Ecuador (Fruity)
by Pitch Dark
Impact
Pitch Dark marks the 15Oth or so barsmith to emerge on the North American scene in the modern chocolate era. As the C-spot® says, where every village once had a butcher, a baker & a candlestick maker, now every mid-sized town & major city has a boutique butcher (grass-fed beef), an artisan baker (heirloom grains & bread) & a micro-batch chocolate maker (driven by single-origin cacáo). Some places have more than one -- such as Portland, OR -- home to Woodblock & Pitch Dark.
This bar nicely reflects the Pitch Dark moniker & almost nothing but… but buoyed by a cream tone.
This bar nicely reflects the Pitch Dark moniker & almost nothing but… but buoyed by a cream tone.
Appearance 4.3 / 5
| Color: | the usual Ecuador 'purple-a-tor' |
| Surface: | brush-stroked with some release marks & thumbprints; uneven pour |
| Temper: | strong wattage |
| Snap: | muffled; outstanding integrity along the break wall indicating sound Tempering |
Aroma 7.1 / 10
weeds, switch grass, hay & jute amidst a musty spice cupboard
cadmium beneath
sawdust all around
yep, Camino Verde alright… variable as ever, except always streamline-tailored
cadmium beneath
sawdust all around
yep, Camino Verde alright… variable as ever, except always streamline-tailored
Mouthfeel 14.4 / 15
| Texture: | great, voluptuous body |
| Melt: | oh so patient |
Flavor 43.2 / 50
nice brownie-cookie chocolate, quasi-alkalized -> cream 'n wheat -> those Armoatics along the grass - jute continuum, very restrained & harmonized in the Flavor matrix -> incites vanilla-custard across a recessed bitter
Quality 15.9 / 20
Aroma tips off that this hardly bears anything remotely resembling 'fruity' at all.
The fermentation presets so heralded by Broman / cacáo grower Vincente Norero of Camino Verde in which he dials up Flavor Profiles like selecting items on a drive-thru menu goes off-course here & runs amiss. Or mislabeled perhaps? Either that or Pitch Dark beat all the highlights out of it. In fact, no fruit element whatsoever.
Then again, Camino Verde rarely develops much fruited apparitions save for a brief appearance of one in Rogue's presentation, plus a peep here or there at the lower end of the spectrum, such as black fig (Dick Taylor), & the purple lining at the very tail (from wonder berry) in Ritual.
This very much then the twin companion to Holy Cacao's Balao / Camino Verde or closer to home neighboring Woodblock: Naked in overall countenance.
Almost Amelonado in its stasis / basic basal cocoa character (hence, hi-CQ or Chocolate Quotient).
That aside, a fine bar, such as it is, on its own merits.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed September 19, 2014
The fermentation presets so heralded by Broman / cacáo grower Vincente Norero of Camino Verde in which he dials up Flavor Profiles like selecting items on a drive-thru menu goes off-course here & runs amiss. Or mislabeled perhaps? Either that or Pitch Dark beat all the highlights out of it. In fact, no fruit element whatsoever.
Then again, Camino Verde rarely develops much fruited apparitions save for a brief appearance of one in Rogue's presentation, plus a peep here or there at the lower end of the spectrum, such as black fig (Dick Taylor), & the purple lining at the very tail (from wonder berry) in Ritual.
This very much then the twin companion to Holy Cacao's Balao / Camino Verde or closer to home neighboring Woodblock: Naked in overall countenance.
Almost Amelonado in its stasis / basic basal cocoa character (hence, hi-CQ or Chocolate Quotient).
That aside, a fine bar, such as it is, on its own merits.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar
Reviewed September 19, 2014