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Meletti Ciccolato @ Craigie On Main, Cambridge, Ma.

 

I met Carrie Cole, the bar manager at one of my favorite restaurants in Cambridge, Ma. called Craigie on Main, at a charity food event a couple of months ago. We talked about Meletti Ciccolato. A new-to-me Italian chocolate liqueur that is pretty much my whole world right now by being serious chocolate lover and lover of fine cocktails.

I stopped by on Friday with my husband and some friends to try out a few cocktails made with the Meletti and got a few snacks in the process.

Silvio Meletti

The story of Meletti:

The Meletti Anisette was invented and produced for the first time in 1870 by Silvio Meletti, who perfected and improved an aniseed-based liquor produced by hand in his mother's small shop. Silvio Meletti had the idea of offering the country a product of an ever higher quality to stand up to the competion of the extremely expensive foreign anisettes, and threw himself into the study of Italian and French manuals on the distillation and production of liquors until he was able to design and supervise the production of a bain-marie still, with very slow evaporation in order to obtain an alcoholate as aromatic as possible. It was found that the very delicate taste and special aroma of the Meletti anisette came from the quality of the aniseed (Pimpinella Anisum) carefully cultivated in certain areas of clay soil around Ascoli Piceno, favoured by the very special conditions of the land and the climate.

In 1904 the distillery was built near the railway station in Ascoli Piceno. The anisette produced was aged in iron casks in the large cellars, of which there were many at the distillery. Now, more than 120 years since it was first produced, Meletti anisette is still made with the systems developed and established by our founder. The aniseed is produced in the province of Ascoli Piceno. The central aspect of the production is the distillation of alcohol in the presence of aniseed. With suitable stills the alcohol absorbs the aromatic part of the aniseed. The result is a liquor with a high alcoholic content known as "aniciato", which is the raw material for subsequent processing.
The production of anisette involves the addition of a special "aroma" which is also produced through the distillation of various spices. The resulting anisette is then transferred into special tanks of more than 10,000 lt. for the ageing process. The ageing is necessary because in this stage the anisette clears, forming a deposit on the walls of the recipient, and amalgamates the various components which give it that unmistakable flavour.

Today they offer many products Along with their classic aniseed flavored liqueurs including lemon liqueurs and the ciccolato. The also have Caffe Meletti in the Piazza del Popolo in Ascoli Piceno since 1907 which includes a cafe, a restaurant, and a pastry shop. 

[Image via Flaviakappa]

Situated in the renaissance style Piazza del Popolo heart of the city, Caffè Meletti has always been part of the piazza and vice versa. This close tie with Piazza del Popolo (which was used as a forum in roman times has always been very important for the city) has transformed the café, since its opening, in a meeting place for both the people of the city and its numerous tourists.
The building and its portico were built between 1881 and 1884 inspiring itself to the style of the 16th century piazza. Initially the building was used as the head office of the post office, then in 1903 Silvio Meletti (an Italian businessman who owned a distillery that produced a famous aniseed liquor) bought and transformed the building into a luxurious café.
The building was cleverly modified in liberty style inspired by other historical café.
The new café Meletti was opened on Saturday the 18th of May 1906. It soon became very popular, famous in all of Italy thanks to its elegance, its excellent products and its refined services. It was sold by Meletti’s heirs in March 1990, to every ones surprise the new owner closed the historical café in June of the same year.
The “Foundation of Cassa di Risparmio” bought the building in 1996.
Caffè Meletti was elegantly restored and opened to the public as it was on the 19th of December 1996. The tie between the city of Ascoli Piceno and Caffè Meletti has become more important. The Café has become a valuable meeting place not only for its excellent products but because it also allows all its clients to be spectators and protagonist of the city life.
Caffé Meletti has hosted in its years many famous people (from Vittorio Emanuele II in 1927 to Mascagni, Piovene, Sartre, Del Monaco, Gigli, Guttuso, Soldati, Licini, Gronchi, Saragat,
and the De Filippo family), it was used for film sets ( “I delfini” by Maselli in 1960 and  “Alfredo,Alfredo” with Dustin Hoffman by Germi in 1972) and also as setting for commercials and photo shoots.

