Review: Moonstruck Venezuela

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Felchlin bar Venezuela region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 74% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $7.50

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with image imprint and scoring aroma earthy (musty), floral, sweet snap medium hard taste initial tart, fruit (citrus), sweet, earth melt smooth length short finish slightly astringent

Moonstruck Venezuela is the second single origin bar we've reviewed by this chocolatier. The bar was wrapped in silver foil inside a paper box with raised graphics. The best before date was August, 2012. The chocolate was made from 74% cocoa solids plus cane sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla bean. The two ounce bar was scored into 15 pieces, each with an imprint of Moonstruck's crescent moon and flute player. The color of the chocolate was a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The bar had a medium-hard snap.

Venezuela had a musty earthy aroma similar to that of their Dominican Republic bar, but it also had floral and sweet scents. The chocolate had an initial tart taste, and then gradually revealed a fruit in the form of citrus and sweetness.

The melt was smooth. The flavor after the chocolate was gone lasted about 10 to 15 seconds, a short length. The finish was slightly astringent.

This chocolate bar won a silver medal at the 2010 Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon.

You can purchase Venezuela online directly from Moonstruck for $7.50 or in person at one of their chocolate cafés or from one of their retail partners.

Review: Moonstruck Dominican Republic

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 6.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Felchlin bar Dominican Republic region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $7.50

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 18-1314 Acorn texture smooth with image imprint and scoring aroma earthy (musty), hint of fruit snap medium hard taste initial cinnamon, sweet, fruit (berry, apple, melon, citrus, prune) melt less smooth length short finish slightly ashy, slightly acidic

Moonstruck Chocolatier is a small U.S. chocolatier in Portland, OR. In 2008, after 7 years at Barry Callebaut, Julian Rose joined the company as master chocolatier and head of research and development. Moonstruck makes a wide variety of chocolate products and has six chocolate cafés in the Portland area. They also sell a few chocolate bars, including four single-origin bars from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and the famous Fortunato No.4 from Peru.

I spoke with a company representative and discovered they are not a bean to bar chocolate maker. I was forwarded to one of their press representatives to find out their chocolate maker, and am awaiting an answer. I'll update this post once I hear back from them.

Dominican Republic is a single origin bar. The chocolate was made from 72% cocoa solids plus cane sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla bean. The bar was wrapped in silver foil inside a paper box with raised graphics. The best before date was August, 2012. The two ounce bar was scored into 15 pieces, each with an imprint of Moonstruck's crescent moon and flute player.

The color of the chocolate was a medium-dark brown Acorn (PANTONE 18-1314). The bar had a medium-hard snap that revealed an earthy aroma, which seemed primarily musty. I also smelled occasional hints of fruit.

Dominican Republic had an initial cinnamon flavor, followed by a sweetness and multiple fruit flavors. Lindy noticed berry and apple. I tasted berry, overripe melon, citrus, and prune.

The melt of this chocolate was less smooth. The length of the chocolate was the middle of short (with the flavor lasting roughly 15 seconds). The aftertaste was slightly ashy. I also found it slightly acidic, and Lindy described it as vaguely metallic.

In spite of the seemingly interesting flavors, neither Lindy nor I particularly liked the taste of this chocolate, and we both rated it **. Moonstruck Dominican Republic won a silver medal at the 2010 Los Angeles Luxury Chocolate Salon.

You can purchase Dominican Republic online directly from Moonstruck for $7.50 or in person at one of their chocolate cafés or from one of their retail partners.

Review: Bonnat Libânio Brésil

Richard's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Bonnat bar Libânio region Brazil plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1518 Puce texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma earthy snap hard taste earthy (moss), sweet, fruit, hint of mold melt smooth length medium finish very slightly acidic

Bonnat Libânio is a single origin bar from Brazil. As with other Bonnat bars, this chocolate was made from 75% cocoa solids, with added cocoa butter and sugar. The 100 gram bar was in Bonnat's typical form, with their imprint on the larger middle piece and scored into 32 small pieces around it. The bar arrived broken into three pieces (which you can see in the picture above, if you look carefully on the right side of the full-size image).

Libânio was the third colorfully wrapped new Bonnat bar that Lauren, Emily, and I tasted together. This chocolate had a light medium-dark brown Puce (PANTONE 19-1518) color. The bar had a hard snap that was a little brittle (spreading tiny chocolate shards when broken).

The only blatant aroma from this bar was an earthiness. The chocolate had a similar earthy flavor that Lauren quickly identified as mossy. We also tasted sweetness and some fruit. A subsequent piece revealed a hint of mold in the earthiness in addition to the mossy flavor.

The melt was smooth. The chocolate flavor after the chocolate was gone lasted longer for Libânio than either Cusco or Cuba, remaining for 20 to 30 seconds, and thus a medium length. The finish was not bitter, only very slightly acidic.

Even lacking a complex aroma, Libânio seemed the best among these three bars and I rated it ***.

You can purchase Bonnat Libânio online for $12.25 from Chocosphere.

Review: Bonnat Cuba

Richard's Rating: 6.5 (previously **)

chocolate maker Bonnat bar Cuba region Cuba plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma coconut, roast (cocoa), hint of nut snap medium hard taste sweet, roast, fruit (cantaloupe), hint of nut melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter

Bonnat Cuba is a single origin bar from (surprise) Cuba. As with other Bonnat bars, this chocolate was made from 75% cocoa solids, with added cocoa butter and sugar. The 100 gram bar was in Bonnat's typical form, with their imprint on the larger middle piece and scored into 32 small pieces around it.

