EL SALVADOR
80%
70%
51%
Chocolate con Leche
by Cacaoterra / Shaw's
Impact
REDUX REVIEW: An update & addendum from a barsmith in underserved El Salvador
******************************************
Cacaoterra / Shaw's set out to revive El Salvador's once-rich chocolate culture by tapping back into the ancient roots of cacáo groves around the country. A painstaking process, it's still young having only really just begun. Already, however, these early glimpses show the promise & potential of what could become a renowned origin in the modern era craft-chocolate movement.
Appearance 4.5 / 5
| Color: |
80% 2015: off-magenta; 2017: dirty vermillion 70%: slate brown 51%: crushed red earth Chocolate con Leche: gorgeous apri-cotta |
| Surface: |
2015: hefty 120g weight; shallow sub-bubbling 2017: smaller 44 grams &, other than a lunar crater or 2 on the backside, nearly perfect |
| Temper: |
2015: provided by scored optics 2017 cosmetic-level matte |
| Snap: |
2015: heavy as its weight 2017 still cracking |
Aroma 7.3 / 10
80%
2015
dogwood & dog leather
2017
musk & nuts + plant fibers amongst the cherrywoods -> knocks on cocoa
70%
updraft more potent, oddly, than the 80% sib (redolent even of an unsweetened 100% cacáo-content)
51%
a paper pulp mill built on a mud patch whose products loaded up on a flat-bed truck, wooden side panels of course, share cargo space with melons & tobacco!
Chocolate con Leche
trad milk except very caramellow
2015
dogwood & dog leather
2017
musk & nuts + plant fibers amongst the cherrywoods -> knocks on cocoa
70%
updraft more potent, oddly, than the 80% sib (redolent even of an unsweetened 100% cacáo-content)
51%
a paper pulp mill built on a mud patch whose products loaded up on a flat-bed truck, wooden side panels of course, share cargo space with melons & tobacco!
Chocolate con Leche
trad milk except very caramellow
Mouthfeel 12.1 / 15
| Texture: |
2015: lecithin slick 2017: clumped globs last longer than an MS-13 "initiation" (possibly a good thing? see how below!) |
| Melt: |
2015: gel-swell 2017: halting / stilted |
Flavor 44.2 / 50
80%
2015
moldy fruit & minor green / raw chocolate bite -> butter 'n wax for a lengthy stretch until forestry elements emerge, a vital mix of woods, roots, leaves & subtler saps -> semi-bitters tonic -> indigo -> raw cocoa
2017
those cherry woods in the scent translate into its fruit brandy, quite elaborate if short-lived, then a hard cocoa leavened by marshmallow -> dark brownie with black walnut shell -> balsam -> streak of straight sugar cane (excellent) -> leguminous, almost raw, aftermath
70%
quik tobac moves immediately to cocoa -> walnut fudge -> sweet spice cake -> suga' stream -> reverts to darker countenance... balsam / vanilla -> infra-mint
51%
cocoa malt -> vanilla -> caramel -> sublimated cinnamon
Chocolate con Leche
flintstone -> mildly caustic casein proteins -> max wax factor settles in yet cocoa ranges to punch thru -> vanilla caramel malt -> some distant milk-induced rear mold
2015
moldy fruit & minor green / raw chocolate bite -> butter 'n wax for a lengthy stretch until forestry elements emerge, a vital mix of woods, roots, leaves & subtler saps -> semi-bitters tonic -> indigo -> raw cocoa
2017
those cherry woods in the scent translate into its fruit brandy, quite elaborate if short-lived, then a hard cocoa leavened by marshmallow -> dark brownie with black walnut shell -> balsam -> streak of straight sugar cane (excellent) -> leguminous, almost raw, aftermath
70%
quik tobac moves immediately to cocoa -> walnut fudge -> sweet spice cake -> suga' stream -> reverts to darker countenance... balsam / vanilla -> infra-mint
51%
cocoa malt -> vanilla -> caramel -> sublimated cinnamon
Chocolate con Leche
flintstone -> mildly caustic casein proteins -> max wax factor settles in yet cocoa ranges to punch thru -> vanilla caramel malt -> some distant milk-induced rear mold
Quality 16.4 / 20
80%
2015
The entrance + that long waxed deck (too much cocoa butter) endanger this bar toward collapse. Then the 2nd half redeems all without losing every defect that precedes it.
A slightly warmer roast would coax more definition out of this allotment's bio-chemical compounds.
For an 80%, however, this both holds up well in & of itself, as well as holds promise for the future of El Salvadoran cacáo.
(above) Reviewed July 13, 2015
2017
Batch L15917
Marked upgrade thru & thru, from start to finish, encompassing the harvesting to the processing. Plus, its perceptual sweetness factor could easily pass for 70-percenitle
70%
Batch L/12517
Everything that could go right, flavor-wise, does. Wire-to-wire, a joyride of pleasure craft. Even the subpar Texture adds speed bumps to prolong the sensation.
51%
Batch L06917
Yes, sweet, for sure, but not too in this 50-50 configuration. Especially the opening trimester which stands in & evolves finely. By the midpoint, the length exhausts itself & sugar overtakes the progression without totally effacing the constituent cocoa.
Chocolate con Leche
Batch L153117
A near total adipose breakdown at mid palate averted by this origin's stout stamina to cut thru the fat with gusto.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin (for Chocolate con Leche, add milk powder)
Reviewed August 2, 2017
2015
The entrance + that long waxed deck (too much cocoa butter) endanger this bar toward collapse. Then the 2nd half redeems all without losing every defect that precedes it.
A slightly warmer roast would coax more definition out of this allotment's bio-chemical compounds.
For an 80%, however, this both holds up well in & of itself, as well as holds promise for the future of El Salvadoran cacáo.
(above) Reviewed July 13, 2015
2017
Batch L15917
Marked upgrade thru & thru, from start to finish, encompassing the harvesting to the processing. Plus, its perceptual sweetness factor could easily pass for 70-percenitle
70%
Batch L/12517
Everything that could go right, flavor-wise, does. Wire-to-wire, a joyride of pleasure craft. Even the subpar Texture adds speed bumps to prolong the sensation.
51%
Batch L06917
Yes, sweet, for sure, but not too in this 50-50 configuration. Especially the opening trimester which stands in & evolves finely. By the midpoint, the length exhausts itself & sugar overtakes the progression without totally effacing the constituent cocoa.
Chocolate con Leche
Batch L153117
A near total adipose breakdown at mid palate averted by this origin's stout stamina to cut thru the fat with gusto.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin (for Chocolate con Leche, add milk powder)
Reviewed August 2, 2017