Meletti is located in Italy in the Marche region on the Adriatic sea. Located at the very bottom of the region in a town called Ascoli Piceno.

[Image via: Angelo Recchi]

Vintage artwork featuring Meletti Anisetta:

Meletti Ciccolato:

The Meletti family, through skillful blending, has created a delicious cocoa based liqueur. Meletti Cioccolato was created by Silvio Meletti as a winter drink, intended to be served warm. However, fans of Meletti cordials soon discovered its versatility. It can be used in a variety of drink and food recipes and is delicious cold as well as warm. As with all Meletti products, only the best ingredients are used and personal attention is afforded to every phase of production.

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Meletti has been described as "adult fun", "chocolate pudding," "uncooked brownie mix," or as I describe it, "like a super rich chocolate syrup with alcohol," or simply "pure awesomeness."

The best thing about it is the price. It's fairly cheap at around $19 to $25 a bottle. That means there should be no excuse to run out and get a bottle right now and keep for your collections or begin mixing up your own cocktails with it right now.

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The first drink I asked for at Craigie was a Brandy Alexander made with the Meletti Ciccolato instead of dark creme de cacao. It was very rich and thick, but not cloyingly sweet as one might think thanks to a nice brandy the drink was made with. Nice and rich and boozy. Just the way I like it. And the classic spicy kick of nutmeg sprinkled on top.

This next drink was something Carrie created using the ciccolato, bitters, and bourbon. I liked this drink quite a bit, but it was fairly stiff, and not too sweet. I think most people wouldn't expect this drink to be as dry and robust as it is.

Unfortunately I didn't catch that this picture was a bit blurry until the next day. However, it was the best drinks of the night. Made with Meletti Ciccolato, Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur, Luxardo, and Rum. Smooth, nutty, and creamy. And once again not as sweet as it might seem with the ciccolato.

 

I also asked for a little tasting glass for the Meletti so that others at my table might try it on it's own. It's something that has to be seen and tasted on it's own to be fully appreciated. Most people who have probably had Meletti have had it in a cocktail of some sort. Most likely a chocolate martini. While, it's certainly ideal for a chocolate martini, it should be tasted as it is first.

I think the viscosity of this drink is gorgeous. It makes you want to lick the glass.

As for the food, well we ordered a few fun things from the bar menu to be shared around the table and it was all fantastic. Craigie on Main is hands down one of the best restaurants in the Boston/Cambridge area.

Chef Tony Maws has incredible culinary skills. I still marvel to this day about the time I had dinner there and tried one of their tasting menus. One of the courses had squid pasta. Not squid ink, but actual squid in the pasta. So flavorful and unbelievably good. 

Crispy Potato Galette with salmon roe, bacon bits, and horseradish cream sauce.

Oysters on the Half Shell.

"Les Cochanailles" Many tastings of Pork.

Assiette of house-made charcuterie: Duck rillettes, Pate de Campagne, Foie Gras au Torchon.

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Valrhona Chocolate Soup with ancho chili and cardamom.

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We were treated to a selection of cheeses and were serves these little chocolate and nut treats with the check. They look a little bit like Preacher Cookies.

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We managed to make an entire evening out of chocolate at Craigie. If you are going to go all out on rich and fabulous foods and drinks I can't imagine a better place than Craigie on Main. I am so grateful that this place is only a two minute walk from my door to their door.

Thank you Carrie, for having me in and testing cocktail creations with me. I will gladly be your guinea pig any day.

Paul A. Young ~ 100% Manjari

Paul A. Young

Type: Extra bittersweet, 100%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: 100% Madagascar cocoa beans from Valrhona.

