this household supports Tottenham Hotspur!

 

Thank you Angelo, for spending a lot of pounds to keep me busy for a while! 20°N & 20°S fans thank you too!

Valentine's Day Haul

 

Yep, my husband knows what I like. I had been recommending L.A. Burdick's all week on Twitter as a great recommendation for others on Valentine's Day. My Husband followed my advice. I got a nice full package of goodies.

L.A. Burdick's makes handmade truffles and chocolates. They have three cafes with an actual restaurant located in Walpole, New Hampshire. The other two cafes are in the Flatiron district of New York City, and Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Ma. At the Harvard Sq. location, you can get a beautiful cup of hot tea, coffee drinks, or one of their fabulous hot chocolates. They also have small pastries. The Harvard Sq. pastry comes highly recommended by me personally.

First thing I pulled out was a bag of chocolate intended for hot chocolate. It came with a whisk too. If anyone is familiar with L.A. Burdick's, they make simply the best cup of hot chocolate. It's so rich and delicious. So to have the ability to make my own at home is a great gift.

I pulled these out of the bag next. A collection of single origin dark chocolate bars Burdick's is making now. I am very happy to see these bars, but I am thinking about all the chocolate I have to review. Over 25 bars in the queue, with more on the way from London, England, and Brooklyn, New York.

Venezuela 72%
Grenada 75%
Madagascar 64%





  

An assortment of chocolates. The picky side of me wishes they came in the wooden box collection they have for truffles, but what I am going to do, complain that I got truffles anyway? Pfft.

These are Burdick's famous Mice and Penguin Truffles. Delicious and cute. They also have other specialty truffles they offer through out the holidays. Like ghosts for Halloween and bunnies for Easter.

And finally, one last little assortment of chocolates.

Now that Valentine's Day is over, that doesn't mean you can't still go over there and pick up a nice steaming hot chocolate. Don't miss their Lunar New Year collection as well. It's the Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger. They ship for those not lucky enough to live close to one of their locations.

Burdick's also offers a 4 day, in-depth Chocolate Cooking School at their facilities in Walpole. 

Burdick Chocolate offers a four day, hands-on workshop teaching the basics of fine chocolate making. This is a rare opportunity to build a familiarity with the ins and outs of preparing chocolate bonbons and confections and to gain a basic command of this complex food. We cover the practical arts of cooking ganache fillings, tempering chocolate, hand-cutting and dipping of bonbons, truffle making, the creation of distinctive chocolate confections, and more. The workshop offers an all-round education into the connoisseurship of high quality chocolate – from its history, to the sourcing, preparation and preservation of it in the home kitchen.

Each participant will go home with a course handbook covering what they learned in the class; plus all of your “kitchen” results will be packed up at the end of the work week and shipped home for your family to enjoy!

Michel Cluizel ~ 1er Cru de Plantation "Mangaro"

Michel Cluizel 1er Cru de Plantation "Mangaro"

As part of a set I bought in San Francisco at CocoaBella in the SOMA district. CocoaBella had many interesting bars. My only regret is that I didn't buy more of a range from Cluizel. You can read about the first bar I reviewed as part of this set here: Maralumi.

Madagascar is my favorite region to date for cocoa beans. The beans carry main hallmarks of descriptive characteristics such as bright, citrus, Cedar wood, and clean. But each bar I have tried has had distinctly different characteristic which has set this region apart for me such as nuttiness, rubber or tar, mint, and melons. The most curious of all, are the bars that have the vodka characteristics. One bar I tried from Rogue Chocolatier even had a little bit of the esters or heat from the vodka notes. It was unbelievable. I simply find Magagascar beans to be the most interesting.

From the package:

Located on the island of Madagascar at the heart of the Indian Ocean, in the rich valley of the river Sambirano, this plantation flourishes on the land of a former mango tree forest. The beans of these cocoa trees have enabled me to develop a highly flavoured chocolate, blending aromas of exotic fruits, delicious flavours of honey spice cake and acidulated hints of citrus fruits.

1er Cru de Plantation "Mangaro"

Bean Varietal: Unknown, but possibly Trinitario.

Ingredients: Cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter, Bourbon vanilla pod.

Type: Bittersweet, 65%

Sample Size: 3.5oz or 100g

Appearance: Standard signature molding, smooth, slightly dulled appearance, but relatively shiny, deep dark brown color.

Score: 94

Snap: Dull snap, fairly audible, but not sharp.

Score: 87

Aroma: Immediately after opening, the aroma was nutty like macadamia nuts, and buttery. Lightly smokey, tobacco leaves, soft wood, reminded me of a dresser drawer or a wooden chest but soft and aged a few years. Very mild hints of jasmine, green mangoes, mild lemon-y citrus notes.

Score: 96

Taste: Soft flowery, lightly woody taste that opens into bright, tangy citrus flavors, acidic, astringent, more soft wood notes follow up and smooth out the astringent effects, nutty, little bit of interaction between soft mangoes and cherries. Cherries are present first, then soft mangoes round it out. Soft lingering bitterness.

Score: 95

Texture: Soft, smooth, creamy texture, with a clean, dry finish.

Score: 93

This was a fairly amazing experience in chocolate. Once again Madagascar beans have proven to be my favorite. This chocolate is all about soft and bold. Soft notes in the beginning, then big bold characteristics come forward, once again the softer more subtle notes come back to round everything out.

I must say though, this wasn't as smooth as I would have hoped for. The different contrasts in flavors on this bar went in succession leaving for an excellent taste experience, but the acidity was big and sharp which left the experience a bit uneven. The lovely aromas, beautiful wood and mango notes on the taste are responsible for a higher score.

Final Score: 93

score
A-