Monday, July 30, 2012

Review: Rogue Silvestre

Richard's Rating: 7.5
chocolate makerRogue
barSilvestre
regionBolivia
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year2012
size60g ~ 2.1oz
cocoa solids75%
added fat(none)
sweetenersugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoring(none)
other ingredients(none)
list price$13.00
colormedium-dark brown
PANTONE 19-1015
Bracken
texturesmooth, glossy, uneven sheen
aromaearth, roast, floral (jasmine), fruit, nut
snaphard
tasteearth, fruit (plum, citrus), nut, roast (cocoa)
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishsomewhat bitter, slightly sour
U.S. bean to bar chocolate maker Rogue Chocolatier regularly makes three single origin bars: Hispaniola from the Dominican Republic cacao, Rio Caribe from Venezuelan cacao, and Sambirano from Madagascar cacao. Founder and chocolate maker Colin Gasko also crafts two limited edition bars: Piura from Peruvian cacao and Silvestre. The cacao beans used in Silvestre came from wild cacao trees that grow along the Rio Beni in Bolivia.

All of Colin's chocolates use only two ingredients: cacao beans and cane sugar, with no added cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring. Silvestre contained 75% cacao beans and 25% cane sugar. The 60 gram bar came enclosed in plastic inside a heavy white paper envelope. The production date was 23 April 2012 and identified as batch 5. The best before date was April 2013.

Silvestre had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The surface was smooth and glossy. There was some unevenness in the sheen where the chocolate was poured. The bar was a single unscored slab and had a hard snap.

The strongest scent was that of earth, but the aroma included roast, floral, fruit and nut as well. The floral scent seemed to be that of jasmine.

After an initial earthy taste, fruit flavors of plum and citrus revealed themselves. I also tasted nuttiness and roast in the form of cocoa.

The wrapper described Silvestre as plum, jasmine, and banana, but I didn't experience any banana in the aroma or the taste.

The melt was smooth. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting about 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was somewhat bitter and slightly sour.

You can purchase Silvestre online for $13.00 directly from Rogue or for $11.99 from Chocolopolis.

2 comments:

  1. Do you know what batch you tasted? The Silvestre bar that I tasted from batch 3 is one of my Top Favorites! I rated it 9.6 (out of 10).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! The bar reviewed here was from batch 5 (hidden in text of second paragraph).

      Delete