Review: Michel Cluizel Noir Infini 99%

Lindy's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Michel Cluizel bar Noir Infini region (unknown) plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 30g ~ 1.1oz cocoa solids 99% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring bourbon vanilla other ingredients ginger, cinnamon list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth and matte with text imprints aroma spice, roast (smoky, cocoa), tropical fruit (coconut), sweet, earth, hint of apricot snap hard taste bitter, roast (cocoa), tropical fruit (coconut), ashy melt creamy length short-medium finish somewhat bitter

Michel Cluizel's Noir Infini is a chocolate bar made from 99% cocoa solids, with some added cane sugar, bourbon vanilla pod, and two unusual flavorings: ginger and cinnamon. This small 30 gram bar was sold in a simple black paper cover over gold foil wrapping the chocolate. The bar itself was unscored, stamped with an imprint of the chocolate maker over a background that is half smooth and half matte (as you can see in the picture above). Noir Infini had a medium-dark brown color of Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314).

This bar had a hard snap. The aromas of the chocolate were many, including spice, a smoky roast, a sweetness that reminded Lindy of hot chocolate, tropical fruits (of which coconut seemed most prevalent to me), some earthiness, and a hint of apricot that Lindy noticed.

As expected, Noir Infini tasted bitter. However, there were also flavors of coconut and a roast in the form of cocoa. Lindy also found the taste somewhat ashy.

The melt was thick and creamy. We disagreed on how long the flavor lasted after the chocolate was gone. Lindy felt it disappeared in 5-10 seconds, while for me it varied between about 25-40 seconds, so I rated it above as short-medium (the border of which is 30 seconds). The finish was bitter: strongly so to Lindy and slightly so to me.

Overall, we both liked Noir Infini better than Pralus Le 100%. Lindy rated it ** and I rated it ***.

Although Cluizel does not provide a list price for Noir Infini, you can purchase it online in the U.S. for $3.50 from Chocolopolis.

Review: Mast Brothers Madagascar

This photo copied from web (not ours).

Richard's Rating: 6.0+ (previously **+)

chocolate maker Mast Brothers bar Madagascar region Madagascar plantation unnamed farm cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 70g ~ 2.5oz cocoa solids 72% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle texture smooth with scoring aroma fruit (red berry), spice, earth (moss) snap hard taste earth, spice, citrus (lime), berry, hint of sweet melt less smooth length short finish dry

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Mast Brothers Madagascar

Madagascar is another bar by Brooklyn chocolate maker Mast Brothers.

Thanks to Lauren Adler of Chocolopolis for the opportunity to taste this chocolate. As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, the Mast Brothers bars that I tasted had been exposed to high heat, and thus were not at their best.

Madagascar was made from organic cacao beans of a single unnamed farm in the Sambirano Valley. This bar had a surface bloom, but the inside color was a medium-dark brown Fudgesickle.

A hard snap revealed a fruit aroma of mixed red berries, as well as a spicy scent I couldn't identify and an earthiness that reminded me of moss.

The taste of this chocolate was complex, with an earthiness and some sort of savory spice before I noticed citrus that seemed to be lime, some berry, and occasional hints of sweetness.

Madagascar had a melt that was a little less smooth than typical artisan chocolates. The flavor lasted only a short time after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was merely dry.

Overall, I rated this bar a high **, but added a + because I suspect that it would be better fresh. I preferred Madagascar to Grand Cru. In any case, these Mast Brothers chocolates deserve another review with fresh bars.

On the Mast Brothers website, there is a list of retailers where you can purchase their chocolate. You can purchase Madagascar online for $8.50 in the contiguous United States at French Broad Chocolates and for £8.95 in the UK at The Chocolate Society.

Review: Mast Brothers Grand Cru

This photo copied from web (not ours).

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **+)

chocolate maker Mast Brothers bar Grand Cru region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 70g ~ 2.5oz cocoa solids 81% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring aroma spice (cinnamon, ...), earth (mold, leather) snap hard taste roast, nut, spice, hints of fruit and sweet melt smooth length short finish slightly acidic

Rick and Michael Mast are Mast Brothers, an artisan bean to bar chocolate maker in Brooklyn, New York. They hand-craft chocolate bars with organic cacao beans from individually selected farms in high quality chocolate growing regions. They make all of their chocolate from only cacao and cane sugar. Mast chocolate bars are even hand wrapped!

Although Mast Brothers has no distribution in Washington State, I was able to taste this chocolate thanks to the generosity of Lauren Adler, the owner of Chocolopolis (a fantastic Seattle chocolate store with a huge selection of artisan chocolate bars -- most of them available for purchase online in the continental US). While in Brooklyn last summer, she purchased some Mast Brothers chocolate from their factory and still had some of the Grand Cru and Madagascar bars. When I mentioned to her that I was interested in trying their chocolate, she generously offered me hers. Unfortunately, it was quite hot while she was walking around the day she purchased them (temperatures in the 90s), so the chocolate ended up blooming and this review is somewhat inaccurate due to those heat effects.

