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Fine Chocolate


aguynamedrobert

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Hey Ling,

Yeah wasn't Amano's Chocolate just up and above what you would expect from someone brand new to the game? I was shocked...which one did you like the best? I was a complete fan of the Madagascar as it is so unique from the other Madagascars out there and full of flavor...

Robert

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I remember the first "high-end" chocolate I ever had. It was Venchi 75% with chili - It was hot and very "savoury".

Yesterday, I was in Marks & Spencer (A popular "gourmet" UK Supermarket) and got myself their 75% bar with cacao nibs from 'Sao Tome'. It is absolutely fantastic. Bitter, very bitter at first, especially with the nibs but it melts so easily, I had to put it down inbetween bites. Then, when it does melt, it's full of red fruit flavours, so that's a definite winner!

Please take a quick look at my stuff.

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My two latest samplings (inspired by the NoKa take-down on Dallasfood.org), were Bonnat Chuao and 100%:

gallery_12424_3550_86841.jpg

I've had one or two other hundred-percents before, and this was by far superior - amazing texture (from the loads of cocoa butter, of course), and that now-familiar "winey" taste that is more pronounced when eating raw cacao nibs.

The Chuao 75% was also quite good - intense color, hard snap to the bar, no visible flaws - and flavor was, to my untrained palate, yummy. :biggrin:

Now, if I had a line-up of Chuao and/or a line-up of Bonnat I might be able to do a better comparison, but overall the only conclusion I can make is that Bonnat makes very good (and somewhat expensive, at $8 for a 100g bar) chocolate.

Andrea

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"You can't taste the beauty and energy of the Earth in a Twinkie." - Astrid Alauda

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Well I just got samples of Pralus in the mail so I will be tasting through those soon...I also got some chocolate from "Felchlin" in Switzerland. Has anyone tried them before? They are very hard to get in the USA but that might be changing soon as well...I tried two of their bars and I really enjoyed their 74% Organic bar from the Dominican Republic...I did reviews on the bars at the link below but I would also like to hear opinions from others about what they think of this companies chocolate...

http://www.chocolateguild.com/chocolatiers/info/35

Have a good one,

Robert

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Anybody have a favorite Country that makes chocolate? Or any certain company within a country?

Also, does anyone have a favorite growing region? Mine is Madgascar hands down!

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Madgascar and Venezuela for me!

I just bought the sample pack from Pralus yesterday, but I haven't tasted it yet. I also got a full-size bar of the Madgascar because I assumed that would be my favorite.

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I love Venezuela as well but mostly for the Chuao region. I think other Venezeual bars are nice but are just ok for my palate...The Chuao Region on the other hand is packed with flavor...I especially like Valrhona's 2002 Chuao bar....umm umm...

Robert

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The Dolfin milk chocolate hot masala is delicious for eating. It's not at all hot, just warm and creamily sweet. Normally I'm a darker the better chocolate person, but this is really good. Right up there with the Pralus Indonesie for things I'd better not keep around the house.

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I love Venezuela as well but mostly for the Chuao region. 

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I enjoy the Chuao region a lot too. Did you have a chance to try the Pralus bars yet? I've only had the Madagascar bar so far and it's not doing much for me. The red fruit flavors are a bit more muted than in other Madagascar bars I've had in the past, and I taste quite a bit of chicory or coffee...

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Well I literally have 30 bars of chocolate on my desk and I have tasted through about 10-15 of them in the past week. I have a whole set of pralus left so I hope to get to those in the next 1-3 days...lol wish me luck! But either way I will review those soon...I look forward to it so I can disucss the certain bars you have tasted as well...

Robert

Fine Chocolate Forum

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Well I have to agree with you Ling and then some...I didn't like Pralus' Madagascar bar at all...the normal tart/sour notes of Madagascar come out as acidic and dark dark dark. I know this is a 75% but still I think they ruined the flavor of madagascar. Not to say that someone can't like it but I surely do not.

