20°N & 20°S

Seattle Chocolates ~ Campfire S'More

 

 

Seattle Chocolates

Now we're talking. After having the Chuao Milk chocolate bar with Potato Chips, I follow up my filled bar appreciaton posts with a milk chocolate bar filled with graham and marashmallows. I am all about anything S'Mores. 

Seattle Chocolates has a line of truffle bars and this Campfire S'More bar is one of them. I also have their birthday cake bar pending a review. I picked these up at Beacon Hill Chocolates in Boston. 

 

Campfire S'More

 

Type: Filled, milk chocolate

Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Milk chocolate; sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, chocolate liquor, soya lecithin, pure vanilla. Graham biscotti; enriched wheat flour [wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, natural flavors, salt. Marshmallows; Corn syrup, beet sugar, corn starch, corn dextrose, water, carrageenan, soya protein, natural vanilla flavor, titanium dioxide. 

Sample Size: 2.5 oz or 70g

 

Nice thick bar with simple patterend, but non-monogrammed molding. Appeard to have generous "fixin's" or S'Mores bit in it. Smells sweet and creamy like good milk chocolate should. Chewy marshmallow bits, creamy and sweet milk chocolate, but not enough graham taste or bits in it. In fact it's really quite skimmpy on the graham, but the overall taste is there. It does taste like a S'More. Just perhaps a bit more on the sweeter vanilla side with the chocolate and marshmallow dominating. 

One thing that maybe a little petty to point out and may not entirely matter, is the name Campfire S'More. While all the ingredients are there, campfire makes me think charred marshamallows. I wonder if they could have charred them a bit before putting them in the chocolate. Char then, cool them, then put them in. It might make that name a bit more authentic and the taste bit more dynamic. 

Very sweet filled bar of chocolate.The flavors were there, the textures were all there with chewy marshmallow, creamy milk chocolate, faint hints of graham though. My only gripe is not enough graham crackers through out the bar and not enough graham cracker taste. It's there on the finish but as an afterthough and not really as an entire S'mores picture. I can't help it, I am a sucker for graham crackers. The milk chocolate is good and creamy and smooth with a nice melt time on it. 

 

   score
 B+

Chuao ~ Potato Chips in Milk Chocolate

 

This is every junk food-aholics dream. Milk chocolate, premium milk chocolate using Venezuelan beans and potato chips mashed into the chocolate. A sweet/salty lovers dream in one chocolate bar. 

 

A little about Chuao Chocolatiers via their website:

 

Founded in 2002 by Master Chef Michael Antonorsi and his brother Richard Antonorsi - the company's CEO; Chuao Chocolatier is pioneering “fusion chocolate” through a commitment to creating unusual, unexpected and delicious flavors using their secret blend of premium chocolate and fresh natural ingredients.

The Venezuelan born brothers, now San Diego residents, named the company Chuao Chocolatier after the legendary cacao-producing region of Chuao (pronounced chew-WOW) located in central Venezuela. The Antonorsi’s decision was a reflection of their commitment to both high quality and their Venezuelan family heritage. Chocolate is part of their roots, as their ancestors once ran a small family farm that was an important part of the criollo cacao plantation industry.

 

 

Potato Chips in Chocolate Bar

 

Type: Filled milk chocolate, 41% 

Varietal: Hybrid

Ingredients: 41% cacao, cocoa butter, sugar, dehydrated milk, soy lecithin, natural vanilla, potatoes, vegetable oil, sea salt. 

Sample Size: 2.8oz or 80g

 

Nice shiny surface, molded in a signature cocoa pod monogrammed patteren. Lots of crushed chips throughout the bar. Soft milk chocolate which gives way to a light medium snap. Smells like rich milk chocolate. I feel like the milk powder or something in it takes away from some of the more rustic aroma's of Chuao region cocoa, but still smells pretty good. 