Grand Cru is made from organic cacao beans from Patanemo, Venezuela. The chocolate had a hard snap that revealed unusual striations (perhaps also due to heat exposure). The inside color was a medium brown Bracken, but could well have been distorted by the bloom, as the surface was.

This bar had a strong aroma of a complex spice, of which the only one I could identify was cinnamon. There was also an earthy smell of mold and leather that I found somewhat unpleasant. Here are the flavors I experienced: roast, nut, spice, hints of fruit and sweet. The melt was smooth, the length short, and the finish left me with a slightly acidic aftertaste.

Overall, I rated this bar **, but added a + because I suspect that it would be better fresh. I intend to taste Grand Cru again in the future, as well as the entire line of Mast Brothers pure chocolate bars.

On the Mast Brothers website, there is a list of retailers where you can purchase their chocolate. They also have a link to an online retailer that sells some Mast Brothers chocolate bars for $8.50 each, but they do not carry Grand Cru. You can purchase Grand Cru online in the UK at The Chocolate Society for £8.95.

Review: Coppeneur Menavava

Lindy's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Coppeneur bar Menavava region Madagascar plantation Menavava cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 50g ~ 1.8oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $5.95

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with picture relief and text imprint aroma roast (smoky), spice, hint of citrus snap medium hard taste roast (cocoa, smoky), sweet (brown sugar), fruit (strawberry, citrus) melt smooth length minimal-short finish slightly tart

Coppeneur Menavava is made from organic Trinitario cacao beans from the plantation of the same name in the Sambirano valley of Madagascar. The added cane sugar and cocoa butter are not organic. The chocolate came in a stylish black package closed with what appeared to be a gray plastic seal stamped with the Coppeneur logo (as if it were wax). Along with the bar, there was a 40-page booklet about cacao, Coppeneur plantations, and their chocolate bars. The best before date on the bar we reviewed was December 2011.

Coppeneur's 50 gram Menavava bar was a single piece without scoring. There was a large relief of a half a cacao pod surrounded by a circular design and an imprint of the Coppeneur logo and name in the upper left. The color was medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015).

Menavava had a smoky roast aroma, along with a spice that neither Lindy nor I could identify. There was also a suggestive scent of citrus that seemed to come and go.

This chocolate gave off an immediate flavor of both cocoa and smokiness. However, that roast flavor soon faded and we were given sweetness (that Lindy experienced as brown sugar) and then fruit flavors, including berry and citrus. The berry seemed to be strawberry and the citrus could well have been lime.

The melt was smooth. Unfortunately, the flavor didn't last long after the chocolate was gone, only a few seconds for Lindy and less than 10 for me. The finish was minimal, with just a slight tartness and no bitterness.

You can purchase Menavava online for CA$5.95 at coppeneurchocolate.com (the North American website for this German chocolate maker). The German website is coppeneur.de.

Review: Bonnat Hacienda El Rosario

Lindy's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Bonnat bar Hacienda El Rosario region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma fruit (berry), earthy (wet musty), spice (clove) snap hard taste fruit (berry, watermelon, hint of citrus), sweet melt smooth length minimal finish very slightly bitter

Bonnat Hacienda El Rosario is made simply from Venezuelan cacao beans, cocoa butter, and sugar. The 100 gram bar is scored into 32 small pieces and one larger center piece imprinted with "BONNAT VOIRON" (Voiron is the home city of this French chocolate maker). Rosario contains 75% cocoa solids, and its color was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015).

The aroma contained an earthy scent that Lindy described as "wet musty" (in contrast with the dry musty aroma of the Godiva Extra Dark Santo Domingo) and fruit, which we both experienced as a non-specific berry. In addition, I noticed a spice that seemed similar to clove.

Rosario's flavor was a mix of fruit, with both berry and watermelon, as well as just a hint of citrus. To me, this chocolate also tasted sweet. This chocolate had a nice melt and was smooth. It's length, however, was disappointing, with the flavor lasting only a few seconds (and thus in the minimal category). The final aftertaste was only a very slight bitterness.

Overall, we both rated Bonnat Hacienda El Rosario a high **. Some additional information about this particular bar is that it was marked as Lot A, best before January 2012. You can purchase it online at Chocolopolis for $9.99.

Review: Godiva 85% Extra Dark Santo Domingo

Lindy's Rating: 3.0 (previously *)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Godiva bar Extra Dark Santo Domingo region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 85% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring natural flavoring other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text and image imprints, scoring aroma sweet, earthy (musty), nutty (almond), hint of fruit snap medium hard taste citrus, bitter, roast, hint of nut melt slow start, smooth length medium finish bitter

As written on the wrapper, the cacao for this chocolate came from "the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo". As a reader explained to me, that is the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Godiva's Extra Dark Santo Domingo bar was probably made from cacao beans from the Dominican Republic.

