Impact
Hugo Chavez spends hospital vacations in Cuba where compadre Fidel Castro can bring him this bar during one of his many visitation periods.
A far cry from the gran cacáos of his Venezuelan homeland, Cuban cocoa nonetheless nurses with a respectable substitute.
Given el presidente's health condition & land reform policies, he may be rather unaware of such distinctions anyways.
If nothing else, this chocolate will help cure his homesick blues for at least a little while; as well as emotionally buffer the side effects of chemo, radiation, & surgery.
A far cry from the gran cacáos of his Venezuelan homeland, Cuban cocoa nonetheless nurses with a respectable substitute.
Given el presidente's health condition & land reform policies, he may be rather unaware of such distinctions anyways.
If nothing else, this chocolate will help cure his homesick blues for at least a little while; as well as emotionally buffer the side effects of chemo, radiation, & surgery.
Appearance 3.8 / 5
| Color: | just on the red side of the chocolate-brown divide across from purple |
| Surface: | minor scratches & filigree lines |
| Temper: | demi-shine |
| Snap: | puts its foot down |
Aroma 7.6 / 10
fire in the barnyard
wet horse just doused to keep cool
hay, droppings, & leather saddle
tobacco-smokin' vaquero with no need for a lighter
wet horse just doused to keep cool
hay, droppings, & leather saddle
tobacco-smokin' vaquero with no need for a lighter
Mouthfeel 11.2 / 15
| Texture: | chewy / rubbery |
| Melt: | elapsed |
Flavor 42.6 / 50
deep chocolate bite with smokey entrails -> black mission fig -> lite molasses -> carob -> breadfruit creates a faint soursop apparition, the lone ray of sunlight before shifting back to darkness (chicory) -> recapitulates on calimyrna figs this time + Dutch-like cocoa powder
Quality 15.8 / 20
The constancy of it all makes this chocolate rather uneventful; the plainness unremarkable.
Morin elects to hi-roast, perhaps a wise choice to accentuate the core cocoa flavor in a seed lot devoid of much else but the aldehyde & pyrazine class of chemical compounds. (The again, the heat probably burned off what little fruited volatiles existed, as inferred by that soursop moment.)
Cocoa butter then provides the fire break, its thermo-shield performs admirably though at the expense of finer tactile sensations in the Texture.
Count this Cuba 70% as another in a series of saves for Franck Morin working off some average to sub-par seed selections. Nothing outstanding in this bar but dependable craftsmanship.
Reviewed January 11, 2013
Morin elects to hi-roast, perhaps a wise choice to accentuate the core cocoa flavor in a seed lot devoid of much else but the aldehyde & pyrazine class of chemical compounds. (The again, the heat probably burned off what little fruited volatiles existed, as inferred by that soursop moment.)
Cocoa butter then provides the fire break, its thermo-shield performs admirably though at the expense of finer tactile sensations in the Texture.
Count this Cuba 70% as another in a series of saves for Franck Morin working off some average to sub-par seed selections. Nothing outstanding in this bar but dependable craftsmanship.
Reviewed January 11, 2013