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Mast Brothers ~ Brooklyn Blend 73%

 

 

 

Mast Brothers Brooklyn Blend 73%

Lovely packaging. Meat-packing paper that looks like a southern quilt of patch work of their other wrappers. They really do pick the best papers for their packaging.

No listing on what beans were used for this blend. I should be able to guess by the taste, but I am rather miffed that their minimalist website has zero information about their products. Don't get me wrong, I love the Mast Brothers. I just wish basic information was provided. It's a blended bar so how about telling me which blends instead of this generic description on the back.

 

We have brought all of our favorite beans from around the world to create our first house blend. A balanced chocolate with hints of red wine, tobacco, and plum.

 

Are they suggesting they used every bean in rotation for their origin bars, or just their favorites? Maybe I am being too technical here, but it does help knowing some of the origins so you can understand certain flavor profiles and why certain flavors may or may not have worked. And don't tell me it's an industry secret either. That would be lame. Perhaps, the patch work paper is telling me which beans are in it?

 

Brooklyn Blend, 73%

 

Type: Blended bittersweet, 73%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, blend

Ingredients: Cacao and cane sugar.

Sample Size: 2.5oz

 

Appearance: Nice shiny surface, non-monogrammed molding, slightly ashy on the back with some minor particle matter on the back, but very minimal. Great shape.

Score: 93

Snap: Medium snap quality, a slight dull thud sound mixed with a mildly crisp snapping sound, crumbly break lines.

Score: 90

Aroma: Very subtle aroma. A little inky, some mild charred notes, a little tart, and soft smoke.

Score: 87

Taste: Sweet, astringent, tangy, slightly sour, fruity, cherries, citrus, wood, ink, tar, earthy, buttery biscuit finish.

Score: 92

Texture: Gritty, medium melt-time, drying and cloying on the palate.

Score: 83

 

Much better appearance and flavor than the previous reviewed Moho River. Shiny surface, and no streaking on the backside. Just a tiny bit of particles.

The aroma and texture were the weakest things about this bar. It's really so subtle and soft. Not a lot of dynamic there on the aroma. The texture was overly drying, cloying, and gritty. It started off smooth due to the molding and I hoped it stayed that way, but it really opened up gritty. Not a fan of stone grinding. I should say stone grinding that doesn't finish the job. I have had bars from Mast that are texturally fantastic. But sometimes you get a miss. This is a miss.

The flavor is strong. Big and fruity. There is definitely Madagascar in this bar with th bright citrus and acidic notes and cherries in the fruits. There is also some ink and big wood flavors. I think the earthiness is either from the Dominican Republic beans or something coastal in Northern Venezuela. Something that has those funky ink, char, and tar flavors. Those flavors are present too. But the fruits win on this bar. And the lingering buttery biscuit notes. It's just unbalanced with the acidity and astringency.

The flavors listed on the bar were once again not what I tasted. I didn't get plums, or tobacco. Red wine maybe with it's fruitness, drying texture, and acidity. But that wasn't really it. No influencing either with just reading and suggesting the words. That can happen which is another reason why I don't like flavors listed on bars.

I have had this bar fresh from the source and sat at the Radegast German Beer Hall next door and enjoyed it with some Munich Dunkels with it. I have done the same with their Occumare too. It's a wonderful experience. But better to eat it right there on the spot. When the chocolate is a mere hours old, not old enough have fully breathed yet, and the beers are cold, malty, and biscuit-y to help tone down that astringency.

I am beginning to worry about the Mast Brothers and their consistency issues. There seems to be a hallmark with acidity and astringent bars. It's not a good hallmark to have. I fear they are creating way too many new products, new bars from new origins without addressing these technical marks. You can get far on the fact that most people don't understand where it's a technical flaw or a desired effect like the smoke in the Papua New Guinea. But it's not going to last for long with other bean-to-bar producers who are effectively producing flawless chocolate. I praise and commend the Mast Brothers. I admire them greatly and was one of their original fans and enamored with their products. But as my palate has grown and expanded, so have my eyes or my palate rather, been opened to the undeniable flaws all over their products. I need them to slow down and tweak, tweak, tweak their recipes and start refining their ways. They could be the American masters if they focused a little bit more on their classics, even this house blend. Less grittiness, less acidity, less astringency. More rich flavors, more true flavors of the cacao that's not being trounced by the aforementioned issues.

 

Final Score: 89

   score
    B

Mast Brothers ~ Moho River 70%

 

 

 

Mast Brothers Moho River 70% from Belize. Tropical lush area right in central America. Perfect conditions for cacao growing. Historically some of the original landscapes for the Mayan civilization and their history with cacao.

