Chocolate Tasting Success!
On a side note, Arriba is my mother's favorite origin!
Here are my notes from the chocolate tasting I held using Millcreek's bars, following my usual format:
Appearance- Somehow both matte and reflective(?) surface, dark brown typical of Forasteros, mostly smooth surface with a few small bumps.
Snap- Resounding thud.
Texture- Contains a few tiny bubbles, the grain is slightly rough (which may give extra body to the chocolate compared to a smaller particle size).
Aroma- Oak, cherry (fruit & wood), lavender, grass, and leather. Lots going on here, and a good balance of the earthy, floral, and fruity notes typical of Arriba cacao.
Melt- Slow start, and slightly rough when melted (like the grain suggested): to notice this, rub some against the roof of your mouth! Full body may be due in part to this texture. Bends very easily, and yet still has a solid core when bitten. Very nice!
Flavor- Cherry! Seriously, this note hits right at the beginning and hits hard, though it is quickly followed by a hint of rose and darker, richer flavors like plum, custard, oak, and leather. Sweetness resembles malt, and there's a tart bit of lingonberry right near the end. That is all of the expected notes in an Ecuador bar with a few pleasant surprises to boot!
Flavorings- No added flavorings here, this is all due to the bean, the fermentation, the roast, the conch, and perhaps the tempering!
Finish- Mostly berry and floral notes, with strong cherry, medium lingonberry, and a more easily detected rose note (now that the heavy, earthy flavors have faded).
Everyone at my tasting and everyone who I shared this chocolate with were very favorably impressed by the whole selection. Keep up the good work!
Editing my Prior Review....
My original review is on the site.
So, another bar I purchased this past week was Soma's (based in Canada) Peru Nacional 70% bar. This bar recently won Canadian Gold, America's Silver and World Bronze in the 2014 International Chocolate Awards.
Millcreek's 70% bar is every bit as deep and rich and complex and smooth and creamy and still light drifts heavenly towards its finish.
I get nothing by adding this to my review except perhaps more competition to buy these same bars...which I have a reserve stash of.
I have just seen so many ridiculous 5 star reviews of chocolate is just nowhere near what this tastes like. For those who know me, I complain a lot, am my own and the world's biggest critic, but when something is done like this I just lay down the hammer, genuflect and thank the heavens I found something this good.
It's nearly 11 pm and I'm still at work, but, my night is fulfilled as I had some of this while I was here.
Let me just say this....
I am obsessed with my dark chocolate. I have bought it from all over and am VERY VERY particular. This got recommended to me in LA at Monsieur Marcel. The proprietor there made a comment something like, "when we got a sample, we were driving, and had to immediately pull over to the side of the road to call and find out how they made it."
I remember thinking..."Yeah, yeah, yeah...whatever."
In sum, this chocolate bar has one of the most incredibly delicious, layered flavors of chocolate with a finish that is absolutely unreal. In fact, every time I take a bite, (and I rotate what I have in any one evening), I enter the bite just as skeptical each time. Each time, I am blown away. The above reaction from Monsieur Marcel is truly real.
I have no idea how you create this bar but it is truly spectacular and one-of-a-kind.
I have 8 in reserve as I write this.
Never stop making this. Enough said.
Thank you!
