Bougainville 75%
by Cravve
Impact
If the musket-shaped New Ireland sits just off the mainland of Papua New Guinea (PNG), then Bougainville drifts way beyond.
That it belongs to the country of PNG betrays that it forms a part of Solomon Islands archipelago & its rainforest ecosystem.
In a further betrayal, Bougainville clearly practices the traditional ways of PNG, fire-drying fermented cocoa with a fervor to the upper nth degree. A case of the socio-political trumping -- indeed singeing -- geography.
So much for terroir in chocolate.
That it belongs to the country of PNG betrays that it forms a part of Solomon Islands archipelago & its rainforest ecosystem.
In a further betrayal, Bougainville clearly practices the traditional ways of PNG, fire-drying fermented cocoa with a fervor to the upper nth degree. A case of the socio-political trumping -- indeed singeing -- geography.
So much for terroir in chocolate.
Appearance 3.8 / 5
| Color: | sandy brown |
| Surface: | crystallized motion |
| Temper: | weathered |
| Snap: | thin pierce |
Aroma 7.1 / 10
construction materials
cement, steel, rubber (a skateboard park?)
palm in the background
tea
cement, steel, rubber (a skateboard park?)
palm in the background
tea
Mouthfeel 8.7 / 15
| Texture: | shatter shards |
| Melt: | marbles that roll about without ever seeming to melt |
Flavor 30.3 / 50
small dark fruit (melinjo berry) dipped briefly / thinly in chocolate -> cotton swabs it up -> yeast -> gas fumes building -> bitter crude oil (jatropha) -> burning rubber sticks to the sole of the tongue -> stringent skid marks ->
scorched nut (too charred to distinguish which kind) -> sago starch
Quality 9.5 / 20
Bio-fuel / bio-waste.
In that brief momentary history of time when this bar started out with that front fruit lip, all augured well. Which in its aftermath feels of eons ago.
Yes, emphasis 'brief' / 'momentary' as in tenuous & extinguished by fire-drying these cocoa nuts at the source during the post-harvest. Deep roasting then aggravates the situation despite 3 days in the conche vat which fails to drive off the flammable volatiles.
An eco-disaster.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed April 9, 2014
In that brief momentary history of time when this bar started out with that front fruit lip, all augured well. Which in its aftermath feels of eons ago.
Yes, emphasis 'brief' / 'momentary' as in tenuous & extinguished by fire-drying these cocoa nuts at the source during the post-harvest. Deep roasting then aggravates the situation despite 3 days in the conche vat which fails to drive off the flammable volatiles.
An eco-disaster.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed April 9, 2014