Impact
Theo's obedient reaction to 'eat your peas'. In a word: pluri-impotent.
Appearance 3.2 / 5
| Color: | medium brown with an opalite wink in defiance of the percentage |
| Surface: | sweaty grease splatters (not up to Theo standards) |
| Temper: | besmirched |
| Snap: | soft cymbal |
Aroma 6.7 / 10
initial headwind PB&L ('L' for leather smeared in peanut butter) -> varnished woods (oaks, mahogany & rosewood) -> vanilla stain... all generally bass-oriented (including snapping spiced coffee, charcoal & alluvial silt at the very bottom) despite climbing leguminous vines trellising thru the aroma
Mouthfeel 11.8 / 15
| Texture: | thick as expected for an 85 |
| Melt: | prolapsed |
Flavor 35.4 / 50
reverse-aromosis: mocha with a dirty bottom -> custard cream fructifies to red grapefruit -> granadilla... dirt never far behind -> bittering & char bits -> flushes down raw cocoa seed in a pea-pod with peanuts
Quality 14.1 / 20
Rather than size this 85% up to the greats in the 80% class (it simply fails to measure up to
Amma 85;
Bernachon Super Amer;
De Vries CR-84;
Mast Chuao-81;
Zotter Nic-80;
El Ceibo
or even Lindt ), look no further than
Theo's own 84% D.R. for comparative value.
Can 1% make all the difference in the world? Sure, if it encompasses the D.R. which the 84% does to reconsolidate the island's claim to the nickname The Dominant Republic.
Where that single-handedly enriches with beautiful vanilla placement for core chocolate flavor, this blend of divers origins embarrasses itself in an example of reduction by addition.
It recalls another upper-percentage mishap by the label -- the grisly Venzy 91%.
The roast on this 85%, usually a Theo stern point, tastes uneven / inconsistent, varying perhaps by bean origin. And the conche hardly gets the job done. Moreover, the blended selection -- a dirt 'n fruit cocktail -- with little foresight other than the obvious (lay down a robust foundation & add an acidic height to it).
None of the flex of Patric's Signature 70 (true, that's 15% sweeter) nor the finesse Domori's Puro (at 15% darker). It doesn't even fail to split the difference; it just flails away instead as though a quantum distinction exists, similar to Scharffen Berger’s internal line called the Chocolate Maker's Series, between the regular production runs & the single origins. One that extends to the bar’s physical appearance & even its wrapper (the latter dressed in drab here next to the D.R. whose theatrically abstract expression commands attention).
As such, Theo should drop the price as much as the pretense.
The probable formula: take some bulk grade cocoa left over from the sacks of the Theo 84% Ghana release sitting in the corner, hook it up with Madagascar, then throw down some CCN-51, the last a safe-play because Americans like peanuts.
If true, parallels to Scharffen Berger continue, especially to its oft-maligned Kumasi-Sambirano. Any violent outburst against this one however is justified assault 'n battery in self-defense.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla; CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio): 16:19:7
Reviewed August 30, 2011
Can 1% make all the difference in the world? Sure, if it encompasses the D.R. which the 84% does to reconsolidate the island's claim to the nickname The Dominant Republic.
Where that single-handedly enriches with beautiful vanilla placement for core chocolate flavor, this blend of divers origins embarrasses itself in an example of reduction by addition.
It recalls another upper-percentage mishap by the label -- the grisly Venzy 91%.
The roast on this 85%, usually a Theo stern point, tastes uneven / inconsistent, varying perhaps by bean origin. And the conche hardly gets the job done. Moreover, the blended selection -- a dirt 'n fruit cocktail -- with little foresight other than the obvious (lay down a robust foundation & add an acidic height to it).
None of the flex of Patric's Signature 70 (true, that's 15% sweeter) nor the finesse Domori's Puro (at 15% darker). It doesn't even fail to split the difference; it just flails away instead as though a quantum distinction exists, similar to Scharffen Berger’s internal line called the Chocolate Maker's Series, between the regular production runs & the single origins. One that extends to the bar’s physical appearance & even its wrapper (the latter dressed in drab here next to the D.R. whose theatrically abstract expression commands attention).
As such, Theo should drop the price as much as the pretense.
The probable formula: take some bulk grade cocoa left over from the sacks of the Theo 84% Ghana release sitting in the corner, hook it up with Madagascar, then throw down some CCN-51, the last a safe-play because Americans like peanuts.
If true, parallels to Scharffen Berger continue, especially to its oft-maligned Kumasi-Sambirano. Any violent outburst against this one however is justified assault 'n battery in self-defense.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla; CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio): 16:19:7
Reviewed August 30, 2011