With that said I do not like the darker flavored bars. I just think that the roast on this bar is way to much...not a fan...

Robert

Chocolate Forum

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Well i justed tasted through Pralus' Papouasie, Indonesie, Sao tome, and Trinidad. I have to say that I was very disapointed. The Papouasie and Trinidad have some flavor that was good but the indonesie and sao tome were horrible in my opinion. The texture was off in Papouasie, indonesie and sao tome as well. I know Pralus has a darker roast on their beans and for my palate I really didn't enjoy it. I think the high roast either killed the flavor or their wasn't good flavor to begin with...I wouldn't munch on any of these so far. The best one out of the bunch is Papouasie but it still was not that great.

With that said I am a fan of the lighter flavors...I still think that the flavor is below that of Michel Cluizel, Valrhona, and Amedei but I do know people that like these bars...So taste for yourself...I would like to hear opinions from people that like these bars...

So there is one man's opinion...

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Yeah I've read their reviews and they give them "Middle of the road" reviews...not good but not bad...I like to hear their reviews sometimes because some of their reviewers are in the Uk so I like to hear what their palates think...

Have you tried Pralus before?

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Well I just got a chance to try El Rey's Gran Saman 70% from Venezuela again. I haven't tasted this bar in probably a year but I love it. The only way I can describe it is that it brings me back to the rain forest. The smell, taste, and texture through me right smack dab in the middle of the rain forest because it captures all the flavors and smells that accompany that area. Beautful "primal" type bar. The texture is rough but it matches the flavor...beautiful bar and beautiful brand....anyone else have an opinion on this bar or brand?

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Well I just got a chance to try El Rey's Gran Saman 70% from Venezuela again.  I haven't tasted this bar in probably a year but I love it.  The only way I can describe it is that it brings me back to the rain forest.  The smell, taste, and texture through me right smack dab in the middle of the rain forest because it captures all the flavors and smells that accompany that area.  Beautful "primal" type bar.  The texture is rough but it matches the flavor...beautiful bar and beautiful brand....anyone else have an opinion on this bar or brand?

I enjoy the taste of it but using it for chocolate work is not ideal. Going back to the Icoa from El Rey, I've been trying to use 10kg that were at my new job, and I still cannot find an application that I'm happy with. Have you tried the Cocoa Pods from Chuao? I had one when I was there and I think that the size is good and the taste is great.

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Do you not like their entire line for working with or just their "icoa" white chocolate? I really enjoy their white chocolate but I know something like the "Gran Saman" would be hard to work with for the fact that the cocoa butter is very low. I think their 61% is ideal for working with. It has the right balance of cocoa butter and still has a lot of flavor for a 61%...What do you think about the 61%?

Have a good one,

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Sorry to interupt.... just wanted to say that I recently took a tour of the Theo facility in Seattle and purchased each one of their Theo bars to sample. I am quite pleased. First of all they taste great and their commitment to respecting the true integrity of the cocoa bean is impressive. I hope to give a much more thorough review on my blog soon. (Not trying to do shameless self promotion but here's my blog if anyone will be interested to read the post. http://artisansweets.wordpress.com)

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Do you not like their entire line for working with or just their "icoa" white chocolate?  I really enjoy their white chocolate but I know something like the "Gran Saman" would be hard to work with for the fact that the cocoa butter is very low.  I think their 61% is ideal for working with.  It has the right balance of cocoa butter and still has a lot of flavor for a 61%...What do you think about the 61%?

Have a good one,

It's interesting how mucha line of chocolate can vary. Robert, I've used the 58% with moderate results but I will only use the El Rey 41% when tempering milk chocolate. I feel that it is better than jivara lactee from Valrhona. I will get some 61% and see what happens. I used the E. Guittard 58% to dip some candies today at work and was very iimpressed with it's workability and finish. It does lack a bit in flavor, so I have a box of 61% arriving tomorrow. Any feedback on the DGF line. I got some samples but was not too impressed.

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