Chocolate
- Thread starter Diabolical
- Start date
It definitely isn't my preferred chocolate by any means, and while I understand where they are coming from I don't really find myself very enthused by the "it isn't even chocolate" people. The one I can recommend AS a white chocolate is the limited release from Goodnow Farms.
They're one of the few manufacturer that presses their own cocoa butter. Most are either processing the beans as is and adding sugar or sourcing blended deodorized cocoa butter. Goodnow Farms uses single origin cocoa butter and does not deodorize it for their white chocolate bar.
Does it make a difference? In my(and the other people at the tasting party) experience yes, but we didn't double blind it or anything so take that with a grain of salt! It is a VERY good white chocolate. Most grocery store whites are sugar as the first ingredient and this and many craft whites will be cacao butter first, so they aren't quite as tooth-suckingly sweet. Is it worth the price if you don't particularly like white chocolate? Probably not, though it is a significantly different product than common whites.
Ah, white chocolate, a dangerous topic to be sure.
The couple of times I mentioned it, I made sure to mention the sentimental value it had for me, how rare it was for me to have it when I was a kid so it had a sort of mystique to it, which admittedly has fizzled since I can get it reliably now. Of course even with all that padding, the first reply I got was "I don't even like white chocolate." Which probably is OK because I also don't really like it all that much. Well, I was going to say it's not worth the calories, but I just checked and my favorite white chocolate bar is only 150 calories, so maybe I do like it after all.
https://www.aldi.us/product/moser-roth-white-vanilla-4-4-oz-0000000000004321
The couple of times I mentioned it, I made sure to mention the sentimental value it had for me, how rare it was for me to have it when I was a kid so it had a sort of mystique to it, which admittedly has fizzled since I can get it reliably now. Of course even with all that padding, the first reply I got was "I don't even like white chocolate." Which probably is OK because I also don't really like it all that much. Well, I was going to say it's not worth the calories, but I just checked and my favorite white chocolate bar is only 150 calories, so maybe I do like it after all.
https://www.aldi.us/product/moser-roth-white-vanilla-4-4-oz-0000000000004321
I like the white chocolate chips from Guittard's when I bake oatmeal cookies, combined with dried cranberries to try and balance some of the sweetness. I find their white chocolate has a good creaminess and vanilla taste without being quite so cloyingly sweet as other brands I've tried.
I also use it for melting when I make the triple chocolate mousse cake from ATK, but I haven't made that recipe in years because it's so involved. It does make a stunner of a cake, though.
I also use it for melting when I make the triple chocolate mousse cake from ATK, but I haven't made that recipe in years because it's so involved. It does make a stunner of a cake, though.
La Maison has also been our go-to for years for really good chocolate and chocolate gifts. Found them when we lived by NYC and could go to their shop.
Guittard is also our main chocolate for baking.
I’ve never tried Tuescher, will check it out.
That is nothing new and predated their takeover by Mondolez. Cadbury has had that much cocoa solids in their bars for as long as I can remember.
I like chocolate. I like fancy chocolate. And I like cheap shit Hershey. Pretty much the only chocolate I don't like is old chocolate that has turned grainy and crumbly.
We just got back from a cruise and picked up a few bars in Belize. I guess it's Belizean chocolate, but who knows, bought at the port, so probably touristy crap. My wife got the salt + lime milk chocolate bar, and I got dark chocolate (73%) with cocoa nibs. Both are pretty nice. I don't have the palate (or attention span) to make detailed notes though!
We just got back from a cruise and picked up a few bars in Belize. I guess it's Belizean chocolate, but who knows, bought at the port, so probably touristy crap. My wife got the salt + lime milk chocolate bar, and I got dark chocolate (73%) with cocoa nibs. Both are pretty nice. I don't have the palate (or attention span) to make detailed notes though!
Preach.
My two all time favorite chocolates aren’t even traditional chocolate bars-
Lindor Milk Chocolate Mint truffles are awesome but only pop up around Christmastime. Probably best for my waist and wallet though.
Cadbury Marvellous Creations is probably my most favorite chocolate. I first got these in one of those international snack subscription boxes and now I have to get them via Amazon because UK Cadbury isn’t exactly easy to find around here.
As it has been several years since I had it and that was before I started taking notes, AND the sample pack with 6x 1.75 oz / 50g bars was on sale for $6 at Whole Foods? I picked up a variety of Tony’s Chocolonely, just to refresh myself.
Started with the plain Milk Chocolate and… I am revising my personal estimation of this chocolate downward rather drastically after half of a small bar.
That was almost unpleasant.
Half a bar to go in a few days before I do my final write up in my binder (yes, I have a binder… and a spreadsheet), but when the second thing in my notes is “oily”? It’s not going well.
Started with the plain Milk Chocolate and… I am revising my personal estimation of this chocolate downward rather drastically after half of a small bar.
That was almost unpleasant.
Half a bar to go in a few days before I do my final write up in my binder (yes, I have a binder… and a spreadsheet), but when the second thing in my notes is “oily”? It’s not going well.
This thread reminds me of when I was in Italy in January I had some fantastic bars. One sticks out it was dark chocolate with a pistachio creme. I meant to go back and get some to bring home but....that trip was not enjoyable
I need to go back just to get the things I wanted to bring home
I need to go back just to get the things I wanted to bring home
I convinced my spouse that we should do an "investigators" study for burgers, sushi, pizza, etc and for a while I had a "burger investigators" spreadsheet. After a while. there was a theme that just repeated.
| Cheeseburger with aged cheddar | Cheddar was fantastic | Definitely would have been better as a double burger |
| Cheeseburger with bacon | Bacon was fantastic | Definitely would have been better as a double burger |
| Double cheeseburger with everything | With all the tastes combined, I am captain fantastic | Definitely would have been better as a triple burger |
Now I'm not only hungry, but I want chocolate for dessert. Y'all are hurtin' me here.
This isn't criticism of you, more of a general comment on these kinds of things: A lot of food reviews pretty much completely fail to convey any useful information about the food's gustatory qualities. That makes it super hard to understand, as somebody who has not tasted that food yet, what is good or bad about it, whether they'd like it and whether it would be a valuable ingredient/technique/whatever to add to some other dish in the future. IMO this is, maybe, because we have so little language around food's taste, smell, texture and visual qualities. A lot of the language we have reference other foods, but in very unhelpful ways. What do you mean, 'notes of vanilla' - vanilla itself is a very complex smell AND taste sensation?
This is one of the big motivations for me to start doing more with cooking ~10y ago. I was already fine at preparing my own meals but never really upgraded to a 'home cook'. I found that basically any recommendation from the internet completely fell flat. I publicized my annoyance with the cult around steak on this forum - people keep saying it's 'the best' and 'amazing' and other superlatives while it objectively isn't. To me, all the aspects and nuances of a steak are pretty bland and mediocre. I've now tried steaks of various qualities, even paying way too much for a really good one, and I can only conclude that it isn't for me. I've written down notes of what exactly I do and don't like and now I have a reference for future comparison.
Thanks by the way to Diabolical and DemonYoshi for providing actual good tasting notes. That gives me more of a direction of what I might like and try out.
