20°N & 20°S

Claudio Corallo ~ Laranja (Orange)

 

 

Laranja (Orange)

Type: Flavored, Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario, Hybrid

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar, crystallized orange peel, cocoa butter.

Sample Size: 50g or 1.76oz

 

Appearance: Two tablets, one broken, plain non-monogrammed tablets, ashy, bumpy surface from the orange peels, and cracked lines all over the suface, very rustic and simple.

Score: 87

Snap: Mild snap, very thin and a tad chalky.

Score: 83

Aroma: Big char, roasted cacao, toast, huge coffee aroma, pen ink, rubber, buried orange aromas and the faintest hints of blueberries.

Score: 91

Taste: Sweet sugars right up front, char, pen ink, deep fruits, mild orange peels. A nice flavor balance at the end of the tasting through retro-olfaction.

Score: 94

Texture: Dry, chalky, slow to open up, hard but without a decent snap.

Score: 83

 

The score on the appearance is a mixed bag because as I have mentioned in previous Claudio Corallo reviews, I have come to appreciate the simple, rustic, molding of their bars. No pretentious moldings, just simple tablets, packaged and ready to eat. However, I am getting tired of always having broken up tablets from them. And this bar, despite it's simplicity, was totally ashy.

The aroma is what it is. This is Claudio Corallo chocolate through and through. Huge aroma of coffee, char, toast, roasted cacao, but a very slight hint of the orange. It's there but totally buried underneath Corallo's hallmark aromas. It should have more of an orange aroma, and that's why it has the score that it does, but it's also not a bad score based on being in love with this gigantic aroma.

A little sweet at first, then it takes it's time to open up. It's chalky and dry which hides a lot of the true flavors. Pen ink, char, deep complex fruits, and very mild orange peels. I expected more from the orange peels. I expected bigger flavor and more orange oils and a bit of a bitterness from the peels. A bit more sugar from the crystallization. They were very dull.

For me this isn't entirely a bad thing. I am not one to rave about orange peels and chocolate. Even if I am not the worlds biggest fan, I still expected a bit more from the orange. Instead it got completely overtaken by the extreme boldness of Corallo's cocoa.

The lingering aftertaste and retro-olfaction flavors are nice however. More of a combination of the sweet orange and toast flavors give for more of a comforting linger taste. It's a shame this wasn't the case throughout the bar and only reserved for the end flavors.

Overall this wasn't that great. But it's not bad either. I just think it could have been so much more.

 

Final Score: 87.6

    score
     B

 

Claudio Corallo ~ Sablé 80%

 

 

 

Click to enlarge images.

 

Sablé "Sandy" 80%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 80%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario/ Hybrid

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter.

Sample Size: 50g or 1.76oz

 

Appearance: Two raw and unrefined tablets, broken tablets, no molding, large course sugar lightly covering the top and mixed with in, but not overly sugared and shiny. No glossy finish but a matte finish.

Score: 90

Snap: Thinner tablets, lightly firm crisp snap, lightly audible, but clean break lines that left a clear image of the hallows inside from the course sugar.

Score: 89

Aroma: Huge, massive aroma. Fresh coffee grinds, roasted cocoa, char, burnt toast, a bit medicinal, rubber, tar, and huge blueberries. Very slight lingering aromas of honey and cinnamon.

Score: 98

Taste: Sweet sugar up front, then charred and roasted cocoa, deeply bitter but not astringent or acidic, toasted almonds and cereal grains, and a light Cinnamon finish. The sugar is balanced and comes through at various stages of tasting. Lingering char from retro-olfaction.

Score: 96

Texture: Crunchy sugar crystals, dry and chalky, medium melt time.

Score: 82

 

I have learned to appreciate the simplicity of these bars appearance. I wasn't as kind in my first review of Claudio Corallo on appearance. Technically they should score real low on appearance but this is just straight up chocolate and simply molded. It isn't trying to be fancy and it isn't trying to be glamorous, which I like about these bars. Either be pretty and have an elaborate or unique/signature molding or just be raw and natural. It was just too broken up to score higher for rustic integrity in my opinion.

The aroma is by far and away one of the biggest aromas I have ever smelled on a bar. I took all the notes I could upon opening this package, I then repeatedly went back to the package and it took two full weeks for the aroma to dissipate from it's packaging. It still has this amazing toasted cinnamon aroma. It's like my inhaler. Two weeks later!

The aroma right out of the package was amazing. Huge blueberries underneath some pretty raw char aromas. Roasted cocoa and coffee grinds. Like someone took freshly ground, super strong, French roasted coffee grinds and put it in with this bar. But the blueberries held on. It had lots of charred aromas, burnt toast and rubber. That might not sound very appealing to some people, but I love how funky it is.

