Review: Rogue Piura

Lindy's Rating: 9.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 9.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Rogue bar Piura region Peru plantation Juan Tirado cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 60g ~ 2.1oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.99

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth aroma floral, clove, roast, red fruit snap very hard taste grapefruit, earth, hint of nuts melt less smooth length long finish tangy

Rogue is a tiny independent U.S. chocolate maker in Minneapolis, MN. The founder, Colin Gasko, is passionate about the chocolate he produces and goes to great lengths to ensure quality in every step of the process from cacao tree to shipping the resulting chocolate bars.

Rogue's Piura bar was made from four bags of cacao beans that he purchased from Juan Tirado's small organic farm in Piura, Peru. Fewer than 4,000 bars are being sold.

The ingredients of the Piura bar were simply cocoa beans and cane sugar. The texture was similarly simple: smooth and without any imprints or scoring, suggestive of its production by a small, low-volume chocolate maker. The color was a medium brown with an orangish tint.

This chocolate gave off a floral aroma, with scents of clove and a red fruit, perhaps cranberry. Rogue's Piura had an unusual and interesting flavor that we both liked: a citrus that Lindy perceived as grapefruit and I thought might also have some lime, as well as a hint of nuts. Lindy found the taste somewhat tart.

The melt was smooth, but less so than most other chocolates with a smooth melt. The flavor of this chocolate lasted quite a while: almost a minute for me, and more than a minute for Lindy. Unlike many chocolates, there was no final bitterness; instead there was a pleasant tanginess left from the citrus taste.