Impact
Aussies have an expression -- 'you little ripper -- which roughly translates into English as 'words of praise escape me'.
And this chocolate deserves them indeed, mate, because Zokoko almost tells the cocoa in this bar to 'rack off' (another Aussie expression meaning 'your presence is hardly needed').
At 40% sugar content, this barely qualifies as a Semi-Dark. Yet dark it is, with even a few black spots in it to invert the whole notion of the Dark Chocolate category in a crazy upside-down world. Much like that map of On Top Down Under.
Zokoko almost pulls off the trick
And this chocolate deserves them indeed, mate, because Zokoko almost tells the cocoa in this bar to 'rack off' (another Aussie expression meaning 'your presence is hardly needed').
At 40% sugar content, this barely qualifies as a Semi-Dark. Yet dark it is, with even a few black spots in it to invert the whole notion of the Dark Chocolate category in a crazy upside-down world. Much like that map of On Top Down Under.
Appearance 4 / 5
quite the package: a foil-wrppared bar nestled inside a tray slid beneath an outer sleeve
| Color: | light (TBE from 60%) |
| Surface: | long slate scored into 7 pieces; some pebbling on the back |
| Temper: | unclear |
| Snap: | big for its percentage; finely-sanded edge |
Aroma 7.6 / 10
discharges an odd couple at the start - poo (& that ain't Winnie) + honey blossoms (pink-petals of the 'tick bush' aka Kunzea with its clean balsamic point)... from manure, they say, comes the rose -> caramelized sugar & sorghum -> an air of dragon fruits countered by a camphorous wood scent, commingled all together as a sort of rosalina (from the tea tree family) for a medicinal edge
Mouthfeel 10.9 / 15
| Texture: | Wax Factor™ (thanks to excess lecithin, also TBE at this %) |
| Melt: | incredibly resistant & prolonged |
Flavor 37.7 / 50
instant caramel -> black coral -> akebia (think 'malted vanilla chocolate') -> more black: mission fig & black mulberry (a dark hangover from the caramel / coral) -> cookie dough 'n cream -> charred graham crackers
Quality 15 / 20
A midliner; non-descript / indistinct.
Cacáo sourced from Nan & Noel Stevenson's orchard located to the south & well outside, both geographically & organizationally, the Daintree Estates cocoa co-op up north. Differences pretty much end there as they share quite a few similarities in flavor traits.
Before leveling criticism that a 60/40 split between cocoa/sugar presents too sweet a window onto a single-estate, it's still a grand exposition on single-origin since both elements (cocoa & sugar) come from Australia.
Just as with "fine-wine" & now "fine-chocolate", maybe the next connoisseur rage will be "fine sugar". 'Hmmm, yes, the crystal structure of their sweetness beckons to the powder-white-sands of Cable Beach... tingling taste buds instead of twinkle toes'.
Other than sugar, once upon a time there might've also been some fruit inlays to this cacáo. But by the feel of the Textrue, those were generally conched out if they were ever fermented in to begin with. Outstanding, smooth mouth though for a 40% sugar content.
Dunno about the "delicate apricot floral" promised in the tasting notes. Maybe in the deep recesses between the cracks of black coral. Or perhaps the imaginary kind of suggestive / seductive techniques borrowed from hypnotists because, with chocolate, spellbound subjects want to believe.
A baby bar for teething newbs.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio): ~1:2:2
Reviewed August 2, 2012
Cacáo sourced from Nan & Noel Stevenson's orchard located to the south & well outside, both geographically & organizationally, the Daintree Estates cocoa co-op up north. Differences pretty much end there as they share quite a few similarities in flavor traits.
Before leveling criticism that a 60/40 split between cocoa/sugar presents too sweet a window onto a single-estate, it's still a grand exposition on single-origin since both elements (cocoa & sugar) come from Australia.
Just as with "fine-wine" & now "fine-chocolate", maybe the next connoisseur rage will be "fine sugar". 'Hmmm, yes, the crystal structure of their sweetness beckons to the powder-white-sands of Cable Beach... tingling taste buds instead of twinkle toes'.
Other than sugar, once upon a time there might've also been some fruit inlays to this cacáo. But by the feel of the Textrue, those were generally conched out if they were ever fermented in to begin with. Outstanding, smooth mouth though for a 40% sugar content.
Dunno about the "delicate apricot floral" promised in the tasting notes. Maybe in the deep recesses between the cracks of black coral. Or perhaps the imaginary kind of suggestive / seductive techniques borrowed from hypnotists because, with chocolate, spellbound subjects want to believe.
A baby bar for teething newbs.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin CBS (Cocoa mass / Butter / Sugar ratio): ~1:2:2
Reviewed August 2, 2012