Box Chocolate Review

Chocolate in Chelsea

Info Details
Country USA   
Style Old School      (medieval Prussia)
lo
med
hi
CQ
Sweetness
Intensity
Complexity
Impact
Gothic headbangers ball turns mouth-chambers into a nosh-pit vault.
Presentation   3.2 / 5
vibes a wedding favor: cloud-white virgin box / sky blue ribbon; imprecise FF incl some scuffs & thumbprints on the satin finishes for that 'personal touch'; enrobed pieces at 1st blush appear to be all hand-jobs but they're not (entirely), though the simple piping of letters on the chocolates to identify flavors is... & gives it that 'down-home, we ghetto like that'

Aromas   3.8 / 5
spice girl set
Textures/Melt   9.7 / 10
Shells: w/ apologies to Bob Dylan: they snap just like a woman & break / collapse just like a little...
Centers: plush pillows
Flavor   39.2 / 50
neo-noir force: some of the most densely amped packages anywhere (the needles are both swinging way up & piercing deep down); dim-toned chocolate of thick & heavy tannins, often w/ fillings to match (for light & air, good luck escaping this dungeon); indelicate pieces occasionally at odds w/ themselves as couverture can sometimes be especially strident & strong medicine for hospital patients
Quality   23.6 / 30
A dichotomy twixt pillowy packaging & textures vs. stern flavor profiles. A fledgling line with a bold high-intensity, no-surrender/ take-no-prisoners attitude - gotta like that. Controversial, however, in a love 'em or leave 'em kind of way.

Sits squarely in the middle of the pack, yet still stands out from it.
Selections
Couverture: Cluizel; Valrhona
Classic Dark - metallic bite to its initial bitter then courses out on a fudge-brownie mix (cocoa pwdr) for 'pink' variation on a classic
Lemon-Basil - modern makers all rush to use basil but almost all struggle w/ it; here a successful combine of herb, citrus, & wood (provided by cacáo) if a bit overstated
Aztec - vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, chili, & viscous honey; the combined effect a very serpentine caramel... dim & claustrophobic; for the serious downtown Gothic hardcore & as much Greek as it is Aztec - think the original 'between a rock 'n a hard place' - Scylla & Charybdis
Burnt Caramel - grainy treacle fills a Bucky Fuller-shaped geodesic dome mold; practically indestructible both as a structure & a flavor
Mint - twisted out w/ lime (nice move) in an instance where elements fight in opposition & the overbearing couverture acts irreparably on the profile as if cognac then port
Hazelnut Praline - a smooth praline rather than the traditional crunch variety; the lone Milk in this set rings up some peanut tones along w/ filberts; again, issues over harmonizing as BIG sugar valiantly struggles to equalize discordance among classically compatible ingredients
Pecan Turtle - solid confectionery classic

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