The taste is deeply bitter without any astringency or acidity. The large course sugar was exactly what this chocolate needed. It added a good sweet balance and crunchy texture. The flavor was toasted grains and cinnamon with coffee and char. Breakfast chocolate. Cinnamon toast and coffee. The char on the aroma was not as robust on the flavor but still nice mingling with toasted almonds. Not very fruity. I was hoping for a blueberry taste as strong as it was on the aroma.

Aside from the crunchy sugar crystals, I wasn't in love with the texture of this chocolate. It's dry, and chalky and had a medium long melt time. This chocolate would be perfection if it had a creamier texture.

 

Final Score: 91

    score
 B+

Mast Brothers ~ Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (Revisited)

 

This is an evolution of taste and review skills. The whole point of this blog is to watch me grow into tasting chocolate. Learning and understand chocolate better.

This is my first go at Mast Brothers. Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs

I have to be honest, looking back I feel like the score I initially gave it was a little too high. That appearance is very streaky and I scored too high. And to be honest I was too generous with the taste score. It wasn't bad chocolate by any means. It still deserves a good score. Maybe in the B-range not the A-range. I still feel like the Mast Brothers have a long way to go with Madagascar beans. They excel with South American and primarily Venezuelan beans. However, I predict they will have one of the top Madagascar profiles in the U.S. And after tasting this bar again they have already improved greatly. They just need to keep working at it and keep tweaking it. Tone down it's rough sharp acidic edges and allow some softness to come through. Soften the sharpness so it's not a distraction to the amazing flavors Madagascar beans produce.

 

 

Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs

 

Type: Filled Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa, organic cane sugar, cocoa nibs.

Sample Size: 2.5oz or 71g

 

Appearance: Smooth simple molding, a few nicks on the molded surface side, gorgeous smooth surface on the flip side peppered with wonderful contrasting cocoa nibs. The nibs make it pop. Darker chocolate color as well. Deeper shade of brown.

Score: 92

Snap: Crisp but thin snap. Clean break lines.

Score: 90

Aroma: First thing it smelled like coffee, char, and roasted peanuts, roasted cocoa and a tart aroma.

Score: 93

Taste: Acidic, tart, tangy, fruity, cherries, char, pepper, peanuts, cedar wood finish with lingering coffee notes and very slight medicinal notes on the aftertaste.

Score: 94

Texture: Slightly waxy right up front then opens up smooth, crunchy, not gritty.

Score: 90

 

I think this review more accurately depicts this bar of chocolate. This tastes better to me now but the technical marks more accurately reflect this bar in my honest opinion. I have been learning how to taste better the more chocolate I have and the more I review. That is the point of my blog. Learing and growing with chocolate.

It's becoming more balanced with the Madagascar cocoa. It's still a big tart and astringent, but it's a lot more mellow than it used to be. There is more balance with the flavor of the nibs and the conched chocolate. I got a few hints on cherries from the nibs as well this time. More nutty flavors as well and less dominating wood flavors.

I love how they balanced the texture. The crunchy cocoa nibs are just that crunchy and a bit soft but not gritty. The initial texture however, was a bit waxy this time. But it opened up creamy and had a fast melt time. This is chocolate you are allowed to chew up and not just let rest on your tongue.

Much better bar and I think much more accurate scoring. As accurate as you can get for a highly subjective tasting blog anyway.

 

Final Score: 91.8

   score
  B+

 

Chocolat Bonnat ~ Trinité 75%

 

 

 

Long standing traditional French chocolatier continuing today with single-origin bars. Beans hand selected and sourced from plantations around the world by Stéphan Bonnat. They are selected and then shipped to Voiron where they are roasted and made into chocolate bars.

 

Via their website:

Bonnat is story of a family’s long love affair with chocolate. It is a story which began back in 1884 when Félix Bonnat established his premises at number 8, cours Sénozan in Voiron (Isère region).

All Bonnat’s customers in France and those making their way home for Christmas by boat from the French colonies looked forward to tasting the Voiron “Pavés” (Praline Chunks) and other Bonnat specialities.

As time went by Félix Bonnat’s two sons, Armand and Gaston, began to help him more and more with the production and running of the family business.

And in 1956 Raymond Bonnat finally took over the firm. After studying business, he toured France, studied at the School of Chocolatiers in Basel, completed the COBA School and finally did a tour of Switzerland. He got married in 1959 and his wife Nicole, the daughter of well-known hoteliers in the region, helped him to run the business. Two of their four children, Cécile and Stéphane from the fourth generation, perpetuate the high quality tradition which has always formed the basis of the family business.

