Review: Bonnat Libânio Brésil

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

chocolate maker Bonnat bar Libânio region Brazil plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1518 Puce texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma earthy snap hard taste earthy (moss), sweet, fruit, hint of mold melt smooth length medium finish very slightly acidic

Bonnat Libânio is a single origin bar from Brazil. As with other Bonnat bars, this chocolate was made from 75% cocoa solids, with added cocoa butter and sugar. The 100 gram bar was in Bonnat's typical form, with their imprint on the larger middle piece and scored into 32 small pieces around it. The bar arrived broken into three pieces (which you can see in the picture above, if you look carefully on the right side of the full-size image).

Libânio was the third colorfully wrapped new Bonnat bar that Lauren, Emily, and I tasted together. This chocolate had a light medium-dark brown Puce (PANTONE 19-1518) color. The bar had a hard snap that was a little brittle (spreading tiny chocolate shards when broken).

The only blatant aroma from this bar was an earthiness. The chocolate had a similar earthy flavor that Lauren quickly identified as mossy. We also tasted sweetness and some fruit. A subsequent piece revealed a hint of mold in the earthiness in addition to the mossy flavor.

The melt was smooth. The chocolate flavor after the chocolate was gone lasted longer for Libânio than either Cusco or Cuba, remaining for 20 to 30 seconds, and thus a medium length. The finish was not bitter, only very slightly acidic.

Even lacking a complex aroma, Libânio seemed the best among these three bars and I rated it ***.

You can purchase Bonnat Libânio online for $12.25 from Chocosphere.