Smooth chocolate texture, crunchy potato chips. It's not as salty as I would like, but the balance of sweet and and salty is still good. More on the sweet side though. I thought at first, with the way the chips were broken up, that it would be skimpy on the chips. Kind of like Vosges skimps you on the bacon in their famed Bacon bars. There are plenty of chips throughout and it balances really well the insanely rich milk chocolate. Only 41% on the cacao, but still rich and creamy. Excellent smooth melting texture to contrast the crunchy chips. Lingering milky chocolate taste, with potato chips on the finish. 

This is a great and super fun bar of chocolate. The potatoes miraculously stayed crunchy and good. And even though I think it could use a pinch more salt because the milk chocolate is super rich and creamy, this is easily one of my new favorite filled bars. I love sweet and salty combos. Calories wise, it's not the greatest move one could make, but that won't stop a glutton like me. 

 

  score
 A-

Dan's Chocolates

 

Local handmade truffles by Dan Cunningham in Vermont, to be found at Whole Foods and natural grocery stores. Made with ingredients sourced from 100 miles (as much as possible) of the factory except the cacao beans of course. Consciously made chocolate truffles and bars. They use Blommer as their chocolate base. 

This is a perfect way for Evil Wholefoods to snag you with an impulse buy at the register. Only instead of using crappy Lindt truffles, they use a locally made version. 

 

Via their website:

Local Ingredients, Local Producers

In the past few years we have tried to locate all of our supplies within 100 miles of our factory. This is not always possible, so we are not at 100%. But it accomplishes several things:

• It reduces the amount of fuel, and hence carbon emissions, as ingredients and packaging is shipped to Dan's.
• It supports local producers and the local economy around us. While many bigger companies such as Hersheys move their chocolate factories to Mexico to save on wages and health care, Dan's is actively supporting local producers.
• It saves us money, as fuel and transportation is expensive.
• It allows us to save money in both inventory and cooling, as we need fewer supplies on hand, because we can inventory less.

 

Peppy-R-Mint Peppermint Chocolate Truffle (64% cocoa)
 
 

Trail Hound Cranberry Raisin Truffle (Milk Chocolate)

PB Ecstasy Peanut Butter Truffle (64% Cocoa)

Orangadu Orange Chocolate Truffle (64% Cocoa)

Caramel River Caramel Chocolate Truffle (Milk Chocolate)

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Denver

 

I ran into one of these Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores on my way out of Denver last week. I didn't have much time to linger so I made some quick decisions and ran out. It's a good thing I did too, because they were making caramel apples in so many different flavors and toppings on the caramel. I could have ran out with some popcorn too. And who knows where it would have ended if I went through all the fudge. 

RMCF is a franchised chocolate shop set up in various locations around the country and in Canada. The original shop and factory is in Durango, Colorado. This isn't a place for chocolate purists and snobs. Though I do think the Durango shop is probably worth a visit. You will need something like this after all the craft beer to be had in Durango. No, this is just a place for some creature comforts of old fashioned staples. There isn't anything extraordinary about the downtown Denver location, but it serves a purpose in a pinch. If nothing else, those caramel apples are worth it. 

Here are a few of the goodies I picked up. 

 

Haystacks

Milk and Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzels

 

Large Peanut Butter Cup

 

Almond, Macadamia nut, plain English Toffee

 

Vosges ~ Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar

 

 

 

Sometimes I go through so much chocolate I forget about notes I have been sitting on. This is one of those moments with Vosges. I had tried the Mo's Bacon Bar in milk chocolate and I liked it very much. I just had to give the dark chocolate bar a chance. It's pretty inexcusable to let notes about a bacon and dark chocolate bar to go by unpublished for this long, nearly a year ago now, but that won't stop me from posting these tempting notes now. Although this bar isn't the most pristine looking bar I have reviewed, it's still a bacon and chocolate bar. You know what's up.