Our shop in Voiron is a place of pilgrimage for unconditional Bonnat lovers where they are greeted by Nicole Bonnat and her daughter Cécile.

Given that many tourists pass through Voiron on their way to the mountains, many of our foreign customers often stop off en route to see us. Our products are sold in Paris and in sixty other departments of France thanks to our network of sales representatives. Bonnat was dispatching its products out to the French colonies as early as 1919 – Africa, Indo-china, Asia. Because our business has always taken us to far away countries, having an affinity with and understanding the diverse mentalities of different continents is something which comes naturally. And of course our travels have also given us a real taste for the high seas.

In France, as abroad, our priority is to preserve the chocolate- making traditions which have made the Bonnat name so famous. We believe that, :

"What is good to the taste
is great for the soul"

 

 

 

This bar is part of the Grand Cru single-origin collection from Bonnat. Trinité also known as Trinity or Trinidad in the Caribbean. This is the origin in which these cacao beans come from for this bar.

 

 

Trinté 75%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario.

Ingredients: Cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar.

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5g

Lot: A

 

 

Appearance: Smooth, simple molding with smaller squares, monogrammed, and ashy in patches all over the bar.

Score: 83

Snap: Great firm snap, nice crack when it snapped and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Beautiful rustic aroma. Earthy, musty and dirty, tree bark, a little nutty, deep roasted cocoa, sweet, spicy, and a little hint of cinnamon.

Score: 95

Taste: Deep cocoa, bitter, earthy and musty, opens up with a little bit of sweetness, woody, mild medicinal hints,

Score: 93

Texture: Very smooth and silky, smoothest texture I have tasted in a while, but not overly soft, medium melt time.

Score: 95

 

This is rustic, earthy, down and dirty chocolate. I loved it. Tasted like tree bark and wood. It smelled nutty and had a musty kind of aroma and taste to it. That may not sound too desirable but believe me this is nice earthy chocolate. It's aroma matched it's taste nearly point for point aside from the small hints of cinnamon I detected on the aroma. It was no where to be found on the taste.

The texture was unbelievable. So silky and smooth. I don't think I have tasted a bar of chocolate with this kind of silky quality to it before. And it wasn't overly soft either. It didn't melt away too fast. You can sit back and enjoy it for a minute.

Nothing but praise for this bar. Just some minor surface issues, but otherwise a very good bar of chocolate. I am actually looking forward to melting this down for hot chocolate as well. Lately I have been into making my own at home with left over sample bits of chocolate and even blending samples together. I can imagine this rustic, woody-tasting chocolate with a kick of cayenne and cinnamon.

 

Final Score: 92

   score
  B+

 

Pralus ~ Ghana 75%

 

 

 

French chocolate. Even better French single-origin chocolate. Pralus (Prah-loo not Pray-lus. Which I was corrected by Alan McClure of Patric Chocolate, who laughed at me about several mispronunciations of French chocolate makers or French names.)

François Pralus, second generation pâtissier, and Maitre Chocolatier. His father, Auguste Pralus, opened his own pâtisserie and became famed for his invention of the Praluline in 1955. A French classic for over 50 years. Francois apprenticed for his father in 1975 and from there began extensive training in chocolate making. In 1988 he took over the pâtisserie in Roanne. From there, he began production on chocolate bars sourcing his own beans from various exclusive and rare plantations around the world using classic French techniques.

The French dream. Passed down traditions of baking evolving into chocolate making at it's finest.

 

 

Image via Larry Krakauer.

 

 

Click images to enlarge.

 

Pralus ~ Ghana 75%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Forastero

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar, pure cocoa butter, GMO-Free Soya Lecithin.

Sample Size: 3.53oz or 100g

 

Appearance: Simple square molding with a corner dedicated to a signature monogram in the molding. A little nicked up and slightly ashy. Deep dark chocolate color.

Score: 89

Snap: Good firm snap with deep snap sound. Clean break lines.

Score: 93

Aroma: Very subdued and soft. Almonds, a little medicinal right out of the package but that quickly dissapted, chalky, wood, soft roasted cocoa.

Score: 92

Taste: Deep bitter cocoa, takes a moment before the sweetness opens up. Mildly spicy, woody, sweet almonds, berries, no acidity or astringency, and finishes with a rich roasted cocoa and toasted almond flavor. 

Score: 96

Texture: Hard, slow melt time, slightly waxy, but then opens up to a creamy finish.

