saturdays make good tastings

conditions: a little rainy, not too cold. dark. hungry.


domori sur del lago
look - a dull dark brown. some tiny bubbling. 9
smell - mild cocoa, mild soil, slight fruit (maybe strawberry), coffee touch, some "creamy" smell, very very faint meaty smell, 8.5
taste - opening of dry dirt, fresh tropical note hiding, fresh wasabi smell, nuts clean light cocoa, slight fresh pepper, good texture, fair acid, a bit woody, high "creamy" taste, possibly a "dry" trop fruit,finish of cocoa, hidden candied lemon peel, 9
balance - good. base is supportive all the way, sweet never really seems to overpower. acid seems slightly lacking, but it gives it a "dryness" that goes very well with the "creamy" high notes. 9
texture - very nice. has this "micropowder" feel to it. 9

interpretation - a fresh, light and clean choco. doesn't really dip down into the typical darker chocolate flavors, making it very interesting to coast thru those high notes (without vanilla to get in the way). 8.5~9
summary - light, fresh, "creamy"
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amedei ecuador
look - a deep brown with very slight hints of redness. some tiny bubbling 9
smell - a bit of wine, some balsamic, rather acidic, slightly fermentacious, dried fig, blackberry, woody/honey at tail, tart fruit impression, slight wax, spicy wood - like a live plant u might find in a garden, [cracked in half] this herb... rosemary but softer (maybe actally eucalyptus), blueberry, (something slightly off too like rotting fruit) 8.5~9
taste - cocoa and soft vanil opening, sweet at first, move to the herby, posibly eucaluptus, slight fermentacious, wet wood, some fruit and vanilla, amedei smell (kinda boquet like), slight acid, quick whiff of mustard, soft cake-like smells, more of the woody, amedei like finish, slight ly caramelized, a touch of coffee, add a nutty element for a long finish. 8.5~9
balance - i liked it. good acid to back up sweetness (which was a little strong at first). base is present to support. 9
texture - very nice, no noticeable problems, possibly a tiny bit powdery if i think hard about it. 9

interpretation - a very "interesting" chocolate. not 100% in my "like zone" in terms of flavors. some fermentaciousness, herbal characters show that this choco is willing to deviate from the ultra-flowery/vanilla standard of amedei. kind of untamed in a sense. still, those are put in their place by firm wood, dark red fruit and vanilla flavors. kind of a battle between the two. 8.5~9
summary - dark fruit, woody, fermentacious. (long finish)
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(orange)
michel cluizel - conception (venezuela)
look - a softer brown, with very slight orange tints. slight bubbling on surface. 9
smell - piney, caramelly, sweet fruit, mexican food, mint, slight reminder of bacon at tail, potpurri, cinnamon, [crack open] soap, some szechwan spice, slight acid, some vanilla 9
taste - cocoa, sweetness, acid all open, cruise into a rich nutty flavor, some dry cocoa, vanilla, caramel popcorn, milky sweetness, sight wood amongst caramel, vanilla creeps back in, some smoky now appears, nutty (like pecan maybe) slight touch of coffee as nearing end, sweet/tart/base clean finish. coffee and slight planty smell linger on finish. 9
balance - a bit on the sweet side (66%), but base almost manages to hold it up. almost. acid present is very pleasant. 8.5
texture - very very smooth and rich. 9~9.5

interpretation - not as complex or explosive as i would have expected from the smells. really an enjoyable journey thru all that caramelized action, fruit, cocoa and vanilla. acid is really appropriate. makes for a very "full" experience. that's the feeling i often get from cluizel. a very full, well rounded experience. this one in particular had a nice acid edge that expressed itself in the flavors as well. 9
summary - acid, caramelly, cocoa, rich, rounded.
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valrhona - manjari
look - a "chalky" brown. i guess it has some white tone to it. some very tiny bubbling. 9
smell - chocolate, slight berry, vanilla, sweet metallic smell, raspberry?, croissant, orange liquer, faint incense, waxy 8.5
taste - nice acidity, a bit of some sharp smoky cocoa, settles into a sharp caramel with possibly orange peel influence, frosting-like orange liquer, minty interjection, round, red fruit (from acid), vanilla too, tart cocoa powder, more sharp caramel, then coffee, a dry toasty cocoa length. ever so slightly astringent at finish. (addendum - some "potato" tastes, goes together with smoky) 8.5
balance - nice. despite low cocoa content does not seem to be all that sweet, possibly due to acid, but possibly due to slight bitterness. 9
texture - good. slight powdery feel at times. 8.5

interpretation - acidic, from the start, really expresses fruit and cocoa well. caramelly things drift in and out thru the whole thing. orange and red fruit kind of go back and forth. has a lot of character for a choco produced at this scale. a bit rought in the smoky/slightly bitter aspects, but can be overlooked. feels very "smoothed" the same way a river pebble is smooth. maybe not any particularly astounding or "new" elements, but what's there is balanced and pleasant. 8.5~9
summary - polished, fruity, acidic, slight smokyness.
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pralus tanzanie
look - dark brown, black tints. some ugly bubbling, chunkiness. 8
smell - berries (jam),light coffee, something herbal..., possibly pickled ginger,
taste - bitter, the pasta taste, dry cocoa smell, herbal, slight slight charred almon, plain cocoa powder, lighter minty herbal smell, kinda green planty, more cocoa and planty smells, richness to texture, blance decent a bit astringent, woody, more of the woody pasta, a kind of offensively simple cocoa, continues on for astringent finish. 8
balance - not so hot. a bit sweet, a bit bitter. sort of like it has two very strong poles, but not much in the middle. 8
texture - pretty good minus the astringency. also there was some random distracting chunk of something in there. 8

interpretation - astringent, roasty and fairly plain choco. simple in a sense. kind of herbal/plant-like in it's cocoa smell. not the soft sweet stuff of the domori, or the fruitiness of the cluizel. wish it wasn't so astringent. 7.5~8
summary - roasty, herbal cocoa, astringent.
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that was a very enlightening tasting. i found a way that helps me focus my sense of smell. sensitivity is slowly increasing, and that makes enjoyable chocolates all the more enjoyable. if i were to give a favorite for this tasting, it'd prob be the cluizel. it was fiery to the smell but performed solidly on the taste. i would usually lean towards an amedei, but ecuador is particularly fermenty and medicinal, and i wasn't exactly happy with that. domori would be up there too (possibly #2), i just think it's a bit too soft and a bit too gentle to make a strong enough impression to beat out cluizel. but a fresh and clean vanilla-free chocolate is always welcome.... i was also surprised at manjari's quality for the price level. a good, enjoyable eating chocolate.