That's fair and one reason why my spreadsheet was private and I'm not a food critic!
I'm personally not a big steak fan. I usually like the sides more (anything potato or mushroom). Best steak I ever had was in Kobe and that was a special occasion kind of thing. These days I much rather go to a yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) or a Korean BBQ. Or sukiyaki, which has the added bonus of not being able to mess up!
There is also so much variation. Last week I was in a strawberry picking event. I ate .... many strawberries. But there were two or three that were just like the domestic strawberries in Japan (the highest strawberry praise I can think of). Other strawberries from the same exact plant were almost tasteless. Those two or three really were 'the best' and 'amazing' but I can't really say that to anyone because there is much more likelihood of ending up with average berries.
I'm a broken record but I have the same thing with tomatoes. IMO for it all being the same species, it's probably only second to Brassica for its immense flavor and everything variety. If all you've ever had was store-bought tomatoes, you're missing out big time. Try finding somebody selling Goldita or Sungold or Ildi or even Gardener's delight. All terrible tomatoes for commercial production but they taste so different to anything else. And that's just varietal differences, then as you say try different tomatoes grown either on good medium or at the end of the season on a dying plant - completely different as well.
I could say the same when I first had tree-ripened Blenheim apricots vs whatever store varieties I had eaten before. There's a reason the only highlight of summer (for me) is when it's Blenheim season and I can get a flat (or two) of apricots. I liken it to comparing "pancake syrup" to the first time I had actual maple syrup.
Y’all spell chocolate in funny ways! 
As I previously mentioned, I had tried Tony’s Chocolonely several years ago when I was just starting to take chocolate seriously. How that journey started is another story entirely. But I remember trying a couple of different bars, thinking “eh, not what I’m looking for”, and then moving on. I haven’t had it since. Since I saw this variety pack at my local Whole Foods on sale for $8 or so? I decided it was time to add Tony’s to the binder, try it again now that I’ve… developed? Enhanced? Refined?…. Whatever, now that I have more experience with a much wider variety of chocolate.
And as previously mentioned, I am regretting this decision.
NOTE!
This isn’t a “review”, per se. Chocolate, like everything that you taste, is highly subjective.
I did not like this at all. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel completely different!
Milk Chocolate
by Tony‘s Chocolonely
Cacao: 32%
Type: “Mini” bar (still 50g / 1.75 oz!) in oddly apportioned sections
Description: Milk chocolate. Cacao is the third ingredient listed -> in order: whole milk powder, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor
Notes (per Tony’s): None
Music for both sessions: Frozen Crown (youtube) - power / progressive metal
Session one:
Prime - the milk powder is a kick in the teeth, right away.
The bar is oily to touch, and feels that way on the tongue. (This is when I read the chocolate liquor, and this attribute makes sense now.) To be clear, it’s not as oily/chemical tasting as Endangered Species Chocolate, but we’re talking degrees here.
Finish (this is the immediate aftertaste) - a sour bite at the back of the mouth.
Everywhere (back teeth, mid tongue, side tongue, tongue tip, mouth roof, etc) - Very, very sugar heavy. Consistent flavor profile in all locations.
Session two:
Prime - sour on the tongue. Almost face-twistingly so. Not sure if that is the milk powder or the chocolate liquor or the combination of the two.
Big chunk, mid tongue - That is stomach churning sweet. Despite my chocolate obsession, I tend to keep my sugar intake down. I quit drinking all sodas 6 years ago, and this sort of instant stomach churn to the sugar content is what I get from a soda if I try it now.
Fast chew and melt - Increasing the surface area makes everything melt SUPER fast, expected of milk chocolate. Almost better that way.
Back teeth - Frustrating, because every once in a while I’ll get a hint of the actual cacao used before it’s overwhelmed by the milk powder / sugar / everything.
Dia’s Rating =
(1 out of 5)
I won’t be buying Tony’s again. Especially the plain milk chocolate. It fills me with dread even thinking about trying the rest of them. But, to be fair, you never know. Sometimes meh chocolate by itself has a different character entirely as a carrier for other flavors.
Considering the amount of good chocolate in my cabinet? I’m not going to go back to the Tony’s sample box until I feel mentally restored.
My stomach feels queazy just thinking about it!
As I previously mentioned, I had tried Tony’s Chocolonely several years ago when I was just starting to take chocolate seriously. How that journey started is another story entirely. But I remember trying a couple of different bars, thinking “eh, not what I’m looking for”, and then moving on. I haven’t had it since. Since I saw this variety pack at my local Whole Foods on sale for $8 or so? I decided it was time to add Tony’s to the binder, try it again now that I’ve… developed? Enhanced? Refined?…. Whatever, now that I have more experience with a much wider variety of chocolate.
And as previously mentioned, I am regretting this decision.
NOTE!
This isn’t a “review”, per se. Chocolate, like everything that you taste, is highly subjective.
I did not like this at all. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel completely different!
Milk Chocolate
by Tony‘s Chocolonely
Cacao: 32%
Type: “Mini” bar (still 50g / 1.75 oz!) in oddly apportioned sections
Description: Milk chocolate. Cacao is the third ingredient listed -> in order: whole milk powder, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor
Notes (per Tony’s): None
Music for both sessions: Frozen Crown (youtube) - power / progressive metal
Session one:
Prime - the milk powder is a kick in the teeth, right away.
The bar is oily to touch, and feels that way on the tongue. (This is when I read the chocolate liquor, and this attribute makes sense now.) To be clear, it’s not as oily/chemical tasting as Endangered Species Chocolate, but we’re talking degrees here.
Finish (this is the immediate aftertaste) - a sour bite at the back of the mouth.
Everywhere (back teeth, mid tongue, side tongue, tongue tip, mouth roof, etc) - Very, very sugar heavy. Consistent flavor profile in all locations.
Session two:
Prime - sour on the tongue. Almost face-twistingly so. Not sure if that is the milk powder or the chocolate liquor or the combination of the two.
Big chunk, mid tongue - That is stomach churning sweet. Despite my chocolate obsession, I tend to keep my sugar intake down. I quit drinking all sodas 6 years ago, and this sort of instant stomach churn to the sugar content is what I get from a soda if I try it now.
Fast chew and melt - Increasing the surface area makes everything melt SUPER fast, expected of milk chocolate. Almost better that way.
Back teeth - Frustrating, because every once in a while I’ll get a hint of the actual cacao used before it’s overwhelmed by the milk powder / sugar / everything.
Dia’s Rating =
(1 out of 5)I won’t be buying Tony’s again. Especially the plain milk chocolate. It fills me with dread even thinking about trying the rest of them. But, to be fair, you never know. Sometimes meh chocolate by itself has a different character entirely as a carrier for other flavors.
Considering the amount of good chocolate in my cabinet? I’m not going to go back to the Tony’s sample box until I feel mentally restored.
My stomach feels queazy just thinking about it!
In case anyone is curious?
Example of notes page - this is my notes on Amadei’s Blanco De Criolla and Tony’s Milk Chocolate.
