not such a great tasting day

i feel like my sensitivity/concentration were low. but whatever, i'll post anyways. (btw, this actually occurred 2 days ago). the theme of this tasting was 65% stuff i have, plus first real tasting of the gran couva bar i picked up (for way too much money, 600 yen, but whatever. real chocolate is rare in tokyo)

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pralus - tanzanie
look - dark, slight bubbling, a bit "grainylooking"
smell - slight dark berry jam, dried leaves, a different fruit?, coffee sharpness, kind f a sndy wheaty smell, cocoa, more odd sharp sandy smell
taste - chocolate with a bready lean, coffee, fruitiness hangs thru the whole thing (berries), slight minty spot appears, more cocoa, more coffee, something intersting that's in between. cuts off quickly, leaves somewhat bitter aftertaste. sweet > acid << style="font-weight: bold;">balance - not so great, leaving a decent amount of noticeable bitter, esp in the aftertaste, where it also turns astringent
texture - ok. felt a bit rough, but may have been the effect of the astringency.
interpretation - 8
summary - dark, somewhat rough, roasty, burnt berries ------------------------------------------------------------------
guittard - ambanja (madagascar)
look - light brown, slight reddish hue. almost looks like a milk choco
smell - a lot of fruit (fairly red), some meatiness (like a dry sausage). nutmeggy, chalky, toasty. waxy candle smell, a bit like potpurri,
taste - candyness (sweet, vanil), roasty kind of... nutty, somewhat peppery, woody smells, nutmeg, very insteresting blend of smells, fairly fruity smell, (can't pick out what), some cereal at the end.
balance - fairly sweet. acid is present to back it up, but my overall feeling was that it was too sweet. decent amount of base gives it good body, but nothing too special.
texture - very nice, no noticeable problems

interpretation - too sweet, some slightly "odd" aromas - kind of candy like, not that attractive to me. that in combination with the dominating sweetness turns me off. 7.5
summary - sweet, fruity, complex, candylike
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valhrona - gran couva
look - a very "brown" brown. looks to be very smooth, no ripples or bubbles
smell - toasty coffee, vanilla, grapey skin smell, woody, very slightly fermentacious, minty in a way, maybe clovey, reminds of a bar of soap
somewhat vanil, new car, fermentacious, deep dark smell/taste, roasty, sweet, flowery soap, great texture, thick, roast with vanilla in it, slight coffee toasty on finish. no astringency, slight bitter
balance - very nice. a bit sweet, but the base seems to support the sweetness well. acidity is not pronounced, but definitely present
texture - very good. smooth and rich, somewhat weighty feeling

interpretation - there may be a bit too much vanilla use, but beyond that, nice in its "gentle darkness". enjoyable. still dark-feeling at 64%. nowhere near as acidic as cluizels, yet not flat and sweet like some other 65% range chocos. 8.5
summary - soft, dark, vanilla, toasty
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guittard - chuchuri (colombia)
look - brown with a toasty black look
smell - whoa, strong lemon candy/ bright nutmeg, extremely sweet, green aromas, tropical flowers maybe?, slight clove, intense bright aromas, potpurri, cola, reminds of minty bubblegum,
taste - nutmeg, honeyed something, toasty, cocoa, candied apple or lemon, caramelly?, more intense sweetness, bright candy flavors, fade to a nutmeggy toasty smell
balance - a bit off. way too sweet. some base. astringency fairly present. acidity feels relatively low
texture - good - melt is a bit slow, but there don't seem to be problems

interpretation - way too intense, way too crazy with the nutmeg/candy tastes. amazing that it's only chocolate, but it needs to be toned down. tastes like eating some candy made for people on acid. (by people on acid) 7
summary - intense, nutmeg, sweet
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i have more respect for the valhrona. decently balanced.