Adsense

Costa Rica

by Tabal
Info Details
Country USA   
Type Dark   (70%)
Strain Hybrid   (TSH 565 IMC 67; ICS 1/6/8/40/60/95; UF 29/221/296)
Source Costa Rica   
Flavor Sugar   
Style Old School      (Flavor rather than Technique)
lo
med
hi
CQ
Sweetness
Acidity
Bitterness
Roast
Intensity
Complexity
Structure
Length
Impact
Tabal trying to reach the moon by climbing a tree (Theobroma cacáo specifically) &, like Eminem rapped, too busy gazing at the stars to notice the pitfalls... into which this eventually sinks.
Appearance   2.9 / 5
Color: sepia
Surface: strives mightily but lots of flaws -- rippling, sub-bubbling, divots (especially in corner-pockets), gashes, & even curdles
Temper: strong bounce-back
Snap: light along the scored lines; fortified within the tiles themselves
Aroma   9 / 10
intense fragrance of rich caramel & vanilla-musk
dried tropical vines & plants
a lone nut
oh, plus some very potent roasted cocoa
Mouthfeel   12.5 / 15
Texture: inviting
Melt: timely
Flavor   40.3 / 50
twee sweet chocolate -> dark sweetness (basically amber molasses stripped of its minerals or cane syrup) -> sugared coffee berry (nice) -> black bitter in a sugar pill -> those tropical greens in the Aroma -> licorice sets up straight molasses (sucrose removed from the earlier syrup), whence this assumes a more typical Costa Rican countenance -> maintains a bitter-molasses rail 'til the finish -> gripping astringency + caustic vanilla orchid bean
Quality   15.1 / 20
Opening third to first-half present real invention & guile. Alas, it fails to hold that.

Where many Dark chocolate bars contain notes of molasses, such as Duffy's molasses jar-in-a-bar, this one practically encapsulates the stepwise production of it.

To produce molasses requires multiple reductions. It starts by boiling sugar cane juice, to concentrate & crystallize the compounds. The result of the initial boiling, called First Syrup aka Cane Syrup, measures the highest sugar content in the process. A 2nd boiling extracts more sugar & possesses slight bitterness. The 3rd & final boil yields blackstrap molasses in which the majority of sucrose from the original juice has been boiled off, leaving behind trace vitamins & significant minerals.

Forget owning a sugar plantation, just buy this bar instead. It's quicker & cheaper.

INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla

Reviewed October 9, 2014

  

Pin It on Pinterest