Impact
Friend-of-the-Earth Mott Green, always outnumbered / never outgunned, takes on the much larger forces of the Grenada Cocoa Association with his brand of the ‘dirty dozen’ – 12 or so organic growers - & ups the firepower by spring-loading his li’l tugboat of a 60% with some hi-gauged Nibs.
Whereas the big Cocoa Association supplying the likes of Chocovic, S-B, and Felchlin (the last via Larry Burdick) moves around 5,000 lbs /week, Mott & Crew might do a fifth of that.
Small & nimble, these brothers just kill it... while redefining ‘friendly fire’.
An RPG that launches a fruit bomb that buzzes the tower, then shreds the mouth chamber louder than a bunker buster.
Top-to-bottom, this bar gets the job done.
Whereas the big Cocoa Association supplying the likes of Chocovic, S-B, and Felchlin (the last via Larry Burdick) moves around 5,000 lbs /week, Mott & Crew might do a fifth of that.
Small & nimble, these brothers just kill it... while redefining ‘friendly fire’.
An RPG that launches a fruit bomb that buzzes the tower, then shreds the mouth chamber louder than a bunker buster.
Top-to-bottom, this bar gets the job done.
Appearance 4.2 / 5
| Color: | blushing brown |
| Surface: | beautifully damaged as an archeological dig weathered by centuries into ruins |
| Temper: | like a good distressed leather |
| Snap: | creaking & crumbling; sinister |
Aroma 7.9 / 10
arid: cocoa dust, dry wood (pitch pine) & dried leaves -> 2nd wind catches some more greens (picholine olive / mango skin) + rubber -> the lone drop of moisture coming from fish stock
Mouthfeel 13.7 / 15
| Texture: | round with edges, the lecithin tricks-out T-buds (T for Taste) over some OTR terrain |
| Melt: | turgid thrills |
Flavor 47.8 / 50
jobo-laced cocoa w/ sugar setting it off -> Nibs, in the chewing, spits pine sap then chocolate lava... spews out straighter than a gas pump & shoots it into... tomorrow (to give an indication of this bar's length) -> dried papaya spears -> baskets & burbles of white fruit chunks (lychee, breadfruit, sapote & cocoplum) -> golden raisin sunrise for hours... wait, still going & then some -> almond butter & brownie batter -> bangs off chocolate-hits on the way down a spice shaft (vanilla, coriander, cardamom)
Quality 18.3 / 20
‘Nib-a-licious’ comes perilously closes to a term on the C-spot’s™ Banned Word List (see delicious). With its performance here though, it deserves a place of honor.
40% sugar covers for a lot technical flaws evidenced in this label’s 82%, as well as catalyzes phenomenally ridiculous fruit tones. Beyond that, this comes in as a superior batch (cacáo works that way).
The Grenada brethren throw down the gauntlet, using Nibs to just nail all those fruited by-notes to the roof of the mouth hanging – no, dripping really - like so many licks of stalactites which the tongue happily laps at. The chocolate-lava flows then submerge any escape routes.
Though the CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio) officially lists 7:11:10, the Nibs easily toss this to near parity for a mutual balance of forces, reconfirming the assessment made while reviewing the 82% that this year’s crop at least could stand a little butter put-back.
All those contrastive elements (smooth chocolate set against crunching Nibs) reconcile shockingly well post ipso facto. The proportion of Nibs-to-Chocolate pitched just right, so that it adds up to a compound that plays much bigger than the sum of its parts. Well in the range of 75% or more (certainly to the Texture weight & Flavor level of Burdick’s Grenada 75%), but with a super sweet spot to rival ki’Xocoatl, thanks in large measure to a ferment that ripened these beans to a succulent prime for close to a whole week.
Not a very good bar, just a great one.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter, nibs, soy lecithin, vanilla bean
Reviewed Autumn 2010
40% sugar covers for a lot technical flaws evidenced in this label’s 82%, as well as catalyzes phenomenally ridiculous fruit tones. Beyond that, this comes in as a superior batch (cacáo works that way).
The Grenada brethren throw down the gauntlet, using Nibs to just nail all those fruited by-notes to the roof of the mouth hanging – no, dripping really - like so many licks of stalactites which the tongue happily laps at. The chocolate-lava flows then submerge any escape routes.
Though the CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio) officially lists 7:11:10, the Nibs easily toss this to near parity for a mutual balance of forces, reconfirming the assessment made while reviewing the 82% that this year’s crop at least could stand a little butter put-back.
All those contrastive elements (smooth chocolate set against crunching Nibs) reconcile shockingly well post ipso facto. The proportion of Nibs-to-Chocolate pitched just right, so that it adds up to a compound that plays much bigger than the sum of its parts. Well in the range of 75% or more (certainly to the Texture weight & Flavor level of Burdick’s Grenada 75%), but with a super sweet spot to rival ki’Xocoatl, thanks in large measure to a ferment that ripened these beans to a succulent prime for close to a whole week.
Not a very good bar, just a great one.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cacáo butter, nibs, soy lecithin, vanilla bean
Reviewed Autumn 2010