Sample Size: 50g 1.76oz



Appearance: Deep dark brown color, matted looking bar, spotted surface, simple non-monogrammed molding.

Score: 89

Snap: Very firm snap with excellent crisp snap sound and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Pure roasted cocoa, fruit forward, very green, bananas, coffee, sweet and a little astringent on the nose. Fairly simple and straight forward on the nose. Not a lot of complications with this aroma. What is there presents itself and that is all.

Score: 95

Taste: Extremely bitter, wood, tar, acidic, berries are present but completely buried but bitterness, there is big green taste on the finish even some bananas but the bitterness once again completely overtakes the palate.

Score: 91

Texture: Smooth, creamy, medium melt time.

Score: 92

This was extremely bitter and almost sour tasting due to the extreme acidity. It hits all the right technical marks, but 100% bitter cocoa is just not for me. Especially with the characteristics of Madagascar beans being typically tart and acidic anyway even with sugar and cocoa butter smoothing it out. It's hard to rationalize that too because I like extraordinarily hoppy beers like big American Double IPA's and even Triple IPA's, I have a palate for extremely bitter offerings. But this is a different kind of bitter that I just do not enjoy. I gave the taste higher marks for the individual notes you can taste, but it's not as high for all the notes that were obliterated by it's intense bitterness. The berry notes were just dying to present themselves but just could not stand up to how deeply bitter this chocolate is.

But this is a statement chocolate. This isn't just for those who enjoy the insanely bitter side of chocolate, this is for the integrity of chocolate, that this is what it is without fluff and no additives. Like a model without make up, a cake without frosting, or bread without butter and jam.

If you are someone who loves black, robust coffee with no sugar or cream or a straight up espresso, this might be something you would enjoy. It's something you would want to have to gain a better understand of raw chocolate, and then expand on with different percentages and blends using the same kind of beans. As a base if you will.


Final Score: 92.2

score
B+

Paul A. Young ~ Madagascar 64%

Paul A. Young  Madagascar 64%

Couverture chocolate from Valrhona using their Manjari 64%. Paul Young uses a simple style for moldings and packaging. He uses the finest quality cocoa beans for couverture chocolate to make more worldly-style products versus the sweeter styles I am coming to know as a classic hallmark of British chocolate.

Again, for a Paul A. Young review there is barely any information available about there products. I have talked to one of the people behind Paul Young and we had a quick discussion about the website having more information. They were very nice and receptive. I think they should bulk up their website a bit with more information. I did explain my background with reviewing and I understand most people will not require as much information as I am seeking, but it would help if more people asked for the information about what kinds of beans are being used and where they come from. People should learn about the things they put in their bodies.

So without a lot of information and other posts with information about Paul himself or Manjari beans themselves, this doesn't need to be a redundant post. I will just get right into the review.








Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

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

Sample Size: 50g or 1.76oz



Appearance: Simple, non-monogrammed molding, smooth, shiny surface, but a bit matted from plastic packaging, but significantly less that then other bars.

Score: 91

Snap: An excellent firm crisp snap. Clean break lines with a decent snap sound.

Score: 94

Aroma: Like a fresh poured beer! It smelled overwhelming like a dry Irish stout. A little sweet with roasted cocoa notes, but crack open a Guinness or a O'hara's and inhale deeply. That's what this chocolate smelled like with roasted cocoa in the finish. I have never encountered this before. But as a beer person, I love it.

Score: 96

Taste: Bright, big fruits upfront, huge cherries and strawberries, sweet, tangy, but not too acidic or I should say it doesn't jab you in the neck with acidity. Hints of cedar wood, a bit astringent and bitter as a lingering finish on the palate.

Score: 96

Texture: Smooth, a bit creamy once it opens up, slight tannins, a bit drying on the palate, medium melt time.

