Richard's Rating: 7.5
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Best Prices Online
$18.00 directly from Rogue (sold out)
$20.00 at The Meadow
$20.00 at Cocova
Showing posts with label Porcelana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Porcelana. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Review: Rogue Porcelana
Best Prices Online
$18.00 directly from Rogue (sold out)
$20.00 at The Meadow
$20.00 at Cocova
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Review: Domori Porcelana
Richard's Rating: 8.5
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Prior Reviews
2010 Review
Best Prices Online
€4,00 directly from Domori
$5.45 at Chocosphere
$5.50 at Caputo's
£3.95 at Chocolate Trading Co
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Review: Amedei Porcelana
Richard's Rating: 9.0
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Prior Reviews
2011 Review
2010 Review
Best Prices Online
$16.50 at World Wide Chocolate
$18.50 at Amedei Store (NYC)
$18.50 at Caputo's
$18.50 at Chocosphere
£8.00 at Chocolate Ocean
€11,25 to €11,99 on Amazon.de
€14,70 at Amedei
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Review: Valrhona El Pedregal
Richard's Rating: 8.0
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Cocoa solids made up 64% of El Pedregal, including added cocoa butter. The sweetener for this chocolate was a surprising brown sugar. Soy lecithin was added as an emulsifier. There was also a small amount of vanilla.
The 70 gram bar reviewed here was produced on July 9, 2013, with a best before date of December 2014.
Valrhona scored the bar into 20 uneven pieces. The bar had imprints of the Valrhona logo and name. The surface of the chocolate was impressive, with only minuscule bubbles in some corners.
The chocolate had a medium brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431) color. The bar had a medium hard snap.
El Pedregal gave off a spicy roast aroma. Scents included pepper, nut, coffee, cocoa, raisin, and vanilla.
Beginning with a cocoa roast, the taste revealed that peppery spice and some clove. Other flavors included a berry fruit, almond nuttiness, and a molasses sweetness. I also tasted vanilla and a little acidity.
The melt was smooth. The length was long, with the chocolate flavor lasting 40 to 45 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was tannin and somewhat acidic.
Overall, while not as marvelous as some other Porcelana chocolates and sweeter than I'd prefer, I found El Pedregal to be excellent, certainly among the best chocolates with this much sugar.
You can purchase El Pedregal online for $9.99 directly from Valrhona, for $8.95 from World Wide Chocolate, and for $8.99 from Caputo's.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Why are good beans so hard to get?
One of the more interesting topics of discussion at the Northwest Chocolate Festival was the difficulty for chocolate makers to get high quality cacao beans. Unfortunately, the quality problem was not due to any single cause. The primary issue, though, seemed to be the existing structure of financial compensation for farming cacao.
Commoditization
Nearly all cacao is sold based on commodity exchange market prices per metric ton (or tonne) of beans (recently around $2700), with a premium of $0 to $160 per ton based on origin. However, in the cacao market, the premium is not based on quality, but rather on consistency. Thus, traditionally high volume and low-quality cacao bean markets such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana are given the highest $160 premium.
As I explained in Chocolate Labeling Revisited, Fair Trade typically only adds about 5% to the price, and again such deals do not consider the quality of the cacao beans. The beans are simply a commodity.
Thus, the typical financial incentive for cacao farmers is simply to produce as much as possible, regardless of the bean quality.
Hybrids
So, what's a farmer to do when a hybrid cacao comes along that is twice as productive as their existing trees? CCN51 is such a hybrid, and it seems to make financial sense to plant it. When some disastrous weather ruined large numbers of cacao trees in Ecuador in 1997-98, many farmers replanted with CCN51. Planted near other cacao, cross-pollination occurs with existing trees. Touted as twice as productive with the same quality, CCN51 lives up to the former, but fails at the latter. It is now prevalent in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, and there are new hybrids on the horizon that may increase yields by a factor of four over heirloom cacao.
Not only does CCN51 cacao have worse flavor than heirloom cacao, but it also has different fermentation times and destabilizes the land. CCN51 requires a longer fermentation time than the heirloom cacao with which it is often grown, fermented and dried. As a result, something has to suffer: the CCN51 ends up underfermented, the heirloom cacao overfermented, or sometimes both!
