Various Bars
by Bright
Impact
While a few shall view that other sporting eventing this weekend -- the one which tosses a pigskin (deflated, overinflated or otherwise) around a gridiron -- Aussies have been basking in their summertime idles, many swiveling their heads from left to right & back again to track a fuzzy yellow pellet bouncing & hopping across a net. Yes, a Grand Slam in Melbourne rises to the level of a nat'l holiday Down-Under.
The forecast for both the skirts' & the shorts' finals: G'day, mates. Bright early on, as the morning sunlight warms darkness, followed by lengthening patches of cloudy chocolate.
The following details a Chocolate Bar Blitz – in this case 4 chocolate reviews in 1. the C-spot®still maintains its actual sampling policy of only ‘1-a-Day’ in order to obtain an accurate & thorough gauge on a chocolate; as well as to avoid inevitable palate fatigue which occurs with multi-samples in a compressed time session (no matter what so-called miracle palate cleanser may be invoked). For the sake of publishing efficiency, they’re consolidated into this single review. The overall rating & metrics (upper right) reflect a composite average of each bar's individual measures.
The forecast for both the skirts' & the shorts' finals: G'day, mates. Bright early on, as the morning sunlight warms darkness, followed by lengthening patches of cloudy chocolate.
Appearance 4.9 / 5
| Color: | dark mauve to lightly rouged, burnt orange & apri-cotta pink |
| Surface: | supermodels |
| Temper: | namesake bright |
| Snap: | heartbreakers / ball busters |
Aroma 7 / 10
Ecuador 72%
a cold stoned Earthen slab / cement pavement
Dominican Republic 70%
bizarre combo of yeast & sausage
the scent of disaster
Trinidad 68%
similar to D.R. (above) even as it rights itself with bromeliads & marsh… eventually the whole landscape goes up in smoke before a chocolate bluegrass breaks out -- incredible
Madagascar 72%
sits on the lower end of Madagascar's citrus-spice continuum, in this case a sticky berry-vetiver
diffuses wondrously to ylang
Milk Chocolate 44%
caramel-cheese fondue on an open-faced pulled pork sandwich
all recedes & flattens out
a cold stoned Earthen slab / cement pavement
Dominican Republic 70%
bizarre combo of yeast & sausage
the scent of disaster
Trinidad 68%
similar to D.R. (above) even as it rights itself with bromeliads & marsh… eventually the whole landscape goes up in smoke before a chocolate bluegrass breaks out -- incredible
Madagascar 72%
sits on the lower end of Madagascar's citrus-spice continuum, in this case a sticky berry-vetiver
diffuses wondrously to ylang
Milk Chocolate 44%
caramel-cheese fondue on an open-faced pulled pork sandwich
all recedes & flattens out
Mouthfeel 8.8 / 15
| Texture: | ropey |
| Melt: | disaggregated |
Flavor 40.4 / 50
Ecuador 72%
Aroma hangover in Flavor from dirt to stone & little else except for vanilla-plantain -> nods off on a cocoa-cookie sandwich
Dominican Republic 70%
rubbery to the touch which transfers to the taste along with, according to the liner notes on the package, "tobacco" (re: petrol for lighting the cigar) & "coffee" (re: tar) picked up in the Aromatics + the clichéd "cherry" (re: sour diesel but unfortunately not the vaporizer kind) -> guanabana saves it
Trinidad 68%
hammy, smoky cocoa opposite a raw green edge (bizarre) -> chalk & limestone or, in the words printed on Bright's package, "fresh spice, tropical fruits and caramel"
k, sure
oh, & the vice-grip of ASTRINGENCY
Madagascar 72%
begrudges some fruit from within Bright's now trademark stone-ground Earthen settlement -> sweet cranberry & lychee, the former really grows in stature the deeper this goes into the progression, transforming into raspberry coupled by a sour lime twist -> shifts toward yang while adhering to those raspberry pips
Milk Chocolate 44%
umami -> rock salt (emphasis on 'rock') -> heavy milk powder (both Texture & Taste glues up some sticky salted-caramel of serious tug) -> peanut skins in the recesses &, more so, in the post-script