Score: 91

 

I bought this in the fall so I have to be honest with this review that I am pushing it a bit. This bar held up very well though. Slightly ashy on it's appearance and a bit nicked up, but over all in great shape. This is the power of good chocolate making skills and good tempering. Chocolate can last for a while.

One thing I wasn't sold on was the package saying "Relentlessly aromatic, cocoa, spicy." I didn't find it to be huge on the aroma. Maybe fresh from the source it is. But this was quite the opposite. It was very soft and subdued but did manage big almond aromas and soft woods. Definitely spicy on the flavor though.

The flavor is very complicated and deep. The texture is the reason it takes it's sweet time to present all of it's nuances. The texture is a little bit of every thing. Hard and waxy and then opens up in a creamy finish. The flavors are so deep. Berries, and wood flavors, sweet almonds and then finished with toasted almonds. Very nice taste. Back to an old expression I have used before when I have labeled certain chocolate "thinking chocolate."You have to take your time and sit back with this one and really let it open up and present itself.

I have seen reviews that argue it may have been too much cocoa butter in this bar. That might be the case with this bar, but I liked it. I liked that it isn't an "in your face" bar of chocolate. The only big issues I had with this chocolate were superficial appearance issues, a weak aroma, and a hard texture in the beginning. The flavor was still desirable even if it's not as robust as some expect or want it to be.

And one last thing to note, I like the distinction in the soy lecithin used for this bar. GMO-Free. Genetically modified free soy. I have never had a problem with the use of soy lecithin as an emulsifier. Gawk all you want you self-important purists! But one of the controversies stemmed from whether it was genetically modified or not. Most chocolate makers are opting not to use it. But if they do it's important to know the details of all ingredients listed.

 

Final Score: 92.2

   score
  B+

Mast Brothers + Stumptown Coffee

 

 

Once again my partners in craft. American Craft Chocolate makers The Mast Brothers. This time they have paired up with Stumptown Coffee. Stumptown is out of Portland, Oregon with branches out in Seattle and now in New York. They make some of the best coffee in the nation. You might see Wil Wheaton tweet about this place a time or two. Sixpoint Craft Ales, another New York connection and fellow partner in the craft world, also uses Stumptown in some of their beer offerings. Locals supporting locals.

 

Madagascar base peppered with coffee beans on top. The beans are direct trade from Africa, part of the Kayanza Province in Burundi. The coffee beans are then roasted in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Madagascar beans are organically farmed in Madagascar and then roasted, cracked, winnowed and stone-ground, and aged in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

 

 

 

Mast Brothers Dark Chocolate + Stumptown Coffee

Type: Bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown but probably Trinitario.

Ingredients: Cacao 72%, organic cane sugar, coffee beans.

Sample Size: 2.5oz or 70g

 

 

Appearance: Amazing contrast between the brown on brown colors of the chocolate and coffee beans. The chocolate was a lighter brown and a bit ashy. But the coffee beans were bright and popped against the background of the bar. The actual molded surface was ashy as well but smooth.

Score: 91

Snap: Decent and firm snap. Clean, but asymmetrical break lines.

Score: 92

Aroma: All coffee. Not freshly brewed coffee, but rich cracked beans. A bit like used coffee grinds. The roasted cocoa enhances the coffee aroma.

Score: 91

Taste: Coffee right up front, but then the tangy sharpness of the madagascar cocoa takes over. Sharp at first and a little bit acidic. But then it's followed by rich fruitiness and roasted wood flavors on the cocoa. Classic Madagascar flavors. It finishes with the crunchy coffee bits leaving a coffee and fruity taste. Very well balanced on the finish. The coffee is also not bitter and not acidic. Just lovely and roasted.

Score: 95

Texture: Creamy and crunchy. It's obviously supposed to be crunchy but the chocolate texture was smooth and creamy and the coffee beans were excellent and crunchy but not gritty.

Score: 91

 

The appearance score should have been a bit lower, but that gorgeous contrast of lighter chocolate and coffee beans saved the day. It was ashy. It's tough when reviewing the Mast Brothers. They shine when their bars are super fresh. With in a couple of weeks. After that they are very sensitive products. It only really effects the appearance in small ways. Maybe some ashy surfaces and maybe some streaking.

The taste on this bar is fantastic. The big bold complexities of Madagascar cocoa is exactly what was needed to balance and play off of the coffee beans. The cocoa added a big spike of acidity and bitterness, but quickly smoothed out with fruits, and roasted wood flavors. This toned down what might have been a double whammy of bitterness from the coffee beans and allowed a lovely rich roasted flavor off the beans. Very well balanced on the finish but the opening was huge for various flavors.