 

 

Mo's Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar

 

Type: Flavored Semisweet, 62% (48% cocoa solids, 39% cocoa butter)

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), 10% uncured bacon (pork, sea salt, raw sugar, white pepper, dry juniper berries, celery juice, lactic acid-starter culture), salt.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

 

Appearance: Very messy surface. Same issues I had with the Milk Bar. Far more matted appearance with this bar. This comes from it's sealed plastic wrapper. The type of wrapper that seals everything in and I appreciate, but makes for messy surfaces. Monogrammed, large square molding. Deep, dark rich brown color.

Score: 75

Snap: Good firm snap feel, light snapping sound.

Score: 90

Aroma: Big, deep aroma of cocoa and cocoa powder. Bacon, salt, smoke, pepper, nutty, smells sweet and cocoa-y and then the bacon.

Score: 94

Taste: Sweet and salty, deep rich chocolate right up front, bold chocolate with a big nutty flavor that comes through even through the bacon, salty, crispy bacon.

Score: 95

Texture: Smooth chocolate silky texture, quick melt time, crispy bacon bits. *Waxy.

Score: 92

 

Very tasty bar of chocolate, fun and trendy. Despite it's bad matting on the surface, it was still a relative shiny surface. That's something you couldn't tell based on the pictures. The flash highlighted the matting in a bigger way. I can't get too mad about it since I prefer the sealed plastic wrappers. They hold in all the aromas and keep chocolate much longer. But it always does leave these kinds of appearance issues.

The aroma was surprising. I expected all smoke and bacon, but got deep rich cocoa aromas instead. Nutty, and cocoa-y, then the bacon aromas of smoke, pork and pepper. It was a nice balance.

The taste was pretty balanced, big rich chocolate flavors for a 62% bar, but the chocolate texture was fantastic. Lot's of cocoa butter and it was good. Very smooth and silky. *It was a bit waxy however, if you just chomped on a square. If you let it sit for a second before chewing into it, you get a sense of the silky quality.

Despite a balance of flavors, I am still disappointed with the bacon. It's crispy and flavorful, but pathetic with the tiny nuggets peppered through the bar. The package shows you two delicious looking slabs of bacon and you really hope for that inside, but all you get is the taste, essence of, rather than the real deal. I mean yes, the bacon bits are real, but I want BACON in my chocolate not bacon bit salad toppers. Not to mention the bacon in the milk bar still had some chewy fat bits in it. This bar, it was all crunch. They amount of bits are also skimpy. It's simply not what the package advertises. With the way Vosges is priced, you should be getting so much more.

Still it is bacon and chocolate and it does taste really good. It does hit some good technical marks despite the bad ones. I think this is a fun for the chocolate purists or snobs about dark chocolate. Definitely good for bacon nerds. But while I like this bar a great deal, I think I like the Milk bar more.

 

Final Score: 89.2

    score
     B

Theo ~ Madagascar 74%

 

 

             

 

Theo Chocolate

Origin: Seattle, Washington

Bean Origin: Madagascar

Type: Bittersweet, 74%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario/hybrid

Single Origin, Bean-to-bar, Organic, Fair Trade cacao.

 

Appearance: Lighter brown color, simple non-monogrammed molding, nicked, *factory lines, matted. Very sloppy.

Score: 71

Snap: Light, airy crisp snap. Not too firm, but decent snapping sound, clean break lines.

Score: 90

Aroma: Nice robust aroma. Acidic, dry roasted, coffee, slight hints of tar, deep fruits.

Score: 93

Taste: Extremely bitter, tart, acidic, fruit, berries, inky, bold wood flavors, floral notes, lingering bitter flavors on the aftertaste.

Score: 84

Texture: Slightly waxy, a little drying on the palate, but over all smooth and creamy finish.

Score: 90

 

Very disappointed with how the appearance came out. It should be a lovely glossy finish but instead it's matted and nicked.

*It has the factory lines from the machinery it the chocolate was dispensed from. Click to enlarge image.

