Review: Claudio Corallo 100% Puro Cacau

Richard's Rating: 5.0

chocolate maker Claudio Corallo bar 100% Puro Cacau region São Tomé e Principe plantation Terreiro Velho cacao trees Forastero year (unknown) size 50g ~ 1.8oz cocoa solids 100% added fat (none) sweetener (none) emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth, uneven shape and size, uneven grayish tone, adhered bits aroma roast, acidic, spice, fruit, earth snap hard taste sour, chalky, spice, tannin, roast (malt, tea, cocoa), bitter melt more smooth length medium finish astringent, tannin, acidic, somewhat sour

Claudio Corallo crafts his chocolate from tree to bar with cacao grown on his plantations in São Tomé e Principe. Corallo does not conche his chocolate, which tends to leave it with a less smooth melt and sharper flavor.

100% Puro Cacau was made only with cacao from the Terreiro Velho plantation on Principe, with no other added ingredients. Two bars totalling 50 grams came packaged in a single sealed plastic wrapper. The best before date was October 2014.

The two bars were individually uneven and completely different in size, with one less than half the thickness of the other. The color was a medium-dark brown Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314). The surface had a grayish tone and there were bits of adhered chocolate.

The aroma was acidic, and contained scents of roast, spice, fruit, and earth. On one occasion, I thought I smelled berry.

The taste of 100% Puro Cacau began gradually with sour and spice flavors along with chalkiness. Tannin grew quite strong with a complex roast of malt, black tea, and cocoa. A little bitterness was present as well.

This chocolate had a melt that was more smooth. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting 30 to 35 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was astringent, tannin, acidic, and somewhat sour.

Claudio Corallo 100% Puro Cacau has no list price, and I could not find it available for purchase online anywhere. I purchased this one from Chocolopolis for $12.50, but they do not sell it online. QuintEssenz has it priced for €5.95 but they have none in stock, and only ship to Germany and Austria.

Review: Daniel Les Origines Sao Tome 70%

Richard's Rating: 5.5

chocolate maker (unknown) bar Les Origines Sao Tome 70% region São Tomé plantation (blend) cacao trees Forastero year (unknown) size 9g ~ 0.3oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth, lined, imprint, bubbles aroma roast (coffee, cocoa), spice (anise, clove), hint of sweet snap hard taste roast (coffee, cocoa), sweet, spice (anise), tannin melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter, slightly tannin

My friend Edward supplied me with two boxes of chocolate of Les Origines line of bars from Vancouver chocolatier Daniel le Chocolat Belge: Sao Tome 70% and Trinidad 65% (Thank you Edward!). Each box contained six tiny separately wrapped bars.

Daniel makes a large variety of chocolate confections (truffles, etc.), as you can see on their website. I do not know what chocolate maker they use for these bars.

Sao Tome was made from Forastero cacao beans from São Tomé. The ingredients were cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and vanilla, and the chocolate contained 70% cocoa solids.

Each 9.4 gram bar was lined and imprinted with the word "Chocolette" (which seems an odd spelling both for a Belgian chocolate maker and for residing in Canada). It came wrapped in gold foil-sided waxed paper inside a paper sleeve. There was no production or best before date.

The chocolate had a medium-dark Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314) color. The surface was smooth and looked good other than several bubbles in the raised lettering. The bar had a hard snap.

Sao Tome had a coffee roast aroma combined with a strong anise scent. The roast also contained some cocoa, and there was a subtler clove scent as well. In addition, it smelled slightly sweet to me.

The taste very much like the aroma: a coffee and cocoa roast along with sweetness and an anise spice flavor. I also experienced some tannin.

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The length was very short, with the chocolate flavor lasting only 5 to 10 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was slightly bitter and slightly tannin.

There is no list price for individual chocolate bars, but the box of six tiny bars was priced at CA$5.55.

Review: Michel Cluizel Vila Gracinda

Lindy's Rating: 5.5 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Michel Cluizel bar Vila Gracinda region São Tomé plantation Vila Gracinda cacao trees (probably Forastero) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 67% fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring bourbon vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown texture smooth with text imprints aroma clove, licorice, red fruit, coffee snap hard taste coffee, roast, somewhat bitter melt less smooth length short finish flat, ashy

Michel Cluizel 1er Cru de Plantation Vila Gracinda is our first bar from Africa, with beans from the Vila Gracinda plantation on the island of São Tomé. I was unable to track down the type of cacao trees planted there, although it seems likely to be the Forastero that is prevalent in São Tomé. If they answer my email with this information, I will update the review accordingly.

When we opened the bar, it happened to be the first time we tasted when it was bright and sunny here in Seattle. Under artificial light, the color appeared darker than most other bars we'd tasted, definitely a medium-dark brown. However, under bright sunlight, the color appeared more of a medium brown. Because we evaluated the color of the other bars under artificial light, we rated the color medium-dark brown.

The potential color discrepancy points out one of our concerns when evaluating chocolate. How do we remain as objective as possible using our criteria? We will try to maintain similar conditions under which we review each chocolate (such as eating nothing during the four hours before tasting, although this is somewhat problematic when we taste more than one bar in a sitting). As we've been reviewing more bars, we have also been refining our criteria, about which I'll write more in a future posting.

With regards to the Gracinda bar, although Lindy and I both smelled clove as one of the strong aromas, we sensed different other fragrances: Lindy noticed red fruit while I noticed licorice and coffee.

Coffee was also the predominant flavor for me, along with roast. Lindy found the taste somewhat bitter, but I didn't experience any bitterness. The length was short, and the finish was flat and ashy, or "unremarkable" as Lindy described it.

UPDATE: As of 28 April 2013, you can purchase Vila Gracinda for 3,85 € directly from Michel Cluizel. The best price I found for purchase online in the U.S. was $5.99 from Caputo's.