Manabi
by República del Cacao
Impact
Child star raised in a dream world, gets mugged by reality, has self-immolation meltdown & hits bottom; goes into rehab, has make-over, & comes out OK (sort of). Writes the book about it, usually giving thanks to the man way up stairs. Only to confess ‘but in the end life’s a bitch & then we die’. At least this bar has a great send-off.
Appearance 2.9 / 5
| Color: | deep maroon glare |
| Surface: | former beauty pageant contestant now crack junkie: roughed & scuffed, chipped, pocked & welted |
| Temper: | semi-dull |
| Snap: | anemic / anorexic |
Aroma 6.9 / 10
generally flat: some stifled spice against cocoa & cotton; improves slightly w/ aeration – sprouts a flowerbud
Mouthfeel 12.6 / 15
| Texture: | fractured then works up into well-toned body |
| Melt: | eventually succulent |
Flavor 41.3 / 50
truly beautiful beginning... a chocolate flower – jasmine on cocoa rosewood -> cinnamon coffee rushes in, followed by light pepper -> spice joins wood, long & semi-strong, on the verge of leveling-off, flattened into a corn mill or rice paddy -> miraculously heightens in intensity by meeting-up orange-blossom honey... stays in this spot, a constancy & good /safe place to be, until fairly spectacular & surprising blackberry sunset
Quality 17.2 / 20
Chocolate on the pillow for tuck-in service. República has this fetish for identifying a feature then spotlighting & fixating on it, almost at the expense of all else. Presumably they’re able to do this thru a rather homogenous bean selection, as opposed to a motley spew of beans from several plantations/areas tossed in & mixed up over thousands of miles of shipping - the advantages of being in-country. CBS ~ 4:4:3