Colombia Arauca
by Castronovo
Impact
In certain swatches of Colombia, a woman may only have sex with her husband &, the first time this happens, her mother must be in the room to witness the act.
Yikes, talk about stage fright; makes one shudder with performance anxiety at the very thought. Enough to take pre-emptive meds for any E.D. unless, of course, the mother joi… -- CUT / CUT -- oh, no, please, please, let's not go there… how disrespectful.
Denise Castronovo mothers these cacáo seeds into a precocious enough bar for a label just getting its chocolate legs on.
Yikes, talk about stage fright; makes one shudder with performance anxiety at the very thought. Enough to take pre-emptive meds for any E.D. unless, of course, the mother joi… -- CUT / CUT -- oh, no, please, please, let's not go there… how disrespectful.
Denise Castronovo mothers these cacáo seeds into a precocious enough bar for a label just getting its chocolate legs on.
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | silver pewter rose |
| Surface: | minor defects; collapsed bubbles |
| Temper: | dim set |
| Snap: | tough yet thin-voiced |
Aroma 7.4 / 10
some great outdoors
in the tall woods (silver fir to match the Color nearing cedar)
climbing vines, around the dry season
musk & musty spice cupboard
in the tall woods (silver fir to match the Color nearing cedar)
climbing vines, around the dry season
musk & musty spice cupboard
Mouthfeel 12.1 / 15
| Texture: | stubborn & dry out of the blocks... |
| Melt: | … hydrates well for an easy slipstream |
Flavor 45.1 / 50
sweet cocoa-nectarine & soncoya -> lucuma -> copra / coconut shells -> mix of wild greens + arracacha (taproot starch; imagine cooked flavors of celery, cabbage, & roasted chestnut; a/k/a apio criollo or ‘creole celery’… yeah, just check the wrapper -- click image upper to enlarge) -> classic Colombia marshmallow yields to slippery elm -> slight bitter bite pulls this into the dirt, then deeper into soil -> citric hibiscus-marshmallow hangs around… threads thru the rest of the length over some borojó verging on grapefruit -> caruba (banana-passionfruit) -> stone pits from the opening drupe fruits help create a stringent finish
Quality 16.3 / 20
Been awhile since a Colombian tasted like this.
That fabled marshmallow, 1st gleaned in Santander, shows its more wilderness traits here. Call it a dirty-marsh/mallow.
Quite light on the pal (re: palate) for 76% to match its gentle processing techniques (a considerate roast; refined to adequate Textural satisfaction, suspending the particles without rubbing out flavor compounds) which renders a profile right on the edge between civil & savage / shy vs. bully. The cocoa butter cuff helps in this respect. Rather precise therefore in its calibration & construction.
The area's motley slew of hybrids (discussed in-depth with Manifesto's 70% Arauca) approached here with sufficient acumen to glimpse its fuller potential.
After years of wayward bars from Colombia, this restores the promise, indeed the purse, of the country's cacáo value.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed October 30, 2014
That fabled marshmallow, 1st gleaned in Santander, shows its more wilderness traits here. Call it a dirty-marsh/mallow.
Quite light on the pal (re: palate) for 76% to match its gentle processing techniques (a considerate roast; refined to adequate Textural satisfaction, suspending the particles without rubbing out flavor compounds) which renders a profile right on the edge between civil & savage / shy vs. bully. The cocoa butter cuff helps in this respect. Rather precise therefore in its calibration & construction.
The area's motley slew of hybrids (discussed in-depth with Manifesto's 70% Arauca) approached here with sufficient acumen to glimpse its fuller potential.
After years of wayward bars from Colombia, this restores the promise, indeed the purse, of the country's cacáo value.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed October 30, 2014