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Rogue Chocolatier ~ Rio Caribe 70%

Rogue Chocolatier

Between Angelo Scarnera, the good friend of mine from London, who brought on the British Chocolate Invasion and Emily Shartin, the chocolate buyer from Formaggio Kitchen, the other good friend of mine who trades me chocolate all the time, I don't know who is the bigger hero of my blog so far.

I was reading tweets from Rogue about fresh batches of Rio Caribe being made and a week or two later, Emily came to me at a beer dinner with this bar as a gift. This is the second Rogue bar from Emily. After being in love with Rogue's Sambirano bar from Madagascar, I have been more than ready to try more chocolate from Colin Gasko. The Sambirano is still to this day one of the highest rated chocolates on this blog.

From Formaggio Kitchen:

Colin's chocolates are made in tiny batches where he controls every aspect of production from the roasting of the beans to the winnowing and grinding.

Colin's latest bar is this Rio Caribe - made using a select grade of Trinitario cacao from a single estate on the Paria Peninsula in far eastern Venezuela.  The family that runs the estate maintains very high quality standards and Colin has been working closely with them as the first U.S. importer of their beans.

 

[First Image via the Caracas Chronicles and last image via Wikimedia Commons]

I love this last image of the Paria Peninsula. I get that these images are probably overkill in highlighting where the Paria Peninsula is, but that last image from Nasa is gorgeous.







Rio Caribe 70%

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, Tahitian Vanilla.

Sample Size: 60g or 2.12oz



Appearance: Smooth, shiny, very simply molding, no lines, a bit of chocolate particles on the bar.

Score: 94

Snap: Firmer than expected snap. It's a thin bar but had a nice crisp snap. Clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big roasted cocoa, slightly herbal and medicinal, minty, hints of citrus, soft hints of fruit and a tiny bit floral.

Score:  93

Taste: Bitter, aggressive roasted cocoa, a little astringent, tangy, citrus, cedar wood, and cherries.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth, creamy, medium melt time.

Score: 94

The nose was aggressive at first but then softened up quite a bit. I didn't think the flavor would be as big as it actually was. The texture is fantastic, smooth and creamy. But the bitterness dries up the palate quickly so you almost forget how creamy it is unless it's melting on your tongue.

This is a very straight forward robust bar of chocolate. The aroma and flavors present themselves in a very matter-of-fact way.

I may have been influenced on the taste after reading this description from Formaggio Kitchen using Colin's tasting notes, but it's pretty accurate in my opinion.

The bar is made with 70% cacao content and Colin adds a touch of cocoa butter for a silkier mouthfeel. As with most of Colin's chocolates, we found his tasting notes to be spot on - look for notes of blood orange, nuts and coffee with a perfect snap and smooth melting texture on the palate.

I liked the cherries and cedar wood the most. It's a fairly robust bar of chocolate and to have such distinctive notes come through all the bitterness was fantastic in my opinion. Colin has really mastered chocolate making.

Final Score: 94

score
A-

El Rey ~ Cariaco - Rio Caribe 60.5%

El Rey

Cariaco Semi Sweet Chocolate 60.5%: Has a high percentage of cacao liquor and an ample percentage of cacao butter, giving it a smooth texture without compromising a strong robust cacao flavor. Its silky fluid texture is perfectly balanced to create a long lingering cacao taste. The name Cariaco comes from a gulf on the eastern coast of Venezuela where its notorious high nutrients allow cacao to flourish.

This premium chocolate has been manufactured using only the famed Rio Caribe Cacao Bean from the north eastern region of Venezuela. This area, traditionally known as Oriente, has been producing this classic world-sought-after bean since the early days of the colony in the mid-1600's. The concept of "Appellation d'origine contrôlée" denomination of origin in use in the wine industry around the world, together with the very high quality of the raw material with its distinctive taste and aroma have been blended to produce this delicacy.

Single origin semisweet chocolate for a change here on this blog. This bar was given to me in a gift bag from the open house at Aroa Fine Chocolates, I attended a few weeks ago. A fine chocolatier and patisserie in Boston who  exclusively work with El Rey chocolates. 

