a faster session

conditions: a little bit tired (possibly overslept? or just that i slept late), nice and sunny

pralus tanzanie
look - dark dull brown, fair amt of swirling. some bubbles. 8.5
smell - a clean, woody smell, a bit of roast, buttery smell, slight cedary smell, slight planty smell. reminds me of astringent (possibly my association with the smell is directly connected to the taste now), 8.5
taste - astringent, papery, roasty, buttery, jammy, roast cocoa, coffee,a sweetness, a toasted white bread smell, acidity rolls in, nuttyness withastringent bckgd, coffee and dry pasta water finish, stronger roast comes in at end, strong finish, astringency. 8
balance - can't help but say it's a bit strange. esp due to astringency. appropriate levels of acid, sweet and base. just don't match up for somereason 8
texture - good, no big noticeable problems, just seems a bit powdery. 8.5

interpretation - a powerful chocolate in someways, but strange in others. strong roast and astringency really dominate at times, making it seem like a "blindingly" dark chocolte. but at the same time, there are interesting tastes of jam, bread, pasta, etc that don't really seem to match the previously mentioned aspect of the choco. could use some more cohesiveness. 8
summary - roast, astringent, jammy, woody
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domori sur del lago
look - heavily orange tinted. lots of tiny bubbling.
smell - aromatic spice dry exotic (completely my own terms...), deep cocoa, fresh and sharp green note - like leaves of... something, touch of orange liquer, some slight coffee, baked bread, a bit of nuttyness, some slight fermentacious. something that reminds me of cream. 8.5
taste - sweet, gentle, creamy to open, high sweet tones, clear cocoa, roast of coffee, slight breadiness, then this thing.... no what is it...? reminds of coconut but isn't. some astringency comes thru, strawberry?, gentle roasted nut (almond?), strong cocoa finish, cream feeling persists. texture is great. 9
balance - good, i experienced a little acid at the end that really kind of rounded things out. otherwise it as a bit on the sweet side. 8.5
texture - very nice. very "heavy" cocoa sense, but extremely smooth. not like pralus venez that feels a bit unctious. this one is all about the microscopic cocoa. 9

interpretation - a chocolate that's rather "true" to chocolate, but is very light and creamy. texture is great, sweetness is a bit high, but i could be influenced by the presence of a large amt of "sweet" aromas. a little bit of coffee, a little bit of bread, but really felt like rich smooth cocoa wth these somewhat un-identifyable sweet tones. nice. 9
summary - creamy, sweet, cocoa, pure
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valrhona - manjari
look - a cloudy red-orange tinted brown. some tiny bubbling
smell - raspberry, coffee, california pinot, some smoky aspects, something slightly sharp - maybe a fermentacious note, peppery, dried orange peel, sweet vanilla touch. 8.5 (the sharpness dropped the score a bit)
taste - very tart, slight tomato leaf/tobacco, more towards a smoky taste, a characteristic smell of caramelly hard dessert candies, berries and coffee, minty business, sweet, a bit rough ocoa, roasty crackers, slight citrus smell?, hummus, sweet flavors of vanilla and berry and acidic cocoa come thru at end, some "air freshener" sense lingering. 9
balance - sweet. but it is only 63%, so that's to be expected. it's balanced decently for a 60s class choco - a lot of acid to back it up. the base seems to be a bit lacking, but again this might be because of the relatively low cacao percentage. 8
texture - nice. a bit powdery though. 8

interpretation - a bright, action-packed choco. in some areas i feel like there's some "rounding" and mellowing of certain flavors going on, and that some lesser quality elements also sneak in (sort of like this choco was a big "overview" of a couple individual flavor profiles). regardless, the end result is nice, vibrant, and a pleasure to eat in general. 8.5-9
summary - bright acid, bright fruit, smoky, action packed
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theo ivory coast
look - a dull brown, slight reddish purplish tinting, smooth, very little if any bubbling 9
smell - "dry" chalky, sweet cocoa, sharper but low intensity tobacco, sweet and light coffee-ish, reminds a bit of some soap smells, apple skins or soemthing. 8.5
taste - sweet, cocoa essence, savory nutmeg, toasty bread w/slight cinammon?, more light and sweet woody/spice tones, fairly "high pitched", astringency begins to show, getting stronger, soily, cocoa, cinam, astringent finish. dry woody sweet cocoa flavor persists. 8
balance - sweet. barely anything in terms of acid. would have been nice wth a touch of acid, a large drop in astringency and a slight boost in "base". felt somewhat "flat" and sweet. 7
texture - fine powdery sensation. not terrible, but still powdery. 8

interpretation - a sweet and simple chocolate, appealing to the very basic taste of forastero. similar to the domori in some ways, but nowhere near as elegant. astringency, lack of acid, lack of depth keep it from being a much better chocolate. somewhat one-sided in the sweet-spice-woody cocoa flavors. would be nice to have some flavor "twists" in there. 7.5
summary - astringent, sweet, simple cocoa
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tht was a bit of a rushed tasting, but it turned out well. in some ways the time pressure forces me to focus more rather than get absorbed in sniffing something and trying to get every last little aroma out of it. as a "treat", i'm giving myself some pralus venez.

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.