And the texture was great too. Crunchy and creamy at the same time. Not gritty.

I loved this. It's gorgeous to look at and tastes awesome. There is a lot going on with the flavor of this bar. I think this is one of their best flavored bars yet. That's a pretty big statement. If you have ever tried their Salt and Pepper bar then you will know that that bar was tough to beat.

Be advised though, to expect a big caffeine kick. Chocolate naturally contains it and more than most people are aware of. And of course the coffee beans. You will be jacked so I advise eating it little bits at a time. Unless you are at work and really need to woken up, then you can eat this whole thing.

 

Final Score: 92.4

   score
  B+

Amano Chuao Update

 

 

After posting the review for Amano's Chuao bar, Art Pollard himself emailed me to send me some cool pictures in Venezuela. Mr. Pollard is known to do chocolate bar release parties with the farmers from where beans are cultivated. I admire this and wish I could be there one time for one of those release parties.

 

"In November, I went back to Chuao and threw a mini party for the farmers. I presented each of the farmers with a chocolate bar made from their beans. They were so incredibly happy. It was really an amazing and humbling experience -- as it always is when I have the opportunity to take chocolate back to the farmers. I spent a week in Chuao and ate an amazing number of Arepas. ;-)"

Art Pollard

All pictures are via Art Pollard.

 

 

 

 

Rogue Chocolatier ~ Piura 75%

 

 

Very small batch, Limited Edition bar from Rogue. This is beyond Single Origin. This is a single plantation bar with a very limited quantity of only four bags of cocoa beans.

 

Colin Gasko explains it best in his words from his packaging and website.

For a year we have been working to bring in this very special cacao from an isolated population of trees in Northern Peru. We have finally managed to bring in a “nano-lot” of only four bags of cacao from Juan Tirado’s 7.5 acre organic cacao farm in Morropon Province in Piura, Peru. This is the smallest micro-lot ever made into a bar. All four bags of this storied “white-bean” cacao come from a single fermentation and drying cycle, giving us the rare opportunity to create a chocolate that will give new meaning to the term “single origin.” More importantly, Juan’s farm produces the finest cacao that we have tasted. This is a result of genetics, but also of excellent post-harvest handling, leading to a distinct floral aroma with an extremely mild, buttery flavor of nuts, cocoa, and raspberries. Each of the fewer than 4,000 bars produced is wrapped in a beautiful limited edition letterpress printed packaging.

 

The Piura Region of Peru is located in the northern region of Peru. The Morropon Province is located in the center of this region.

Via Wikipedia and the image:

This province is located in the center of the Piura Region, being a land of contrast and climatic fusion. It is dotted by tropical forests of the dry-equatorial style in its flat areas were the carob tree predominates. In high areas of an elevation 1,500 to 2,000 metres (4,900–6,600 ft) the landscape changes to smooth high jungle and a lack of varied hilly valleys.

 

 

 

Click to enlarge images.

 

 

 

Piura 75%

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Varietal: Unknown. I will have to ask Colin if he is aware of what the bean varietal is on this bar of chocolate. Peru has all the classic bean varietals plus hybrids and even some unknown or new varietals. Peru a chocolate geeks paradise for discoveries.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar.

Sample Size: 2.12oz or 60g

Bag #: 2

Batch #: 2

Date: 07/05/2010

 

Appearance: Smooth, sleek, un-molded bar. Thin and shiny, completely unblemished... on one side, the other side matted heavily from plastic wrapper.

Score: 85

Snap: Light crisp sound, asymmetrical break lines due to no molding lines. But still firm for a thinner bar of chocolate.

Score: 87

Aroma: Tangy aroma, floral, raspberries, tobacco, slightly nutty aroma, and dry.

Score: 92

Taste: Tangy, lightly acidic, astringent, big wood, big raspberries, inky, a bit of toasted malts. An interesting burst of sugar right after the initial taste, but it is quickly overtaken by astringency.

Score: 91

Texture: Smooth and creamy with a slightly drying finish, medium fast melt time.

Score: 98

The appearance score was tough to give. On one side it was pure perfection for an un-molded bar of chocolate. Completely unblemished except for my finger prints when pulling it out of it's wrapper. On the other side it's the prime example of the some of the unwanted effects from wrapping your chocolate in plastic. However, the plastic allows for the aroma to stay intact and allows for a much longer shelf life. I will always be in favor of this no mater what happens to the appearance.

It's aroma was quite tangy and floral. Normally I don't like to be influenced by what the package descriptions say you should smell or taste on a bar, but sometimes it's just unavoidable and completely not up for debate. The aroma and taste are there through and through. It smelled like big bright raspberries and tasted like it too.

