Review: Amano Montanya

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

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

chocolate maker Amano bar Montanya region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees Criollo year (unknown) size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $8.95

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture smooth with text imprints and scoring aroma earthy (musty, grassy), hint of vanilla snap hard taste sweet, fruit (berry, cherry, apple, melon, apricot), roasted marshmallow, hint of tannin melt smooth length short finish slightly astringent

Amano Montanya is made from Criollo cacao beans from some remote farms in the mountains of northern Venezuela. The two ounce bar of 70% cocoa solids came wrapped in gold foil inside a glossy black package with the print of a painting of a cacao tree by Cary Henrie. The best before date was December 2012.

This Montanya bar was scored into 15 pieces, each with an imprint of "AMANO Artisan Chocolate" and their tiny emblem of a small branch of a cacao tree. The color of this chocolate was a medium dark brown Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317).

The aroma of Montanya was earthy, with clear musty and grassy scents. I also smelled a hint of vanilla. The bar had a hard snap.

As we tasted this chocolate, we noticed several fruit flavors after the obvious sweetness. After an initial bit of berry or cherry, apple and melon flavors seemed strongest, though it sometimes tasted of apricot, too. Underlying these fruits was the marshmallow advertised on the wrapper. Lindy clarified that flavor as roasted marshmallow. In addition, she tasted a hint of tannin.

Montanya had a smooth melt. The length of this chocolate was very short, just 5 to 10 seconds, exceeding the 5 second threshold of short duration, but not by much. The final aftertaste was slightly astringent. Lindy found it stronger than I did, and also experienced some of the roasted marshmallow taste remaining with her.

Lindy and I both rated this chocolate ***. Amano Montanya won a Silver in the bean to bar dark chocolate category at the 2009 Academy of Chocolate Awards. For reference, the Montanya bar we reviewed was from lot number 3/4/84C with a best before date of December 2012.

You can purchase Amano Montanya online directly from Amano for $8.95, or at Chocolopolis for only $8.25.