Examples of pages from my binder - Part of the Chuao section and the start of the Tony’s Chocolonely section. What is in the binder are distilled from my notes. Quick references for myself for later if I’m trying to decided what to order.
Is the binder and the notes just another excuse to write more with fountain pens.
……………………….. maybe.
Finally, the spreadsheet in Numbers. I have this on iCloud so I can pull it up on my phone in a store if need be.
Red = 1
Brown = 3
Green = 5
With gradient’s for 2 and 4.
Example of notes page - this is my notes on Amadei’s Blanco De Criolla and Tony’s Milk Chocolate.
Examples of pages from my binder - Part of the Chuao section and the start of the Tony’s Chocolonely section. What is in the binder are distilled from my notes. Quick references for myself for later if I’m trying to decided what to order.
Is the binder and the notes just another excuse to write more with fountain pens.
……………………….. maybe.
Finally, the spreadsheet in Numbers. I have this on iCloud so I can pull it up on my phone in a store if need be.
Red = 1
Brown = 3
Green = 5
With gradient’s for 2 and 4.
Limited Release: Old Fashioned Root Beer
by Goodnow Farms
Cacao content: 70%
Cacao origin: Colombia
Size: 55g bar
Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, Cacao butter, sarsaparilla, birch bark, star anis, vanilla bean, ground ginger, dried green Sichuan pepper, salt.
I think I mentioned this bar in one of the earlier posts. I had previously gotten a single bar on a whim and after I tried it I decided I need to get more. I forget if I ordered the first bar from Caputo's or direct from Goodnow Farms, but either way I ended up needing to go to the other to get more bars.
The first shipment was also a bit fucked, the mailman forgot to deliver the package so it sat in his truck for another 5 hours or so and it got dropped off much later than usual, on one of the hotter days of the year. While it was fairly well packed with cold packs, the heat that day had defeated them.
I'll give a transcription of my ratings card from now and where my card from the tasting party differs, if at all!
Color: Medium dark brown (light for a dark chocolate, dark for a milk chocolate) ~120.80.80RGB
Shine: Medium (though the main flat portion having a texture in the mold is the main reason for this)
Physical Elements:
Aroma:
Radar Chart:
Flavor Notes:
You got your root beer flavor notes in my chocolate! Bright bold opening of root beer notes. Very strong, but not overwhelming in my opinion. These are much more in line with real old fashioned root beer type flavors, if you've had it, than mass market stuff. If you didn't tell me what it was and just gave it to me to taste I don't think I would pick it up as root beer at the aroma stage, but I definitely would at the tasting stage.
The flavoring elements harmonize really well, it is difficult to pick any of them out individually. There are some little spikes of the Sichuan pepper which the makers said they included to try to give a bit of the flavor effect that the effervescence in carbonated beverages have. I don't know that it quite gives that feel, but it works well overall.
If you solely let it melt, about two thirds of the way through a piece the root beer elements fade out and you get a nice chocolate finish. Not too many individual notes to the chocolate part, just pleasant chocolate. If you chew you get strong root beer elements with a mild lower base of chocolate. Retronasal olfaction on either seems to boost the floral notes from the flavor inclusions.
Inclusions:
Other notes: There is a bit of astringency that sneaks up on you towards the end, but very mild.
Differences from last time:
Last time I got Caramel notes from the Aroma and no Roasty notes. Rated texture 4 last time.
These are what the cards I've been using for the tastings look like, still working on how exactly I want them set up.
by Goodnow Farms
Cacao content: 70%
Cacao origin: Colombia
Size: 55g bar
Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, Cacao butter, sarsaparilla, birch bark, star anis, vanilla bean, ground ginger, dried green Sichuan pepper, salt.
I think I mentioned this bar in one of the earlier posts. I had previously gotten a single bar on a whim and after I tried it I decided I need to get more. I forget if I ordered the first bar from Caputo's or direct from Goodnow Farms, but either way I ended up needing to go to the other to get more bars.
The first shipment was also a bit fucked, the mailman forgot to deliver the package so it sat in his truck for another 5 hours or so and it got dropped off much later than usual, on one of the hotter days of the year. While it was fairly well packed with cold packs, the heat that day had defeated them.
I'll give a transcription of my ratings card from now and where my card from the tasting party differs, if at all!
Color: Medium dark brown (light for a dark chocolate, dark for a milk chocolate) ~120.80.80RGB
Shine: Medium (though the main flat portion having a texture in the mold is the main reason for this)
Physical Elements:
Snap: Hard Soft Crumbly
Melt: Fast Slow (Through about 50% of the melt then it slows down)
Texture: Grainy Smooth Creamy Chalky Waxy
Other: Astringent Acidic
Aroma:
Strength: Bold Mild Subtle (Immediately hits you with those floral herbaceous notes when you open the package, not an immediate "root beer" feel to the aroma though)
Notes: Fruity Nutty Earthy Floral Chocolate Roasty Caramel
Radar Chart:
Flavor Notes:
You got your root beer flavor notes in my chocolate! Bright bold opening of root beer notes. Very strong, but not overwhelming in my opinion. These are much more in line with real old fashioned root beer type flavors, if you've had it, than mass market stuff. If you didn't tell me what it was and just gave it to me to taste I don't think I would pick it up as root beer at the aroma stage, but I definitely would at the tasting stage.
The flavoring elements harmonize really well, it is difficult to pick any of them out individually. There are some little spikes of the Sichuan pepper which the makers said they included to try to give a bit of the flavor effect that the effervescence in carbonated beverages have. I don't know that it quite gives that feel, but it works well overall.
If you solely let it melt, about two thirds of the way through a piece the root beer elements fade out and you get a nice chocolate finish. Not too many individual notes to the chocolate part, just pleasant chocolate. If you chew you get strong root beer elements with a mild lower base of chocolate. Retronasal olfaction on either seems to boost the floral notes from the flavor inclusions.
Inclusions:
Texture: Not applicable or no effect
Flavor: See above in flavor notes! I was super unsure of this bar before I tried it the first time, but damn did they nail root beer and make it work incredibly well with chocolate.
Rating:Texture: 5/5
Aroma: 4/5
Flavor: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Other notes: There is a bit of astringency that sneaks up on you towards the end, but very mild.
Differences from last time:
Last time I got Caramel notes from the Aroma and no Roasty notes. Rated texture 4 last time.
These are what the cards I've been using for the tastings look like, still working on how exactly I want them set up.
Whoa.
Dick Taylor’s Belize Toledo 72% is not boring.
I don’t know if it’s good, either, when one of the things in my notes is:
But certainly not boring! It’ll be a few days before I get to session two and come to a conclusion. Maybe as long as a week or so.
Dick Taylor’s Belize Toledo 72% is not boring.
I don’t know if it’s good, either, when one of the things in my notes is:
But certainly not boring! It’ll be a few days before I get to session two and come to a conclusion. Maybe as long as a week or so.
Love the radar chart. One nitpick though: after examination, it looks like you’re assigning zero to ‘nutty’ and ‘bitter’, but because zero is at the singularity point of the chart, you can only infer this by figuring out what the neighboring non-zero attributes are. For improved radar chart legibility, you should use a zero-ring of finite radius.
y'all get one chance to convince this chocolate skeptic that he's wrong.
