Impact
A. Morin deconstructs Friis-Holms' Dark Blend Nicaraguan into its constituent parts by releasing each in 3 separate bars.
1 way or another less = more.
A Daily Chocolate Trifecta –- 3 reviews in 1. The overall rating & metrics (upper right) reflect a composite average of each bar's individual measures.
1 way or another less = more.
Appearance 3.7 / 5
| Color: |
Chuno: vermillion brown Nicalizo: another rouge but a shade lighter / muddier Rugoso: pretty in silvered-pink |
| Surface: |
Chuno: a smelt-down; wide corduroy swale brush strokes; add bubbling & missing chinks too Nicalizo: moderate improvement Rugoso: lives up to its warty namesake |
| Temper: |
Chuno: blown Nicalizo: well-behaved Rugoso: so calm & composed |
| Snap: |
Chuno: rectifies the unsightly disaster Nicalizo: subdued Rugoso: heartbreaker |
Aroma 7.9 / 10
Chuno
a chocolate bog
Nicalizo
a chocolate marsh
Rugoso
this Aroma here picks up where the Flavor of Nicalizo leaves off -- toasted cocoa-cream but with an almond center
a chocolate bog
Nicalizo
a chocolate marsh
Rugoso
this Aroma here picks up where the Flavor of Nicalizo leaves off -- toasted cocoa-cream but with an almond center
Mouthfeel 13.6 / 15
| Texture: |
Chuno: sturdy Nicalizo: expansive &… Rugoso: exquisite love handles |
| Melt: |
Chuno: duralast Nicalizo: … hydroscopic Rugoso: slow rhythm |
Flavor 45.3 / 50
Chuno
soft fruit (sapote) grows to an inlay (a slightly tart moraberry) within a very basic Earthen cocoa compound -> mounting acidity signals granadilla -> grapefruit completes the cycle
Nicalizo
wooded marsh indeed (including that cacáo shade tree Gliricidia septum aka ‘blackwood’) -> good chocolate attributes in a breaded aspect (both the grassy wheat plant & breadfruit) -> spices up warm browns (sassafras / kola / anise / jicaro (the licorice-like Crescentia alata) -> very lite tobacco -> creamy malabar chestnut -> cocoa-cream closing unto green walnut brownie
Rugoso
phyto-chocolate (plant-chocolate or green leaf-on-chocolate) -> passing blue stone -> via gradualism a very delicate ground cherry surfaces (utterly lovely), just hovers around the senses so…. well, sensuously -> roasted almond found in the Aroma enjoins a pitaya-apricot touchdown
soft fruit (sapote) grows to an inlay (a slightly tart moraberry) within a very basic Earthen cocoa compound -> mounting acidity signals granadilla -> grapefruit completes the cycle
Nicalizo
wooded marsh indeed (including that cacáo shade tree Gliricidia septum aka ‘blackwood’) -> good chocolate attributes in a breaded aspect (both the grassy wheat plant & breadfruit) -> spices up warm browns (sassafras / kola / anise / jicaro (the licorice-like Crescentia alata) -> very lite tobacco -> creamy malabar chestnut -> cocoa-cream closing unto green walnut brownie
Rugoso
phyto-chocolate (plant-chocolate or green leaf-on-chocolate) -> passing blue stone -> via gradualism a very delicate ground cherry surfaces (utterly lovely), just hovers around the senses so…. well, sensuously -> roasted almond found in the Aroma enjoins a pitaya-apricot touchdown
Quality 17.9 / 20
Chuno
Lot #220914
Brash for a Chuno. The flip side of Duffy's dreary molasses-in-a-jar Chuno. Lacks the chocolate essence of the other French manufactured Chuno -- Friis-Holm's via Bonnat. Unexpected really; a kind of feral Criollo sort & almost off-kilter / bitter-tonic.
Nicalizo
Lot #160914
Pretty fundamental… limited range but sound depth & sumptuous core chocolate flavor of solid CQ (Chocolate Qquotient).
Only the 2nd NIcaliso thoroughbred after Duffy's (others such as Friis-Holms' comprise a blend as noted in the Impact statement above).
Though less manifold than Duffy's (fewer fruit-plays for instance), still impressive in its true & deep reverberating strength. A faithful mainstay to sink, then drown in.
Rugoso
Lot #231014
The belle of the ball. Nothing warty or bumpy about this babe's scent & flavor. Rugoso… arguably the finest of all the Ingemann / Xoco Gourmet-brokered cultivars. By the final caress, a gorgeous romance. Nicalizo (above) may grab more tongues but this shall win more hearts 'n minds. Demonstrates what Morin's moderate roast achieves with it compared to Bonnat's warmer treatment. Less heat allows a modicum of fruiting to blossom.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed March 12, 2015
Lot #220914
Brash for a Chuno. The flip side of Duffy's dreary molasses-in-a-jar Chuno. Lacks the chocolate essence of the other French manufactured Chuno -- Friis-Holm's via Bonnat. Unexpected really; a kind of feral Criollo sort & almost off-kilter / bitter-tonic.
Nicalizo
Lot #160914
Pretty fundamental… limited range but sound depth & sumptuous core chocolate flavor of solid CQ (Chocolate Qquotient).
Only the 2nd NIcaliso thoroughbred after Duffy's (others such as Friis-Holms' comprise a blend as noted in the Impact statement above).
Though less manifold than Duffy's (fewer fruit-plays for instance), still impressive in its true & deep reverberating strength. A faithful mainstay to sink, then drown in.
Rugoso
Lot #231014
The belle of the ball. Nothing warty or bumpy about this babe's scent & flavor. Rugoso… arguably the finest of all the Ingemann / Xoco Gourmet-brokered cultivars. By the final caress, a gorgeous romance. Nicalizo (above) may grab more tongues but this shall win more hearts 'n minds. Demonstrates what Morin's moderate roast achieves with it compared to Bonnat's warmer treatment. Less heat allows a modicum of fruiting to blossom.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed March 12, 2015