Impact
East-meets-West (beans from East and West Africa, that is) & North-South (French Valrhona) in a small global clash of cacáo culture (think native percussion grafted & composed in sonata-allegro form).
Appearance 4 / 5
| Color: | dense uber brown |
| Surface: | scuffed, irregular, non-uniform (mishandling?) |
| Temper: | underlying luster |
| Snap: | deadly serious |
Aroma 8.2 / 10
busts the wrapper - strong, powerful & direct: thick coffee / massive cocoa / heavy tobacco counterbalancd by banana leaf, peel & fruit ferment; marked w/ Valrhona’s light-handed signature roast for a heart of serene darkness feel... before the ambush?
Mouthfeel 13.7 / 15
| Texture: | massive, smothering thickness; outstanding reach-around |
| Melt: | everlong |
Flavor 41.4 / 50
sweet banana exposition -> coffee charmed by chocolate cashew -> bitter grape -> tobacco / licorice sharply shifts into fermentation as Mads come rushing like Meds (i.e., Madagascar Medicinals) for bitter medicine in the form of citric / walnut paste -> bread at the bottom coupled w/ acidic thru-put from earlier middle passage for a baguette dipped in wine -> ends w/ cashew chocolate recapitulation
Quality 16.9 / 20
Sweeter than its sugar content. Warhorse tannins but also clashing acids that rather peaceably resolve mainly thru added butter negotiants.