I just ordered this:
Sorry for the milk chocolate, it's my wife's preference. Three different regions, all single source, all chosen randomly because I don't know what I'm doing. If I don't think these are special, I consider the case closed and this entire thread resolved ;-)
I just ordered this:
Sorry for the milk chocolate, it's my wife's preference. Three different regions, all single source, all chosen randomly because I don't know what I'm doing. If I don't think these are special, I consider the case closed and this entire thread resolved ;-)
For you, maybe!
DemonYoshi probably has better tips for how to draw out the different flavors and notes.
There is a “proper” way to eat chocolate, and I’m pretty sure the way I go about it is a bastardized thing guaranteed to piss off people ‘of refinement’. Like that insufferable ass in the fork thread. But it works for me, so…
After reading up on the Madagascar you’ve picked? The notes sound pretty different from a lot of others from the country. But it IS a big island, so, go figure! Looking forward to what you think of it.
If it's “just chocolate” to you, thats okay!
Cheaper for you in the long run.
I'm genuinely not against tips on how to properly experience the chocolate. I make out a big dumb idiot in the thread but like... my continued engagement and general love of food means I'm just being recalcitrant and actually enjoy all of this
One of the things I have emphasized in the 'orientation' part of the tasting parties I've done: There is no wrong way to eat chocolate.
Unless you are a judge for the International Chocolate Awards or similar, do what works for you. And if you are judge, well...
However, if you want to appreciate the variety that exists within different makers, different bean origins, different processes, etc. there are a few things I would suggest.
Start with a clean palate and a low distraction envrionment! Not immediately after brushing your teeth! Not immediately after eating strongly flavored or very salty or very sweet foods. Some helpful things to have if you are going to be trying more than one bar to clean your palate in between are warm-to-hot water and very plain low salt crackers or very plain crusty bread. The fat(cacao butter) in chocolate means it can coat your palate, the water will help melt the fat and you can use the cracker/crusty bread to apply some friction to your tongue to help clear it. Not really needed for a single bar at a time!
Unless you are a judge for the International Chocolate Awards or similar, do what works for you. And if you are judge, well...
However, if you want to appreciate the variety that exists within different makers, different bean origins, different processes, etc. there are a few things I would suggest.
Start with a clean palate and a low distraction envrionment! Not immediately after brushing your teeth! Not immediately after eating strongly flavored or very salty or very sweet foods. Some helpful things to have if you are going to be trying more than one bar to clean your palate in between are warm-to-hot water and very plain low salt crackers or very plain crusty bread. The fat(cacao butter) in chocolate means it can coat your palate, the water will help melt the fat and you can use the cracker/crusty bread to apply some friction to your tongue to help clear it. Not really needed for a single bar at a time!
- Unwrap the bar.
- Observe the visual quality of the bar.
- Is it smoothly molded?
- If the mold has flat untextured surfaces, do they have a good sheen to them? (this will be considerably stronger in dark than milk)
- Does it have bloom? This can be sugar or fat bloom, generally white splotches or crystals. This is a sign of poor tempering before molding, poor storage, or poor temperature control in transit to you.
- Snap a piece of the bar off! Darker milk chocolates and dark chocolates should have a nice and hefty audible snap. Lighter milk chocolates and white chocolates should still have a snap, but it won't be as hard or loud and should be much easier to break. The type of snap will of course also depend on the thickness of the bar!
- Give it a nice sniff or three!
- Some chocolate is much more aromatic than others.
- Aroma strength is not always related to the flavor strength of the bar either.
- What notes are you picking up in the aroma?
- Some common descriptors as I used above: Fruity, nutty, earthy, flora, chocolatey, roasty, caramely.
- Eat the dang thing!
- Put a small piece in your mouth and let it melt on your tongue, moving it around as it melts.
- Or chew it!
- Or a mix of the two (melt -> chew, chew-> melt).
- You will tend to get different flavor notes depending on the method.
- What are those flavor notes? Do they change during the melt?
- Do they differ between chewing and melting?
- Inclusion bars (nuts, dried fruit, etc.) in my experience will always perform better, (and probably more to what the manufacturer intended) via chewing.
- While you're tasting it, how is the texture?
- Unless it is a rough-ground style bar, anything other than smooth or creamy would generally be considered a defect. Milk chocolates tend more towards creamy while darks towards smooth. I think generally due to the difference in ratio of cacao mass/solids, cacao butter, and sugar.
- As it melts or you finish chewing, consider again if the flavor profile has changed, does it finish with different notes? Leave a lingering taste?
- If you know how to do retronasal olfaction as used in wine tasting, it is worth giving a version of that a try with a second piece to see if you pick up anything else!
- Think of how you liked every element of the bar: sight, sound, smell, and taste.
- Is it something that you would only want to 'sip'?
- Or would you want to house the whole thing?
- Or maybe you've done all this and it is justchocolate?
- At least you've supported some craft chocolate makers and through them, given some considerably better wages to farmers than they'll get from any of the mass market stuff!
What DemonYoshi said
The only thing I've added is music and closing my eyes while I eat it.
Closing my eyes is just removing that as a sensory organ once it is in my mouth. Simple stuff. The music is.... odd.
For some reason, different music resonates for me with different chocolate. And when I find it? Some how it just works.
Take for example:
72% Dark Chocolate Single Origin Papau New Guinea
from Mirzam
https://mirzam.com/products/72-dark-chocolate-single-origin-papua-new-guinea
I was on the cusp of actively disliking this chocolate. And then I started eating it while listening to electronic music from Infected Mushroom and it just sort of gelled for me. I don't know why.
The only thing I've added is music and closing my eyes while I eat it.
Closing my eyes is just removing that as a sensory organ once it is in my mouth. Simple stuff. The music is.... odd.
For some reason, different music resonates for me with different chocolate. And when I find it? Some how it just works.
Take for example:
72% Dark Chocolate Single Origin Papau New Guinea
from Mirzam
https://mirzam.com/products/72-dark-chocolate-single-origin-papua-new-guinea
I was on the cusp of actively disliking this chocolate. And then I started eating it while listening to electronic music from Infected Mushroom and it just sort of gelled for me. I don't know why.
Oh, and a personal difference: I spread out when I eat the chocolate. It's my one 'guilty' vice for gastronomical consumption that I allow myself after I lost all the weight.
So I'll have a half a bar (or less) every two to five days or so. Otherwise, often it's just too damn much for me all at once.
I also endeavor to get a bunch of new-to-me chocolate every few months and then parse it out slowly. The hobby/vice gets very expensive otherwise!
So I'll have a half a bar (or less) every two to five days or so. Otherwise, often it's just too damn much for me all at once.
I also endeavor to get a bunch of new-to-me chocolate every few months and then parse it out slowly. The hobby/vice gets very expensive otherwise!
Let me preface this with a personal note on taste: I tend not to consume really tart, astringent, or sour things.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy them (especially in apples!), it’s just a flavor profile that I don’t taste very often. So anything that leans pretty heavily into that just smacks me right in the mouth.