As I mentioned it's highly fruity with raspberries and it's very tangy A little too tangy for my liking, but it had what is becoming a classic Rogue hallmark of cedar woods. I got a lot of raspberries and wood and it didn't allow for some of it's subtleties to come through. A little bit with some toasted malt flavors. The astringency leaves a slightly bitter lingering taste on the palate, but not offensively. Also some lingering coffee notes.

I am in love with the texture. It is a little bit drying on the finish, but the creaminess of it and how it softly melts away is truly amazing. I didn't get a nutty buttery taste on this chocolate like the package suggests, I did get a lovely buttery soft texture.

 

Final Score: 90.6

   score
  B+

Amano ~ Chuao 70%

 

 

 

Sometimes I like the imperfections of my pictures. I haven't mastered the art of lighting yet. But with a high gloss package from Amano, dark setting in my apt. due to eco lights which I truly despise, and needing a flash to capture the details for this pic, I have covered all flaws you can imagine with this one shot. Finger prints on the package, blurry top, and a reflection of the flash. I am getting good. Note the sarcasm here.

 

Image via SeventyPercent.com art work by Diane Whitehead.

Seventy Percent also wrote a really good detailed blog about Art Pollard's journey with working with Chuao beans.

Amano - Chuao

 

Special Edition Chocolate from Amano. The infamous Chuao bar. 70% dark chocolate.

Now, a couple of things to take notice of, major shift in price on these bars of chocolate. This let's you know that these are pretty rare beans or at least very pricey beans. A normal bar from Amano runs about $6.95. Specialty bars arounf $8.95. This one runs for about $9.95 not including mark ups from various retailers. I made notice of this on another bar of Chuao I recently tasted. It was relatively cheap for such a special bar of chocolate. If it's so rare and illusive then why is it not being charged for as much? They responded and assured me that it wasn't cheap for them to get. A small, inconsequential, observation, but one that gets me thinking. 

No word on genetic testing for this bar either. It's important to note that as Chuao is an infamous chocolate region that produces highly rare and pure Criollo beans, but also a lot of hybrid varietals. Amano's packaging does mention Criollo, but doesn't say pure Criollo. Even if the beans are from this region, that doesn't guarantee that they are in fact pure Criollo. It's becoming quite easy for people to stamp Criollo on their packaging without anything to really verify that it is. On this matter though I still give Amano more credit as their history and work ethics with cocoa farmers in South America is truly commendable. I have no doubt that they do get very hands on with the farmers and know inside and out the kinds of beans they are working with. Still an authentic stamp of approval is becoming a necessity these days to weed out the poseurs.

There is this note from Art Pollard himself on their website explaining how he has worked extensively with these beans. Unfortunately, I still think we need more proof. Chocolate is trendy now and there is becoming more of an understanding of regions and varietals. It sucks to put such good chocolate complanies on blast, but again if your work is true and pure, prove it and be done with the questions.

 

The Chocolate Maker's Notes:

It is not often that one has the opportunity to work with true greatness. From Amano's inception we have worked with the world's greatest cocoa. The farmers we work with truly care for their trees, their cocoa and are the very best there are. Even so, there has always been one cocoa sorely lacking -- Chuao. Famous for its cocoa since at least the 1600's Chuao's flavor has become legend. Many consider Chuao's cocoa to be the world's best; no American chocolate maker had ever released a chocolate with these beans.

I spent an extensive amount of time conducting tests and researching the flavor properties of Chuao's beans. I did not want to release a chocolate until I felt I had fully understood the beans flavor and how each of the flavor notes interacted with each step of our process. Additionally, I did not want us to release the chocolate until I felt confident that the finished chocolate would be better than the best Chuao chocolate yet made. I believe I have achieved both of these goals. The flavor of the finished chocolate is amazing and has top chefs with whom I have shared samples raving. I believe that this very special chocolate will do the same for you.

Art Pollard
Founder, Head Chocolate Maker

 

 

 

 

Amano Chuao 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Varietal:Criollo/Hybrid.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans.

Sample Size: 2oz or 56g

Lot #: 3/4/83B

 

Appearance: Monogrammed molding, square tablets, ashy in appearance and a muted, matte surface.

Score: 87

Snap: Very solid and firm snap, crisp snap sound and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Softer, sweet nose, lightly spicy, berries, a little inky, nutty, soft floral overtones. There were a big more dry and tannic aromas once I snapped a piece off.