Rather dull and boring molding. If you are going to use a simple mold, then it should be flawlessly executed with seamless chocolate and a glossy finish. I will say that I love the color. It's a light brown color. Almost like milk chocolate. It's pretty light for a high cocoa percentage bar. Lovely color.

The snap was a nice light and airy crisp snap. Nothing too overly exciting there, but not bad.

Big full aroma. I love that the most about Madagascar bars. The fulness and richness of the beans. Despite loving the aroma, there isn't a whole lot of depth to it. It's very full and roasted, slight acidic, and coffee and tar notes. There is a deep fruit aroma hiding underneath the roasted aromas. It's there and adds complexity, but is completely dominated.

I like that there is a nice complex flavor to this chocolate, but the lingering bitterness is too much making it taste a bit unbalanced. It's acid and tart, boldly roasted with deep flavors of tar and coffee, There is a bright inky flavor with fruits, floral, but dominated by a huge wood flavor.

I think they do okay with the flavor, it's bit overly roasted, but still presents the wonderful hallmarks of Madagascar cacao. The only issue I have with it overall is the bitterness. It's too much, and lingers too long on the palate. I am not left with a pleasant aftertaste because of the bitterness. Too much acidity too. It's simply not balanced well enough.

The texture is a bit of a mixed bag. It has a slight waxy quality to it, and it dry the palate a little bit but over all was smooth and finished creamy. A half and half texture.

Overall this was pretty underwhelming. Overly bitter, unbalanced flavors, sloppy appearance. Not a horrible bar of chocolate, but certainly not a shining example of America's bean-to-bar producers.

 

Final Score: 85.6

   score
  C+

La Maison du Chocolat ~ Pariguan 69%

 

 

 

 

Pariguan, Dark chocolate with flowers and citrus notes.

A Porcelana bean bar from La Maison du Chocolate in Gay Paree. Actually, it's from one of their shops in London courtesy of Angelo Scarnea again. Named after the plantation, Porcelana Criollo del pedregal, in Venezuela. Valrhona couverture.

In doing some light searching about this particular plantation, I found that Valhrona uses the plantation for these Porcelana beans. I had to guess that La Maison used Valrhona as couverture. This was confirmed to me by Stuart Robson, Whiskey and Chocolate aficionado, who used to work for La Maison. The founder of La Maison, Robert Linxe worked closely with Valrhona on certain ventures. I believe that not everything is made with Valrhona coverture, but this bar is.

Chocolate companies should really make that more clear. It's not like it's top secret information or trade secrets. If you use courverture, just say so. Or please list your information properly on your websites.

History of La Maison du Chocolate.

 

Click images to enlarge.

 

 

Pariguan Noir 69%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 69%

Bean Varietal: Porcelana, Criollo varieties

Ingredients: Cocoa paste, brown sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla.

Sample Size: 75g or 2.6oz

Lot #: LP7510312

 

Appearance: Smooth surface, flat large squared tablet, slightly textured surface with a simple monogram on each square. Medium brown color. One minor scratch on the surface.

Score: 93

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

Score: 93

Aroma: Very acidic right out of the package, tar, and cherries, but then softens up quite a bit with a nice floral aroma, soft muted roasted cacao.

Score: 90

Taste: Sweet, very sugary sweet, lightly acidic, cherries, wood, pen ink, slightly nutty.

Score: 87

Texture: Smooth, creamy, fast melt time.

Score: 93

 

This has all the hallmarks of fantastic Venezuelan cacao, but I feel like a lot was lost due to too much sugar. And while it doesn't have an immediate intense acidic quality to it, it's pretty tangy. There are deep tart cherries, ink, rich wood flavors, and a little bit of nuttiness in there. I love these flavors, but the sugar tore my palate up. It made it difficult to focus on these flavors and fully understand them better. It was too sweet and that's why I gave it a lower score.

The aroma is everything is says on the package, but really soft. It's big and citrus-y right out of the package and then softens to a nice floral aroma and soft roasted cacao. There really wasn't a lot going with this aroma and it dissipates so quickly leaving only a light roasted aroma and some smoke. That's why it didn't score that high. It's good for a few minutes, but doesn't last long.

