Review: Askinosie Cortés Honduras

Lindy's Rating: 8.5

Richard's Rating: 8.5

chocolate maker Askinosie bar Cortés, Honduras region Honduras plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year 2011 size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane juice emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle texture smooth, with character imprints and scoring aroma citrus, red fruit, earth (damp hay), roast snap hard taste earth, roast, fruit (citrus, lime, orange, cherry, plum, hint of lemon), sweet melt smooth length medium finish slightly tannin

Askinosie has personal relationships with the farmers who grow their cacao beans. The picture of lead farmer Fermin Arriaga graces the wrapper of this bar. As I've written before, Askinosie shares profits with his farmers, who all farm organically. However, his chocolate is not certified fair trade or organic.

Cortés Honduras was made from Trinitario cacao beans from farms near the port city of Cortés, Honduras. The 70% cocoa solids consisted of 67% beans and 3% cocoa butter made from Cortés beans (many chocolate makers use cheaper, lower quality cocoa butter). The remaining 30% was organic cane juice. Askinosie crafted this bar into its standard form: 3 ounces scored into 18 pieces, each with a letter of "Askinosie chocolate". Using environmental packaging, Cortés was wrapped in NatureFlex™ and placed inside the waxed paper bag picture above.

Askinosie still uses a date as a "Choc-o-lot #" to identify the production run of the chocolate bar, but starting with "100112" (October 1, 2012), they are converting to using a "best before date" rather than a "packaged date". You will continue to be able to view a brief production history by entering the Choc-o-lot # on their homepage. The wrapper of the bar we reviewed was stamped 030811, indicating it was packaged in March.

Cortés had a medium brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431) color. The bar had a hard snap. The aromas of this chocolate were a strong citrus, a subtle red fruit, an earthiness reminiscent of damp hay, and some roast.

After an initial flavor of earth and roast, Cortés tasted of citrus and revealed more specific fruit flavors: lime, orange, cherry, plum, and a hint of lemon. Lindy said she loved the way the fruit flavors blended together and how there were so many of them. It also tasted sweet to me.

The melt was smooth. The chocolate flavor lasted 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving Cortés a medium length. The final aftertaste was slightly tannin.

In the continental U.S., you can purchase Askinosie Cortés Honduras online directly from Askinosie for $8.00. To combine it with a purchase of other chocolates, you can buy Cortés online from Chocolopolis for $7.99.

Event: New York Chocolate Show November 10-13

The 14th annual New York Chocolate Show runs Thursday, November 10th, through Sunday, November 13th, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closing early on Sunday at 6 p.m.) It is the largest chocolate event in the U.S., and already has at least 48 exhibitors (on the list at the time I wrote this), including Michel Cluizel, Divine, Grenada, Guittard, Francois Pralus, and Valrhona.

In addition to the many chocolate companies, the New York Chocolate Show also includes cooking demonstrations in two theaters, book signings, and activites for kids. They have not yet posted the 2011 information, but you can get an idea from the 2010 information, and check those links closer to the event for updated information.

You may want to wait to purchase tickets until the 2011 schedules are published so you can attend on a day that has more events that interest you.

There will also be special events, but only the Broadway theme fashion show (separate $150 admission on Wednesday, November 9th, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.) has been posted at this time.

Tickets (Enter our FREE TICKETS GIVEAWAY)
Advance tickets cost $30 for Thursday, Friday, or Sunday admission; $35 for Saturday. They can be purchased online at Eventbrite. I do not know any discount codes at present, but if you find one, please post a comment to share it with other readers. Thanks!

At the door, tickets cost $35 for Thu, Fri, or Sun; $40 for Sat. Children ages 5 to 12 enter free (up to 2 per adult ticket); additional child tickets cost $8 (not available in advance). Kids 4 and under enter free. Groups of 20 or more can arrange reduced ticket prices ($25 for Thu, Fri, or Sun; $30 for Sat) by emailing boxoffice@chocolateshow.com.

In any case, due to the expected high turnout, I recommend buying tickets in advance rather than waiting in line at the door.

Location
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011

Event: Chocolate Weekend NYC starts tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the free Chocolate Weekend NYC is this weekend and begins tomorrow (Friday, Oct 14th). One update from my original posting is that there are now 36 stores participating.

Review: Valrhona Grand Cru Manjari

Lindy's Rating: 8.5

Richard's Rating: 8.5

chocolate maker Valrhona bar Manjari region Madagascar plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year 2011 size 70g ~ 2.5oz cocoa solids 64% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla extract other ingredients (none) list price $6.99

color medium brown PANTONE 18-1222 Cocoa Brown texture matte, smooth flower, asymmetric scoring lines aroma fruit (berry, orange liqueur), spice, earth, wood snap medium hard taste sweet, fruit (raspberry, currant, cherry), roast (cocoa), vanilla melt more smooth length medium finish very slightly acidic

Valrhona makes six dark chocolate bars in their Grand Cru line. One of these is Manjari, which is made with Trinitario cacao beans from the Sambirano valley of Madagascar. With 64% cocoa solids, Manjari is made from cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and natural vanilla extract.