The only other Dick Taylor chocolates I’ve had were “specialty” affairs, namely their Peanut Butter bar (not actually peanut butter) and their Ginger Snap milk chocolate bar. The first was like an overpriced peanut butter cup, and the second earned a in my scale… not a fan. I couldn’t argue with their craftsmanship, though, so I’m always interested in trying more.
72% Dark - Belize, Toledo
by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/collections/single-origin-bars/products/72-belize-toldeo
Cacao: 72%
Type: Bar, design work on one side, smooth on the other, no obvious perforations or break points.
Description: Single origin dark chocolate. Maya Mountain Cacao from southern Belize.
Notes (per Dick Taylor): Dried Plum, Tart Cherry, Jasmine
Session One
Music: EDM & Rock/Synthwave (Space 92 and Dance with the Dead)
Prime: Immediate, “Whoa!” Fruit leaps up at you, sour and astringent.
Medium chew -> melt on mid-tongue: A LOT of fruit, but wow does that make the sides of my tongue want to curl up and away. Which would be a neat trick, because I never learned how to curl my tongue like that!
Back teeth: Fruit, yes, but really astringent. The fruit isn’t ripe yet, I think!
Double pouch & tongue tip (my shorthand to describe the long melt of a piece in each cheek while attacking a small piece with the tip of the tongue, then moving the cheek pieces all melty to the middle of the tongue to finish them off) : Whoa. Okay. Now THAT was interesting. Blackcurrant pudding drizzled in chocolate sauce, especially with the really melted pieces before a final chew to the finish. The chocolate has a lovely consistency and feel, but the finish tastes “dry”. Think how certain wines taste “dry”.
Fast chew -> melt: Still tart as hell, but not nearly as overpowering. Might be the repeated exposure, though.
Session Two
Music: Electric Blues (Selwyn Birchwood)
This session was much the same as the first, although I didn’t find the tartness nearly as face-twisting the second time around. My mouth still had that sour-tingly feel at the end, though! I was able to start to taste more of the individual notes this time around, feel how the flavor tones worked in and through the cocoa. Intriguing, at the least.
I also found that the chocolate leapt out at me when paired with the electric blues, but that’s probably just in my head!
Dia’s Rating: 3 of 5
This one grew on me over time. Like I said, tart and sour are two flavor notes that I don’t typically eat. By the end of the bar in the second session? I was intrigued enough to want to try more. I’m not sure if I like it, but I’m willing to find out! It definitely felt like I was getting more and more out of it by the end. But then the bar was over, and that was that. The opening notes are a shock, though!
A very interesting and definitely not-boring chocolate.
It’s not that I don’t enjoy them (especially in apples!), it’s just a flavor profile that I don’t taste very often. So anything that leans pretty heavily into that just smacks me right in the mouth.
The only other Dick Taylor chocolates I’ve had were “specialty” affairs, namely their Peanut Butter bar (not actually peanut butter) and their Ginger Snap milk chocolate bar. The first was like an overpriced peanut butter cup, and the second earned a
in my scale… not a fan. I couldn’t argue with their craftsmanship, though, so I’m always interested in trying more.72% Dark - Belize, Toledo
by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/collections/single-origin-bars/products/72-belize-toldeo
Cacao: 72%
Type: Bar, design work on one side, smooth on the other, no obvious perforations or break points.
Description: Single origin dark chocolate. Maya Mountain Cacao from southern Belize.
Notes (per Dick Taylor): Dried Plum, Tart Cherry, Jasmine
Session One
Music: EDM & Rock/Synthwave (Space 92 and Dance with the Dead)
Prime: Immediate, “Whoa!” Fruit leaps up at you, sour and astringent.
Medium chew -> melt on mid-tongue: A LOT of fruit, but wow does that make the sides of my tongue want to curl up and away. Which would be a neat trick, because I never learned how to curl my tongue like that!
Back teeth: Fruit, yes, but really astringent. The fruit isn’t ripe yet, I think!
Double pouch & tongue tip (my shorthand to describe the long melt of a piece in each cheek while attacking a small piece with the tip of the tongue, then moving the cheek pieces all melty to the middle of the tongue to finish them off) : Whoa. Okay. Now THAT was interesting. Blackcurrant pudding drizzled in chocolate sauce, especially with the really melted pieces before a final chew to the finish. The chocolate has a lovely consistency and feel, but the finish tastes “dry”. Think how certain wines taste “dry”.
Fast chew -> melt: Still tart as hell, but not nearly as overpowering. Might be the repeated exposure, though.
Session Two
Music: Electric Blues (Selwyn Birchwood)
This session was much the same as the first, although I didn’t find the tartness nearly as face-twisting the second time around. My mouth still had that sour-tingly feel at the end, though! I was able to start to taste more of the individual notes this time around, feel how the flavor tones worked in and through the cocoa. Intriguing, at the least.
I also found that the chocolate leapt out at me when paired with the electric blues, but that’s probably just in my head!
Dia’s Rating: 3 of 5
This one grew on me over time. Like I said, tart and sour are two flavor notes that I don’t typically eat. By the end of the bar in the second session? I was intrigued enough to want to try more. I’m not sure if I like it, but I’m willing to find out! It definitely felt like I was getting more and more out of it by the end. But then the bar was over, and that was that. The opening notes are a shock, though!
A very interesting and definitely not-boring chocolate.
The only other Dick Taylor chocolates I’ve had were “specialty” affairs, namely their Peanut Butter bar (not actually peanut butter) and their Ginger Snap milk chocolate bar. The first was like an overpriced peanut butter cup, and the second earned a
72% Dark - Belize, Toledo
by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/collections/single-origin-bars/products/72-belize-toldeo
I haven't had this one, it sounds interesting though! I've mostly avoided them as I'm not huge on inclusion and flavored bars, but our local tchotchke shop has carried some of them and my spouse got me a Madagascar bar from them that was pretty nice. I don't have any tasting notes on it. I'll have to check and see if they've got the Belize next time we're there.
Along a similar theme, I hadn't gotten anything from Ranger as when I'd seen bars available they were all blends, flavored, or inclusion bars. I did recently pick up two single origin bars from them: Piura, Peru 74% and Tumbes, Peru 72%. I've done an initial tasting of the Tumbes bar, and the very first impression was that it was going to be nice but fairly boring. It didn't stay that way! Will write it up soon.
My ongoing disappointment with Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate’s continues….
Something right off the bat: infusion versus inclusions.
Listening to a podcast shaped my understanding of these two terms with cacao.
Vanilla Milk Chocolate
by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/collections/milk-chocolate/products/vanilla-milk-chocolate
Cacao: 55%
Type: Bar, design work on one side, smooth on the other, no obvious perforations or break points.
Description: Milk Chocolate (A2/A2 whole milk powder), with the chocolate sourced from Semuliki Forest in Uganda. Vanilla beans (infusion) from Madagascar.