Technically every thing else was right on the mark. It's snap was fantastic, the surface was flawless barring one very minor, superficial scratch. You need to click on the image and see this bar up close to know what I am talking about with the sort of textured surface. It doesn't look like it from the small pictures but you can see it when it's enlarged. The texture was excellent. The technical elements hold this chocolate up. If it weren't for the addition of all that sugar on this bar, I think they could have had and A+ bar here.

 

Final Score: 91.2

   score
  B+

Galler ~ Heritage Noir 70%

 

 

Galler fine Belgian chocolate. Like a breath of fresh air in Brussels. La Grand Place is loaded with bad tourist chocolate and kitschy shops. Galler is a small gem among the waxy, milky, tourist chocolate pandered in in every shop other. Belgium is so proud of their chocolate status, but they ought to be ashamed of themselves for what they pander to tourists. Then again if I lived there, I wouldn't want every single tourist flooding my favorite places either. Thankfully there is Galler. There is a Tasse and a Valrhona (French) available too.

Beautiful and simple packaging and colorful at the same time. Nice neat shop, very pristine albeit a tiny shop.

 

 

About Jean Galler via their website:

Jean Galler was born into a luxury dessert environment. He liked working in the family con¬fectioner’s shop founded by his grandfather in 1930 and he has kept this passion since then.
At 16 years old, inspired by chocolate, he experiments this living material that fascinates him. To develop his knowledge and discover new savours, he studied in Basel (Switzerland), then with Gaston Lenôtre in Paris.
At 21 years old, he launched his own enterprise. 30 years later, the foundations of the company remain the same :
passion for chocolate ;
pride in perfection;
constant creativity.

Today, the team of more than 100 employees design, produce and market pralines, ice-creams, chocolate pâtisseries, filled chocolate bars, as well as chocolate tablets, Cat’s tongues (cartoon cats moulded from chocolate), spreads, bite-sized chocolates,…

After having built up its reputation in its region, Galler is now found throughout the Belgian market in more than 2,000 sales outlets. Galler owns currently a network of stores in Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Japan, the Lebanon, the United States, United Arab Emirates, England...

Frequently our company has been honoured with official recognitions. The most prestigious is undeniably the appointment as « Belgian Royal Warrant Holder », awarded in 1994. In 2002, Galler receives the « Innovation Prize » for the concept of “CHOCOLAT-THE©” at the Fran¬chise Fair of Brussels.

Also, be sure to click on their website link to view videos about their philosophies, and chocolate making, and family history. I liked the video called "Our Know How." Corny Euro music though. And not the first Euro chocolate maker to have that.

Heritage is part of the classic collection from Galler. According to their packaging, "Created in 1993, this was the first chocolate with 70% cocoa on the market. This trail-blazer has lost none of the flavor to which it owes it's success."

 

Heritage Noir 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, blended cacaos

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

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5oz

Lot #: L1611008

 

Appearance: Thick-squared, monogrammed tablet, slight beginnings of bloom, lightly ashy and dusty in the molding lines, smooth unblemished surface, deep dark chocolate brown color.

Score: 89

Snap: Fairly weak snap. The mold lines were thin so it gave way to a light crisp snap despite how thick the squares are. Clean break lines.

Score: 87

Aroma: Lovely soft roasted cacao, lightly smoky, marshmallows, and butter. Very soft and subtle.

Score: 93

Taste: Lightly sweet up front, good balance of sweet and bitter, nutty, buttery, lightly fruity, toasted, marshmallows,

Score: 95

Texture: Hard, slightly waxy up front, then opens up to a creamier texture. Medium melt time, smooth texture.

Score: 87

 

This is a very "up and down" bar of chocolate for me. Very smooth and unblemished surface yet slight bloom, big thick squares and a puny snap, soft aroma but fully flavor, sweet but bitter, hard and waxy then a creamy, smooth texture, and lastly a sweet fruity character with buttery marshmallow tastes. Up and down, up and down.