Valrhona used its standard Grand Cru form for this thin 70 gram Manjari bar: a matte surface with a smooth floral imprint along with the Valrhona name. Asymmetric lines score the bar into 25 unevenly sized pieces. Black plastic enclosed the bar inside a black paper box. The best before date was June 2012.

The color of Manjari was an unusual medium Cocoa Brown (PANTONE 18-1222). The bar had a medium hard snap. This chocolate gave off aromas of berries, red fruit, orange liqueur, spice, earth, and woodiness.

Manjari initially tasted sweet, and then quickly released fruit flavors of berry, cherry, currant, and raspberry. A cocoa roast was also present, along with a vanilla flavor.

The melt of this chocolate was smoother than normal. After the chocolate was gone, the chocolate flavor lasted 35 to 40 seconds, giving Manjari a length on the far end of medium. The finish was very slightly acidic.

Manjari has won several awards over the years, including one of the Bronzes at the Academy of Chocolate's 2011 Awards.

UPDATE: As of 17 April 2013, in the U.S., you can purchase Valrhona Grand Cru Manjari online for $6.99 directly from Valrhona or for $5.65 from Chocosphere. In the U.K., you can purchase Manjari online for £3.39 from Chocolate Trading Co.

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival ON SALE at Amazon Local

Amazon Local has an amazing deal for Sunday and weekend tickets to the Northwest Chocolate Festival. The sale is today only.

You can purchase a Sunday pass for only $10 (savings of $12 vs. online, and $15 vs. at event) or a weekend pass for only $17 (savings of $20.50 vs. online and $23 vs. at the event). If you haven't bought your tickets yet, this is the way to do it! The deal ends at midnight PT.

Here's a direct link to the Amazon Local deal in Seattle.

Review: Francois Pralus Colombie

Lindy's Rating: 7.0

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Francois Pralus bar Colombie region Colombia plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price €4,00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture scuffed, uneven sheen, text imprint and scoring aroma roast (cocoa), sweet(butterscotch) snap hard taste roast (cocoa, coffee), sweet (butterscotch), nut, earth melt smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin

Colombie is just one of the many single origin chocolate bars made by French chocolate maker Francois Pralus. Using Trinitario cacao beans from Colombia, Colombie has 75% cocoa solids (including added cocoa butter), along with sugar and soy lecithin. The thick 100 gram bar was formed in the standard Pralus manner: imprinted with a cursive Pralus in the bottom right quadrant with the rest scored into 24 pieces. Inside the paper cover, the bar was wrapped in gold foil. The best before date of the bar we reviewed was 22 March 2013.

As you can see in the photo above, the surface of the bar was noticeably scuffed and had an uneven sheen. The chocolate had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The bar had a hard snap.

The aroma of Colombie was a cocoa roast combined with some sweetness that smelled like butterscotch to me.

The chocolate tasted similarly, with flavors of roast, which included coffee as well as cocoa, and a sweetness that tasted to me like butterscotch. We also both experienced a nutty flavor. I noticed an earthiness as well.

The melt was smooth. The flavor lasted 20 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving the chocolate a medium length. The final aftertaste was somewhat tannin and perhaps very slightly astringent.

Overall, we found Colombie to be rather mild, both in aroma and flavor, and while a good chocolate, it couldn't compare to the two best single origin chocolates we have reviewed from Colombia: Domori Teyuna and Santander Colombian 65%.

You can purchase Francois Pralus Colombie online for €4,00 directly from Pralus for delivery in Europe. In the U.S., you can purchase it online for $7.99 from Chocolopolis.

Event: Northwest Chocolate Festival and Chocolopolis

Chocolopolis is not only participating in the Northwest Chocolate Festival (weekend of October 22-23 in Seattle), but also selling a limited number of tickets without online fees. You can purchase a VIP pass for $85 (saving $4 vs. online, and not available at event) or a single day pass for $20 (saving $2 vs. online, and $5 vs. at event). However, you must pay in cash.

Chocolopolis is facilitating three classes during the festival, including

• Chocolate Tasting 101 (by percentage of cocoa solids) Sat 11 a.m. with their Chief Chocophile Lauren Adler
• Chocolate Tasting 102 (by cacao origin) Sun 11 a.m., again with Lauren Adler
• Make It Snap! (about tempering chocolate) Sun 1 p.m., with chocolatiers Dominica and Sebastian

In addition, Chocolopolis is hosting two additional free events separate from the festival.

The weekend before the festival, on Saturday, October 15th, from 2-4 p.m., Kallari will be at Chocolopolis (1527 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109) having a chocolate tasting. There will also be a cacao farmer from the Kallari Association.

The day after the festival, on Monday, October 24th, Colin Gasko, the chocolate maker and founder of Rogue will be having a chocolate tasting at the store from 5-7 p.m. Rogue is one of our favorite chocolate makers, and we're looking forward to meeting the maker behind their wonderful chocolate.

One additional note about Chocolopolis is that they are now selling chocolates from maker Dandelion.