This chocolate had 85% cocoa solids and is made with the unusual ingredient of "natural flavoring". The 100 gram bar had a medium-dark brown color of Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) and was scored into 10 pieces, each imprinted with either the text "GODIVA Chocolatier" or an image of Lady Godiva riding naked on her horse.

The bar broke easily along its scoring, with a medium hard snap. The aroma was primarily sweet and earthy, the latter of which we both experienced as a dry mustiness. We noticed a nutty scent, which Lindy identified as almond. I also found a hint of fruit.

Extra Dark had a slow melt, taking a while before it released its flavor. I noticed an initial citrus that soon faded and became background hints, but Lindy didn't taste that flavor beneath the obvious bitterness of this chocolate. The flavor also included roast and Lindy found a hint of nut.

Even though it took a while to give up its form, this bar had an overall smooth melt, and perhaps even more smooth at the end. The length was medium, with the flavor lasting around 25 seconds. The finish was bitter.

There is no published list price for Godiva Extra Dark, but I found it at a local drugstore for $3.99.

Review: Madécasse 80%

Lindy's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 7.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Madécasse bar 80% region Madagascar plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 75g ~ 2.6oz cocoa solids 80% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $5.99

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with stylized cacao bean imprints and scoring aroma floral, melon, roast (burnt, smoky) snap medium hard taste roast (burnt toast, nut), earthy (soil), fruit (apricot, berry, lime), sweet melt smooth length short finish slightly acidic, burnt or roast nut

The bar above appears uneven because it arrived broken, mostly along the score marks.

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Madécasse 80%

Note: updated February 11th, after tasting again with Lindy.

Madécasse came to be as a result of some Peace Corps volunteers who believed that making fine chocolate locally would help the farmers more than selling their cacao beans at fair trade prices. With cacao beans from the local Ezaka Cooperative, Madécasse makes their chocolate in Madagascar. Their product line includes 7 bars with cocoa content ranging from a 44% milk chocolate that won an award at the 2011 Good Food Awards to the 80% dark chocolate reviewed here.

The Madécasse 80% was made from only cacao beans, sugar, and cacao butter. The best before date was December 2011. The medium-dark brown color of the bar was closest to Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). It was scored into 24 pieces, each with an imprint of what appears to be a stylized cacao bean. The snap of this chocolate was medium hard.

The aroma of this Madagascar chocolate was contained three primary scents: something floral, a fruit aroma like that of melon, and a roast that smelled almost burnt and a little smoky.

Initially, the flavor was similarly a roast, that I thought was like burnt toast, but Lindy experienced as a roasted nut. We also noticed multiple fruit flavors, including apricot and lime; Lindy also found berry. I experienced some sweetness, and occasionally an unpleasant earthy taste that reminded me of soil.

The melt was smooth, and the flavor after the chocolate was gone lasted into the short range, at around 10 to 15 seconds. The final aftertaste was a slight acidity with a hint of the burnt / roasted nut flavor that never went away.

Review: Endangered Species: Supreme Dark

Lindy's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 5.5 (previously **)

chocolate maker Endangered Species bar Supreme Dark region (unknown) plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener beet sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $2.99

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth, with branch imprints and scoring aroma roast (tobacco, smoky), coconut, woody, acidic, sweet snap hard taste fruit (coconut), roast (tobacco, cocoa), sweet, nutty melt slow start, smooth to more smooth length short finish acidic, sweet coconut

UPDATE: Endangered Species has reformulated this chocolate to use cane sugar rather than beet sugar, and has renamed the bar to Natural Dark Chocolate.

Unfortunately, Lindy has been swamped with making a (hopefully final) round of revisions to her Ph.D. dissertation, so she hasn't been able to taste with me recently. I'm going to go ahead and review a few bars in her absence, and later update the reviews with her perspective when she gets to them. Note: updated February 11th, after tasting again with Lindy.

Known as Endangered Species's "chimp bar" due to the picture of the chimpanzee on the cover, Supreme Dark has 72% cocoa solids and uses beet sugar as a sweetener. The color was a medium-dark brown closest to Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). This bar was scored into 15 pieces, each with their imprint of what appears to be a stylized sparse tree or branch.

Supreme Dark had a hard snap. Its aroma included a roast that smelled like a smoky tobacco, a tropical fruit in the form of coconut, a woody scent, a clear sweetness, and a surprising acidity.

As suggested by its aroma, the taste of this chocolate had both coconut and roast flavors, the latter of which was primarily tobacco in nature, but also contained some cocoa. Lindy noticed a generally nutty flavor. Substantial sweetness was also present.

Supreme Dark took several seconds to begin to melt, but soon became smooth. Lindy found it to be more smooth. The flavor lasted 10 to 25 seconds, solidly in the short duration. The finish was acidic to me, but Lindy was left with an aftertaste of sweet coconut.

This chocolate maker donates 10% of its net profits to organizations conserving species or habitat. The inside wrapper of the Supreme Dark provides compelling information about the plight of chimpanzees.