The biggest problem for the farmer, though, is that the higher productivity of CCN51 has a cost: it depletes the soil after about 8 years. Much of the extra income from CCN51 then needs to be spent on fertilizing (and that can be especially problematic for less accessible farms) and organic homeostasis is over.
Prices
Once artisan chocolate makers find great cacao beans, they pay a much higher premium to ensure they get the beans they want. Chuao and Porcelana beans typically cost around 400% of the market price for generic cacao.
At those prices, farmers can earn a good living with lower yield cacao. However, even most other quality cacao is sold for much less, and the lower prices may not be sufficient to incentivize farmers to continue to grow heirloom cacao. Alternatives include planting higher yielding cacao, growing other crops instead of cacao, or quitting farming altogether. On many farms, other crops, such as plantains, are already grown alongside cacao.
Fermentation and Drying
Great genetic heritage alone, though, isn't sufficient for getting quality beans. The cacao beans must be properly fermented and dried as well. Many makers are actively involved with the process and help educate their suppliers to improve fermentation and drying of their cacao beans. The chocolate experts at the Northwest Chocolate Festival were generally positive that improvements in fermentation and drying are occurring throughout the industry, even with mainstream cacao.
Conclusion
Of course, cacao farmers are not motivated solely by money. As a general rule, they love their farms and care about their trees. However, when financial incentives are aligned against growing quality cacao and instead encourage increasing yields, it is more difficult for heirloom cacao farmers to make a decent living.
Commoditization
Nearly all cacao is sold based on commodity exchange market prices per metric ton (or tonne) of beans (recently around $2700), with a premium of $0 to $160 per ton based on origin. However, in the cacao market, the premium is not based on quality, but rather on consistency. Thus, traditionally high volume and low-quality cacao bean markets such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana are given the highest $160 premium.
As I explained in Chocolate Labeling Revisited, Fair Trade typically only adds about 5% to the price, and again such deals do not consider the quality of the cacao beans. The beans are simply a commodity.
Thus, the typical financial incentive for cacao farmers is simply to produce as much as possible, regardless of the bean quality.
Hybrids
So, what's a farmer to do when a hybrid cacao comes along that is twice as productive as their existing trees? CCN51 is such a hybrid, and it seems to make financial sense to plant it. When some disastrous weather ruined large numbers of cacao trees in Ecuador in 1997-98, many farmers replanted with CCN51. Planted near other cacao, cross-pollination occurs with existing trees. Touted as twice as productive with the same quality, CCN51 lives up to the former, but fails at the latter. It is now prevalent in Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, and there are new hybrids on the horizon that may increase yields by a factor of four over heirloom cacao.
Not only does CCN51 cacao have worse flavor than heirloom cacao, but it also has different fermentation times and destabilizes the land. CCN51 requires a longer fermentation time than the heirloom cacao with which it is often grown, fermented and dried. As a result, something has to suffer: the CCN51 ends up underfermented, the heirloom cacao overfermented, or sometimes both!
The biggest problem for the farmer, though, is that the higher productivity of CCN51 has a cost: it depletes the soil after about 8 years. Much of the extra income from CCN51 then needs to be spent on fertilizing (and that can be especially problematic for less accessible farms) and organic homeostasis is over.
Prices
Once artisan chocolate makers find great cacao beans, they pay a much higher premium to ensure they get the beans they want. Chuao and Porcelana beans typically cost around 400% of the market price for generic cacao.
At those prices, farmers can earn a good living with lower yield cacao. However, even most other quality cacao is sold for much less, and the lower prices may not be sufficient to incentivize farmers to continue to grow heirloom cacao. Alternatives include planting higher yielding cacao, growing other crops instead of cacao, or quitting farming altogether. On many farms, other crops, such as plantains, are already grown alongside cacao.
Fermentation and Drying
Great genetic heritage alone, though, isn't sufficient for getting quality beans. The cacao beans must be properly fermented and dried as well. Many makers are actively involved with the process and help educate their suppliers to improve fermentation and drying of their cacao beans. The chocolate experts at the Northwest Chocolate Festival were generally positive that improvements in fermentation and drying are occurring throughout the industry, even with mainstream cacao.