About El Rey: 

We at Chocolates El Rey take personal pride in this assertion because since our founding in 1929 we have utilized only this premium grade, locally grown raw material in the formulation of all our products. And we make, quite simply, the best chocolate in Venezuela. Today , as our products cross new borders and serve new consumers, we are confident that these will indeed establish a new and exciting dimension of excellence in a market with well-defined standards in which novelties are few and far between.

We’re a family business, one of the oldest chocolate manufacturers in Venezuela – in fact, one of the oldest industrial concerns in the country and we have built our reputation on basic principles of uncompromising quality, team effort, constant technological innovation and by earning the satisfaction of our customers.

All of us at Chocolates El Rey family take great pleasure in introducing you to the very delicate but intrinsic balance of flavor and aroma, as well as the subtle, lingering delight of El Rey chocolate – The King of chocolate made with the King of cacao.

[Map via Wikipedia]

You can see Rio Caribe, all the way to the top right of the first map. The second map is showing you the state of Sucre where Rio Caribe is located.

Cariaco - Rio Caribe 60.5%

Type: Semisweet, 60.5%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

Ingredients: Rio Caribe liquor, refined sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla.

Sample Size: 80g or 2.8oz

Appearance: A little dusty and muted, maybe the beginnings of sugar bloom. A softer deep brown color, simple, monogrammed molding.

Score: 87

Snap: Lightly subdued snap, but crisp with clean break lines.

Score: 91

Aroma: Sweet, sugary, caramel-like, buttery, soft roasted cocoa, soft muted fruits.

Score: 92

Taste: Fresh green tobacco leaves, slight hints of smokiness, fruity, sweet, soft roasted cocoa.

Score: 94

Texture: Soft, smooth, medium melt time.

Score: 93

This was a very soft bar over all in flavor and in aroma. It had soft rounded edges, big sweet, sugary and caramel-like nose and taste. I was surprised by the fresh tobacco taste but still had a very mild smokiness to it. It added a nice green brightness to the otherwise subdued and sugary bar. A nice, soft roasted cocoa flavor rounds out the bar.

Final Score: 91.4

score
B+

Paul A. Young ~ Venezuela 86%

Part two of my reviews for Paul A. Young chocolates. I received four chocolate bars from Paul A. Young from my friend Angelo as part of the British Chocolate Invasion. Introductions were already made with the first post, so I will just get right to the review.

The origins of the beans come from Venezuela, though I am not sure which region they are from. I also can't be sure of the bean varietal. They are also most likely beans from Valrhona, as Paul Young primarily uses Valrhona cocoa for his products.

Venezuela 86%

Type: Bittersweet, 86%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

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

Sample Size: 50g or about 2oz


Appearance: Very dark brown color, smooth, shiny, square bar, simple molding but steaks on the top side of the bar.

Score: 89

Snap: Strong, firm snap, deep snap sound, clean break lines.

Score: 96

Aroma: Berries, soft aroma, lightly smokey, and lightly floral.

Score: 93

Taste: Very bitter, roasted cocoa, dry, berries notes were fighting hard to make their presence known but bitterness over takes any subtleties, barely any sweetness, wood, tar finish.

Score: 95

Texture: Hard, dry, smooth, slow melt time.

Score: 92

Very robust and bitter chocolate. But just enough room for a bit of sugar to prevent it from being too bitter. Very bold roasted cocoa flavors, berry and wood flavors present, but quickly overtaken by bitterness. No astringency, and finishes very dry.

This is a big palate killing chocolate. A good chocolate for those who put no cream or sugar in their coffee. Those bitter-heads, similar to the hophead and bitter fanatics with beer. Less malts for the beer and all hops, and less sugar and cocoa fats for the chocolate.

I think technically this hits all the marks of a very bitter chocolate, but it was just a bit too bitter for my palate. Certainly not as bitter as the 100% bars, but 86% is pretty high up there.