Score: 93

I have had Valrhona's actual bar of Manjari before but it wasn't this fruity. I have had others who have also used Manjari as a couverture, but I don't know how Paul Young managed to get this bar so fruity and delicious. It's sweeter than other bars who use Valrhona as couverture chocolate. I love how fruity this was. It was fantastic.

The stout aroma was quite fascinating too. I opened it up and took a big inhale of it's aroma and I felt like I was drinking a beer. I called my husband into make sure I was on the right page with that description of the aroma. I trust my senses, but it's not everyday you get a chocolate that smells like a stout. He confirmed that aroma without any prompting.

I would love to pick Paul Young's brain and find out how he managed to draw out such a strong fruit flavor and the stout aroma.

Final score: 94

score
A-

Rococo ~ Valrhona Grand Cru No. 1 Manjari 64%

Rococo Chocolates, London

This is the chocolate shop that when asked by my friend Angelo, who collected all the British chocolate for me, "what do you want from them?" I had to say "anything you can get your hands on." They have so many offerings that I said "you pick something cool, ask the people working there what they recommend, and something dark." Otherwise, I would have asked for one of everything. This was one of the bars I ended up with. A couverture bar using Valrhona's Manjari Madagascar cacao.

This is exactly the kind of thing I like. So many different options to keep coming back too. A chocolate shop that gets into all the holidays and offers gift ideas for her, for him, families, children, and corporate. They also offer classes on chocolate making and offering chocolate parties for kids as well as kids chocolate classes. Just look around their website. They have a lot going on.

About Rococo:

             [Image of Chantal Coady via Rococo Chocolate Blog]

Rococo was founded in March 1983 by Chantal Coady.

Coady graduated in Textile Design (Camberwell School of Art & Crafts) in 1981, and went on to complete an MSC Small Business Course. Armed with a little knowledge, a dangerous passion for chocolate and a belief that there was room for a radically different approach to chocolate, she decided to open a shop in the King's Road (Chelsea, London). 26 years later, the author of three books about chocolate, Coady still pushes forward to boundaries of chocolate retailing with 3 shops in London - the flagship store is at Motcomb St, in the heart of Belgravia.

This makes sense when you research the word Rococo. On the surface it seems like a very fitting chocolate name, but with her background in textile design, Rococo is an 18th century style of French art and interior design. This is the influence behind their fabulous packaging. Oh yes and they have aprons, coffee mugs, and stationary with these fantastic patterns.  

[The full view of the wrapper.]

They also sell and work with the Grenada Chocolate Co. This is probably where the first bar I reviewed from the GCC came from.

This story began in Spring 2002, when we first tasted some chocolate from the Grenada Chocolate Company. We fell in love with it, and in 2004 we visited the island of Grenada to make a chocolate documentary with film maker Eti Peleg. During this visit we met Mott, Edmond and Doug who founded the Grenada Chocolate Company in 1999, and with whom we formed strong friendships, forged over countless cups of Grenadian cocoa tea and chocolate bars. Later that year, Grenada was hit by Hurricane Ivan; when Hurricane Emily came less than a year later, more damage was sustained at the northern tip where the GCC are based. All the cocoa on the island was devastated, and it would be 5 years before the next really good harvest. In aid of the Grenada Relief Fund, ‘Hearts and Hands’, Rococo produced a special edition ‘Hurricane Emily Bar’. This was made from the chocolate that had been in the conch when the storm hit, combined with Rococo’s own organic chocolate.

In 2007, a small cocoa farm came up for sale, close to the Belmont Estate, offering the perfect opportunity for a joint venture between Rococo and the Grenada Chocolate Company to produce fairly traded "ethical" chocolate. This plot of land, which we call GROCOCO, is now the ‘home farm’ which supplies 100% of its harvest of fine flavoured organic Trinitario cocoa beans to the GCC where they are made into fine chocolate. It was also one of the founding farms that make up The Grenada Organic Cocoa Farmers' Cooperative.

