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Villars ~ Chocolat Noir 72%

 

Part two of my Villars chocolate experience. Brought to me by my husband Todd, after a trip to Germany and a stop over in Geneva. Read about Villars and the first part of my review with Villars Chocolat À L'Ancienne. 

Villars Chocolat Noir 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, but from the Ghana and Ecuador regions.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), natural vanilla flavor.

Type: Bittersweet 72%

Sample size: 100g or 3.5oz

Appearance: Simple and pretty molding, shiny, smooth and deep dark brown color. Nice and simple.

Score: 93

Snap: Nice loud cracking snap. Excellent snap and clean lines.

Score: 96

Aroma: Wood, big coconut cream aroma, buttery, almonds, mild roasted cocoa, mild tobacco and smoke notes.

Score: 95

Taste: Soft edges, extremely low bitterness, slightly astringent, roasted cocoa in the very beginning, coconut, lightly floral, lightly woody, blueberries on the back end of the finish through retro-olfaction.

Score: 92

Texture: Soft, smooth, creamy texture, medium-length melt time.

Score: 94

It smells like an Almond Joy candy bar. I happen to love coconut and Almond Joy's. Beans are from Ecuador and Ghana. I don't have much experience with Ghana beans, but I am sure it's the Ecuador beans toning this bar down and making it more palatable. Once again a chocolate that doesn't have too many discernible hallmarks, but was a total pleasure to eat.

Eating chocolate, not thinking chocolate. This is the kind of chocolate that needs to be devoured when a sudden and serious chocolate craving comes on. You don't want to plow through the expensive, superior grade chocolates you use to savor, relax with, and let melt slowly on your tongue for moments like that. You would want this chocolate for moments like that. You want this chocolate for uncontrollable urges and you won't feel guilty about tearing through this bar. You also won't be put out by it's price if you plow through it.

I think a lot of reviewers take that for granted when reviewing. Looking for the biggest wow factor, rare qualities, and distinctive regional notes. Sometimes it's not about all of that, but simply about eating.

I thought this bar was fantastic. Again, I am keeping it all in perspective that this is not extraordinary chocolate. I wouldn't put this up against a single origin chocolate or a micro chocolate producer. This isn't a unique chocolate bar in anyway, as it's mass produced. But it tastes like great European quality. Milky, creamy, and smooth. I enjoyed eating this. I loved the coconut flavors and aromas the most.

Final Score: 94

score
A-

Fine & Raw ~ Mesquite Bar

This comes part of a trade I did last year with a friend. Tickets to my beer festivals for chocolate via my friend Emily Shartin.

This is one of those moments where you don't even care if this chocolate you are about to eat is going to be good or not because the label is effing awesome! Just look at how hot that label is. Simple and awesome. Love it.

This is Fine & Raw. A chocolate company out of Brooklyn, New York. This is a little bit about them via their website.

Story:

FINE & RAW's chocolatier Daniel: After quitting his job as a financial analyst in New York, Daniel went in search of finding a chocolate that was both gourmet and healthy. Such a notion always had seemed like a myth to him. Across the world he traveled to bring back the power, creaminess and secrets of raw chocolate.

Daniel worked as a raw chef in the high desert of Arizona and perfected the art of chocolate back in New York. A sprinkle of adventure and creativity guided Daniel through his dreams and the ancient mysteries of cacao. He brought raw chocolate to life in a notorious Brooklyn loft. FINE & RAW was immediately alive, enlightened and intoxicating...

Green:

FINE & RAW is a fresh new company that believes the future is beautiful. To help bring this thought to life we strive to be green and sustainable where ever possible.

We'll be the first to admit we're not perfect. From the big issues, like fairtrade and carbon foot prints, down to using energy efficient light bulbs, we're learning to be greener all the time.

Our cacao is fairtrade and comes from a small cacao farmers co-op that practices sustainable farming. Cacao is a shade grown plant requiring a foliage canopy to grow. Our cacao farmers maintain the rainforests which provide natural symbiotic canopies for the plant. The farmers also grow an heirloom variety of cacao, which promotes bio-diversity of plant species within the rainforest ecosystem.

All our ingredients are organic, which means no unnecessary toxins, chemicals or pollutants are pumped into the environment. Our packaging is recycled and the inks we use are non-toxic and vegetable based.

We want the planet to be strong so it can grow more chocolate. Yum yum!

What is raw Chocolate?

Raw chocolate is a reverence for creaminess, possibility and ecology. Creativity, innovative play, laughter and movement are the infused flavors.

Raw chocolate is a carefully chaotic celebration of life! Cunningly absent of sugar, dairy and additives, its the highest antioxidant food source we know. All the ingredients are in their natural state - crafted at low temperatures to keep the flavor, nutrients and vitality of this celebrated food alive and buzzing.

Fine & Raw Mesquite Bar

Bean Varietal: I am only seeing via their website that the beans come from Ecuador. Since nearly all bear production from Ecuador is Arriba Nacional, I am going to assume that that is the varietal being used.

