Belize Maya Mountain
by Brasstown
Impact
PLEASE NOTE: Brasstown was formerly known as it's chocolate
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A grape-ape that learned some pet tricks; like how to light a cigarette & just smoke it
A grape-ape that learned some pet tricks; like how to light a cigarette & just smoke it
Appearance 3.9 / 5
| Color: | magma brown |
| Surface: | hand-thrown prototype with enough swirls to be signatures on the U.S. Constitution gives way to... |
| Temper: | … to a handsomed-up 2nd release (though with a few flakes of dandruff & subsurface bubbles) |
| Snap: | snug |
Aroma 8 / 10
fruits 'n grains -- essentially grape nuts cereal (dry, no milk)
cigarette on the side (tar 'n nicotine)
subsoil elements
then really grows vinous… as in still on the bush / not in the bottle
cigarette on the side (tar 'n nicotine)
subsoil elements
then really grows vinous… as in still on the bush / not in the bottle
Mouthfeel 12.6 / 15
| Texture: | the earlier mealy bar (greased with a measly 2.5% cocoa butter pad) improves to a gel pulp in the subsequent batch |
| Melt: | over before ever realizing it |
Flavor 47.4 / 50
flash marshmallow root to raisin seeds & stems… then just as fast an instant attack: oozy (or Uzi?) of chocolate-wine (seriously ridiculous Cab-happy) -> sapote-fig stew accented with all-spice (intriguing / inviting) -> booms down full-on raisin onto undergirding tobacco leaf soaked in chocolate (excellent) -> bitter feint (short-lived & inconsequential but furnishes added dimension) -> restless raisin persists throughout, just mainlining the T-buds (T for Taste) -> marshmallow makes another sneak appearance + slippery elm -> vanilla-nance pudding (pure goodness) to galvanize Milk Chocolate opposite cherry wood (sensational) -> trim coconut hedges toward micro-chalk dust
Quality 18.2 / 20
Rom Still of it's chocolate sent some "before" & "after" -- re: pre- / post- aging -- the difference between stitched versus seamless; segmented vs. melded (the above Flavor descriptors reflect a composite of both).
The prototype comes up a slow starter & leaves a slightly caustic finish (that chalk). In between, however, a damn good chocolate hard on the heels of greatness… which the aged bar has mellowed into just that. Great.
The closest any barsmith has come to Maya Mountain Cacao's (MMC -- the collectors / post-harvest handlers of this cacáo in Belize) own conception of their cacáo's flavor profile. Indeed, this exceeds it. Essentially its reference standard now.
Some real soul-sauce that just keeps on giving. That tobacco-chocolate undercurrent carries the progression, including a plump raisin that never quits. Credit an almost patentable roasting curve by Rom, coupled with an adjustable refining phase. And pitched at just about the right formulation.
The lone area for improvement was strictly cosmetic -- Appearance, particularly relating to the prior tempering. it's chocolate eventually took care of that alright, which should've simultaneously solved the Textural hiccups which sacrifice the length some. And yet the melt courses even quicker the second time around (hmmm) & tempers a bit of the range too. Other than that this bar constitutes flavor without flaws.
It shows that both fledgling concerns -- MMC & it's chocolate -- are just getting ready to rip it.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed March 13, 2014
The prototype comes up a slow starter & leaves a slightly caustic finish (that chalk). In between, however, a damn good chocolate hard on the heels of greatness… which the aged bar has mellowed into just that. Great.
The closest any barsmith has come to Maya Mountain Cacao's (MMC -- the collectors / post-harvest handlers of this cacáo in Belize) own conception of their cacáo's flavor profile. Indeed, this exceeds it. Essentially its reference standard now.
Some real soul-sauce that just keeps on giving. That tobacco-chocolate undercurrent carries the progression, including a plump raisin that never quits. Credit an almost patentable roasting curve by Rom, coupled with an adjustable refining phase. And pitched at just about the right formulation.
The lone area for improvement was strictly cosmetic -- Appearance, particularly relating to the prior tempering. it's chocolate eventually took care of that alright, which should've simultaneously solved the Textural hiccups which sacrifice the length some. And yet the melt courses even quicker the second time around (hmmm) & tempers a bit of the range too. Other than that this bar constitutes flavor without flaws.
It shows that both fledgling concerns -- MMC & it's chocolate -- are just getting ready to rip it.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed March 13, 2014