Fine Chocolate

[aguynamedrobert]

I'm glad you are going to try some. It will be well worth it. He has a Venezuela and Madagascar coming out and both are great...once you try it come back on here and let us know what you think...

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[Desiderio]

I sure cant wait, I hope it will be soon, I would love to use some if his coverture for some of my production, make a special line just with Amano chocolate and been italian Amano , you got to love it

[aguynamedrobert]

Hey all,

Amano Chocolate....the one we were discussing above just went public with their chocolate. You can purchase them on their site www.amanochocolate.com

You can also read reviews of their bars Here

One of the best chocolate artisans in the USA in my opinion...

Robert

Chocolate Forum

Edited January 31, 2007 by aguynamedrobert (log)

[fanny_the_fairy]

Hi Robert,

just to let you know i'm completely in love with this part of your website; it's so interesting and well explained.

- fanny

[aguynamedrobert]

Hey Fanny,

Thank you very much for your nice words...I worked very hard on that section so that hopefully people could get all the info on the worlds best chocolate companies and their chocolates. So thank you very much for your compliments...it is well appreciated.

Have a great day,

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[cotovelo]

Hey all,

Amano Chocolate....the one we were discussing above just went public with their chocolate.  You can purchase them on their site www.amanochocolate.com

You can also read reviews of their bars Here

One of the best chocolate artisans in the USA in my opinion...

Robert

Chocolate Forum

←

I just received some samples yesterday and they are very, very good. I am on my 3rd day of tasting and seem to find new aromas and flavor notes each time, the Ocumare being my favorite. The Madagascar has some intense citrus-tropical fruit flavors as well as the red berry fruits that are expected. The only thing that I would comment on is that it is a little more heavy on the vanilla than I would prefer. I feel this masks the flavor a bit. That is not keeping me from saying that Amano is one of my top favorite chocolate makers at this time...up there with Steve DeVries!

Chris

[aguynamedrobert]

May I guess that this is Christopher Elbow the Chocolatier? I saw Kansas City and saw "Chris" at the bottom of the page...

Yeah I am a true fan of Amano Chocolate. I think Art Pollard is a great artisan that is coming into this business. At first taste I liked his Ocumare best and now I am a bigger fan of the Madagascar. I just think it is so unique in the line of Madagascars that are out there...either way both are very nice.

I have not had Steve's chocolate yet. I have heard good things and I have heard bad...what is your full opinion on his chocolate and which of his is your favorite?

Have a good one,

Robert

Chocolate Forum

Edited February 3, 2007 by aguynamedrobert (log)

[cotovelo]

May I guess that this is Christopher Elbow the Chocolatier?  I saw Kansas City and saw "Chris" at the bottom of the page...

Yeah I am a true fan of Amano Chocolate. I think Art Pollard is a great artisan that is coming into this business.  At first taste I liked his Ocumare best and now I am a bigger fan of the Madagascar. I just think it is so unique in the line of Madagascars that are out there...either way both are very nice.

I have not had Steve's chocolate yet. I have heard good things and I have heard bad...what is your full opinion on his chocolate and which of his is your favorite?

Have a good one,

Robert

Chocolate Forum

←

This is Christopher Elbow....how are you Robert?

I spent a half a day this past summer in Steve DeVries shop and it blew me away. He is getting more flavors out of Cacao than anyone. He is fanatical about everything including the growing fermenting and drying......he doesn't just buy dried beans to raost and make chocolate. He is working with the growers. He doesn't add any vanilla or additional cocoa butter so if it says 80%, it is 80% cacao and 20% pure cane sugar. He uses only enough sugar to balanace out the acids and highlight the flavors of the beans.

I just finished up the last of 15lbs of his Costa Rican Trinitario 77%. It is my favorite so far of his, with great fruity notes to it. I was making a single bon bon with it for some of my collections. I now have his Dominican 80%, it is much more smokey and earthy, very interesting chocolate. I have not tried his Costa Rican 80% yet.

To me, I feel like this is what chocolate was supposed to be.

If you can get your hands on his stuff, it is well worth it. This is the chocolate that I eat.

Chris

[aguynamedrobert]

I am going to have to order some of his chocolate really soon...I need to taste for myself how his chocolate is...

What chocolate do you use, mainly, in the production of your boxed chocolates? What brand that is?

