Artisan Confections
Impact
Jason Andelman of Artisan Confections is bold, up-front, full-throttle American stylee: big, rich, ripe flavors, some with awesome - only a couple with awful - concentration. He restores the faith in American innovation & individualism. Jump on this.
Presentation 5 / 5
chocolates at the exhibition; rivals Richart for museum-level detail & visual appeal
Aromas 2.8 / 5
recessed
Textures/Melt 8.1 / 10
| Shells: | semi-thick |
| Centers: | variable & all well-targeted to the individual pieces save for a rare misfire |
Flavor 44.3 / 50
screams for more chocolate presence; otherwise, this guy’s got game
Quality 26.9 / 30
Slight disequilibrium; there’s some flavor-burn at the expense of chocolate which should be intensified by re-balancing the mix. In some ways maybe a Norman Love knock-off but in other ways knocks him out too.
Selections
| Couverture: | Valrhona |
Lemon Hazelnut – brilliant concept; bright execution; lemon sandwiched between hazelnut bottom & praline top which, added together, spark a twinkling crunch
Salted Butter Caramel - oozy caramel; precisely salted & chocolate-matched, creating the depth of mocha; a signature bomb
Raspberry – plastic boob job; raspberry so concentrated & jammy it tastes up cherry cordial; an exaggerated miss due to the outsized flavor proportion
Ancho Chili – well-orchestrated passages anticipating a fiery crescendo that never came; what it lacks in loudness, & may have heat-freaks screaming to amp up the chili volume, it compensates for w/ aromatics
85% - excellent; cream distills the bean from Valrhona’s craggy Noir 85 & upgrades into a virtual port
Tahitian Vanilla – honest & true; vanilla deployed late in the action & treated as a separate, supple spice rather than the typical additive or even mask as it appears in many chocolate bars
Salted Butter Caramel - oozy caramel; precisely salted & chocolate-matched, creating the depth of mocha; a signature bomb
Raspberry – plastic boob job; raspberry so concentrated & jammy it tastes up cherry cordial; an exaggerated miss due to the outsized flavor proportion
Ancho Chili – well-orchestrated passages anticipating a fiery crescendo that never came; what it lacks in loudness, & may have heat-freaks screaming to amp up the chili volume, it compensates for w/ aromatics
85% - excellent; cream distills the bean from Valrhona’s craggy Noir 85 & upgrades into a virtual port
Tahitian Vanilla – honest & true; vanilla deployed late in the action & treated as a separate, supple spice rather than the typical additive or even mask as it appears in many chocolate bars