Type: Flavored semisweet.

Sample Size: 54g or 2oz. Only comes from their Chocolate Bar Gift Box, not sold individually.

Ingredients: Raw cocoa paste, yacón powder (sweetner), cocoa butter, mesquite powder.

More information on mesquite powder can be read about here. This is not the kind used in the chocolate but it has good detail on what it is and what it tastes like.





Appearance: A muted shine, softer, dark brown, simple molding without deep grooves, and the appearance of a grittiness.

Score: 82

Snap: Decent snap. Difficult to snap due to the light scoring marks or ridge lines from the molding. Breaks off in two bars not single bars (tested twice).

Score: 85

Aroma: Cinnamon, spices like chili powder or cayenne pepper, roasted cocoa but drowned out by spices.

Score: 84

Taste: No bitterness, very little sweetness, cinnamon, spicy pepper taste without any heat whatsoever, mesquite has big impact.  A savory retro-olfaction and lingering after taste of garlic and onion powder.

Score: 91

Texture: Gritty, soft, fast melt.

Score: 80

While this chocolate, certainly isn't getting the greatest ratings, it's really fun to eat. It's savory and leaves an interesting aftertaste. The nose may have been dominated by cinnamon and spice, but that doesn't mean it doesn't smell good. It smells wonderful, but for the purposes of reviewing, the cinnamon tended to drown out everything else.

The grittiness may have come from the mesquite powder as some variations of it are not as refined. I don't have a lot of experience with mesquite powder, so you will have to forgive my lack of detail on that.

This chocolate is fun. A little funky, but fun. And again I refer you to the label. How can you ignore something so cool like that.

Final Score: 84.4

score
C+

Askinosie ~ San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70%

The second bar of chocolate sent to me from owner Shawn Askinosie. As mentioned in the review of Davao, Philippine 77%, I was sent samples from Askinosie after reviewing the Soconusco 75% bar. Since the previous two reviews mention a lot about Askinosie, I will just jump right into the review of this chocolate bar.

Askinosie  Springfield, MO.

Askinosie San Jose De Tambo, Ecuador 70%

Bean Varietal: Arriba Nacional

Type: Bittersweet 70%

Choc-o-lot # 030309

Sample Size: 85g or 3oz.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, organic cane juice, cocoa butter.

From the website:

70% Cocoa Beans from San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador (this includes 2% Askinosie cocoa butter that we make with the same beans). Your actual batch may have a slightly different amount because we experiment with texture (you will find the details by entering your Choc-o-lot # in the bottom left of the screen). Other companies don’t usually disclose the amount of cocoa butter, but we do.

30% Pure Cane Sugar

San Jose Del Tambo is located in Ecuador near the Andes Mountains. No map this time but a description from the website give some details.

San Jose Del Tambo, at least 200-years-old, is situated in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. It is said that the Quechua Indians used this little village as a resting place before journeying further into the Andes. At Del Tambo, the hills rise sharply until the tops are obscured by low-hanging clouds. The Rio de San Miguela, a fast-flowing river, along with just the right climate provides the land for some of the best cocoa in the world. The centuries famous Ecuador Ariba flavor is found in these beans.

Appearance: Smooth and shiny deep dark brown, black-brown in coloring, with standard Askinosie molding.

Score: 94

Snap: Good snap sound. A little more subdued than the Davao, Philippine 77%, but still top notch snap with clean break, no crumbling.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big lavender and jasmine nose, honey, spicy, mild tobacco notes, slight hints of tar.

Score: 99

Taste: Lightly bitter, low acidity, very delicate flavors despite big full body, lavender and jasmine tea, honey, hints of orange peel, extremely mild hints of green bananas, subdued and muted wood and cereal grains from retro-olfaction.

Score: 95

Texture: Smooth, hard mouth feel, very slow melt, big body once it's fully opened up, finishes very dry on the palate, it nearly wipes the slate clean with a drying effect.

Score: 75

Upon smelling this chocolate, the word sexy comes to mind. Very feminine with the big honey, jasmine and lavender nose, but the hardness from the texture doesn't match the aroma. Once this chocolate finally melts a little on the palate and opens up the taste is big, but again feminine with low acidity and beautiful lavender notes. It finishes clean on the palate.

I gave the texture score a lower number, because it's too hard, and takes almost too long to open up. The aroma and the eventual flavor of this chocolate is beautiful but is almost trapped by an extremely slow melt time on the tongue. This would be fabulous if it had softer edges to match it's soft flowery nose and taste. Soft and faster melt time.

Arriba Nacional beans are very interesting but I am not entirely sold that they are my cup of tea. They are the forth group of beans, a cousin to Forastero. They have no bitterness while their cousin Forastero has big bitterness. But with it's big spicy, flowery nose, the taste is so light and finishes super clean. I think I like the chocolates with more robust flavors. This is a chocolate meant for those who want to take it easy with their bitter chocolates.

Final Score: 91.2

score
B+