in general, i feel like it's "watery" in that there's some aspect of the body that's lacking, but is well represented in the base/bitter area as well as sweet. some acid, but somehow they don't align very well. i usually pick up fruity jam smells, as well as coffee/roast, plus this thing i sometimes call "dried pasta". not really sure what it is. there's probably a better descriptor out there. anyways, starting with my "standard" here it is:
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pralus - tanzanie
look - very dark blackish. slight bubbling. 9
snap - good 9
smell - red berries, slight wine, some low turmeric type spice?, no, more cinammony, berry pie, low cocoa, sllight coffeeeucalyptus type lemony thing, 8.5
taste - choco, slight coffee, biter, buttery, nutty , cocoa, slight banil, posibly berry at end, wash out to dusty, kind of a pasta like thing 8
balance - a bit "dry". leans towards bitter/astringent, with some sweet to support, but acid is lacking. "weight" is not very present, so it doesn' have a solid foundation. relatviely weak. 7.5 - 8
texture - good, but nothing fantastic. some possible graininess, astringency detracts
interpretation - a bit dry, somewhat imbalanced and fairly chocolatey choco. nothing relly standing out on the taste. was surprised not to find the berries which were so prominent in te smell
summary - dry, choco base, slight fruity.
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(upper right)amedei - jamaica
look - farily dark brwn, not much redness. slight swirly, some tiny bubbling - 8.5
snap - good 9
smell - oregano, meaty, grape skin, very distinct smell, something almost seafood like, changing to vanil/flowers, slight soft fruity cocoa, leather (possibly the distinct smell), slight pepperyness, more vanil, slight "sweatyness" 9
taste - some vanil, change quickly to soil, nice wood, interesting citrus skin?, amedei style grape skin, continues with fruity, some slight woody accompany, fades like that, some vanil. long finish of woody 9~9.5
balance - very nice. acid nicely compliments sweet, all set on a solid foundation of choco(not so bitter, but rather weighty) 9~9.5
texture - quite nice, very pleasing, smooth coat and melt. 9
interpretation - slightly woody, fairly fruity, reasonably heavy on the vanilla. some soily, more savory smells being present counteracts the vanilla (or vice versa). in general quite flavorful and balanced. 9 (possibly reaching 9.5 on days where i really feel like a woody/savory choco)
summary - balanced, woody, fruity, soily
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amedei - toscano black 70%
look - also quite dark, but a slight touch of redness. tiny bubbling 8.5
snap - good 9
smell - like a tomato sauce (w/onions), deep smoky but soft smell, like something in a pasta, crazy, slightlymore typical "smoky forastero" smells, those tend to dominate after a while. they're very soft compared to other smoky-chalky-forastero. some fruit - peach?? at last minute 8.5
taste - slightly grahm crackery, vanil, savoryness, bitter/base somewhat dominating, decent acid, slightly woody, more vanil, smoky, beans, very dark berry smell, sweet, somewhat cloying taste, cakes, charred wood, some kind of honey essence, bitter finish, complex, slight coffee honey combination, 8.5~9
balance - very nice, leans towards bitter with foundation, acid is slighly lower key, causing sweetness to play a considerably more prominent role. (brought out by vanil as well). good, but maybe not for me? 8
texture - very nice, relatively smooth, possibly some chalkiness. 8
interpretation - a fairly "dark" chocolate, but with the dark sort of "turned down" into something soft, and outshined by vanilla. very itnersting. usually dark-type chocos seem to present way too much power in the dark part, so u can't really enjoy it, only "feel" 8.5~9 (wide range due to dependence on mood)
summary - soft dark, soft smoky, vanilla
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(lower right)amedei - madagascar
look - similar in color to the last. extra-tiny bubbles, not many 9
snap - good 9
smell - mushroomy cream sauce, slight fruit, then really developing into acidic red fruit, possibly cranberries, vanilla, (reinterpretation - mushrooms could be soily), berry smell has slight fermentacity to it. 9
taste - cocoa, soft baked smell (possibly sim to lindt madagascar), oery nice bal, developying into somewhat flower, pssibly lghtly roasted nut, slight fruity, gentle, smooth, vanil, slight grape skin (first sharp thing in whole choco!), finish becomes slightly coffee. really creamy and soft choco
balance - very nice. very very nice. hard to notice that you're even eating. sweet and very non-bitter "base" play major roles, only very very slightly overshadowing the acid. the key is that the acid never really "shows" itself, it simply supports the roles of the other 2. extremely harmonious 9.5
texture - very good. felt like eating creamed clouds. hah. 9
interpretation - very gentle, very subtle chocolate. however, also creamy and expressive. not trying to hide flavors so much as it is just trying to bring them to an appreciable intensity, so that the chocolate really becomes an equal showing of the balance and texture with the flavors. very exciting, very calming. 9.5 -- solid, no doubt.
summary - balance, gentle, creamy
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so, as you can see, it seems that the single origins do have more character than the blends, not to mention that madagascar kicks ass. you could say that jamaica is an acquired taste due to savory/leathery/woody lean, but madagascar can be appreciated by anyone who likes softness and balance. the black 70% was interesting, looking forward to trying that again. felt like a very polished forastero based choco.
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