Saturday 26 November 2016

Willie's Cacao Milk of the Stars Indonesian 54%

After searching high and low for the NEW Willie's Cacao milk chocolate, yep - I finally found it. Prior to finding it, that same day, I picked up Beavertown's new smoked porter. And what a pairing ...

Aroma is clotted cream, light caramel. On taste it's creamy, and now smokey, in flows chocolate sauce, and finishes with hay. Second go at it, it was Bonnat's Surbaya ... just much, much, much better. It coats the mouth with beautiful smoked cocoa toffee. Each subsequent taste I enjoyed.

A little more Indonesian cacao would have made this chocolate greater; I love the Indonesian 69% dark chocolate of Willie's, so go figure! 

Saturday 12 November 2016

Marou Ben Tre Coconut 58%

A bar I heard great things about, like really great things about; who knew a week later I'd get to try it. It's the first milk chocolate from Marou. Marou being tree-to-bar chocolate made by two French chaps with Vietnamese cacao in Vietnam, the rest is just noise (named provinces in Vietnam)

Ingredients: Ben Tre province cacao, coconut milk, cane sugar, cocoa butter
Coffee at Prufrock, Marou's very special coconut bar lands on the table. Ah!

The aroma was fresh creamed coconut, exotic holidays. The taste always had the coconut, but amongst it was a journey of raspberry jam to cocoa, brightness to comfort

It tasted just like a hybrid of Snowball cakes and jam teacakes (milk chocolate coated) - British biscuit culture galore

The melt was thicker and not as smooth in texture compared to Marou's dark chocolates. It still finishes cleanly, and there was no bitterness at all

It's not quite "only available at Maison Marou" like the packaging states, as this was bought in Bangkok, but it is a rarity. Three extra thoughts: it pairs beautifully with a dark beer, I love the more rustic packaging, it's just really well crafted chocolate with quality ingredients 

Tuesday 8 November 2016

Sirene Guatemala 73%

Sirene craft chocolate in Victoria, Canada. They use directly sourced cocoa beans and cane sugar, that's it. For this dark 73%, the Guatemalan cacao comes from the Lachua farm, in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala
The aroma roasted, liquorice and Sherbet Fountain (British confectionary), oak, walnut skin, pancakes 
The taste was sherbet, lime, sweet - I feel these notes came from the sugar. Raspberry Slush Puppie and raspberry seeds, toasty black, Jammie Dodger coated in chocolate, swiftly moves to a BROWNIE finish. The very finish had black tea leaves, Oolong maybe - something earthy. Tannin bitterness

This 73% was a very smooth chocolate, an even paced melt and good mouthfeel. Impressive