Final Score: 93

score
A-

Paul A. Young ~ Venezuela 72%

And so the British Chocolate Invasion continues. This time with Paul A. Young. A celebrated chocolatier and patissier from the London who works with fine chocolates such as Valrhona, Amedei, and Michel Cluizel. 

 

Based on this article, it appears he largely uses Valrhona Cocoa for a lot of his creations. This is a fun article about a private chocolate lesson with Paul Young himself.

A Night With Paul A Young: Chocolate Artisan

Check out the brownies in that article. The writer talks about Sea Salt Caramel brownies. Someone would get hurt if they stood in my way for some of those!

              

[Paul Young image via Wikipedia.]

About Paul Young via his website:

Paul Young is a Chocolatier/Patissiere born in Yorkshire and raised in the small mining town of Trimdon Station, Co. Durham.

After studying hotel catering and management at New College, Durham and Leeds Metropolitan University, Paul worked through the ranks in some of Yorkshire's finest restaurants. Next came an offer from Marco Pierre White, which took Paul to The Criterion Brasserie, London where he worked as Pastry chef in this most demanding of roles. After working through the ranks and establishments of Marco Pierre White, Paul gained the high profile role of Head Pastry chef at Quo Vadis, Soho.

With a change in direction Paul then worked with Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury's to develop some of today's best selling products, with two nominations for The Award of Excellence for his development work.

Paul has appeared on BBC2's Food and Drink, ITV's This Morning, Sky One's Taste and Carlton Food Network. He is a regular guest chef on UK-TV Food's Great Food Live, and gives live demonstrations at various events, including Henrietta Green's food lovers fairs, Covent Garden.

In 2006 Paul was invited to be an honorary member of the Academy of Chocolate.

One thing I am getting miffed about is the lack of information on some of these chocolate websites. What kind of chocolate are they using? And what are the bean varietals they are using? Even if they only say hybrid or blend of beans, I still want to know. That doesn't mean I can't email them for the information, but I believe it should be posted on their websites. If you mean business, put up all the information you can about your products. Especially since this chocolatier uses different chocolates from around the world. I don't know much about the chocolate is being used for this bar accept that it's from Venezuela. Using Amedei would be a world of difference from Valrhona.

At least there was the article highlighted at the beginning of this post which clues us in that this is more than likely a Venezuelan bar using Valrhona cocoa. That article makes me want to visit the shop and try some of the pastries. I too would like a private chocolate making lesson!

Venezuela 72%

Type: Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

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

Sample Size: 50g or about 2 oz

Appearance: Smooth bar, simple molding, square shape, shiny, deep dark color, but some odd streaking on the top of the bar.

Score: 89

Snap: Firm, crisp snap, deep snap sound with clean break lines.

Score: 96

Aroma: Berries, smoke, tobacco, a light perfume-y aroma like lilacs, and roasted cocoa. Very soft aroma.

Score: 92

Taste: Starts off sweet and soft, then opens into deep roasted cocoa, big and bold, lightly acidic, big berry taste, very slight hints of citrus, wood on the finish. Finishes sweet like it started.

Score: 97

Texture: Very smooth, medium melt time.

Score: 96

Starts off sweet like a lot of British chocolate seems to do, but then finishes quite differently. Not too much sugar that seems to tone down the big roasted flavors and other subtleties the chocolate may have. This has the big roasted cocoa flavors, berries, and a touch of flowers as indicated on the aroma.
It tastes very different than some of the British chocolates I have tasted so far.

It has all the classic hallmarks of South American cacao, but if I were a better taster i would be able to pin point the exact region in Venezuela this comes from. There are 8 distinctive regions chocolate is grown in Venezuela. I am just not there yet. But I will be.

Final Score: 94

score
A-

The Grenada Chocolate Company ~ Organic Dark Chocolate 71%

An organic chocolate bar from The Grenada Chocolate Co. coming to me once again as part of the British Chocolate Invasion.

As previously mentioned with the review Melt's Wild Bar, they work with Mott Green and the Grenada Chocolate co. as one of the sources for their cocoa.

This is a quick but excellent video about The Grenada Chocolate Co.

Radical Chocolate by Eti Peleg.