Conclusion
Of course, cacao farmers are not motivated solely by money. As a general rule, they love their farms and care about their trees. However, when financial incentives are aligned against growing quality cacao and instead encourage increasing yields, it is more difficult for heirloom cacao farmers to make a decent living.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Review: Original Beans Piura Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)
Richard's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)
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Original Beans Piura Porcelana was made from Porcelana cacao beans that they discovered in the Piura River Valley of Peru in 2006. Original Beans, under their "The Planet: Replant It" program, continues to help Cepicafe (the regional farming cooperative) replant this rare Criollo cacao with a subsidy from sales of this chocolate bar. Each bar sold results in an additional tree planted. You can read more about it by entering the tracking number from the back of the wrapper (P01347 0722, in this case) on their website.
Although Original Beans is not a chocolate maker, they closely oversee the production of their chocolate, which is made by Felchlin. Piura Porcelana was made with 75% cocoa solids from organic and fair trade cacao beans, cocoa butter, and organic cane sugar. Original Beans shared that they used a 72 hour conch in making this chocolate. The 70 gram bar was wrapped in silver foil and packaged in a black paper container. The bar itself was scored into 12 pieces, each with an imprint, as shown in the picture above. The best before date was December 2012.
The color of this chocolate was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) and the bar had a medium hard snap. The aroma was a clean cocoa roast with earth and dried fruit that Lindy identified as apricot and prune. I also noticed some scents of sweetness and spice.
Piura Porcelana tasted of fruit, including citrus (that I experienced as lime) and raspberry. There were also roast and nut flavors. Lindy found the taste slightly bitter.
The melt was more smooth. The length was short, with the chocolate taste dissipating in 10 to 15 seconds. The finish contained a roast flavor and was very slightly bitter.
While not as good as the Venezuelan Porcelana chocolates we've reviewed (all three of which are among Lindy's favorites, and two of which are among mine), this chocolate costs about half as much. Overall, we both liked it and rated it ***.
You can purchase Original Beans Piura Porcelana for $6.95 in the U.S. from Chocosphere or for £4.75 in the U.K. and Europe from Chocolate and Love.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Review: Bonnat Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
Richard's Rating: 8.5 (previously ***)
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Bonnat Porcelana is another bar from the French chocolate maker with 75% cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. It was made with Porcelana cacao beans from Venezuela. Wrapped in silver foil and package in a paper sleeve, this 100 gram bar was formed as normal for Bonnat bar, with a "Bonnat Voiron" center imprint and scored into 32 small pieces around it. The best before date was September 2011.
This is our second review of Bonnat's Porcelana bar. You can read the first review here.
The color of Porcelana was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The bar had a hard snap. The chocolate gave off a strong earthy aroma of grass. We also smelled a berry fruit and some spice. Lindy also detected a hint of sweetness. It was a nice aroma.
Porcelana tasted primarily of complex fruit (citrus, berry, and raisin), and roast (malt and toast) flavors. I also experienced something dairy that reminded me of butter, as well as some sweetness.
The melt was more smooth. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting roughly 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was both slightly acidic and slightly bitter.
Overall, Porcelana was very good. We both rated it ***, and it remained on Lindy's list of favorite chocolate bars. It didn't quite break onto mine. This chocolate won a silver at the European Semi-Final of the 2012 International Chocolate Awards.
The price of this already expensive bar has increased about 10% in the past year. You can purchase Bonnat Porcelana online in the U.S. from Chocolopolis for $21.95.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Review: Amedei Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 10.0 (previously ***)
Richard's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
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This is our second review of Italian chocolate maker Amedei's Porcelana bar. We reviewed this chocolate only about a month after starting this blog. Since it is our favorites lists, we felt it deserved a subsequent review now that we have more experience and perspective (if only to confirm our prior review). You can read the first review here.
Amedei Porcelana is a single origin chocolate made from Porcelana cacao beans from Venezuela. The beans from these Criollo cacao trees have a distinctive white color and were named Porcelana for this porcelain-like color.
This chocolate was made from 70% cocoa solids, cane sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla. The 50 gram bar was scored into 10 pieces, each with a few lines above and below the "AMEDEI" imprint. The best before date on the bar we reviewed was May 2011. The color of Amedei Porcelana was a medium-dark brown Mustang (PANTONE 19-1217). The bar had a hard snap.
Just after breaking the chocolate we could smell sweetness and roast, but those soon faded and were replaced by a strong earthy must. Other evident aromas were floral and fruit, the latter of which was a strawberry and perhaps some olive.