Seven years after our first taste of Grenada chocolate, we will be mixing Grococo beans with the Rococo Organic House Blend. From now on, all Rococo’s organic products will include Grococo beans in the recipe.

This bar being reviewed now is made with chocolate from Valrhona. Grand Cru Manjari 64%. Madagascar beans with all the classic hallmarks of bright berry notes, acidic, and citrus notes.

One thing I am curious about is the label saying "Pure Criollo." Valrhona indicates that this chocolate is made from Trinitario beans. Trinitario is a blend of Forastero and Criollo beans. Madagascar does grow Criollo beans, but without genetic testing to find out how blended it is, it's hard to say how pure the Criollo is. Criollo beans are rare and highly susceptible to disease. Hybrids and blends are now the dominant varietal being labeled as Criollo. So, it makes me wonder how they can label this bar as pure Criollo since it's a couverture chocolate from Valrhona.

Check the original Valrhona Manjari 64% review for comparison.

Rococo ~ Valrhona Grand Cru No.1 Manjari 64%

Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: The label says "Pure Criollo", but Valrhona uses Trinitario for the Manjari.

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

Sample Size: 85g or 3oz

Appearance: A bit streaky and matted in the appearance. Monogrammed, original molding in the Rococo style, deep brown color. Thick bar of chocolate.

Score: 89

Snap: The lines from the molding were not deep and this bar was very thick, so it made it hard to snap. Clean, but erratic break lines, deep, loud snap.

Score: 93

Aroma: A bit softer and sweeter than Valrhona's Manjari bar. Roasted cocoa, deep red berries, sweet, acidic, more of a vanilla presence, and slightly inky.

Score: 94

Taste: Sweet, softer red berries, a bit more tart than the Valrhona bar, more subdued wood flavors that take their time to open up. It finishes a lot like the Valrhona Manjari bar, but over all is a lot softer and sweeter. More smooth around the edges. Big raisin finish through retro-olfaction.

Score: 95

Texture: Smooth, soft and creamy with medium melt time.

Score: 94

Madagascar chocolate British style. Very much like the original from Valrhona, but softer and subdued on the aroma and flavors. A bit sweeter, which is what I am coming to recognize as a hallmark of British chocolate. They like it sweet.

This had the same bright berries, but softer wood notes. The wood did open up big, but it sure took it's time to present itself. Loved the raisin finish. I had a hard time picking up dried fruits on the Valrhona bar, because the berries and wood were apparent. This had a nice lingering raisin finish.

Final Score: 93

score
A

Valrhona ~ Grand Cru Manjari 64%

[Image via coffeeandtea]

This is the first time I have used an image other than my own to headline a chocolate review. My little camera had a hard time getting the right angles without a glare. Shiny packages, what can I say?

Here are a few shots I tried taking. Clearly I need some photography lessons.







Valrhona has a very long and extensive history in the chocolate world. Recognized through out the world as one of the greatest bean-to bar producers of chocolate.

Via the website:

Valrhona Today

Founded in 1922 by a pâtissier from the Rhone Valley - a registered trademark since 1947 - has become a world leader in Le Grand Chocolat. Understanding Valrhona's success story means identifying its vocation to provide support for and assist renowned confectioners and pâtissiers, its ambition to innovate with great restaurant chefs and its passionate quest for excellence. An undeniable inspiration in the world of gastronomy, Valrhona is present in 60 countries and serves around 20,000 clients.

As a chocolate manufacturer, Valrhona offers these internationally recognized professionals a range of couvertures and service products. For chocolate lovers, Valrhona's branded products come in a range of bars, gift boxes and ballotins, available from gourmet food stores, airport boutiques and major department store concessions.

From culinary destinations like Los Angeles to Tokyo and from Madrid to Singapore, Valrhona products are used by the world’s great pastry chefs and served in the most prestigious restaurants and hotels.

