Esmeraldas
by Goodnow Farms
Impact
Gringos can take heart: they aren’t the only ones bored out of their senses these days.
Ecuadorians on the outskirts of Quito now venture into a pitch-black cave-cum-restaurant in search of dining in the dark. Just like ancient ancestors under a cloud-covered night before the invention of fire.
Blind waiters guide guests to seats around tables set with murky plates that supposedly taste ever-so-precious when diners can't see them. The possibilities (& tricks) to this blind-feeding-the-blind are limitless…
Like why bother serving real nutritious food at all? How much worse could that be than getting sick on organic burritos at Chipotle®. Or holding a talent competition on Forking in the Dark. Vegas can take bets while Wall St. opens a derivatives market attracting investors who short-profit fads, frauds, & failures. And then the proverbial, ‘waiter, there’s a cockroach in my soup… how can you be sure? I can’t see one’.
Yum, poncey food fetish. Navel gazing – inhale. Tongue grazing -- open wide. Ahhh. Oooo. Courses in self-indulgence. Expanded. Coming soon to an Ivy League cafeteria.
Since food, music & sex go so well together, add ear-buds to the sensation. Whips & chains soon follow. Wow, what a mind-fuck pairing. Perfect.
And afterwards… ‘Huh, whachaya have in mind for a night cap?’
Ecuadorians on the outskirts of Quito now venture into a pitch-black cave-cum-restaurant in search of dining in the dark. Just like ancient ancestors under a cloud-covered night before the invention of fire.
Blind waiters guide guests to seats around tables set with murky plates that supposedly taste ever-so-precious when diners can't see them. The possibilities (& tricks) to this blind-feeding-the-blind are limitless…
Like why bother serving real nutritious food at all? How much worse could that be than getting sick on organic burritos at Chipotle®. Or holding a talent competition on Forking in the Dark. Vegas can take bets while Wall St. opens a derivatives market attracting investors who short-profit fads, frauds, & failures. And then the proverbial, ‘waiter, there’s a cockroach in my soup… how can you be sure? I can’t see one’.
Yum, poncey food fetish. Navel gazing – inhale. Tongue grazing -- open wide. Ahhh. Oooo. Courses in self-indulgence. Expanded. Coming soon to an Ivy League cafeteria.
Since food, music & sex go so well together, add ear-buds to the sensation. Whips & chains soon follow. Wow, what a mind-fuck pairing. Perfect.
And afterwards… ‘Huh, whachaya have in mind for a night cap?’
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: |
Nut Seed: russet shells; blackened-brown Nibs Bar: raven brown |
| Surface: |
Nut Seed: some jumbos Bar: precision moulding with eddying swirl-pools out back |
| Temper: |
Nut Seed: n/a Bar: supreme confidence... no need to preen |
| Snap: |
Nut Seed: n/a Bar: a cracker |
Aroma 7.6 / 10
Nut Seed
arid save for a citrus-sour backdraft
Bar
70% cacáo-content
if Goodnow's Ucayali forms a hopped-up brew in a bar, this goes all kraut, the makings of a reuben sandwich on breadfruit in a stone mill
arid save for a citrus-sour backdraft
Bar
70% cacáo-content
if Goodnow's Ucayali forms a hopped-up brew in a bar, this goes all kraut, the makings of a reuben sandwich on breadfruit in a stone mill
Mouthfeel 12.3 / 15
| Texture: |
Nut Seed: bring choppers Bar: bit stiff upper lip |
| Melt: |
Nut Seed: melt... what melt? Bar: strength in slowness |
Flavor 47 / 50
Nut Seed
caramelized candied banana (superb) ->: metallic rod -> that citrus-sour in the Aromatics expresses rear tang -> walnuts
Bar
tannic cocoa -> brief sweet spot (sapote) -> hash brownie -> black mission fig -> granite flints spark off all-spice -> the sum total mimicking Fig Newton® -> fine stringent grip to finish
caramelized candied banana (superb) ->: metallic rod -> that citrus-sour in the Aromatics expresses rear tang -> walnuts
Bar
tannic cocoa -> brief sweet spot (sapote) -> hash brownie -> black mission fig -> granite flints spark off all-spice -> the sum total mimicking Fig Newton® -> fine stringent grip to finish
Quality 17.8 / 20
Esmeraldas -- one of the chocolate grand perennials. This allotment owes more to terroir than the traditional varietal from here. Either way, Goodnow treats it respectfully.
Easy & accessible yet imposing in character & gravitas. Surprising intensity, for instance, for Esmeraldas. Similar to how the Patriots in Goodnow's home-state of Massachusetts make Super Bowls appear simple. Oh, don't kid yourselves, kiddies. Unless you've the equivalent of B3 lined up on one side of the field (Bob Karft, Belichick & Brady), your score may vary.
Simply great.
Improve the ancillaries (re: Texture with the caveat that that may be a function of weather &/or storage) & this shall be hoisting titles.
INGREDIENTS:
Nut Seed -- whole seed
Bar: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed December 20, 2017
Easy & accessible yet imposing in character & gravitas. Surprising intensity, for instance, for Esmeraldas. Similar to how the Patriots in Goodnow's home-state of Massachusetts make Super Bowls appear simple. Oh, don't kid yourselves, kiddies. Unless you've the equivalent of B3 lined up on one side of the field (Bob Karft, Belichick & Brady), your score may vary.
Simply great.
Improve the ancillaries (re: Texture with the caveat that that may be a function of weather &/or storage) & this shall be hoisting titles.
INGREDIENTS:
Nut Seed -- whole seed
Bar: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed December 20, 2017