This chocolate doesn't expire until Dec. '11, but slight dusty sugar bloom was beginning to present itself on an otherwise unblemished surface. Nice and neat molding. Large squares on this tablet.

The aroma was very soft and subtle. Marhsmallows, butter, soft roasted cacao and smoky characters. This tells me it's a South American blend of some kind, but I don't know what this particular blend is.

A good balance of bitter and sweet with the sugars. It tasted like butter, toasted characters, and marshmallows, with a soft underlying fruity character. The texture was the weird part. Hard and waxy at first, and then it finally softens and opens up into a creamy and smooth texture. Again, with that up and down quality.

I really enjoyed the up and down qualities on the taste. It really did taste great. But all the other ups and downs give this a very low scoring B+. A B+ none the less. It's taste saves this. But I am not going to lie, I expected more.

 

Final Score: 90.2

   score
  B+

Slitti ~ Super Novanta Amazzonia 90%

 

 

 

Slitti Super Novanta Cioccolato Fondente Extra 90%. Super Ninety, extra bitter dark chocolate.

Slitti are a family of coffee roasters stemming back from 1969, who added the addition of chocolate making in 1988 by Andrea Slitti, son of Luciano. Luciano ventured out to make and roast his own coffee to serve superior coffee instead of the coffee he was serving, which he thought was swill.

Following his fathers footsteps and building upon his own creativity, Andrea ventured off into chocolate. A jump that didn't take much pushing since they pursue cacao beans from the same regions they source for coffee.

More about Andrea here, plus accolades and awards.

This was picked up for me by Angelo Scarnera on a trip to Italy. Tuscan chocolate! I can barely contain myself. My love for Italian chocolate knows no bounds and Angelo knows it. I have a special place in my heart after trying Venchi's 85% Cuor di Cacao. It's a big chocolate that you wouldn't know just how big it is based on how well they smoothed out the edges of of this chocolate. No sharp acidity. Lot's of bold flavors and less sugars, but unlike any other big chocolate I had tasted before. That was my introduction into fine chocolate and was the standard I held for a long time against other chocolates. Not wanting some big, robust, acid bomb chocolate that jabs you in the neck when you eat it. Once I knew it was possible to tame chocolate this way, I had to learn more.

I am hoping this big 90% bar will yield similar results. I have such a sensitive palate towards bitters. It's surprising being that I am also a major hop head in the beers I like. Double IPA's bring them on. Women tend to have a higher sensitivity to acidity and bitters. This was from research I have previously done on super tasters, women, and beer. Beer is the best example I can give here, if a beer is 60 IBU's (International Bittering Units) a woman's palate can taste it as high as 65% and in more extreme cases 70% due to a sensitivity to acids and bitters. So, like the beer it's interesting when you find women that like their coffee extra bitter, or their chocolate extra robust. This is not the case for every woman or every person. Taste is 100% subject and there can be many factors that effect a persons individual palate.

Now, we'll just have to see if the review for this bar matches what I was hoping for.

 

 

Amazzonia 90%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 90%

Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, and natural vanilla.

Bean Varietal: Unknown, probably Criollo and Trinitario blends.

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5 oz

Lot #: 1623

 

Appearance: Smooth shiny surface, large-squared tablet, simple molding, a few matted marks on the surface from plastic wrapping, very dark and deep rich brown color.

Score: 92

Snap: Firm crisp snap, light cracking sound, clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Very light aroma. Soft roasted cacao, light hints of coffee, almonds, wood, a very subdued layer of berries, and small hints of cinnamon.

Score: 93

Taste: Bold, deeply bitter, no acidity, surprisingly fruity, coffee notes, excellent wood flavors and leathery notes, very complex.

Score: 95

Texture: Dry and hard, slow melt time. It does eventually open up to a softer and creamier texture, but still very dry on the palate. 