Aroma hangover in Flavor from dirt to stone & little else except for vanilla-plantain -> nods off on a cocoa-cookie sandwich
Dominican Republic 70%
rubbery to the touch which transfers to the taste along with, according to the liner notes on the package, "tobacco" (re: petrol for lighting the cigar) & "coffee" (re: tar) picked up in the Aromatics + the clichéd "cherry" (re: sour diesel but unfortunately not the vaporizer kind) -> guanabana saves it
Trinidad 68%
hammy, smoky cocoa opposite a raw green edge (bizarre) -> chalk & limestone or, in the words printed on Bright's package, "fresh spice, tropical fruits and caramel"
k, sure
oh, & the vice-grip of ASTRINGENCY
Madagascar 72%
begrudges some fruit from within Bright's now trademark stone-ground Earthen settlement -> sweet cranberry & lychee, the former really grows in stature the deeper this goes into the progression, transforming into raspberry coupled by a sour lime twist -> shifts toward yang while adhering to those raspberry pips
Milk Chocolate 44%
umami -> rock salt (emphasis on 'rock') -> heavy milk powder (both Texture & Taste glues up some sticky salted-caramel of serious tug) -> peanut skins in the recesses &, more so, in the post-script
Quality 13.7 / 20
Ecuador 72%
A chocolate-Oreo® sourced from Camino Verde in Balao, Ecuador, no doubt the "herbal" preset on grower Vincente Norero's fermentation menu (perhaps most exemplified by Soma's Camino). Troubled beginning resolves faithfully to both the gower's & the maker's intent.
Dominican Republic 70%
One of the poorer D.R. expositions, in league with last year's fincaChocolate's. Both apparently afflicted with cacáo from Marabel Farms.
Trinidad 68%
At odds with itself. Bears the weirding of over-fermentation & under-roasting.
Madagascar 72%
Pretty routine for the origin, in other words an excellent seed lot delivered by global cacáo gallivantor Bertil Åkesson from his Somia grove in Ambanja, Sambirano Valley, Madagascar.
Milk Chocolate 44%
Dairy really drives Flavor despite 44% cacáo-content. Powderful milk proteins more than creamy butter smooth points to integration issues in the processing.
All in all, Bright runs the gamut in an uneven portfolio that hinges on seed selection. Some high (Madagascar), good (Ecuador), fair (Milk Choc) & poor (D.R. + Trinidad).
Strange that with all its diverse origins, Bright ignores its own backyard (Oceania) as well as its front porch (Queensland, Australia) -- both so exotic that Westerners in the Northern Latitudes hanker for them.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter; (for Milk Chocolate 44% add milk solids)
Reviewed January 30, 2015
A chocolate-Oreo® sourced from Camino Verde in Balao, Ecuador, no doubt the "herbal" preset on grower Vincente Norero's fermentation menu (perhaps most exemplified by Soma's Camino). Troubled beginning resolves faithfully to both the gower's & the maker's intent.
Dominican Republic 70%
One of the poorer D.R. expositions, in league with last year's fincaChocolate's. Both apparently afflicted with cacáo from Marabel Farms.
Trinidad 68%
At odds with itself. Bears the weirding of over-fermentation & under-roasting.
Madagascar 72%
Pretty routine for the origin, in other words an excellent seed lot delivered by global cacáo gallivantor Bertil Åkesson from his Somia grove in Ambanja, Sambirano Valley, Madagascar.
Milk Chocolate 44%
Dairy really drives Flavor despite 44% cacáo-content. Powderful milk proteins more than creamy butter smooth points to integration issues in the processing.
All in all, Bright runs the gamut in an uneven portfolio that hinges on seed selection. Some high (Madagascar), good (Ecuador), fair (Milk Choc) & poor (D.R. + Trinidad).
Strange that with all its diverse origins, Bright ignores its own backyard (Oceania) as well as its front porch (Queensland, Australia) -- both so exotic that Westerners in the Northern Latitudes hanker for them.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter; (for Milk Chocolate 44% add milk solids)
Reviewed January 30, 2015