From their website:

The Grenada Chocolate Company Ltd. was founded in 1999 with the idea of creating an Organic Cocoa Farmers' and Chocolate-Makers' Cooperative. We produce high quality Organic dark chocolate in Grenada with our world famous cocoa beans. Our factory is nestled in lush cocoa groves in Grenada's pristine rainforest.

Our award-winning organic dark chocolate has the wonderful complex flavor of Grenada's fine-flavored organic cocoa beans, processed carefully in small batches. Producing chocolate right where the cocoa grows allows us to do our own fermenting which gives us a real advantage in creating the finest, most complex taste from the beans. We use our own extracted cocoa butter in our chocolate also from Grenada's fine-flavored cocoa. This brings in a luxurious extra richness and chocolaty flavor. Our chocolate has a truly deep and rich flavor.

We now have over 150 acres of organic cocoa farms in our cooperative and operate our own cocoa fermentry, located one mile from our little factory. This assures that we perform every activity involved in the production of our chocolate, from the planting and growing of the cocoa trees to the fermenting of the fresh cocoa beans to the processing of our fine dark chocolate. We grow our cocoa totally naturally without the use of any chemical pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers and have been Certified Organic.

Our sugar is a fine organic raw sugar produced and milled by an organic growers' cooperative in Paraguy.

Whole organic vanilla beans grown biodynamically in Costa Rica provide our "dash" of vanilla.

Organic soy lecithin is used as emulsifier in extremely small amounts.

We are one of the only small-scale chocolate-makers producing fine chocolate where the cocoa grows. Because small batch chocolate-making is very rare, we had to create our own processing methods, desigining our own machines and refurbishing antique equipment to meet the requirements of our unique situation. Most of our machines are based in design on those of the early 1900's, a time when quality had precedence over quantity in chocolate-making. Because we care about our environment, we use solar-electric energy to power our machines.

The original impetus and principle of our cooperative company is to revolutionize the cocoa-chocolate system that typically keeps cocoa production separate from chocolate-making and therefore takes advantage of cocoa farmers.We believe that the cocoa farmers should benefit as much as the chocolate-makers.

They also detail their process of bean-to-bar from start to finish with their antique and custom machinery.

Virtual Tour

 





Organic Dark Chocolate 71%

Type: Bittersweet 71%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic soya lecithin, organic vanilla beans. *Organic cocoa  solids 71% min.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

Appearance: Smooth, shiny, deep dark brown color, simple molding.Couple of air bubbles throughout the top of the bar.

Score: 93

Snap: Good firm snap, deep snap sound, clean break lines.

Score: 96

Aroma: Nutty, peppery, dry wood, muted fruits, smokey tobacco, and light hints of tar, very slight floral hints.

Score: 94

Taste: Deep, rich, roasted cocoa, very bold flavors, very bitter, but not acidic, bark, wood, big bright green bananas, papayas, bitter lemon twist (peel) earthy. Very complex.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth, hard, slow melt time.

Score: 92

Thinking mans chocolate. This is very deep, bold, and complex. Most of the flavors were very apparent, but the green notes were hard to identify at first. I keep saying to my husband, "there is something green on this what is it?" He got more of the bitter lemon twist, and I was thinking the green was more like papayas and green unripened bananas. We both agreed on the wood and bark notes and earthiness.

This is fantastic chocolate. This would be great to give to a chocolate expert in a blind tasting just to watch them mull it over. I personally had to take several bites of it just to think about the taste.

Final Score: 94.2

score
A-

Vosges ~ Mo's Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar

Yes the bacon craze is still in full swing and even more so with bacon chocolate bars. I am totally about it.

Vosges has been taunting me for months now on Twitter with their Mo's Bacon Chocolate Chip Pancake Mix. You know who you are person behind the Vosges Twitter account.

Finally, I found one of their bars at Cardullo's in Harvard Sq. They didn't have the dark chocolate and bacon bar, only the milk, but to be fair they look like they had been wiped out of a lot of chocolate. Cardullo's recently had stocked up on Le Whif for their launch party at a restaurant right next door called Tory Road. I stopped by to try and get Le Whif so I could review it. They were sold out, so I bought a collection of other chocolate bars instead. Apparently I wasn't the only one with that back up plan. But I would gladly choose real chocolate over that stupid novelty anyway. Especially bacon and chocolate!

