a different technique

after reading some interesting stuff from amano's "tasting guide" section, i decided that i'd try a different method. this time, rather than chewing, i just broke the piece into manageable sized chunks and let it melt slowly. it was nice since it was easier to pick out the flavors due to the slow progression. i think i may do this for future tastings as well.

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pralus - tanzanie
look- dark brown, slight red tint, decent amount of bubbling, backside shows a lot of unevenness. 8
snap- good 9
smell - spiced wood, berry jam, banana peel, slight minty?, honey, some cereal, roast 8.5
taste - bitter coffe, the pasta taste, buttery taste, cacao, meaty taste, something savory - onion soup?, sweet jam, cocoa, toasty bread, slight bitter, astringent, cakey, toasty astringent finish 8
balance- so so. acid is occluded (which is ok), but astringency is too powerful. bitter also present, making interesting, but something feels lacking. sweetness pops into veiw a couple times, but it's not supported 7.5
texture- pretty good. somewhat hampered by astringency. 8

interpretation- roasty, and astringent. flavors are bitter and somewhat savory to start, then a little bit of sweet jam and cocoa show up, but are again overshadowed by roasted tastes in the end. not so delicate. 8
summary- roasty, astringent, somewhat imbalanced
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valhrona - gran couva
look- brown/ dull brown, little to no bubbles. 9
snap- good 9
smell - bean like roastiness, slight fermenty, dark soil, pound cake, toasty cracker, possibly poppy seed, slight vanilla, some peachy, 8.5
taste - light nutty choco, a bit of roast, a bit fermentacious, vanilla, deep liquer, slight grahm cracker, more fermentytouch of coffe now, fruit, little more trop fruit amidst mostly coca, a bit more cofee, slightly fermentacious finish. leads to long taste. 8.5
balance- decent. too sweet. but acid and very slight bitter are present in appropriate amts. base is present, supports well 8.5
texture- very nice. a slight richness to it 9

interpretation- a fairly dark-flavored, but light intensity choco. most interesting were the subtle fermenty notes thrown in, as well as the contrasty, sweet grahm cracker and vanilla. fairly steady throughout the whole range. 8.5
summary- light roasty, grahm/cocoa, slight fermentacious
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lindt - madagascar
look- light red brown. one or 2 tiny tiny bubbles. good sheen. 9
snap- good 9
smell - toasty grahm crackers, maple syrup, cinammon?, vanilla, waffles, (extremely intense), slight mushroomy, very slight radish, 8.5
taste - cocoa, slight bitter, vanilla, sweet graham cracker, buttery, baked good, odd bitter, somethng at back of throat, baked, chocolatey, slight vegetal, odd bitterness. 7
balance- decent. very sweet. lower in perceived acidity. bitterness is fairly unappealing. decent foundation/base. a bit discombobulated 7.5
texture- very smooth, very pleasing 9

interpretation- extremely powerful nose, hinting towards lots of sweet, baked tastes. particularly maple syrup things. however, taste is different. once past opening of grahm cracker etc, odd tastes seem to persist, including an off bitterness. does not come thru on promise of smells. 7.5~8
summary- maple syrup, powerful nose, off tasting bitter element
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theo - ivory coast
look- dark brown with red and black tints. some very small bubbling, but in general smooth surfaces. 8.5
snap- good 9
smell - potpurri, dense, chalky, dark roasty soil, trop fruit, (all on first sniff!), tight smell, raddish feeling, somewhat headache inducing, powerful. 7.5
taste - start with light toasty, cocoa, bitter bitter, move into chalky, then light pleasant toasty bread, baking soda, light fruit backgd, toasty, sweet slightly powdery, dark forastero taste, slight red fruits, toasy bitter and chalky at end. length is somewhat toasty and bitter. 7.5
balance- on the sweet side, with fairly "unaligned" bitter and astringency. not well balanced 7
texture- a bit grainy, dry tasting 7

interpretation- not very delicate. more intersting than a supermarket "dark chocolate", but still has some mean characteristics like the bitterness and astringency. the slight fruity touch makes it intersting, but definitely nothing special. not overpowered by vanilla, so at least get a chance to taste the choco itself. not so great tho. 7 (as low as 6.5)
summary- dark, chalky, bitter, astringent, un-aligned sweet
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amedei - toscano black 70%
look - dark brown with reddish orange hue. smooth looking, extremely tiny bubbles in some parts 9
snap - nice, slightly soft, but that's 5g squares for u 9
smell - dark cocoa, peanut butter, roasty, a bit of soil, tree bark, beeswax candle, fruit - peach, grapeyness, new shoes, beans, orange and spice, slight vanilla, other red fruit, just amazing how incrediby complex yet clear the smells are 9
taste - cocoa and spice opening, grapey, savory, beeswax/honey, trees, mmm, rich, fruit, somewhat subdued, cocoa, toastyness, some forastero-like, rich cocoa, very dark "perfume", rich heavy texture, chocolate croissant at finish, then lengh of slight fruitiness with toasty bread? 9~9.5
balance - excellent. heavy in weight, yet not bitter or astringent. acid supports sweetness, but neither is prominent due to solid weight. feels very "chocolatey" 9~9.5
texture - very good. possibly some slight graininess, but probably just the "weight" 8.5

interpretation - excellent excellent. thoroughly a chocolate. beeswax and honey a nice touch. fruit is present but does not overpower the cocoa and toasty flavors. everything contributes to a dark chocolate that doesn't have a bitter/astringent edge. rich. beautiful. 9~9.5
summary - dark, honey, rich, clean (no bitter/astring), slight grapey
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to do- differentiate between bitter and astringency