Box Chocolate Review

Moonstruck

Info Details
Country USA   (Portland, OR)
Style Mainstream      
lo
med
hi
CQ
Sweetness
Intensity
Complexity
Impact
Moonstruck might make you dumbfounded. It vibes with marketing / packaging hype, cum girlie brands Godiva & Vosges. But the man-in-the-moon leaves them in the stardust, orchestrating some otherworldly opulence. A true wannabe contender that knows the market they are going for... if this were clothes...$9.99 Store™, Walmart™, Target™, Macys™, Nordstrom™, Saks™... Moonstruck is at the Macys level.
Presentation   4.8 / 5
slick corporate Power Point Presentation; mostly molds, some w/ lots of luster dust
Aromas   3.9 / 5
fresh dairy
Textures/Melt   7.4 / 10
Shells: medium gauge
Centers: on the thicker side of cream
Flavor   39.6 / 50
runs from very shy on the White & light Milk Chocolate side (Champagne, Toffee Truffle) to some heavy-handed mistakes in the middle of the spectrum (Cinnamon Latte, Hazel Nut Tower) & eventually rises to high stratos at the dark summits (Mocha, Pure Gold)
Quality   23.8 / 30
Uneven. What it lacks in refinement is made up for with bold, often deft, expressions (Earl Grey, Tuaca Liquor). Chocolate never interferes, & at turns is missing, save for the deep end (Extra Bittersweet)... pointing to a Belgium influence in favoring cream over cacáo.
Selections
Couverture: supposedly in-house (puh-leez)
Champagne – radiant White spiral teases bubbles which get drowned by a hard cream that makes it all listlessly flat
Toffee – closer to caramel than butter crunch; cream again predominates
Cinnamon Latte – cinnamon strong
Wild Huckleberry – crazy for napkins; oozy, jammy, good
Hazelnut Tower – emphasis on nut; too raw/naked; the aesthetic invisible hand
Mayan – really just a more subtle approach to cinnamon
Tuaca Liqueur – handsome; tastes warm, effusive yet light; signature winner
Chai Bell – overly assertive strength & resolution
Earl Grey – full-bodied excellence, the complex streaking in rose
Honey-Vanilla Caramel – near perfect pitch between soft 'n chewy & thick around a fat scotch flavor
Clear Creek Apple Brandy – extra fortified; a rare charge
Café Mocha – true north
Caramel Pecan Praline – the conjurer; neither true caramel nor honest praline; instead a mealy assembly w/ max satisfaction at the opening diffusing toward the back
Milk Chocolate – resplendent bronzed-sheen patina; solid center-stage piece
Italian Espresso – evanescence in a pyramid
Pure Gold – pearlesence in the black forest

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