Dark
by Divine
Impact
The flagship bar from Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative, an ethically produced & traded chocolate grown in Ghana, manufactured in Germany. The co-op’s name literally means “good cacáo growers” - & they are. They deal & labor, however, over a humble varietal. Any rating above ‘average’ at this point would be purely sentimental for a hub of earth-driven loam where nothing ventured, nothing gained; nothing lost, nothing found; nothing bad, nothing good.
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: | omega brown + a black flash |
| Surface: | spotlessly even |
| Temper: | fine shine |
| Snap: | mumbles over smooth-sanded edge |
Aroma 7.1 / 10
nearly hanging on a death scentence by highlighting the black in its color: roasted mahogany & cocoa woods, smoked-vanilla leather straps
Mouthfeel 10.4 / 15
| Texture: | hard medium-bodied |
| Melt: | congeals more than melts into chutney clumps |
Flavor 36.9 / 50
red grape drapes over chocolate butter wax -> wood splinters pierce thru to mild cocoa tannins -> nutmeg barely registers -> dry malt -> powdered cocoa -> fleck of apricot skin -> light wood on the exit
Quality 13.6 / 20
All the shine is on the exterior. Once inside, darkly dim & mundane; straight & narrow, & stiff (attributable to high butter content which from West African beans has a rigid crystalline structure compared to S American varieties). Fully optimized roast but flavor choked by the butter. CBS 13.2 : 20.8 : 11