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[Art]

Robert :

It was really good meeting you at the Fancy Food Show. (For those of you that weren't there, it could be best described as "too much food -- too little time.") Glad you liked the samples. I didn't have much with me for the show and so I had to stretch them to ensure I could have enough to last through the end. Good luck on your forthcoming TV interview. It should be fun.

Christopher:

Glad you liked the bars. I tried to do what I could while making the bars to bring out as much flavor as I possibly could and to do justice to the beans that the chocolate originated from. For example, the Madagascar bean is originally extremely fruity. Many -- if not most -- chocolate makers kill the bean trying to make chocolate that resembles chocolate from other beans. (Typically by over roasting and over conching.) I tried to develop multiple levels of flavor while keeping the inherent fruitiness of the original bean to exemplify the wide differences between beans of different origins.

Thanks for your comment regarding the vanilla too. I highly value feedback on our chocolate.

Well, it is 2:15am and I am up late making another batch of chocolate. Today has been a "series of unfortunate events" as the various machines have had a series of problems throughout the day causing them to make slow progress through the chocolate. One thing about making chocolate is that once you start, you pretty well to finish the batch -- no matter how late it goes. Tonight, it is getting pretty late.

-Art

[ibjack]

Art, how can the rest of use get samples?

[Desiderio]

I guess going to the web site and order it.I am going to order it pretty soon here

[cotovelo]

Robert :

It was really good meeting you at the Fancy Food Show.  (For those of you that weren't there, it could be best described as "too much food -- too little time.")  Glad you liked the samples.  I didn't have much with me for the show and so I had to stretch them to ensure I could have enough to last through the end.  Good luck on your forthcoming TV interview. It should be fun.

Christopher:

Glad you liked the bars.  I tried to do what I could while making the bars to bring out as much flavor as I possibly could and to do justice to the beans that the chocolate originated from.  For example, the Madagascar bean is originally extremely fruity.  Many -- if not most -- chocolate makers kill the bean trying to make chocolate that resembles chocolate from other beans.  (Typically by over roasting and over conching.)  I tried to develop multiple levels of flavor while keeping the inherent fruitiness of the original bean to exemplify the wide differences between beans of different origins. 

Thanks for your comment regarding the vanilla too.  I highly value feedback on our chocolate.

Well, it is 2:15am and I am up late making another batch of chocolate. Today has been a "series of unfortunate events" as the various machines have had a series of problems throughout the day causing them to make slow progress through the chocolate.  One thing about making chocolate is that once you start, you pretty well to finish the batch -- no matter how late it goes. Tonight, it is getting pretty late.

-Art

←

Art-

You are doing some amazing chocolates and I can not wait to see what you have in store for the future. I will be a solid supporter of your company and products!

Christopher

[Art]

Art, how can the rest of use get samples?

←

The order page is here.

http://www.amanochocolate.com/retail/

I wish I could just send out "samples" to just about everybody especially fellow eGulleters but unfortunately, I can't for obvious reasons.

Right now, I'm trying to get our mailing list software up and going so that we can send out a proper notice to the people who have requested to be on our mailing list. I'm still a bit hung-over from making chocolate until 4:00am this morning.

It has been an incredible adventure to get to this point and yet the adventure is IMHO effectively just beginning. I'll try to share what I can as time goes on.

-Art

[aguynamedrobert]

Hey Art,

I was just thinking...Do you have any new origins that are already in the making? Not trying to rush you along or anything, just wondering if we will see other origins from you in the next few months? I am eager to see what you do with other beans as they come along...I think you are getting a lot of support because your chocolate is just plain good...and I'm right along with Chris, I'm a big fan of your chocolate(as you know) and I let others know my opinion! lol...can't wait to see what's next.

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[Art]

Hey Art,

I was just thinking...Do you have any new origins that are already in the making? Not trying to rush you along or anything, just wondering if we will see other origins from you in the next few months?  I am eager to see what you do with other beans as they come along...I think you are getting a lot of support because your chocolate is just plain good...and I'm right along with Chris, I'm a big fan of your chocolate(as you know) and I let others know my opinion! lol...can't wait to see what's next.

Robert

Chocolate Forum

←

I do. I have a single origin bar that I'm gearing up to work on. I still need to finish getting the packaging designed for it and it will take a few weeks to get it printed etc. so we are a little ways off. I also have a blended bar that I might be doing soon if I can get some satisfactory results from some test blends.

I'm going to be doing quite a bit of traveling this summer looking for good beans. Should make for a real adventure and hopefully I can get some nice photography out of it too.

