Impact
Quietly explodes in the mouth then gently rocks the house by reaching beyond the palate thru the viscera down to the toes like a quality foot massage
Appearance 4.2 / 5
| Color: | deep tan w/ pink blush |
| Surface: | well-formed mold |
| Temper: | polished but wrapper transfer too |
| Snap: | flump |
Aroma 7.3 / 10
dusty, musty, & mostly dull : malted-maple, banana, & glycerin over coconut buttermilk spilled onto linen -> splashed w/ sea salt & a little Campari (cascarilla bark) + laurel wood -> ultimately aerates to a tall column of mocha
Mouthfeel 12.9 / 15
| Texture: | soft taffy |
| Melt: | slow / viscous |
Flavor 45.9 / 50
streams in pure cream chocolate -> light salt zaps create toffee roll -> melts thru to cocoa malt -> cocoa butter cream w/ macadamia adjunct to buttered pecan & hay -> white pepper mocha
Quality 18.4 / 20
Salgado triumphantly demonstrated that Esmeraldas is a natural in Milk Chocolate. They go together like velvet & silk. This bar conclusively proves it, then notches it up another level of engineering by adding just a touch of Fleur de Sel like so many delicate flecks targeting each taste bud.
Similar to its Beni bar, Original Beans, which superficially is all about trend marketing - banking off so-called “Fair-Trade”, green sustainable agriculture, & single-origin sourcing except the label backs it up & largely practices what it preaches to effectuate the true fruits of such labor - employs couverture (tapping Pacari’s Esmeraldas for the base here) cutting that with milk & salt, to inject heft into a valued-added package.
The prime difference between the Salgado bar and Pacari's is the variance in roasting. Where Salgado goes for deep & robust, Pacari stays light-handed (although Original Beans cooks it some). And while salt tries to compensate for the loss of scale produced by a low-roast, their combination conspire to eliminate overtones found in the Salgado, plus, oddly enough, umami too.
Nonetheless, this delivers a more consistent if limited flavor &, on the upside, less perceived-sweetness but overall finer.
One that belongs in the Pantheon.
ING: sugar, cacáo butter, cocoa mass, milk powder, fleur de sel, sunflower lecithin
Reviewed Spring 2010
Similar to its Beni bar, Original Beans, which superficially is all about trend marketing - banking off so-called “Fair-Trade”, green sustainable agriculture, & single-origin sourcing except the label backs it up & largely practices what it preaches to effectuate the true fruits of such labor - employs couverture (tapping Pacari’s Esmeraldas for the base here) cutting that with milk & salt, to inject heft into a valued-added package.
The prime difference between the Salgado bar and Pacari's is the variance in roasting. Where Salgado goes for deep & robust, Pacari stays light-handed (although Original Beans cooks it some). And while salt tries to compensate for the loss of scale produced by a low-roast, their combination conspire to eliminate overtones found in the Salgado, plus, oddly enough, umami too.
Nonetheless, this delivers a more consistent if limited flavor &, on the upside, less perceived-sweetness but overall finer.
One that belongs in the Pantheon.
ING: sugar, cacáo butter, cocoa mass, milk powder, fleur de sel, sunflower lecithin
Reviewed Spring 2010