Score: 87

 

Despite it's texture this was most excellent. It renews my faith in Italian chocolate makers. The texture is rather dry and chalky up front. It does eventually soften up but is still very dry. It's the only qualm I have with higher cocoa percentage bars. That is if they're balanced right, it's the only beef I have with them.

I try not to take too many points away for plastic matting marks unless it's really bad. These were a little bit bad and make the shiny bar look a bit ashy, but it wasn't ashy. I should be more critical of that, but I like chocolate kept in plastic. It retains it's freshness longer. And a few superficial marks like that shouldn't be a big detraction. Especially not when the bar is in pristine condition. This bar had no nicks, no ashy qualities, no tempering issues. Just some minor plastic issues.

The flavors are deep complex. Very bold, biter and rich cacao, huge fruity, berry flavors coupled with big roasted cacao flavors, wood, and leather. This is definitely Venezuelan cacao, and definitely not coastal. I wish I knew where in the Venezuelan Amazon they were sourcing their beans from. As small as Venezuela is, they have the most distinctive regions for cacao growing. It's amazing that the more I taste chocolate the more adept I am becoming at identifying regions. I am not that good yet, but it's coming along.

I am most impressed by the taming of the acidity. It's just what I wanted from this bar. All bold and rich complexities of the chocolate, bitterness included, but no offensive acidity that interferes. All raw flavor.

Hardcore beer drinkers will no doubt love something like this. They tend to lean more towards the less sweet and more robust and raw flavored chocolates. While this chocolate is still a bit too big for me to regularly eat, I will most definitely bake with this and it will be wonderful. I can only imagine now how fruity and deeply rich the cake will be. Surely, it will be a cake as the next thing I bake.

 

Final Score: 92

   score
  B+

Zotter ~ Hand-Scooped Black Cherries with Vanilla

 

 

Zotter "Hand-Scooped" Black Cherries with Vanilla. Artwork by Andreas H. Gratze.

 

Black Cherries with Vanilla

Fine Bitter Couverture 60%

A fine dark chocolate that has the air of a chartbreaker. A black-cherry fruit puree and its layer of vanilla-almond nougat are determined to make it to the top.

 

Type: Filled bar, Semisweet 60%

Infredients: Raw cane sugar, almonds, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, fructose-glucose syrup, dried sweet cherries, full cream milk powder, cherry brandy, sweet whey powder, whole cane sugar, vanilla, salt, soy lecithin.

**Fair trade and organic ingredients.

Sample Size: 70g or 2.47oz

 

Major bloom on this bar. I like these Hand-scooped bars, but the chocolate coatings are very temperamental and finicky. This bar was the most bloomed out the three I have tried so far. And they are not past expiration or close to it. I can go as far as to say there may have been a big shift in temperature from transport or where they were bought in London. But I doubt that's the case. I think these bars are just delicate and temperamental.

Smells like cherries and a bit sweet like the kirsch brandy. Just a tad hint of that boozy character, but sweet overall with cherries, sugar, and vanilla.

Very sweet taste. Rich, sweet and slightly tart cherries, sweet vanilla filling, and semisweet chocolate rounding out the flavor. It's nice that the chocolate is at least present for this bar. On the other bars it was there but the fillings in the bar over took the chocolate. Then again, the chocolate is supposed to be an accent and not the main focus. But nice that you can taste it. 

There is a bit if a funky taste on the finish though that I do not like. I am left with a funky milk taste and milk breath. Something is artificial about it. The entire bar tasted good up until the finish. It's a leftover by-product of either too much milk powder in this bar or too much sugar and milk combined. It kind of ruins it for me.

I feel like this could have scored higher despite the bloom and overly sweet content of this bar because it tasted good, but it's the aftertaste that I can't get behind. The cherries were good, the vanilla was strong but good, the chocolate taste on the end was nice, but that finish kills it. It's not often I give something a score like this.

 

   score
 D+