If you clicked on this post then you must be one of us...a chocoholic to the max! (If not, please let me corrupt you to the dark side, or the milk side). So welcome to the first post in my new blog all on fine chocolate bar reviews.
A quick background on me: I have a Certificate of Achievement in Chocolate Technique from Ecole Chocolat, and I'm almost done earning my 2nd certificate on Mastering Chocolate Flavor. I also make cooking videos for YouTube. Ok, enough about yours truly, on with the chocolate tasting!
I've recently become a huge fan of Francois Pralus chocolate bars. This 75% Madagascar bar is made with criollo beans, one of the more rare cocoa beans out there. (They are called cacao beans until fermented, dried, etc, and then they are referred to as cocoa beans).
Color: Medium brown.
Nose: Burnt sugar, fruity.
Texture: Melts well, smooth.
Taste: Strong acidity, coffee grounds, a little citrus, a little red fruit, earthy.
Finish: A long finish, with the earthy notes coming through in the end.
Not surprising, there are plenty of fruity notes in this bar, which often occurs in chocolate from Madagascar. Just like with wine, as you start to understand what flavors you enjoy in chocolate it will help you narrow down what particular beans, regions you prefer. When it comes to chocolate there are several hundred tasting notes to be had though, so I recommend that you keep trying them all!
This is the type of bar I consider to be a good eating bar. (Some bars are intense, or full of so many unusual flavors that it can be hard to eat more then one piece a day, but this is one of the bars I could eat 1/3 in one sitting).
Ok, I should be going to sleep, so I can get up early for my "real job", but dang...I want some hot chocolate now! Anyone out there ever watch the series Poirot? If he got to drink hot chocolate in the evenings, so should I! Of course, I'd never get to sleep....
Let me know if you try this bar, and please feel free to post what bars you recommend, or that you eat late at night. :)
Bonne nuit mes amis!!!
Your friend in fine chocolate,
Victoria Cooksey
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