Notes (per Dick Taylor): “Fudge, Caramel, Peach”**
** Dick Taylor provides tasting notes for the vast majority of it’s chocolates if you click on the ‘origin info’ tab/button thing for a given bar. This is the Uganda Sourcing details, were we find out that Semuliki Forest is the more specific origin, the notes typical to the cacao from there, and some more details.
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/pages/uganda-sourcing
On that, I have had chocolate from Semuliki Forest before. Specifically, from SOMA, out of Toronto. It is outstanding.
Music for both sessions: Samurai Pizza Cats
Session 1
- pretty loud snap, for a Milk Chocolate bar.
Prime: It’s milk chocolate. That’s it.
Back teeth: Nutty tones?
Medium chew, then melt: Touches of caramel and vanilla. Some tanginess from the milk.
Front of mouth / tongue tip: Vanilla really comes out.
Large pieces: Just too much. The semi-sour notes from the milk powder are face curdling.
Session 2
Prime: The milk in the milk chocolate is still really sour, even on that first little piece.
Melt for a moment, then chew to a mass and let it finish: The vanilla seems to be boosting the overall milk-sour taste. It’s really rather unpleasant to me.
Finish and aftertaste: More of the same. It’s distracting in it’s badness.
Dia’s Rating: 1 of 5 ( )
That was bad. Very bad. I did not like that all. I’m a little particular about milk chocolates ever since I started noticing hour sour some of them are, but this was particularly egregious. ICK. What a way to ruin chocolate from Semuliki Forest!
Up next? I delve back into the sample box of Tony’s Chocolonely products. Specifically, the caramel sea salt milk chocolate.
Spoiler: I didn’t hate it. Grudgingly.
Something right off the bat: infusion versus inclusions.
Listening to a podcast shaped my understanding of these two terms with cacao.
- “Infusions” are effectively flavor additives. These are your liquid or powdered substances that are ‘seemlessly’ mixed into the cacao and don’t appreciably change the texture and consistency.
- “Inclusions” are ‘bits’ in the chocolate. Nuts are the easiest example. Candied ginger. Chunks of fruit instead of just juice or ‘essential oil’. You get the idea.
Vanilla Milk Chocolate
by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/collections/milk-chocolate/products/vanilla-milk-chocolate
Cacao: 55%
Type: Bar, design work on one side, smooth on the other, no obvious perforations or break points.
Description: Milk Chocolate (A2/A2 whole milk powder), with the chocolate sourced from Semuliki Forest in Uganda. Vanilla beans (infusion) from Madagascar.
Notes (per Dick Taylor): “Fudge, Caramel, Peach”**
** Dick Taylor provides tasting notes for the vast majority of it’s chocolates if you click on the ‘origin info’ tab/button thing for a given bar. This is the Uganda Sourcing details, were we find out that Semuliki Forest is the more specific origin, the notes typical to the cacao from there, and some more details.
https://dicktaylorchocolate.com/pages/uganda-sourcing
On that, I have had chocolate from Semuliki Forest before. Specifically, from SOMA, out of Toronto. It is outstanding.
Music for both sessions: Samurai Pizza Cats
Session 1
- pretty loud snap, for a Milk Chocolate bar.
Prime: It’s milk chocolate. That’s it.
Back teeth: Nutty tones?
Medium chew, then melt: Touches of caramel and vanilla. Some tanginess from the milk.
Front of mouth / tongue tip: Vanilla really comes out.
Large pieces: Just too much. The semi-sour notes from the milk powder are face curdling.
Session 2
Prime: The milk in the milk chocolate is still really sour, even on that first little piece.
Melt for a moment, then chew to a mass and let it finish: The vanilla seems to be boosting the overall milk-sour taste. It’s really rather unpleasant to me.
Finish and aftertaste: More of the same. It’s distracting in it’s badness.
Dia’s Rating: 1 of 5 (
)That was bad. Very bad. I did not like that all. I’m a little particular about milk chocolates ever since I started noticing hour sour some of them are, but this was particularly egregious. ICK. What a way to ruin chocolate from Semuliki Forest!
Up next? I delve back into the sample box of Tony’s Chocolonely products. Specifically, the caramel sea salt milk chocolate.
Spoiler: I didn’t hate it. Grudgingly.
I said this in my less-than-stellar personal review of Tony’s Chocolonely plain Milk Chocolate (the lighter-blue packaging):
This is something I’ve found true in other chocolates as well. For example, Theo’s normal dark chocolate is rather boring and bland by itself to me, but is an excellent delivery vehicle for other flavors.
I found the 32% Milk Chocolate from Tony’s to be nigh on reprehensible. But stuff some sea salt caramel in there, and then…
Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt
by Tony’s Chocolonely
https://us.tonyschocolonely.com/products/milk-caramel-sea-salt-32
Cacao: 32%
Type: Sample bar, with uneven perforations for snapping.
Description: Milk Chocolate made with cacao butter and chocolate liquor, with infusions of crystalized sea salt caramel. Crunchy chunks.
Session One
Prime -> Yep, the oily sensation is still there. And that caramel is salty!
Medium chew, then melt -> That saltiness really balances out the sugary sweetness in a way I wasn’t necessarily expecting.
Repeat -> The caramel/chocolate mix is decent together.
Take a break! -> Still really sweet, needed to take a bit of a break between bites.
Session Two
Music: Underworld’s 2024 album (electronica)
Fast chew, distracted*-> Yeah, okay, that’s not bad.
Final note -> I just realized that unlike the Milk Chocolate by itself? This bar wasn’t sour! The sea salt doing excellent work to override that impression both on the initial taste and on the finish/aftertaste.
Dia‘s Rating: 3 of 5 ( )
In conclusion? That was kind of a surprise. It’s still too sweet and too much, but the sea salt caramel does an admirable job of adding some balance to it. One of my stray notes during the second session was how this was a much better delivery chocolate (the 32% milk chocolate) than a standalone. I’m grudgingly rating it in the middle. Would I buy it again? No. But if it was given to me? I’d eat it.
This is something I’ve found true in other chocolates as well. For example, Theo’s normal dark chocolate is rather boring and bland by itself to me, but is an excellent delivery vehicle for other flavors.
I found the 32% Milk Chocolate from Tony’s to be nigh on reprehensible. But stuff some sea salt caramel in there, and then…
Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt
by Tony’s Chocolonely
https://us.tonyschocolonely.com/products/milk-caramel-sea-salt-32
Cacao: 32%
Type: Sample bar, with uneven perforations for snapping.
Description: Milk Chocolate made with cacao butter and chocolate liquor, with infusions of crystalized sea salt caramel. Crunchy chunks.
Session One
Prime -> Yep, the oily sensation is still there. And that caramel is salty!
Medium chew, then melt -> That saltiness really balances out the sugary sweetness in a way I wasn’t necessarily expecting.
Repeat -> The caramel/chocolate mix is decent together.
Take a break! -> Still really sweet, needed to take a bit of a break between bites.
Session Two
Music: Underworld’s 2024 album (electronica)
Fast chew, distracted*-> Yeah, okay, that’s not bad.