Through its wonderful creations, exacting standards and depth knowledge, Valrhona has carved out a long history of taste that totally justifies this recognition from professionals and gourmets alike: the history of Exceptional Taste. And as part of our continuing quest for excellence, professionals from all around the world attend Valrhona's exclusive Ecole du Grand Chocolat. This center for learning and sharing has been welcoming students in Tain l'Hermitage since 1988 and in Tokyo since 2007.

 
Valrhona pursues its passion and expertise for fine and rare cocoas around the world by:

• Developing cultivation methods through long term partnerships with planters that are based on mutual trust and respect
• Selecting the very best plantations and varietals to create the finest profiles in taste, color, aroma and feel.
• Combining fine cocoas of different varietals and sources to create powerfully aromatic blends.

By applying their perfect sensorial analysis knowledge, Valrhona's experts blend the finest, rarest cocoas from different varieties and different origins, creating chocolates of the most authentic compositions, unveiling elaborate and unique flavours.

This perfect expertise of taste is perpetuated throughout the manufacturing process, where each step has been researched to develop the supreme aromatic qualities of each chocolate:

    

• Roasting, adapted to the size and the origin of the cocoa beans,
• Grinding, offering small-sized particles, providing incomparably fine texture,
• Long conching developing intense aromas.

Cultivating taste is one of Valrhona’s fundamental values and the company’s sensorial analysis laboratory is a trendsetter in the industry.

Over 160 people make up a series of focused tasting panels that meet daily at Valrhona’s headquarters to rigorously sample raw materials, products in development and finished chocolates. As a result, the taste of Valrhona chocolate is recognized by professionals and gourmets alike as full-bodied and complex - in a word, exceptional.

This original, unrivalled approach ensures that Valrhona preserves its distinctiveness and perpetuates its taste of uniqueness.

At least 3 of the chocolates I have reviewed so far, one of them to be posted after this review, use Valrhona cocoa as their choice for couverture chocolate. Paul A. Young, Demarquette, and Rococo Chocolates. Many more fine chocolatiers and fine chefs all work with Valrhona chocolate. Their reputation is impeccable.

One of my new favorite restaurants here in Cambridge called Craigie On Main, uses Valrhona for a lovely hot chocolate soup at the end of their meals. It's hot, spicy, and super rich. It's the exact right thing to end every meal with.

The cocoa used for this bar comes from the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. Their packaging notes this:

The rich soils of the Sambirano River valley encourage the release of acidic notes of red berries and dried fruit. These aromas are unique to the Trinitario, a tree not commonly found on the northern side of Madagascar.

Grand Cru Manjari 64%


Type: Bittersweet, 64%

Bean Varietal: Trinitario

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

Sample Size: 70g. 2.46oz


Appearance: Square bar with asymmetrical molding lines. Smooth, shiny, but had some chocolate bits and chocolate dust at the end of the bar slightly diminishing the appearance of the bar.

Score: 92

Snap: Good, crisp snap sound, clean but asymmetrical break lines as intended by the molding.

Score: 94

Aroma: Robust roasted cocoa and big wood and peanut aromas upon first opening, bright red berries, acidic as indicated on the package, very fragrant and robust.

*Still very aromatic an hour and a half after opening.

Score: 96

Taste: Berries right up front, sweet, acidic and tart but not overly acidic with that jab-you-in-the-neck quality, big wood taste, extremely floral and bright with berries.

Score: 97

Texture: Very smooth and soft, with a quick melt time.

Score: 94

This is fantastic chocolate. Extremely good quality Madagascar beans. Huge aroma, and big, bright taste, and a soft, smooth texture. This whole thing was enjoyable from start to finish.

Immediately when I tasted this chocolate, the red berry notes were very apparent and it was sweet. This probably should be a semisweet chocolate based on it's cocoa content, but it's so big and robust like a bittersweet.

Berries, wood, citric acid that wasn't too sharp or astringent, and a lovely floral character towards the finish of the bar. Over all this was incredibly enjoyable.


Final Score: 94.6

score
A-