At little bit of history about Katrina Markoff the owner and chocolatier of Vosges from their website:

Vosges' exotic truffles are made from the finest ingredients offered around the world. Owner/Chocolatier, Katrina Markoff, personally chooses every spice, flower and chocolate that is flown into our Chicago kitchen. Markoff utilizes the original methods of French confectionery artistry which she learned during her training at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Having graduated with the Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu and having worked extensively in France, Spain, Italy, Southeast Asia and Australia her collections of haut-chocolats have great, worldly inspirations. Inspired by her global apprenticeships, Vosges truffles have exotic influences of an "East meets West" theme. The infusions of rare spices and flowers combined with premium chocolate give a delicate balance of flavor, leaving you with a layered and lingering sensation of spice and chocolate, a true haut-chocolat experience.

Mission Statement

The Vosges Haut-Chocolat mission is to create a luxury chocolate experience rooted in a sensory journey of bringing about awareness to indigenous cultures through the exploration of spices, herbs, roots, flowers, fruits, nuts, chocolate and the obscure. We invite you to be aware and open to the many cultures, artists and theories of the world's people, through the medium of chocolate. What better way to learn about a culture, person or object than through eating. If we can embrace the idea of trying something new such as the perplexing oddity of curry and chocolate, we just may come one step closer to bringing peace to the world through chocolate. One Love, One Chocolate.

Getting Greener...

Our facility is powered by 100% renewable energy and has been approved as an organic manufacturing facility. Click here to learn more about our mission to get greener.

Vosges Haut-Chocolat is thrilled to be certified as a women’s business enterprise through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the US.

Before I get into the review, I must say I am proud of Vosges for not being above beer and chocolate. I noticed once on their website that they had a wine offering with chocolate. I wanted to email them and ask them why not beer and chocolate? Before I could, I found a cool package they are offering featuring Rogue's Shakespeare Stout with their bacon and chocolate collection.

Mo's Bacon Bar + Rogue Shakespeare Stout Gift Box

This makes me proud. More and more you see people being receptive to craft beer. And as someone who used to teach classes on how to pair beer with chocolate or hosted tastings around beer and chocolate, it makes my heart swell.

They also offer their Caramel Marshmallows with Sam Smith's Imperial Stout.

Thank you Vosges for keeping it real with beer pairings!

Mo's Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar

Katrina's inspiration for the bar:

"I began experimenting with bacon + chocolate at the tender age of 6, while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima® syrup, as children often do. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of sizzlin' bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. And then, the magic—just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the two. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point; for on that plate something magical happened, the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it—chocolate.

From there, it was just a matter of time…and what began as a love of salt and sweet quickly unraveled into an obsession. No sooner could I wait to unveil the royal coupling in solid bar form, a deep milk chocolate with bits and pieces of applewood smoked bacon and just a sprinkling of Alder salt. Really, what doesn't taste better with bacon?"
–Katrina

Type: Flavored Milk Chocolate 45% cocoa

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, dry whole milk, milk fat, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, vanilla), uncured bacon (pork, sea salt, raw sugar, white pepper, dried juniper berries, celery juice, lactic acid - started culture), salt.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

Appearance: Nice rich milky brown color. But dull, not shiny, and muted with some blotches on the surface. Simple monogrammed molding in large square shapes.

Score: 83

Snap: Light snap, fairly crisp sound and firm snap for milk chocolate, clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Smokey bacon, milky. No real big roasted cocoa aromas, but pure smokey bacon and soft milky cocoa aroma. Fantastic for bacon lovers, not so much for regular chocolate lovers.

Score: 94

Taste: A perfect balance of sweet and salty. Chocolate is smooth and tastes like caramel, but higher cocoa percentage gives more of a nice cocoa flavor, milky and creamy. Bacon is salty and smokey, very flavorful.

