Impact
Harkening back to the day when the strain Rio Caribe used to be called historically Carúpano (name of the region where it's grown in eastern Venezuela). Domori does old-school & bakes up some fresh chocolate in a wood-burning oven.
Appearance 4.7 / 5
| Color: | hot color: deep brown w/ fire-engine red |
| Surface: | burnished |
| Temper: | flashes |
| Snap: | crackles |
Aroma 7.7 / 10
chlorphyll & cheese atop depth charges of big wood in embers, mulch undergrowth, nuts
Mouthfeel 12.4 / 15
| Texture: | medium bodied |
| Melt: | elastic |
Flavor 45.1 / 50
burns-in carmelized sugar -> roasted mahogany (the through-line) sparks simple chocolate (also covering a lot of acreage) -> rising breadfruit + papaya -> greens up an herbal high -> charcoal flints -> brazil nut dipped in vanilla (though none added) -> a series of fantastically soft shooting plumes, like solar flares, of chestnut, cut by light black pepper -> drifts off decaf mocha caramel
Quality 18.6 / 20
By Domori’s standards, a lot of post-ferment/drying. What’s a dark-toned bean to begin with (Rio Caribe), goes darker still from an evident roast, & practically every acid rolls off in tempering if any were left after considerable conching. All results in a rather plain & simple - what some might critique as planar - chocolate beauty.