Porcelana tasted of sweetness, almond, and malt. The nutty almond flavor seemed roasted to me; Lindy found it more like almond extract. We both noticed a hint of vanilla, and I tasted a suggestion of fruit as well.
The melt was more smooth. In the prior review, we indicated creamy because we didn't have a "more smooth" in our melt range at that time. The flavor lasted about 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, easily reaching medium length. I found the finish very slightly acidic; Lindy experienced it as slightly ashy.
Overall, we both still liked Amedei Porcelana and rated it a high *** (down from Lindy's prior **** rating). It remains a favorite of both of us. In 2009, this bar won one of the five Gold awards by the Academy of Chocolate in the bean to bar dark chocolate category.
Amedei does not publish list prices, but you can purchase Porcelana online from Chocolopolis for $15.00. It remains the most expensive chocolate we've reviewed (on a per-ounce basis. Take a look at our best chocolate values page for comparison).
Friday, October 29, 2010
Review: Bonnat Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
Richard's Rating: 8.5 (previously ***)
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The Bonnat Porcelana is the third bar made from Venezuelan Porcelana cacao beans that Lindy and I have reviewed.
The aroma of this Bonnat Porcelana bar was fairly typical of chocolate made from Porcelana cacao, smelling of strawberry and spice, similar to Domori's bar. The chocolate tasted of butter, bread, and something roasted, which we combined to describe as toast. I also noticed a flavor of raisin. Lindy detected a flavor of grapes.
Unfortunately, the flavor of this chocolate faded relatively quickly, lacking the length of both the Domori and Amedei Porcelanas.
Like the other Porcelana bars, the Bonnat is expensive. However, given its substantial 100 gram size, it is certainly less costly by weight than Amedei's 50 gram bar and Domori's 25 gram bar.
Bonnat Porcelana is available from Chocolopolis for $19.99.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Review: Amedei Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 10.0 (previously ****)
Richard's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
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Amedei Porcelana was the other Porcelana bar that Lindy and I tasted on Thursday.
The color of Amedei Porcelana bar was darker than we expected for a Porcelana, which, with its white cacao beans, typically results in a lighter color chocolate. The most powerful aroma for both of us was a musty scent. Lindy also noticed a berry, perhaps strawberry, and I smelled something floral and perhaps some bread.
This bar tasted strongly of malt and almond. For me, there was also a significant coffee flavor, but Lindy didn't taste that, and instead tasted vanilla. I also noticed the vanilla, but for me it was minimal and far in the background.
The melt made it just past smooth and into creamy. Like the Domori Porcelana, the Amedei Porcelana had great length. The flavor after the chocolate was gone lasted the longest of any of the chocolates we have tasted so far. Lindy particularly liked the slow fading of flavor without any significant bitter finish.
Overall, we felt differently about this bar. Lindy appreciated its many great qualities and ranked it second, behind only the Amedei Chuao. I didn't particularly enjoy the flavor, and ranked it below the Domori Porcelana.
There was no list price for this bar, but it is available online at Chocolopolis for $15.00, and is presently the most expensive bar we've tasted so far.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Review: Domori Porcelana
Lindy's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
Richard's Rating: 9.5 (previously ***)
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Domori's Porcelana was one of two chocolate bars that Lindy and I tasted today made from Porcelana cacao beans from Venezuela. The beans from these Criollo cacao trees have a distinctive white color and were named Porcelana for this porcelain-like color.
This tiny chocolate bar was the smallest I've ever seen, a mere 25 grams (less than one ounce)!
Domori's Porcelana is another of the rare chocolates made only of cocoa mass and cane sugar. It had a strong aroma of strawberry. Lindy noticed an initial spicy scent and I found a hint of flowers. The taste was a lovely balanced chocolate with some strawberry or cherry that Lindy described as "pure chocolate flavor". I also tasted something like bread and butter.
Another notable aspect of this chocolate was the length of taste. It was one of the few bars we've reviewed so far whose flavor lasted longer than 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone.
Overall, the Domori Porcelana had excellent chocolate flavor, but both of us felt that it lacked the intensity of a four star chocolate. Lindy remarked that it had the least bitter finish of the chocolates we'd tasted so far.
There was no list price for this bar, but it is available online in the U.S. for $6.50 from Chocolopolis.
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