Impact
C-spotters occasionally ask, "hey, does your Chocolate Vault really exist &, if so, what's in it?"
It sounds too good to be true, like Santa & the Easter bunny, but the Vault is real. So real in fact, it caught fire unfortunately.
The prerequisites for storing & safeguarding premium chocolate include proper temperature (55ºF to 68ºF), relative humidity (specialists vary on this but certainly no less than 50%RH) &, of course, high security.
So what constantly ideal environment can one trust their keepsakes & valuables in? Where impenetrable surveillance stands vigilant against all assaults? Correct, a bank vault.
Typically built underground as a berm structure with limited controlled access & a nightwatchman, a bank vault for years held the C-spot's® precious treasures. Bank tellers, security guards, investment advisors, mortgage & loan officers there always felt indebted for the business &, moreover, the free chocolate samples handed over to them. Any fees, penalties, interest -- all waived. Thru wind, rain, sleet, snow, hurricanes, earthquakes, heat waves… whatever nature could throw at it, the Vault withstood the pressures as Fort Knox an invasion.
Until now.
According to the account executive at the bank, an electrical fire completely destroyed the branch. Though waterproof & fireproof, the vault endured some high heat. Every single bar in the C-spot's® safety deposit box suffered a tragic meltdown... except one.
That it survived reminds of Buckminister Fuller explaining how the building which withstood the atomic bomb in Hiroshima was a geodesic dome because its very architecture furnishes indestructible strength. Today the dome serves as a peace memorial to that somber event.
Maybe it was the reflective wrapper around the chocolate that foiled the temperatures (& even enhanced the Beta crystallization of the bar's butter complex).
Perhaps the fact that it contained a triple alliance of 3 superpowers in the chocolate armament -- Chuao, Beniano & the D.R.
Or it might've been the mystic name of the barsmith on the label which protected it; that cant which intones a plant, a brew, & a divinity rolled into one trinity.
Whatever the cause, this bar by Soma is The One: 3 Amigos -- now friends forever… in the the C-spot's® memory vault.
Next, to persuade that bank exec that the contents of the box were priceless & should be covered by liability insurance...
It sounds too good to be true, like Santa & the Easter bunny, but the Vault is real. So real in fact, it caught fire unfortunately.
The prerequisites for storing & safeguarding premium chocolate include proper temperature (55ºF to 68ºF), relative humidity (specialists vary on this but certainly no less than 50%RH) &, of course, high security.
So what constantly ideal environment can one trust their keepsakes & valuables in? Where impenetrable surveillance stands vigilant against all assaults? Correct, a bank vault.
Typically built underground as a berm structure with limited controlled access & a nightwatchman, a bank vault for years held the C-spot's® precious treasures. Bank tellers, security guards, investment advisors, mortgage & loan officers there always felt indebted for the business &, moreover, the free chocolate samples handed over to them. Any fees, penalties, interest -- all waived. Thru wind, rain, sleet, snow, hurricanes, earthquakes, heat waves… whatever nature could throw at it, the Vault withstood the pressures as Fort Knox an invasion.
Until now.
According to the account executive at the bank, an electrical fire completely destroyed the branch. Though waterproof & fireproof, the vault endured some high heat. Every single bar in the C-spot's® safety deposit box suffered a tragic meltdown... except one.
That it survived reminds of Buckminister Fuller explaining how the building which withstood the atomic bomb in Hiroshima was a geodesic dome because its very architecture furnishes indestructible strength. Today the dome serves as a peace memorial to that somber event.
Maybe it was the reflective wrapper around the chocolate that foiled the temperatures (& even enhanced the Beta crystallization of the bar's butter complex).
Perhaps the fact that it contained a triple alliance of 3 superpowers in the chocolate armament -- Chuao, Beniano & the D.R.
Or it might've been the mystic name of the barsmith on the label which protected it; that cant which intones a plant, a brew, & a divinity rolled into one trinity.
Whatever the cause, this bar by Soma is The One: 3 Amigos -- now friends forever… in the the C-spot's® memory vault.
Next, to persuade that bank exec that the contents of the box were priceless & should be covered by liability insurance...
Appearance 4.2 / 5
| Color: | burnt-orange creamsicle |
| Surface: | flaked; brushed; pocked |
| Temper: | glossy thin veneer |
| Snap: | airtight; perfect edge |
Aroma 8.8 / 10
bleeding sweet
malted marigold-cocoa
cinnamonized graham cracker crumbs + vanilla
warms up treacled coffee
malted marigold-cocoa
cinnamonized graham cracker crumbs + vanilla
warms up treacled coffee
Mouthfeel 13 / 15
| Texture: | muscular flesh |
| Melt: | rippling ebbs & flows |
Flavor 45.6 / 50
blue-spotted chocolate (blueberry Chuao) -> marshmallow root -> dark herb -> vanilla & light black pepper -> gentian root (somewhat bitter), mugged by cocoa, quite tannic (the influence of Elvesia, D.R.) -> almond skins -> plantain (heralds Beniano) -> trace citrus shoots thru to the honey custard-tapioca end -> recapitulates the beginning with a red instead of blue kola finish
Quality 16.8 / 20
One of the better super blends to hit the stage.
Most individuals in these super groups either cancel each other out or fail spectacularly. In this bar however they all play together famously.
Soma applies a rather equalizing roast, hi-heat to generate a continuous flow of hot cocoa at the expense of some upper pitches at the margins of the flavor register. That warmth mitigates to a degree the sweetness intrinsic to these cacáos beyond the 30% added sugar. And still it all works.
For instance, they conspire to mollify the turgid molasses of Chuao. The fruited spikes counter the ruggedness of Elvesia, D.R. And the core basal cocoa buttresses the Beniano, oft-vacant in that regard.
None of them need support yet each balance one another nicely to complement the overall structure. The earthbound foundation of Elvesia, D.R., the sturdy frame & guts from Chuao; + the honeyed appointments & fixtures supplied by the Beniano.
A solid blueprint, well-engineered, & constructed.
Reviewed February 7, 2014
Most individuals in these super groups either cancel each other out or fail spectacularly. In this bar however they all play together famously.
Soma applies a rather equalizing roast, hi-heat to generate a continuous flow of hot cocoa at the expense of some upper pitches at the margins of the flavor register. That warmth mitigates to a degree the sweetness intrinsic to these cacáos beyond the 30% added sugar. And still it all works.
For instance, they conspire to mollify the turgid molasses of Chuao. The fruited spikes counter the ruggedness of Elvesia, D.R. And the core basal cocoa buttresses the Beniano, oft-vacant in that regard.
None of them need support yet each balance one another nicely to complement the overall structure. The earthbound foundation of Elvesia, D.R., the sturdy frame & guts from Chuao; + the honeyed appointments & fixtures supplied by the Beniano.
A solid blueprint, well-engineered, & constructed.
Reviewed February 7, 2014