Score: 92

Taste: Sweet sugars right up front, bold and bright blueberries, plums and a bit of pen ink mixed in. Tasting notes on the package suggest almonds and molasses as well as the blueberries and plums. I am not tasting molasses and the almonds are there but ever so slightly and a little toasted. Might be more dominate the more fresh the bar is. A soft floral aftertaste that lingers a bit on the palate.

No astringency or acidity to speak of for such a high percentage of cocoa in this bar. Very mild.

Score: 95

Texture: A little grainy at first be smooths out to a super creamy and soft texture with a medium melt time.

Score: 92

 

I am totally fascinated by the big blueberry taste on this chocolate. It's kind of amazing tasting blueberries on chocolate. It's so distinctive. The plums were there and the almonds were very subtle and a little toasted but I didn't find molasses on this bar. Just a softer, sweet bar of chocolate with lovely blueberries. There isn't a whole lot of subtleties with this bar. It's pretty straight forward despite being delicate in it's flavors.

Overall, I like the Chuao bars that I have tasted so far. I don't think it's by far the best bar of chocolate I have ever tasted though. I think there is way too much hype around Chuao and Criollo beans. But that's not to say this isn't fantastic chocolate. It's pretty damn good bar and those blueberries are amazing.

 

Final Score: 92

   score
  B+

Taza Chocolate ~ 70% Dark

 

 

Oh Taza! What am I to do with you? You are my favorite company of all for chocolate ethics, and detailed information. As I have written about you before, I think you set the standards for what all chocolate companies should be like. But why oh why do your products suck so badly? I take that back. They don't suck that badly or else you wouldn't be that popular, but you have ruined the landscape for what people know to be good chocolate. Your novelty act, and flooding of the market has made it impossible to have rational discussions about what good chocolate is. Your local philosophy has struck a nerve with the purists in this town who buy your chocolate like trendy zombies who seem desperate to be in the loop of what is fashionable in the local/organic scenery. They recite your walking tour talking points as if they fully understand the process and willfully except a mediocre product as if they were given pure Porcelana beans.

You could be so much more than you are. You could be so much better. This stone ground idea should have been a small concept in your arsenal of artisanal chocolate bars. You could be making much more refined bars and really putting out stellar products that make the whole world sit up and take notice. It's not easy being a true bean-to-bar producer and being as dedicated as you are. You have high quality beans that are being wasted, in my god's honest opinion, on these rough, sandpaper, less than enjoyable textured, over-aromatic chocolate bars. You have destroyed what is pretty about chocolate.

I know you think this is beautiful and these products are exactly what you hoped for based on your process. And you have your army behind you to defend you and keep buying your products. But it won't work with me. Not because I am defiant and bullheaded, but because I have never jumped on this bandwagon. It wasn't good the first time I tried it and it still isn't good.

I know, a lot of people will vehemently disagree with this post, but they don't get to taste what I taste. They don't know what I know is out there. Yes, yes, taste is subjective, but you are getting away with it because of the fact that good chocolate hasn't permeated the landscape... yet.

All the power to you as you continue your dominance as one of the few actual bean-to-bar producers in this country. Your success is ultimately good for chocolate no mater what I think. But you and I know the truth. You could be so much better.

*People need to know that as harsh as this is, it's not exactly easy to write. Those who know me, know I have never been a big fan of this chocolate, but I do respect greatly the people behind this company. They are very generous and fun people to hang around as they love beer and are a constant supporter of BeerAdvocate. Their commitment isn't what is in question with me. It's why aren't they better than this? It's been a long time coming however, for me to fully express my dissatisfaction with Taza. And as I go further and further into my own explorations and journeys with chocolate, I grow further and further apart from them.

 

 

Taza 70% Dominican Republic

 

Type: Bittersweet

Bean Varital: Mostly Trinitario with some Criollo.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans.

Sample Size: 3oz or 85g

Batch #: 369

 

Via their batch number identifcation on their website:

 

Batch #369 - 70% Dark Bar - Taza Chocolate

Batch Information
Variety: 70% Stone Ground Dark Bar
Made On: September 9 2010
Ingredients: Organic roasted cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla bean.
Last Made: August 6 2010

Cacao Origin:
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Provincia: María Trinidad Sánchez
Municipality: El Factor (El Pozo)
Area: Reserva Científica Loma Guacanejo
Fermentery Location: Lat. 19.293363, Long. -69.904128
Varietal: Mostly Trinitario; Some Criollo.