Score: 97

Texture: Soft milk chocolate, crispy yet chewy bacon bits. Perfect texture for bacon.

Score: 93

Awesome chocolate bar. This is gluttony wrapped up in a silver wrapper. I loved the quality of the milk chocolate. Higher percentages of cocoa give it a nice chocolate flavor, the milk gives it a nice soft, creamy texture. It worked incredibly well as a contrast to the salty, cured applewood smoked bacon.

I did wish the bacon was more like strips inside the bar instead of chopped up bits, but the texture of the bacon was perfect. Crispy and yet a little bit chewy as well. Nice and salty too.

This is awesome chocolate. A great bar of chocolate in the morning or breakfast chocolate. The bacon revolution rolls on.


Final Score: 92.2

score
B+

Le Whif ~ Le No Thanks

 

Ever feel like you could satisfy a strong chocolate craving with a chocolate inhaler instead of the real deal? Yeah, me neither.

Le Whif is a new breathable chocolate using an inhaler and organic cocoa powder. They come in three flavors, Pure Chocolate, Raspberry Chocolate, and Mint Chocolate. They have also created a coffee inhaler with the caffeine contents of a very light espresso.

From the website:

Invented by Harvard Professor David Edwards in collaboration with students, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs working in Edwards' ArtScience Labs centered around Le Laboratoire, in Paris, Le Whif contains hundreds of Milligrams of tiny food Particles.

The lipstick size inhaler is made biodegradable poly-lactic acid making it safe to easily dispose of, and is designed to be spill proof.


The launch for this new chocolate inhaler took place last night at a restaurant in Harvard Sq. called Tory Row. Le Whif is gearing to to release their product in Paris as well as Tokyo and London. Le Whif is being sold at Cardullo's in Havard Sq. for $2 or via Le Whif's website.

While scientifically this is cool, this is a pretentious, and stupid device that takes away the joy of eating real chocolate. Why? Because we can't get over stupid body image issues and calorie counting and someone will always be there to exploit that. Le Whif is being promoted as "The taste of chocolate without the calories."

I shake my head because there is nothing better in the world than eating a fantastic piece of chocolate. Getting your fingers messy with chocolate is also part of the fun. Tasting the differences in cocoa percentages, letting it melt in your mouth, discovering new regions and flavors in origin chocolate, truffles, hot chocolate, chocolate sauces, bars, infused chocolates... It's a never ending journey. Not to mention it's mood enhancing, and dark chocolate is healthy for you.

Le nom de ce produit est très stupide. They really could have come up with a much better name for this silly novelty.

This product takes all the fun out of actually eating chocolate. It might taste good, I will still give it a try and fully review it when I can score one of these things, but I am not going to support it and tout it as good alternative to chocolate. Nothing will ever be better than the real thing.

Eat what you like, embrace real chocolate!

 

Here is a lightening review of Le Whif from Mark Wilson of Gizmodo.

The Verdict: The size of a container of Chapstick, you pull the telescoping Le Whif out to coat your entire tongue and mouth with a tiny amount of chocolate. The "essence" of chocolate, as it was described to me.

Words cannot capture the humiliation of inhaling a chocolate/raspberry Le Whif, then coughing the sugar out of my lungs, like a first time cigar smoker but even more pansy. (Supposedly the 80 to 300 micron chocolate pieces are too big to enter the lungs, so it's possible that I just sucked down a nasty coat of chocolate into my trachea.)

My second and third puffs, however, were more successful. The sensation is akin to sucking a tiny bit of cocoa powder through a straw. And while not necessarily enjoyable in any way, it was admittedly a lot of chocolate flavor for only .8 calories a stick.

A spokesman explained to me that just as Man had evolved from eating one meal a day, He's gone on to eat 2, 3 and then even a recommended 5. And under this logic, Man would eventually breathe food at all times. So Le Whif is working with a variety of French chefs to capture the essence of their dishes. If and when Le Whif releases inhalable foie gras, I might try again. Until then, I'll stick to good old fashioned overeating.

