Cocoa Dolce
Impact
Presentation 3.6 / 5
dusty & flat-tempered along the Western frontier town & trail
Aromas 3.6 / 5
infusion dominant, chocolate secondary
Textures/Melt 9.7 / 10
| Shells: | snappy; great bite |
| Centers: | generally soft, slightly moist of center, more liquified than creamy |
Flavor 43.4 / 50
forward restraint showing a deft hand
Quality 24.5 / 30
Room for improvement but skills aplenty. One to watch
Selections
| Couverture: | several (Scharffen-Berger, Callebaut, +) |
Strawberry – texture trifecta - liqueur, jelly, & caramel; the choc equivalent of a three-&-a-half pipe trick on a snowboard all done on Milk Chocolate; just a shredder
Classic – 57% bittersweet dusted in Scharffen-Berger for fermented twang
Crisp – washes out white rice milk
Sunflower Seed Praline – original combo, mealy grain frontier taste; 57% bittersweet almost goes to dark Port; exceptional
Tahitian Vanilla – sweet & fruited, splashed w/ Stoli Vanilla vodka; cheap berry liqueur FXs
Mayan – andro-stack (vanilla, cinnamon, honey, ancho, & almond); rather than conduct heat, chili acts as condiment which, along w/ vanilla, darken the rest of the complex to lay out the new chocolate trail mix; deft & innovative
Cocoa d’Or - 75% Tanzanian flecked in edible gold; smoked wooden bean creamed & toned backed only minimally so tannins stay long & strong; tremendous non-interference
Cinnamon-Orange – orange infused & orange zest + Viet cinnamon in this bittersweet 57% all adds up to a sum greater than its parts: a psychological gingerbread
Mocha – beans not really communicating; espresso-infused, semi-sweet Belgian ganache pitted against Kahlua Especial in a 57% bittersweet; overwrought & ultimately confused instead of just fused
Classic – 57% bittersweet dusted in Scharffen-Berger for fermented twang
Crisp – washes out white rice milk
Sunflower Seed Praline – original combo, mealy grain frontier taste; 57% bittersweet almost goes to dark Port; exceptional
Tahitian Vanilla – sweet & fruited, splashed w/ Stoli Vanilla vodka; cheap berry liqueur FXs
Mayan – andro-stack (vanilla, cinnamon, honey, ancho, & almond); rather than conduct heat, chili acts as condiment which, along w/ vanilla, darken the rest of the complex to lay out the new chocolate trail mix; deft & innovative
Cocoa d’Or - 75% Tanzanian flecked in edible gold; smoked wooden bean creamed & toned backed only minimally so tannins stay long & strong; tremendous non-interference
Cinnamon-Orange – orange infused & orange zest + Viet cinnamon in this bittersweet 57% all adds up to a sum greater than its parts: a psychological gingerbread
Mocha – beans not really communicating; espresso-infused, semi-sweet Belgian ganache pitted against Kahlua Especial in a 57% bittersweet; overwrought & ultimately confused instead of just fused