Impact
Monmaniacal. Simple to the extreme... border of excellence. Falls shy of the unalloyed gold standard for center-point chocolate because it incorporates vanilla, but this is THE reference bar for chocolarity (naked chocolate flavor).
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: | dark topsoil brown w/, interestingly, a touch of mahogany |
| Surface: | super clean |
| Temper: | bounce-back mirror |
| Snap: | sharp, tight force; smooth granite edge |
Aroma 7.1 / 10
plain & simple: light tobacco + classic earth chocolate
Mouthfeel 12.4 / 15
| Texture: | smooth |
| Melt: | streamline |
Flavor 45.7 / 50
chocolate releases in waves -> clear & elementary enough to taste white sugar -> vanilla -> slightest deviation angles toward wood cut... chips in some mulch -> more vanilla chocolate -> tapers to biscotti
Quality 18.2 / 20
Lightening struck whatever tree generated these beans because this bar’s electrified. Surpasses all other center-point chocolate benchmarks (Cluizel 72%, Lindt 85%, Guittard Quetzalcoatl, Bonnat Coté d’Ivoire, et. al.) in its sheer volt evenness & constancy without going flat... vanilla just lifts & coaxes the cacáo (though in keeping with its color, it lacks true depth, staying pretty close to the surface level; almost primeval in being free of evolution). Proof-positive chocolate & vanilla belong together like salt ‘n pepper, Fred & Ginger. Ghana often serves as the reference bean for professional tasters. This bar, then, is the baseline.