Peru Brutus
Madagascar (Dark & Milk)
by Frederic Blondeel
Impact
The clunky-sounding alliterative 'Bean-to-Bar' (which equates cacáo seeds with pinto beans -- both botanically incorrect & economically cheap) finds a stricter replacement by Blondeel in 'Tree-to-Tablet' (tablet the French word for 'bar'; click image at right to enlarge).
Someone please tell Frederic Blondeel that tablets in English nowadays most commonly refer to devices like the iPad®. Very hard to eat those things… just as hard as eating words in chocolate reviews.
A shame really because these tablets taste more than edible. They're some freak devourables.
Someone please tell Frederic Blondeel that tablets in English nowadays most commonly refer to devices like the iPad®. Very hard to eat those things… just as hard as eating words in chocolate reviews.
A shame really because these tablets taste more than edible. They're some freak devourables.
Appearance 3.2 / 5
| Color: | alluring if dull |
| Surface: | grainy; pinholes galore |
| Temper: | blurry |
| Snap: | cowering |
Aroma 8.7 / 10
Peru Brutus
unusually light & airy for a Peruvian until breathing some … which grounds it
Madagascar
vanilla-malt, tar, & citrus
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
vetiver & ylang soaking up super cream
unusually light & airy for a Peruvian until breathing some … which grounds it
Madagascar
vanilla-malt, tar, & citrus
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
vetiver & ylang soaking up super cream
Mouthfeel 12 / 15
| Texture: | sandy (Peru Brutus) to smooth (Madagascar) |
| Melt: | uneven / choppy |
Flavor 44.9 / 50
Peru Brutus
sugar front (coarse grind / integration) -> bready -> white-sweet (more sugar) -> finally develops some tags (yams & herbs)
Madagascar
beautiful floral chocolate (orchids galore, mainly vanilla [though none added]) -> those signature Madagascan berries riot within -> orange crush (wondrous) -> sweeter… sweeter… sweetest as sugar melts thru & thru on the way down slicked by hazelnut oil -> trace rose-soap bubble
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
ylang struts out with vanilla -> pineapple toffee (damn rare) -> sadly, increasingly waxy, harboring a citric metallic streak (damn rare Part II) -> bars hangs together enough for 'lemon-MIlk Choc-cinnamon' & that self-same soap bubble in the Dark Madagascar (above) except smothered if not muted here -> gianduia
sugar front (coarse grind / integration) -> bready -> white-sweet (more sugar) -> finally develops some tags (yams & herbs)
Madagascar
beautiful floral chocolate (orchids galore, mainly vanilla [though none added]) -> those signature Madagascan berries riot within -> orange crush (wondrous) -> sweeter… sweeter… sweetest as sugar melts thru & thru on the way down slicked by hazelnut oil -> trace rose-soap bubble
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
ylang struts out with vanilla -> pineapple toffee (damn rare) -> sadly, increasingly waxy, harboring a citric metallic streak (damn rare Part II) -> bars hangs together enough for 'lemon-MIlk Choc-cinnamon' & that self-same soap bubble in the Dark Madagascar (above) except smothered if not muted here -> gianduia
Quality 16.7 / 20
Peru Brutus
75% cacáo-content
A blank brute. Peru never so pusillanimous. Only at the end a veritable taste of origin emerges, yet that too proves weak.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Madagascar
65% cacáo-content
Instant & infinite satisfaction + consistent in between.
Neither a big nor bold bar, just a superb Madagascar. After surveying hundreds of these from various chocolate makers, this ranks among the very tops of the island origin or any origin for that matter.
Blondeel really calibrates & then fine-tunes for extra measure. Other than a slight soapy point, flawless.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
49% cacáo-content
Bizarre 50-50 bar. The first half stupendous; the second fraught with issues (starting with Texture breakdown impacting Flavor). All ends well however… really well, especially that Milk Choc gianduia.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, lecithin, vanilla
Reviewed June 22, 2015
75% cacáo-content
A blank brute. Peru never so pusillanimous. Only at the end a veritable taste of origin emerges, yet that too proves weak.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Madagascar
65% cacáo-content
Instant & infinite satisfaction + consistent in between.
Neither a big nor bold bar, just a superb Madagascar. After surveying hundreds of these from various chocolate makers, this ranks among the very tops of the island origin or any origin for that matter.
Blondeel really calibrates & then fine-tunes for extra measure. Other than a slight soapy point, flawless.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin
Madagascar Chocolat au Lait
49% cacáo-content
Bizarre 50-50 bar. The first half stupendous; the second fraught with issues (starting with Texture breakdown impacting Flavor). All ends well however… really well, especially that Milk Choc gianduia.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, lecithin, vanilla
Reviewed June 22, 2015