 

[Image via Adventure Smith Explorations]

 

The Moho River is located at the southern tip of the country by Punta Gorda. The packaging mentions the beans being sourced from a cooperative, I am assuming the Toledo Cacao Growers Association. This is also set up with tours and adventure traveling to Belize with The Cotton Lodge.

This is a good article for some information about The Cotton Lodge via Sacred Earth Travel.

 

Moho River 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar.

Sample Size: 2.5oz

Lot # 22111111

 

Appearance: Simple non-monogrammed molding, muted ashy brown color, streaking on the back of the bar, light and superficial scuffing on the front side of the bar, shiny molded surface.

Score: 89

Snap: Light to medium snap, mildly firm, slight crisp sound, and clean break lines.

Score: 90

Aroma: Funky! Big bold and bright cherries, wood, tart, a little inky, char, medicinal like Robitussin cough syrup. Once it breathed a bit, it became more raisin-y.

Score: 89

Taste: Bitter, medicinal, cough syrup, cherries, ink, char, acidic, tangy, big wood flavors, earthy, and some biscuit-y flavors.

Score: 86

Texture: Smooth, medium melt-time, a little dry and chalky at the end, but over all creamy and smooth.

Score: 92

 

If you like funk, you will like this bar. This is very reminiscent of Rio Caribe beans only this is much more fruity and bright versus the overly charred characteristics of Rio Caribe. I was hoping the cough syrup aroma wouldn't be significant on the flavor, but unfortunately it was all over the flavor. Big bold cherries, bright acidity, some wood and char flavors, but an undeniable medicinal quality that made it like cough syrup with the cherries. It's not bad chocolate, it's just not the kind of flavors I enjoy.

The aroma was very strong with the same characteristics of the flavor. Once it breathed a bit there was a nice raisin aroma, but not on the flavor. The package says it has notes of raisins, plums, and sarsaparilla. I didn't get any of that but the raisins on the aroma. This is why I don't like flavor notes on packages. Sometimes it's there in bold ways like Amano's Dos Rios. Can't deny that bergamot. But often times, if chocolate breathes or ages, those flavors change in big ways. Not to mention taste being subjective. I don't know what to say about this chocolate, but it's very funky. The flavors are a bit all over the place. It's bitter and acidic, fruity and medicinal, and a little earthy and biscuit-y on the second and third tastes. It's interesting in that regards, but not my favorite flavor profiles. I was really hoping for that sarsaparilla flavor too. That would have been great.

 

Final Score: 89.2

   score
    B

Xocolatl de David ~ Raleigh Bars

 

 

 

Handmade candy bars by Xocolatl de David in Portland, Oregon. Created for the affable Pine State Biscuits in Portland.

 

A few years back, my friends at the world renown Pine State Biscuits here in Portland asked me to create something for them to sell at their restaurant.  More specifically, a candy bar.  They bugged me for a good 3 months before I came up with the first and only prototype. It was so well received that I knew I was not going to be able to sell it just at Pine State Biscuits. To thank them I named it after the founder of the "Pine State" (North Carolina, for those not in the know), Sir Walter Raleigh.

To me the classic candy bar is, nougat, caramel, and nuts coated in chocolate.  I created mine with a southern vein since Pine State Biscuits is a southern style restaurant.  

 [Original Raleigh Bar]

Chocolate Pecan Nougat & Salted Caramel, coated in 72% Chocolate from Ecuador.

 

 

Bourbon Caramel

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Caramel, pecan chocolate nougat, 72% dark chocolate from Ecuador.

 

 

Visually this one was a little disappointing with the ashy appearance. But that's superficial for the huge flavors on this bar. Huge flavors except for the bourbon that is. Cutting into the bar I cut right through a pecan bit. Sadly it was the only real bit of pecan in the bar. I found this to be an issue as well with Liddabit's The Snacker bar. Handmade candy bars from Brooklyn, NY. Skimpy on the nuts and I am not sure why. In this case, the size of the bars maybe be a reason why. They are only about 2 inches long. But if they make them in bulk batches and strips only to be cut smaller, it doesn't completely make sense. Still, a small detail compared to the over all flavor but an issue with texture. You need those crunchy nuts to break up the chewy nougat and caramel mou consistency.

The aroma was dominated by the rich and full Ecuador chocolate. 72% and fairly bitter. It interacted nicely with the flavors of the burnt caramel and the chewy nougat. Salty caramel and sweet nougat. Lot's of contrasting flavors giving it an up and down quality for the palate. No one taste or flavor is the focus. I wished the aroma had more bourbon on it. Buffalo Trace is a big woody bourbon perfect for things like this and chocolate. I use it for my own Bourbon Pecan Truffles. But the subtle use of it in the caramel left everything else to dominate. The good news is though, the bourbon is present in the flavor but not really until the finish. It's lighter, but definitely distinguishable. The salt and then the sweet sugars dominate with the bitter chocolate leave the bourbon hanging on in the finish.

