Impact
Good God almighty 'devilicious', to use a term wickedly close to one on the C-spot's® List of Banned Words.
A bar that tastes like it looks: witchy.
A bar that tastes like it looks: witchy.
Appearance 4.1 / 5
| Color: | black magenta |
| Surface: | Nibs & salt flakes scattered randomly |
| Temper: | toned down |
| Snap: | sweep of a broom |
Aroma 8.2 / 10
black lava tea courses into a shared tingle of minerals (chert, & sodium of course) + relaxing citrus sparklers to conjure a 'smoked Madagascar' on a forked bed of sand & clay mating up as 'cocoa-loam'
Mouthfeel 13.9 / 15
| Texture: | riotous -- chunks of crunch & shaken flakes in & around a chocolate smoothie |
| Melt: | delirious disarray |
Flavor 45.3 / 50
those purply-black fruits found in Lonhana's previous releases (The Nēnē & 'Ele'ele) re-appear here with saline accents -> begs toffee against atis aka sugar apple (very custard-like & absolutely tree-mendous) -> sandalwood sap (pure sorcery) -> takes a mineral bath from the Aroma's portent -> volcano cocoa -> black caramel
Quality 18.5 / 20
Black all over save for that atis-moment. Seductively satanic without the soot.
Senaca Klassen at Lonohana continues his improv act of magic tricks, tossing Nibs & salt willy-nilly into the mix with his impish grin of 'aw, shucks' shrug-of-the-shoulders 'I dunno'. Whether dumb-luck or brilliant liar, this guy's a Chocolate MIdas with a golden touch.
Here's what is known: salt really enhances & elevates the flavor in a paradoxically downwind spiral... toward the ground & subterranean folds of volcanic chocolate despite a relatively high sugar load (approximately a full third).
Specifically Moloka'i Alaea sea salt, held sacred by Hawaiians as a healing med during purification rites for the physical body & personal belongings.
Its ocean liner of trace minerals, plus mellow taste with a buttery note, contrasts to Black Salt (see Domori's Sal & Trader Joe's Caramel). Alaea gets its color by adding volcanic clay (high in iron oxide) to unrefined sea salt. Nanea, another barsmith in Hawai'i, also employs it, though to far less dramatic effect.
With a spate of chocolate coming off this island at an increasing rate in what amounts to a cottage industry cluster -- mostly upstarts still learning the ropes -- Lonohana clearly distinguishes itself at the front of the class.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa, sugar, sea salt
Reviewed August 26, 2013
Senaca Klassen at Lonohana continues his improv act of magic tricks, tossing Nibs & salt willy-nilly into the mix with his impish grin of 'aw, shucks' shrug-of-the-shoulders 'I dunno'. Whether dumb-luck or brilliant liar, this guy's a Chocolate MIdas with a golden touch.
Here's what is known: salt really enhances & elevates the flavor in a paradoxically downwind spiral... toward the ground & subterranean folds of volcanic chocolate despite a relatively high sugar load (approximately a full third).
Specifically Moloka'i Alaea sea salt, held sacred by Hawaiians as a healing med during purification rites for the physical body & personal belongings.
Its ocean liner of trace minerals, plus mellow taste with a buttery note, contrasts to Black Salt (see Domori's Sal & Trader Joe's Caramel). Alaea gets its color by adding volcanic clay (high in iron oxide) to unrefined sea salt. Nanea, another barsmith in Hawai'i, also employs it, though to far less dramatic effect.
With a spate of chocolate coming off this island at an increasing rate in what amounts to a cottage industry cluster -- mostly upstarts still learning the ropes -- Lonohana clearly distinguishes itself at the front of the class.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa, sugar, sea salt
Reviewed August 26, 2013