Venezuela 70% Amazonas
by Solstice
Impact
The Amazon still holds a mythic dimension in the imagination. Pristine despite the fact that, say, isolated cities like Iquitos -- accessible only by plane or boat -- teem with prostitutes. Or the Napo River abandoned houseboats.
All part & parcel to continual evolution that transforms rainforest pockets into oil drilling sites & aboriginal shamans into Evangelical priests.
Yep, things aren't so clear there anymore.
A Selva Nublada (foggy rainforest) of a chocolate bar until the cut 'n dry finish.
All part & parcel to continual evolution that transforms rainforest pockets into oil drilling sites & aboriginal shamans into Evangelical priests.
Yep, things aren't so clear there anymore.
A Selva Nublada (foggy rainforest) of a chocolate bar until the cut 'n dry finish.
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | pewtering toward gunsmoke brown |
| Surface: | multiple release marks; divots / subterranean bubbles |
| Temper: | opaque shimmer |
| Snap: | tight & low; softly sanded edge wall |
Aroma 7.5 / 10
reeds, palms & haystacks
rotting into the dirt... deeper into soil… of a clay pot
rotting into the dirt... deeper into soil… of a clay pot
Mouthfeel 11.7 / 15
| Texture: | smooth discom-glob-ulation |
| Melt: | dandles all about |
Flavor 39.4 / 50
instantiates immediate fruits (black cum crowberry) against a solid cocoa backbone, just as quickly kiboshed by dark bitter bark which leads to charred brownies -> cinnamon speck -> thin white fruit-nut (banana-cashew) -> butters out, yet dark bitter persists -> those dirty Aromatics -> mounting stringent compounds, including limestone, takes it thru the end
Quality 14.1 / 20
Disjointed in Flavor, Texture & even style. Due to the stout structure of this varietal, it hangs on to keep this together enough.
Hi-roast, in parts, grating on nearly-raw astringency, in sections, matched by choppy Texture addled with a big butter cut (probably in excess of the officially listed CBS [Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio]: 12:13:11)… all points to inconsistency. To Solstice's credit it almost pulls off a sleight-of-hand in canceling out the deficiencies only, alas, to conflate them in the dry end.
Undeniable potential glimpsed during the opening frame & seen elsewhere with the Playa Alta strain (aka its trade name Amazonas -- introduced to the consumer world way back in 2010).
Going forward, extending those initial tags would serve Solstice & this bar well, for that's where this cultivar's best character resides. And that requires improved post-harvesting at the source.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed January 29, 2014
Hi-roast, in parts, grating on nearly-raw astringency, in sections, matched by choppy Texture addled with a big butter cut (probably in excess of the officially listed CBS [Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio]: 12:13:11)… all points to inconsistency. To Solstice's credit it almost pulls off a sleight-of-hand in canceling out the deficiencies only, alas, to conflate them in the dry end.
Undeniable potential glimpsed during the opening frame & seen elsewhere with the Playa Alta strain (aka its trade name Amazonas -- introduced to the consumer world way back in 2010).
Going forward, extending those initial tags would serve Solstice & this bar well, for that's where this cultivar's best character resides. And that requires improved post-harvesting at the source.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed January 29, 2014