Impact
That much-needed coastal Yucatán or Costa Rican vacation... but after 3 or 4 days, it’s ready to go back to the urban grind up North.
Appearance 5 / 5
1980’s commercial-style packaging w/ peek-a-boo window to entice purchasers
1980’s commercial-style packaging w/ peek-a-boo window to entice purchasers
| Color: | beauty to behold: blackened burgundy |
| Surface: | clean plate, good-sized portioning & retro-faux Navajo imprint looks nostalgic & mildly inviting in the 2000’s cutting edge packaging world |
| Temper: | so polished it reflects itself |
| Snap: | muted voice w/ soft edge continues the laid back nature of this 73 |
Aroma 7.2 / 10
the simple life: palm frond, coconut shell, cocoa dust, sandalwood, & floral wisp of red currants on the sea breeze w/ wax underneath
Mouthfeel 12.9 / 15
| Texture: | soft lush stuff, primordial & voluptuous, that soy-free chocolates boast; slight granular |
| Melt: | syncopated & structured; clears astingent |
Flavor 39.4 / 50
agressive start w/ bitter cocoa front -> coconut & soft hazelnut comes right up -> softer mocha -> very minor raspberry, plumes into brief candied current -> flips decidedly earthen: palm frond (the leaf both green & dried [almost hay]), hazelnut re-emerges, & that opening coconut too -> wipes out on cake frosting w/ a lingering dry metallic cocoa powder & minor mango back -> pepper bites like good Shiraz in the finish & espresso coda
Quality 17 / 20
Comes soft & near (via soft roast / prolonged conche). Combined effects of the finish (metallic powder) & melt (slight astringency) suggest these beans got steamed in the processing. Otherwise, an innocuous, practically neutral, bar. The kind of civilized cioccolato rustica - no highs, no lows just mid-range – to intro a friend who just completed their Candyhaulic’s Anonymous training & are starting on the path to real addiction.