Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Review: Kallari SACHA Roberto's Recipe 75%

Richard's Rating: 7.0
chocolate makerKallari
barSACHA Roberto's Recipe
regionEcuador
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year2012
size50g ~ 1.8oz
cocoa solids75%
added fatcocoa butter
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoringvanilla
other ingredients(none)
list priceN/A
colormedium-dark brown
PANTONE 19-1012
Dark Brown
texturesmooth, scoring, uneven sheen, bubbles
aromaroast (cocoa), floral, sweet (marshmallow), fruit, vanilla, sour
snapmedium hard
tastefloral, fruit (blueberry), sweet, vanilla
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishtannin, acidic, slightly sour
There are currently six tree to bar unflavored chocolates made by Kallari. Three of them are from their original line: 85% Cacao, 75% Cacao, and 70% Cacao). Their new SACHA line has the other three: Sinchi Supreme 85%, Roberto's Recipe 75%, and Sisa's Secret.

Roberto's Recipe was named for chocolate maker Robert Steinberg of Scharffen Berger, who recommended the recipe used for this chocolate bar. The chocolate contained 75% cocoa solids (organic Ecuador cacao beans and added cocoa butter) plus raw cane sugar and vanilla.

As with all of their chocolate bars, Roberto's Recipe came sealed in a silver plastic wrapper inside a dark brown paper box. The 50 gram bar was scored into 15 pieces. I could barely read the blurry dates lightly stamped on the box, but I think the production date was August 2012 and the best before date was August 2013.

The bar was a medium-dark (although close to medium) brown Dark Brown (PANTONE 19-1012). Unfortunately, it arrived broken in half. The surface was smooth with an uneven sheen and bubbles, as well as some other imperfections. The bar had a medium hard snap.

Similar to the other two SACHA bars we reviewed, Roberto's Recipe had a great aroma. In addition to the cocoa roast and marshmallow sweetness, the aroma included a powerful floral scent, some fruit, and vanilla. This aroma had the strongest floral scent of the three.

The taste of this chocolate began with a floral flavor that lasted throughout. I tasted additional flavors of fruit, blueberry, sweetness, sourness, and vanilla.

Roberto's Recipe had a smooth melt. The length was medium, with the flavor lasting 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was tannin, acidic, and slightly sour.

Overall, I'm impressed with the new SACHA line. Hopefully, they will soon improve bar appearance, but in the interim Kallari has done a great job with the aromas and flavors.

You can purchase SACHA Roberto's Recipe 75% online for $5.25 from Chocosphere .

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