- *Distracted = I’m eating that piece of chocolate while focused on something that ISN’T the chocolate. Treating it more like a regular snack of nearly anything else. Some chocolates don’t really hold up under focus, but can really shine as “distraction snacks”. The opposite is also true, where as a distraction snack they’re just too complex or nuanced to really enjoy and need that extra focus to draw out all the notes and flavors.
Final note -> I just realized that unlike the Milk Chocolate by itself? This bar wasn’t sour! The sea salt doing excellent work to override that impression both on the initial taste and on the finish/aftertaste.
Dia‘s Rating: 3 of 5 (
)In conclusion? That was kind of a surprise. It’s still too sweet and too much, but the sea salt caramel does an admirable job of adding some balance to it. One of my stray notes during the second session was how this was a much better delivery chocolate (the 32% milk chocolate) than a standalone. I’m grudgingly rating it in the middle. Would I buy it again? No. But if it was given to me? I’d eat it.
Last bit has been a bit nuts, but I'm back with both Ranger bars.
First:
Second:
First:
Tumbes: Northwestern Peru
by Ranger
And a nod to @Diabolical I was listening to This concert video, Perpetuum Mobile in particular
Cacao content: 72%
Cacao origin: Peru
Size: 64g bar
Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar.
Claimed flavor notes: Sourdough, almond, tahini, rose hip
Claimed varietal: Nacional
(I tend to take manufacturers at their word for varietal, which isn't to say I believe them, but evaluate on the grounds of what they say it is)
Color: Ruddy brown, I forgot to grab a color sample. Lightness of color at this cacao content does imply a good percentage of white beans.
Shine: Semi-gloss, a bit of swirling visible in the completely flat bar molding.
Physical Elements:
Flavor Notes:
At first taste of this bar I had to double check the ingredients and the package to make sure I wasn't trying something totally different than what I thought I was. The first flavor notes I got were very dairy. And while I was doubting myself and the bar, they weren't actually milk chocolate dairy. This was like browned/toasted milk sugar. Also, fairly sweet for a 72%.
Interesting! This progressed through the melt to a bit of raisin with some green almond (not the tartness of those, the vegetal-nutty-fruitiness of the unripe seeds). I didn't find much of a difference between different locations or tasting methods.
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Other notes: Unusual flavor notes for Peruvian grown beans in my experience. Unusual flavor notes just in general! Not exactly tending towards my preferred flavor profile, but it has my curiosity piqued for other single origin bars from Ranger.
by Ranger
And a nod to @Diabolical I was listening to This concert video, Perpetuum Mobile in particular
Cacao content: 72%
Cacao origin: Peru
Size: 64g bar
Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar.
Claimed flavor notes: Sourdough, almond, tahini, rose hip
Claimed varietal: Nacional
(I tend to take manufacturers at their word for varietal, which isn't to say I believe them, but evaluate on the grounds of what they say it is)
Color: Ruddy brown, I forgot to grab a color sample. Lightness of color at this cacao content does imply a good percentage of white beans.
Shine: Semi-gloss, a bit of swirling visible in the completely flat bar molding.
Physical Elements:
Snap: Hard Soft Crumbly (though it is nearly to soft! has the snap of a mid-dark milk)
Melt: Fast Slow
Texture: Grainy Smooth Creamy Chalky Waxy
Other: Astringent Acidic
Aroma:Strength: Bold Mild Subtle
Notes: Fruity Nutty Earthy Floral Chocolate Roasty Caramel (all chocolate and nothing else, but strong)
Radar Chart:Flavor Notes:
At first taste of this bar I had to double check the ingredients and the package to make sure I wasn't trying something totally different than what I thought I was. The first flavor notes I got were very dairy. And while I was doubting myself and the bar, they weren't actually milk chocolate dairy. This was like browned/toasted milk sugar. Also, fairly sweet for a 72%.
Interesting! This progressed through the melt to a bit of raisin with some green almond (not the tartness of those, the vegetal-nutty-fruitiness of the unripe seeds). I didn't find much of a difference between different locations or tasting methods.
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Texture: 4/5
Aroma: 3/5
Flavor: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Other notes: Unusual flavor notes for Peruvian grown beans in my experience. Unusual flavor notes just in general! Not exactly tending towards my preferred flavor profile, but it has my curiosity piqued for other single origin bars from Ranger.
Second:
Piura: Northern Peru
by Ranger
Cacao content: 74%
Cacao origin: Peru
Size: 64g bar
Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar.
Claimed flavor notes: Cacao pulp, wine, tobacco, black cherry
Claimed varietal: Criollo
(As above, I take them at their word though Criollo is always going to arouse the most suspicion for reasons I won't delve fully into here)
Color: Ruddy brown, similar to the Tumbes bar. Lightness of color at this cacao content does imply a good percentage of white beans, here a positive indicator for Criollo content. ~81.36.15RGB
Shine: Semi-gloss, a bit of swirling visible in the completely flat bar molding.
Physical Elements:
Flavor Notes:
Opens sweet and chocolate, progressing to brown fruit. Took a bit to nail down exactly what I felt the fruit was. I've had dried cacao pulp in some confections and dishes before and this was the flavor tones of that without the acidity and astringency you normally find in cacao pulp. There is another subtle undernote that I couldn't quite place.
Very little astringency in the bar, especially for what I have found in a number of other Piura bars. This is not quite a wild assed guess, but those two elements suggest to me there was a longish conche on this bar.
As with the Tumbes I didn't find much of any difference via tasting method.
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Other notes: Definitely an outlier among Peruvian more generally and Piura origin more specifically in my experience. This one is probably closer to my flavor zone than the Tumbes but wasn't quite as surprising.
by Ranger
Cacao content: 74%
Cacao origin: Peru
Size: 64g bar
Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar.
Claimed flavor notes: Cacao pulp, wine, tobacco, black cherry
Claimed varietal: Criollo
(As above, I take them at their word though Criollo is always going to arouse the most suspicion for reasons I won't delve fully into here)
Color: Ruddy brown, similar to the Tumbes bar. Lightness of color at this cacao content does imply a good percentage of white beans, here a positive indicator for Criollo content. ~81.36.15RGB
Shine: Semi-gloss, a bit of swirling visible in the completely flat bar molding.
Physical Elements:
Snap: Hard Soft Crumbly (though it is nearly to soft! has the snap of a mid-dark milk)
Melt: Fast Slow
Texture: Grainy Smooth Creamy Chalky Waxy
Other: Astringent Acidic
Aroma:Strength: Bold Mild Subtle
Notes: Fruity Nutty Earthy Floral Chocolate Roasty Caramel (more going on here than the Tumbes, chocolate still strong with some undertones of fruit)
Radar Chart:Flavor Notes:
Opens sweet and chocolate, progressing to brown fruit. Took a bit to nail down exactly what I felt the fruit was. I've had dried cacao pulp in some confections and dishes before and this was the flavor tones of that without the acidity and astringency you normally find in cacao pulp. There is another subtle undernote that I couldn't quite place.
Very little astringency in the bar, especially for what I have found in a number of other Piura bars. This is not quite a wild assed guess, but those two elements suggest to me there was a longish conche on this bar.
As with the Tumbes I didn't find much of any difference via tasting method.