 

Growers & Farm:
Cooperative: Red de Comercializacion Loma Guacanejo
Grower: Hilario Rosario
Farm: El Higuero

 

Additional Ingredients:
Pure Cane Sugar - Jalles Machado
Origin: Sertãozinho (São Paulo), Brazil
Whole Biodynamic Vanilla Bean - Villa Vanilla
Origin: Villanueva (Puntarenas), Costa Rica
Organic Cocoa Butter, Natural
Origin: La Red Guacanejo, Dominican Republic

Roast Profile:
Lot Received On: May 21 2010
Lot #: LR19
Bean Bill: Single Origin Hispaniola Cacao
Roast Date: September 1 2010
Roaster Model: Barth Scirocco 200
Max Temp: 237° F
Roasted For: 48 minutes

Production Info:
Grind Date: September 2 2010
Made By: Mike Schechter , Kellie Silsby, & Greg Lashoto
Total # of Bars Made: 3,482 Bars
Wrapped On: September 6 2010

 

 

Appearance: Simple lined molding with a little thicker squares than a standard chocolate bar molding. Slightly shiny, but over all dull and lackluster.

Score: 90

Snap: Firm snap, loud with clean break lines. It should be noted that the way their molding is leading to fatter squares or chocolate and thicker lines to break in the molding give way to a much firmer snap. But still strong and clean.

Score: 92

Aroma: Huge aroma of pen ink, berries, roasted cocoa, with a big stinky perfume-y floral nose dominating and overwhelming. I could smell this across the room.

Score: 65

Taste:  Sweet for one second then it opens up to a huge bitter, acidic taste, huge floral taste and berries and sugar interacting with acidic, sour notes. Too much competition for the attention on your palate. Sour, bitter, acidic after taste with zero hint of flowers or berries that were so vivid in the center of this chocolate opening.

Score: 35

Texture: Waxy, sandpaper, gritty, but an overall a fast melt time.

Score: 45

 

Okay, I am really not trying to be over dramatic here but this was awful chocolate. Just gross to eat. I struggled to get through this review. I ate one piece and really didn't want to have to eat another one.

The aroma was way too big. From afar you can really smell the flowery perfume of this chocolate with lovely berries, and roasted cocoa. But that's from across the room. Up close, it stank like sitting next to someone on a bus who happened to drown themselves in perfume.

The taste has way too much going on and leaves you with no time to appreciate or fully understand it's complexities. There is a sweet sugary taste with the berries, wood flavors, and floral notes, but they  are in a fierce battle for dominance on your tongue with acid, bitterness, and astringency. And the sour notes win leaving a foul aftertaste that lingers for a while.

As if it couldn't get any worse, that goddamn sandpaper texture destroys your tongue leaving it raw and sensitive while it's being pummeled by the hugely unbalanced flavor profile. To add insult to your injured tongue, you have every asshole who just found Taza or just left one of their tours saying "Oh no but I like that texture. It's supposed to be gritty, That's what they said anyway. It's fun saying the word gritty... Lalalalala." They are regurgitating what they heard on the tour or what they learned in passing. "It's supposed to be gritty." I am sorry but I don't like having my tongue destroyed. I was supposed to review more chocolate after this but ended up having to call it a night so my scratched up tongue could recover.

This is what they want from chocolate? This technique of stone grinding that is supposed to be what all chocolate tasted like before a godsend by the name of Lindt came along and invented conching? I understand that leaving larger granules allows for bigger bolder tastes and more raw chocolate tastes. But this was the reason chocolate became more refined. Chocolate on it's own is very bitter and hard to understand right away and by conching it and grinding it to finer molecules you are releasing some of the acidity that happens during fermentation of the beans. You are blending and balancing the flavors and subtleties in such a way that you can identify them more easily, and get more of an understanding of the chocolate you just consumed.

This chocolate is like having a wrestling match in your mouth. It's unbalanced and it's chaotic to the palate. All the pretty things about this chocolate are slammed in your face and then disappear by acidity and astringency. It's quite frankly too big.

If you don't believe me or think I am being over dramatic, take any fine chocolate at 70%, break off a square and let it sit on your tongue and melt away. Analyze it and really understand it's flavors. Then take a piece of Taza 70% and do the same. You will never look at Taza the same again. And I can promise that no matter how different palates can be.

As I said before, Taza should have made the stone grinding a novelty and a small part of their overall collection. They should use this chocolate to teach classes with about the transformations from raw and unrefined chocolate to the gorgeous bars out there now. This being the raw and unrefined bars. And they should really focus on making refined bars that can compete on a world level. I have no doubt that they are more than capable of that. But sadly these products are not doing Dominican Republic beans any justice. Maybe monetarily wise, but I guess bullshit walks and money talks.

 

Final Score: 65.4

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