La Selva
by Lillie Belle
Impact
Everyone enjoys the 6 Degrees of Separation that connect the human race, irrespective of whether they like it or not.
In a measure of chocolate's complexity, the equivalent totals over 15 times that:
The Peruvian Selva (Spanish for 'forest') -- from where the cacáos in this bar hail -- sits at about 4º20'S latitude to the equator under the sun & moon which can easily add 70ºF to the equation (the year-round daily average for both night & day). Plus the 23.4º axial tilt of the Earth, & the premeditated 1st degree murder by Jeff Shepard of Lillie Belle who kills it beyond crushing... he just pulverizes cacáo.
Grand total: 98.6 Degrees of Chocolate... hmmm, which stakes out the same temperature as the human body to melt with you.
And might explain why chocolate is a lot closer to some people than many of them are to each other.
In a measure of chocolate's complexity, the equivalent totals over 15 times that:
The Peruvian Selva (Spanish for 'forest') -- from where the cacáos in this bar hail -- sits at about 4º20'S latitude to the equator under the sun & moon which can easily add 70ºF to the equation (the year-round daily average for both night & day). Plus the 23.4º axial tilt of the Earth, & the premeditated 1st degree murder by Jeff Shepard of Lillie Belle who kills it beyond crushing... he just pulverizes cacáo.
Grand total: 98.6 Degrees of Chocolate... hmmm, which stakes out the same temperature as the human body to melt with you.
And might explain why chocolate is a lot closer to some people than many of them are to each other.
Appearance 4.6 / 5
| Color: | burnt sienna |
| Surface: | vinyl-top skin to the mold |
| Temper: | shiny fudge |
| Snap: | pounds the eardrums |
Aroma 8.3 / 10
selva skunk (a cross between mushrooms opening on the forest floor & hickory-smoked B-Q-sauce with queso cheese funk) perfumes into wild fruit blossoms
Mouthfeel 10.8 / 15
| Texture: | teeth breaker... |
| Melt: | ... & tongue twister before it gets its melt on |
Flavor 43.9 / 50
flash guava -> cocoa powder -> dried lucuma in & around cocoa -> teasing starfruit thru... the cocoa of course -> pitanga 'n biriba a k a "jungle strawberries 'n cream" for the Victorian set who never venture any farther than their proper Englsih gardens -> more cocoa... endless cocoa
Quality 16.1 / 20
"Crudimentary".
Home-ground using the rudiments of the trade (a heavily-modified Cocoatown ECGC-65 Grindeur & a kitchen oven in Jeff Shepard's Lillie Belle "utility lab", re-christened here The Tasteport).
He batches this with a couple cacáo types sourced from Peru's Cepicafe Co-op.
Forget the deficiencies -- from the equipment to the countrified blend & the noticeable grain in the Texture well above 20 microns -- this bar tastes close to the seeds & the land that produced them.
Plus it boasts an inordinately high CQ (for Chocolate Quotient or core cocoa flavor). If only those fruit packs tuned up greater definition & stamina, this would be a world beater.
As is, a peak experience for latter-day Lewis & Clarks jocking the GPS along the Oregon Trail near Lillie Belle's Farm there.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed October 11, 2011
Home-ground using the rudiments of the trade (a heavily-modified Cocoatown ECGC-65 Grindeur & a kitchen oven in Jeff Shepard's Lillie Belle "utility lab", re-christened here The Tasteport).
He batches this with a couple cacáo types sourced from Peru's Cepicafe Co-op.
Forget the deficiencies -- from the equipment to the countrified blend & the noticeable grain in the Texture well above 20 microns -- this bar tastes close to the seeds & the land that produced them.
Plus it boasts an inordinately high CQ (for Chocolate Quotient or core cocoa flavor). If only those fruit packs tuned up greater definition & stamina, this would be a world beater.
As is, a peak experience for latter-day Lewis & Clarks jocking the GPS along the Oregon Trail near Lillie Belle's Farm there.
ING: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed October 11, 2011