Cuba was the second colorfully wrapped new Bonnat bar that Lauren, Emily, and I tasted together. The color of the chocolate was similar to the Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317) of Cacao Cusco, with a slightly darker brown. It also had a medium hard snap.

The primary aromas from this bar were coconut and a roast in the form of cocoa. Lauren also smelled a hint of nut.

Cuba took several seconds before the chocolate melted enough to release any flavor, but then we tasted sweet and roast, as well as a fruit that I experienced as cantaloupe. There was a hint of nut in the taste as well as the aroma.

After the slow start, the melt was smooth. The length was short, and the finish was noticeably less bitter than the Cusco bar.

Overall, I found Cuba better than Cusco, but it was not interesting enough to rate ***, so I rated this bar a high **.

You can purchase Bonnat Cuba online for $12.25 from Chocosphere.

Review: Bonnat Cacao Cusco Pérou

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Bonnat bar Cacao Cusco region Peru plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture smooth with text imprint and scoring aroma roast, earth, hints of fruit and nut snap medium hard taste roast, sweet (burnt caramel), bitter melt smooth length short finish somewhat acidic, bitter

Lauren Adler of Chocolopolis gave me the opportunity to try this chocolate, along with two others from Bonnat, that she was considering for her store. Joining us was Emily, a staff member at the store.

In a change from its former use of traditional white and pale-colored paper, Bonnat has introduced bolder colors for these wrappers, such as the green of this one. We all liked the change.

Bonnat Cacao Cusco is a single origin bar from Peru. As with other Bonnat bars, this chocolate was made from 75% cocoa solids, with added cocoa butter and sugar. The 100 gram bar was in Bonnat's typical form, with their imprint on the larger middle piece and scored into 32 small pieces around it.

The color of this bar was a medium brown Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317). It had a medium hard snap. The chocolate gave off a roast aroma, and we also clearly smelled earth. Other scents were less obvious, but we noticed hints of nut and fruit.

Cacao Cusco's flavor was a similarly strong roast. There was also a sweet taste of burnt caramel and an underlying bitterness.

The melt was smooth, unsurprising given Bonnat's liberal use of extra cocoa butter. The length was short, leaving a somewhat acidic and bitter aftertaste.

You can purchase Bonnat Cacao Cusco online for $12.25 from Chocosphere.

Sale: Green & Black's (and Lindt) 2 for $4

Walgreens is have a sale starting tomorrow, Sunday, March 27th, through Saturday, April 2nd, on Green & Black's, Lindt, and Dove chocolate bars: 2 for $4. This is a good price for Green & Black's Organic Dark bars.

Although the sale officially begins tomorrow, it seems to be available for online purchases starting today. Unfortunately, they only have one Green & Black's bar online -- the Organic Dark 70% (more are available in some stores). They have several Lindt bars online and some Dove bars. Shipping to the continental United States is free with purchase of $25 or more.

For more info on the four of these bars we've reviewed, here are direct links:
Green & Black's Organic Dark 70%
Green & Black's Organic Dark 85%
Lindt Excellence 70%
Lindt Excellence 85%

Store: Chocolopolis

As you've no doubt read in previous postings, Chocolopolis was the store that introduced me to artisan chocolate and inspired me to create this blog. The owner, Lauren Adler, is not only an enthusiastic and educated chocophile, but also extremely generous and interested in sharing her passion for chocolate. All of the staff that I've met at the store in Seattle have been friendly and helpful, providing information for the novice and expert alike. At the same time, when they haven't known something, they admitted it and offered to try to find out.

Chocolopolis has many events, including weekly happy hours during which you can taste chocolate for free. They also have a frequent bar club, in which you receive one bar free for every 10 different chocolate bars you buy.

chocolate store	Chocolopolis
website	http://www.chocolopolis.com
address	1527 Queen Anne Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 United States
phone	(206) 282-0776
hours	Mon-Wed	11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
	Thu-Sat	11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
	Sun	11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
online shopping	yes, click here
shipping area	continental United States click here for more information
warm weather shipping	yes, with gel packs
chocolate makers	Amano Amedei Askinosie Bonnat El Ceibo Michel Cluizel Coppeneur Claudio Corallo Dandelion Domori Escazú Fearless Fine & Raw Fresco Grenada E. Guittard Kallari Lillie Belle Farms Madécasse Chocolat Moderne Moonstruck Olive & Sinclair Original Beans Pacari Patric François Pralus Republica del Cacao El Rey Ritual Rogue Santander Snake & Butterfly Taza Theo Valrhona Venchi Waialua Estate
special deals & events	frequent bar club weekly happy hours tasting events
last updated	Febrary 24, 2012

In addition to stocking over 200 different chocolate bars, Chocolopolis carries a variety of chocolate truffles by multiple chocolatiers and several other items for chocolate lovers (drinking chocolate, books, gifts, etc.)

Chocolopolis also opened a temporary second store at the Bravern in Bellevue for the winter holidays, but it is still open.
  Address:
     700 110th Ave. NE, Suite 192,
     Bellevue, WA 98004
  Phone: (425) 453-0776
UPDATE: The last day the store at the Bravern will be open is April 30th.