Texturally the caramel was awesome. It's burnt and salty at the same time with a gorgeous burnt rust color. It has a texture midway between runny caramel and caramel mou. The nougat was also soft and chewy. Right where you want it to be. Not too hard and not too chewy. Soft and easy. It just needed that extra crunch with more pecans.

It's an excellent bar full of big flavors, but it needs more pecans and more bourbon. I could be a raging alcoholic who just wants more booze at any cost, but realistically it's a subtle approach with the bourbon. It's the right size for all the flavors it packs and for how sweet and rich it is. The salt balances it out and makes it addicting like a fat crack rock. Not that I know anything about that. I wonder if David Briggs could make this even more ridiculously good by adding caramelized or cinnamon sugar pecans in the nougat.

 

 

Bacon Caramel

Bacon Caramel, pecan nougat, and 72% Ecuador chocolate.

 

 

Much better appearance with a shiny surface. The aroma dominates with big smoky bacon and rich chocolate. Did I mention crack in the previous review? Yeah, times that by 10 for this bar.

Same issues with the skimpy pecans. Again, it needs that break up with the chewy caramel and chewy nougat. I also think this could have benefited from crispy bacon in the caramel for added texture. It certainly had all the bacon flavor, but the crunch factor was missing again. It should be like their Country Ham bar. As with the bourbon bar, I could be a raging bacon-holic in my need for more bacon in this bar, but realistically it's a textural issue. It needs crunch some where, why not add bacon bits?

The chocolate has a less dominating flavor on this bar, but it's bitterness is very present. Bitters not acidity. The salty burnt caramel wins again, and the nougat rounds out the sweetness. The dominate flavor though is of course the smoky bacon. It's all in there. Sweet, salty, burnt sugars, chewy nougat and smoky bacon. How could you not love this thing? It's very sweet and rich. When you do get a bit of pecan in the bar, it adds a really nice layer of depth to the flavor. Needs moar!

The New Summer Picnic

 

 

A few years ago while working at Formaggio Kitchen, Robert Aguilera and I came up with a ridiculous plan to make a beer and a cheese that don't normally work together, work. We forged an unholy union between classic brie and Allagash Brewing Company's Curieux. A fatty buttery cheese with a soft edged barrel aged tripel. Normally you would rely on alpha acids in the hops or carbonation in the beer to work on a fatty cheese. But since this beer had the soft edges from the barrel aging, they become ill-matched.

We forged this union by adding, sliced bresola (salty Italian cured meat), fresh strawberries (acidic and tangy), fruits of the forest jam (sweet and tangy), a fresh baguette, and of course the cheese and the beer. It was incredible! It was a complete meal. My husband and I dined on it all summer long.

We even upped the ante with the second picnic. This time we took Allagash's Odyssey. A very raisin-y dark Belgian-style wheat beer also oak-aged. Huge 10%, sticky beer with bold dark fruits and funky, spicy wheat aromas. We paired this beer with a fresh baguette, sliced speck (smoky Italian cured meat), Monte Enebro (a very briney and salty Spanish goat cheese), prune preserve, and dried Mojave Desert raisins. My eyes pretty much just rolled in the back of my head just remember how good this pairing was.

By now you should know, that Robert is a master at these combinations. I bring him the beer, and he gives me the world. This was just for shits and giggles too. These pairings weren't featured in any class I ever taught Formaggio Kitchen, or in any dinner I ever hosted. Rob Tod wanted to post it on Allagash's website. I forgot to give him the details. I think my subconscious wanted to selfishly keep it to myself.

So, following this vein, I had ordered Foietella from Xocolatl de David. Literally it is foie gras and chocolate blended together in a spread. Yes, that feeling is your arteries slowing down just for reading those words. Cream, foie, and chocolate. Done. Flat line......

I wasn't sure what to put with the Foietella. David Briggs, the creator suggested rhubarb jam. I understand that now after tasting it. It needs an acidic or tart balance to all that fat! I decided to put together a little platter, this time paired with an Italian Barbera, of cheese, foietella, fresh strawberries, baguette, pecans, fruits of the forrest jam, and some left over scraps of Xocolatl de David's Country Ham bar (chocolate bar with Benton's ham), and the Iberico bar which is basically a chocolate bar with lardo (pork fat) blended in. Yes, that was your heart now in full A-fib.

This post is pretty much an excuse to brag and post glorious pics of this summer picnic. A couple of high resolution images and some iPhone pics. I had to take those so I could quickly put them up on Twitter and show off.