Sunday, October 28, 2012

Review: Fresco 219 Papua New Guinea

Richard's Rating: 8.0
chocolate makerFresco
bar219
regionPapua New Guinea
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year2012
size45g ~ 1.6oz
cocoa solids69%
added fat(none)
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoring(none)
other ingredients(none)
list priceN/A
colormedium brown
PANTONE 19-1431
Fudgesickle
texturelined, scoring, bubbles
aromafruit, wood, dairy, vinegar
snapmedium hard
tasteearth, fruit (citrus, lime, blackberry), roast (cocoa), nut, sweet, sour, acidic, wood
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishacidic, slightly sour
Fresco created four different chocolate recipes using Papua New Guinea cacao: 219, 220, 221, and 222. All four were made from 69% cacao beans and 31% cane sugar. They vary based on how they were roasted and conched.

219 had the same light roast as 222. It differed from 222 in that it was given a medium level of conching.

The chocolate came in a small 45 gram bar scored into 10 pieces, each lined either horizontally or vertically. The bar came wrapped in gold foil-sided wax paper inside a paper box. The production date was September 1, 2012 (bar 278 in batch #219-12-037). The best before date was October 2014.

The color of 219 was a medium brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431), slightly darker than 222. The bar had tiny bubbles in the corners of some pieces, but otherwise looked great. The snap was medium-hard.

219 had an aroma containing fruit, wood, dairy, earth, and vinegar. It differed from 222 in that it was much less earthy and I didn't smell any olive.

The flavors in the taste included earth, fruit, roast, nut and wood. The fruit flavors I tasted were citrus, lime, and blackberry. The roast was a mild cocoa. It was also sweet, sour, and acidic.

The melt was smooth. The length was medium, with the flavor lasting between 30 and 35 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was acidic and slightly sour.

Overall, while both are terrific, I slightly prefer 219 to 222. The melt of 219 is smoother and while it lacks just a little of the strong fruit taste of 222, I like the added cocoa and nut flavors. Fresco 219 won a gold award in the single origin category at the Northwest Chocolate Festival.

Fresco 219 is not yet available online, but look for it soon at Chocolopolis.

1 comment:

  1. At the bottom of the following review, it tells where this cocoa bean comes from: http://www.c-spot.com/chocolate-census/daily-review/?pid=1759

    ReplyDelete