Review: Chapon Venezuela

Lindy's Rating: 4.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker (unknown) bar Venezuela region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 75g ~ 2.6oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price €5,00

color medium dark-brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring aroma heavy roast (coffee), sweet, hints of nut and fruit snap hard taste coffee, roast, berry, hint of sweet melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter

Patrice Chapon is a French chocolatier who has won awards for his truffles and pralines. Chapon Chocolatier also has a line of single origin chocolate bars.

The bar was packaged inside a resealable plastic bag, along with hard paper stock coated on one side, presumably for stability. However, it still arrived broken in two pieces. The chocolate was not separately wrapped and the surface of the bar was scuffed, giving the chocolate a less appealing appearance.

Chapon Venezuela is a single origin bar made of 75% cocoa solids, along with sugar, extra cocoa butter, and soy lecithin. The 75 gram bar was scored into 10 pieces. The best before date was April 2012.

The chocolate had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color and a hard snap. The aroma was a heavy roast of coffee, some sweetness, and a hint of nut. I also smelled an occasional hint of fruit.

The primary taste was a coffee that mostly overwhelmed flavors other than roast. However, we noticed berry and a suggestion of sweetness underneath the roast coffee flavor.

Venezuela had a good smooth melt. The length was short, around 10 to 15 seconds. After all the chocolate flavor was gone, the final aftertaste was slightly bitter, with a hint of coffee.

Overall, Lindy rated it a low **; I thought it was a middle **.

You can purchase Chapon Venezuela online directly from Chapon for €5,00.