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Texture: 4/5
Aroma: 4/5
Flavor: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Other notes: Definitely an outlier among Peruvian more generally and Piura origin more specifically in my experience. This one is probably closer to my flavor zone than the Tumbes but wasn't quite as surprising.
Today I learned what ‘conche’ and ‘conching’ means in regard to chocolate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conching
I knew that further processing could mellow the overall flavor of a chocolate. Is conching also part of how manufacturers and chocolatiers work to ensure taste consistency and mouth feel, regardless of where in the mouth you taste from?
Absolutely! Particle size, consistent mixing of mass/butter/sugar/other additives, and removal of primarily acetic acid and other harsher flavor elements from the fermentation. Rough grind bars (necessarily!) are not conched and will almost always exhibit some of those harsh/acidic/fermented flavors.
If you haven't found them or watched any of their stuff before, Manoa Chocolate out of Hawaii has a YT channel (link here is in particular one about their ball mill) with a bunch of great short videos showing how they process stuff in their factory, how new machines have allowed them to streamline or upgrade those processes etc.
And while they don't have any right now that would give you a direct comparison, Fresco Chocolate does bars that vary in roast and conche. The closest they have right now are the:
O'Payo Profundo(Medium Roast/Medium Conche and Dark Roast/Long Conche)
and Öko Caribe(Light Roast/Subtle Conche and Medium Roast/Medium Conche).
Also, fun little PDF from the Professional Manufacturing Confectioners Association with different types of machines for conching and some of the changes that happen during the process.
Have something a bit ~different~ today, one of the 3 Easter Eggs from Amedei's dark chocolate egg box.
Selezione Fondenti Edizione Limitata: Blanco de Criollo
by Amedei
Cacao content: 70%
Cacao origin: Peru (hey, we're on a run here!)
Size: 80g egg (part of that weight is something inside of the egg
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter
Claimed flavor notes: Honey, dried plum, and jam
Claimed varietal: Nacional (AKA Arriba Nacional)
Color: Dark brown, ~54:33:27RGB
Shine: Quite smooth, good shine, some handling marks
Physical Elements:
Flavor Notes:
Opens chocolate, stays chocolate. Chewing? Chocolate! Good balance within, not too sweet. Very low astringency, acidity, and bitterness. But so is the complexity. Which isn't to call it bad!
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Texture: 3/5
Aroma: 2/5
Flavor: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Other notes: The melt on this starts of nice but goes a bit pastey in a way I'm not crazy about mid-way through the melt, other than that this egg is technically very proficient.
Flavor wise, I am not historically the biggest fan of Amedei. I always try to give them a fair shake when tasting stuff from them, but I tend to find them a bit single note flavor wise. That note is often quite good! But, I'm usually looking for something more. Amedei is one of the oldest craft chocolate manufacturers(they date to 1990, Bonnat and Michel Cluizel are two of the very few big ones that are older), they're very talented at what they do and quite frequently awarded for that. It just isn't what hits for me.
It is quite in line with the first generation European craft chocolate makers. The subsequent first generation of American craft chocolate makers tend go for a different approach which seems to have been taken up and run with by the second generation of European craft chocolate makers and the more recent/ongoing explosion of on location/rest of the world craft chocolate makers.
All of which is to say, while it isn't a top ranked chocolate for me, it is probably one of the best chocolate eggs I've ever had. Because, well, are you normally going to shaped seasonal chocolates for premium chocolate? Not so much!
Inside the egg was a small box with two pralines (hazelnut, pistachio, and almond) enrobed in the nearly same chocolate as the shell(slightly less cacao mass). No full review here, but the praline in these was outstanding and works extraordinarily well with the enrobing chocolate.
I'm interested to see how I feel about the other two eggs. I've had their Porcelana before, though many years ago, but not the Nove which is a blend. This ended up much longer than intended, whoops!
by Amedei
Cacao content: 70%
Cacao origin: Peru (hey, we're on a run here!)
Size: 80g egg (part of that weight is something inside of the egg
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter
Claimed flavor notes: Honey, dried plum, and jam
Claimed varietal: Nacional (AKA Arriba Nacional)
Color: Dark brown, ~54:33:27RGB
Shine: Quite smooth, good shine, some handling marks
Physical Elements:
Snap: Hard Soft Crumbly thinner than most bars, but still a good snap!
Melt: Fast Slow
Texture: Grainy Smooth Creamy Chalky Waxy (tends a bit pasty as it melts)
Other: Astringent Acidic
Aroma:Strength: Bold Mild Subtle
Notes: Fruity Nutty Earthy Floral Chocolate Roasty Caramel (all chocolate and nothing else, but strong)
Radar Chart:Flavor Notes:
Opens chocolate, stays chocolate. Chewing? Chocolate! Good balance within, not too sweet. Very low astringency, acidity, and bitterness. But so is the complexity. Which isn't to call it bad!
Inclusions: N/A
Rating:
Texture: 3/5
Aroma: 2/5
Flavor: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Other notes: The melt on this starts of nice but goes a bit pastey in a way I'm not crazy about mid-way through the melt, other than that this egg is technically very proficient.
Flavor wise, I am not historically the biggest fan of Amedei. I always try to give them a fair shake when tasting stuff from them, but I tend to find them a bit single note flavor wise. That note is often quite good! But, I'm usually looking for something more. Amedei is one of the oldest craft chocolate manufacturers(they date to 1990, Bonnat and Michel Cluizel are two of the very few big ones that are older), they're very talented at what they do and quite frequently awarded for that. It just isn't what hits for me.
It is quite in line with the first generation European craft chocolate makers. The subsequent first generation of American craft chocolate makers tend go for a different approach which seems to have been taken up and run with by the second generation of European craft chocolate makers and the more recent/ongoing explosion of on location/rest of the world craft chocolate makers.
All of which is to say, while it isn't a top ranked chocolate for me, it is probably one of the best chocolate eggs I've ever had. Because, well, are you normally going to shaped seasonal chocolates for premium chocolate? Not so much!
Inside the egg was a small box with two pralines (hazelnut, pistachio, and almond) enrobed in the nearly same chocolate as the shell(slightly less cacao mass). No full review here, but the praline in these was outstanding and works extraordinarily well with the enrobing chocolate.
I'm interested to see how I feel about the other two eggs. I've had their Porcelana before, though many years ago, but not the Nove which is a blend. This ended up much longer than intended, whoops!
One: Fun stuff. And I'd agree with the 'going for one note' thing about Amadei in my limited experience. Each of the three bars I recently tried seemed to focus on one flavor profile above all others. They were good, but there are other brands and manufacturers I like more.
Two: Why put it behind spoiler tags? You're putting a (digital) foil wrapper between me and the (words about) chocolate! Which is the whole point of the thread. I mean, it's in the name of it and everything !
Two: Why put it behind spoiler tags? You're putting a (digital) foil wrapper between me and the (words about) chocolate! Which is the whole point of the thread. I mean, it's in the name of it and everything
!
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Manoa Chocolate is good, although I feel like they emphasize putting weird stuff in their chocolate over the actual chocolate (which is good enough on its own). Super expensive though.