Friday, December 9, 2011

Review: Kallari 70% Cacao

Lindy's Rating: 7.5
Richard's Rating: 7.0
chocolate makerKallari
bar70% Cacao
regionEcuador
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year2011
size70g ~ 2.5oz
cocoa solids70%
added fatcocoa butter
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoringvanilla
other ingredients(none)
list priceN/A
colormedium brown
PANTONE 19-1015
Bracken
texturesmooth with leaf imprints and scoring
aromaroast (smoke), sweet, wood (cedar), floral, earth
snapmedium hard
tastesweet (caramel), vanilla, fruit (coconut), roast
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishslightly tannin
Kallari is a farmer-owned cooperative that grows and makes their cacao beans into chocolate in Ecuador. Their bars are USDA certified organic and Rainforest Alliance certified sustainable (socially, economically, and environmentally).

As with Kallari's other bars, 70% Cacao was made with cacao beans, cocoa butter from the same cacao beans, cane sugar, and whole vanilla bean. This chocolate had 70% cocoa solids (beans and cocoa butter). The bar was scored into 18 pieces, each imprinted with the Kallari leaf image. The bar came wrapped in silver plastic and enclosed inside the black paper box. The dates printed on the box of the bar we reviewed were a production date of July 2011 and an expiration date of January 2013.

The chocolate had a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The top surface had a matte finish. The snap was medium-hard.

70% Cacao gave off a smoky roast aroma with a woody cedar scent. We also smelled sweetness and the expected floral scent. I detected some earth as well. Lindy described the aroma as "sitting next to a fire that is burning a fragrant wood (cedar)."

A sweet caramel was the strongest flavor of this chocolate. We tasted additional flavors of vanilla and coconut behind that. Roast was also present for me.

This bar had a smooth melt similar to the other Kallari chocolates. The length was again medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting about 20 to 25 seconds. For me, the final aftertaste was slightly tannin. Lindy described it as simply fading.

Overall, we found this bar to be much better than 85% Cacao, but not as good as 75% Cacao.

You can purchase Kallari 70% Cacao online for $5.95 from Chocosphere.

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