Chocolate: A Love Story by Max Brenner

A good friend of mine, Mr. John Lefler, brought me this book last night while I was at a beer tasting for the release of Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbits.

I brought some of my leftover chocolates from all of my reviewing that had been accumulating in my house, which looks like I am distributing crack in little plastic baggies (those are older pictures from the first time I had to unload leftover chocolate), for my friends to sample too. Out comes this book and I couldn't be more grateful. The art work was incredible and recipes will be a good challenge for me to try at home.

The art work is done by Yonatan Factor.

The description of the book from the website and on the back of the book. Complete with celebrity endorsements.

With gigantic vats of churning chocolate, desserts like our famous chocolate pizza, and 12 varieties of hot chocolate served in custom mugs, Max Brenner, Chocolate by the Bald Man has turned our line of hip, colorful themed restaurants into an international sensation.  Chocolate: A Love Story is a vibrant new cookbook that includes 65 original recipes narrated in the quirky, captivating voice of Max Brenner, our visionary founder and "bald man." Bold original illustrations inspired by Art Deco poster graphics, full-color photographs, easy-to-follow, delicious recipes, and a serving of Max's unique vision for spreading "chocolate culture" around the world make this book a must for every chocolate lover.

"Max Brenner's desserts are so amazing and so creative! With this delightful book, y'all can recreate the magic of his chocolate restaurants in your own home." - Paula Deen, host of Paula's Best Dishes and Paula's Party

"We've always enjoyed bringing our daughter, Ella, to Max Brenner's in NYC. We look forward to using his cookbook at home." - John Travolta & Kelly Preston

With locations in NYC, Philly, Australia, Israel, Philippines, and Singapore, Max Brenner will be making his debut in Boston this winter with a new shop opening up on Boylston st. in the Back Bay. I will be looking forward to the opening.

William Curley ~ Sea Salt Caramel Bar

Now this is what life is all about! William Curley's Sea Salt Caramel bar.

This thing is like heaven. The chocolate is rich and wonderful, while the caramel is so soft, and buttery. The taste of the caramel and chocolate together gives off a little bit of a rich coffee flavor. Beautiful roasted cocoa lingers on the palate.

This is eye's-rolling-into-the-back-of-your-head good!

I don't need to write a detailed review for this. You can tell just by looking at it that it's good. I just want you to look at it and crave it. I want you to envy me for having such a life where I get to write about these kinds of tokens from the gods.

William Curley ~ Chilli 70%

My second encounter with William Curley. This time with the the Chilli pepper chocolate bar made with 70% dark chocolate.

I sent my good friend Angelo around London to collect the best chocolates from the city. It was imperative that William Curley, with their tremendous reputation, be apart of that collection. The bars I received come from the Belgravia location.

Let's not waste time and get right into the review.

William Curley ~ Chilli 70%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Type: Flavored Bittersweet, 70%

Ingredients: Cocoa mass (65% cocoa solids), cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, chilli.

Sample Size: 50g or nearly 2oz


Appearance: Deep, rich brown color, shiny, simple molding, no monograms.

Score: 95

Snap: Excellent deep, firm, crisp snap. Clean break lines.

Score: 99

Aroma: Roasted cocoa, coffee notes right out of the package, a little citric, very soft aroma it's very hard to get anything out of it.

Score: 91

Taste: Roasted cocoa, sweet, low bitterness, almonds, complex fruit characters, slight heat from chilli, a slow, comfortable heat, soft chilli taste, and a very soft heat.

Score: 93

Texture: Soft and smooth, medium melt time.

Score: 94

This was fantastic chocolate. The heat could have been kicked up just a notch though. And that is coming from someone with a super sensitive palate to heat. The chocolate was delicious and complex. Big roasted cocoa notes, sweet, and had some complex fruity characters to it.

I am willing to bet the cocoa came from South America, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was from Ghana or the Ivory Coast.

This was completely redeeming chocolate after my first encounter with William Curley bars. I was worried after that first review. This bar however, blows that previous review out of the water. With all the accolades William Curley has received, now I understand why they deserve such high praise.

Final Score: 94.4

score
A-