Review: Amano Dos Rios

Lindy's Rating: 9.5

Richard's Rating: 9.5

chocolate maker Amano bar Dos Rios region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) 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 $6.95

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with text imprints and scoring aroma earl grey, fruit (bergamot, orange), floral (jasmine), dairy (cream), roast, spice (clove), astringent snap hard taste earl grey, sweet, fruit (orange, tangerine, clementine), floral (jasmine), tannin, dairy, spice, nutty melt smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin, very slight orange

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Amano Dos Rios

The cacao beans for this chocolate were discovered in the Dominican Republic. They had such unusual flavors that Art Pollard arranged to purchase them all for Amano.

As with his other chocolates, Art added cane sugar, cocoa butter from the same cacao beans, and whole vanilla beans to make Dos Rios. It has 70% cocoa solids. The two ounce bar was scored into 15 pieces, each with an imprint of the company name and emblem. The bar was wrapped in gold-sided foil and came packaged in a glossy paper box. A sticker indicated lot 3/4/88F and a best before date of June 2013.

The chocolate had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The surface was great other than some minor scuffing (appears worse in full size photo). The bar had a hard snap.

The aroma of Dos Rios was powerful, unique, and compelling. Lindy and I both immediately thought of earl grey tea (and she exclaimed "Oh, my god!") Fruit scents of bergamot and orange as well as a jasmine floral scent were strongest, but we also smelled dairy in the form of cream, roast, and a spice I identified as clove. Lindy described the combination of orange and cream scents as that of a 50-50 bar. I also noticed some astringency in the aroma.

Dos Rios tasted much as is smelled, with the immediate flavor of earl grey. Sweetness followed, with a range of orange flavors, including tangerine and clementine. The jasmine floral was also present in the taste, as was tannin. In addition, I tasted the dairy and spice from the aroma, as well as unexpected nutty flavor.

The melt was smooth. The length was medium, with the flavor lasting 20 to 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was somewhat tannin, with just a hint of orange.

Overall, Dos Rios was a spectacular chocolate, with a remarkable and complex aroma and flavor. Lindy and I both put this chocolate on our lists of favorites. This chocolate also won one of the Silver awards from the Academy of Chocolate in 2011.

You can purchase Dos Rios online for $6.50 directly from Amano for delivery to the U.S. or Canada. If you want to combine it with the purchase of another brand of chocolate, you can buy it in the U.S. for $6.99 from Chocolopolis or World Wide Chocolate.