-Art

[Desiderio]

Awesome!

Sounds very very ecxiting, I am sure you are living a dream

The best luck for everything ( and for us because we will get all the wonderfull results from you trip as well )

[Abra]

I've never been much of a chocolate person - caramel, ginger, lemon, all used to beat out chocolate any day. Then I decided to start baking with some higher-end chocolates. So for the past couple of years I've baked mainly with Valrhona Noir Amer, Scharffen Berger cocoa and unsweetened, and either of their semi-sweets when I (rarely) happen to need some. I use nibs with the Plantations label, make pain au chocolat with Cacao Barry batons, and my husband brought me a bar of Villars bittersweet that I haven't cracked yet. But really, it's been all about the baking and cooking. I wasn't eating the stuff plain, because I "don't like chocolate."

Then one day I started nibbling at the Noir Amer. Wow, chocolate that actually tastes like something. Ling gave me a bite of Amadei Porcelana. I liked that a lot, but felt that it might be too sophisticated for my palate at the time. Chufi sent me some Dolfin minis. Oh yeah, now I'm really starting to get it. I ordered a huge assortment from Chocophere. Wait, that's supposed to be for my husband for Valentine's Day, can't open that yet! Then ChefShop sent me this as a little freebie in a box of other stuff.

Wowsers. This isn't like any chocolate I've ever tasted. Instead of bright, fruity, and acid, it's warm and earthy and nutty and tastes of the forest. The label describes the flavor as "mushroom" and I can sort of see that. It's awesome and I could eat it every day.

Now I'm working on an all-chocolate Valentine's Day menu, and now I can't wait for him to open "his" Chocosphere box so I can sample some more of the really good stuff. Possibly I'm getting hooked.

[aguynamedrobert]

Haha, don't you love it when you get caught off guard when a chocolate is soooo good!? I have not had pralus before but I actually have their line being sent to me in the mail right now. Is the one bar all you tried from Pralus?

Which bars did you order from chocosphere.com and which, do you think, is your favorite bar so far?

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[gap]

I must admit to having a similar experience with dark chocolate recently. I have always enjoyed a bit of dark chocolate - the Cluizel 72% is one of my favourites - but I recently tried the Valrhona Manjari 64% (Madagascar). WOW. The fruitiness just blew me away and the flavour is just amazing.

I've been eating a few squares each night now - I'll have to be careful this doesn't become a habit. But it has opened me up to the idea of origin bars which wasn't something I'd paid a lot of attention to before.

[eipi10]

Okey Dokey,

New question for chocolate bar lovers out there....

What is your favorite chocolate bar and brand and why?

Mine is probably Guittard's65% Cocoa content bar from Ecuador......I have many many favorites but that one is always one I love to munch on....

Whats yours?

-Robert

www.chocolateguild.com

←

So sue me, but my favorite is Scharffen Berger 82%. I've had many E Guittard single origin bars, El Rey, Valrhona, Venchi, Hachez, Cluizel, etc. etc. I just really like the unique tart fruitiness of Scharffen Berger. Many of these other chocolates are better in terms of mouthfeel and rich chocolate taste, however.

Edited February 15, 2007 by eipi10 (log)

[aguynamedrobert]

Scharffen Berger is a nice eating chocolate. I enjoy the tartness that they put into the blend as well...have you tried their specialty bars that they put out every once in a while yet?

Robert

Chocolate Forum

[Ling]

I haven't been posting as much on EG lately, so I seem to have missed this thread! I did get to try the Madagascar bar and the Ocumare bar from Amano recently, and I can't say enough good things about it. It really is the best chocolate I've come across in the past year or so, and I eat quite a bit of chocolate. The Madagascar bar is quite fruity and acidic, so if you like Valrhona Manjari, you'll most likely enjoy this one too. I love the Ocumare bar...I've been trying to ration it so I can enjoy a tiny bit everyday, but I ran out today and I have to order more.

[rmillman]

Boy: what a couple of months.

We just finished off the last chunk of amedi:

CTAM25 Chuao, 70% cocoa, dark chocolate couv...

From Chocolate trading Co. One Kilo goes a long way.

[Abra]

The Chocosphere collection was for my husband, and because of our all-chocolate day yesterday, no one's tasted any of it yet. I'll post about them as we taste them, but as I recall it included Cluizel, Dolfin, Venchi, Pralus, Hachez, Caffe-Tasse, Valor, and Mademoiselle de Margaux goodies.