Amazon
by Adi
Impact
A nation that has more islands than Europe has countries (or the U.N. for that matter). 322 of them, plus over 500 islets, surrounded by powdered-sugar beaches & cerulean-blue Pacific waters filled with schools of psychedelic fish.
And, it boasts cacáo that rings with as many colors as a rainbow of skittles, all flowing in on the aerodynamic-feelings of a Frisbee™...
BULA everybody: welcome to Fiji.
And, it boasts cacáo that rings with as many colors as a rainbow of skittles, all flowing in on the aerodynamic-feelings of a Frisbee™...
BULA everybody: welcome to Fiji.
Appearance 4.8 / 5
| Color: | golden-bronzed husks; inside cotyledons intensely dark (indicia of deep ferment), coal-train black w/ only a slaty fraction or an occasional brown |
| Surface: | some Big Boys (although 40 seeds per pod max sound like a lot), mostly flat; lizard-skinned seeds |
| Temper: | well-defined veins on the tough husks; perfectly dried (low to no crusting); little bit of burnish on the beans inside |
| Snap: | crinkle |
Aroma 8.3 / 10
bean pub: beer, sawdust & salted nuts... replete w/ after-party sweat, tang & ferment -> unhusked shows cocoa & granite w/ a side of tartar & a far-off whiff of ginger blossom
Mouthfeel 13.2 / 15
| Texture: | soft collapse; mealy gruel |
| Melt: | fantastically round for a bean (innate oil, soft & unctuous creating great spherical dimension which also helps in its astringent-free quality) |
Flavor 45.6 / 50
chicle gum w/ underlying rainbow skittle fruit -> wheels around the pub FXs in the Aromatics which take over w/o ever squashing the candy (incl a banana starburst) -> hardens-on-mass as tannins flex their muscle, growing coarse, mealy grut, & nut-meat (unblanched almonds) -> fruit stays on it though (pineapple) + ginger-twist accompanied by rising bitter -> flushes out dark ale infused w/ banana on overdrive
Quality 19.8 / 20
Amazin' Amazon & unreal for unroasted. This, supposedly an Amelonado type (Calabacillo also on the property) but none of the assault factors found with the same genotype & similarly lengthy-ferment on another island a half a world away – Claudio Corallo’s Príncipe - & yet so much more embroidered than Journée’s bean from neighboring Vanuatu.
Reportedly cured for up to 2 weeks, the ferment pile turned twice a day to let the airflow thru for an added plus of low-to-no fungus growth. And it shows: unplumbed flavor just deepens, alternating sugar & salt / sweet ‘n savory (wind-drying for another week captures all that sodium from the ocean breeze while thoroughly removing moisture down to less than half the normal range: 4% - 5%)... all of it sapid.
The only caveat: where’s the chocolate flavor? To be continued... in Adi’s bar work.
ING: cacáo bean
Reviewed Summer 2010
Reportedly cured for up to 2 weeks, the ferment pile turned twice a day to let the airflow thru for an added plus of low-to-no fungus growth. And it shows: unplumbed flavor just deepens, alternating sugar & salt / sweet ‘n savory (wind-drying for another week captures all that sodium from the ocean breeze while thoroughly removing moisture down to less than half the normal range: 4% - 5%)... all of it sapid.
The only caveat: where’s the chocolate flavor? To be continued... in Adi’s bar work.
ING: cacáo bean
Reviewed Summer 2010