Kekau
Impact
Several ways have been discovered to spell cacáo, from the Olmec ‘kakawa’ to Mayan ‘chokola’j’ but ‘kekau’ is unheard of – except phonetically, which is where it comes from. A lot of talent & novelty, innovative & reaching, perhaps too much so, that ramifies in confusion as acrobatic mixtures sometimes fail to work & instead fall apart, due in part to an over-reliance on Dark Chocolate exteriors / White or Milk Chocolate interiors which often cancel each other (& along with it, high expectations) in favor of infusions left stranded.
Presentation 4.8 / 5
wowed by the jewel-like quality - opalescent appliqué among a simple set of enrobed & molded pieces; major tonality, solid thru & true; so much weight from such diminutive pieces
Aromas 4.4 / 5
practically at equilibrium w/ a pervasive anise
Textures/Melt 8.4 / 10
| Shells: | semi-thin |
| Centers: | soft - whether full-bodied or nearly liquid |
Flavor 37.8 / 50
forward & elaborate... in fact, a little too much going on, often creating negative complexity
Quality 21.6 / 30
1st rate elements; work-in-progress; more conceptual than culinary at the moment
Selections
| Couverture: | Valrhona; Guittard; Callebaut; & Cacao Barry |
Espresso Chai – milky soothe chai w/ espresso endnotes; warm & winsome as the front seat of NYC cab during morning rush hour when you can talk Starbucks, Sikhism & Sadhana Sargam w/ the driver
Basil Meyer Lemon – chocolate (both White & Dark) a mere ornamental conduit for clearly pronounced infusions mitered closely together w/out fusing ala ‘pesto bismal’
65% Sur del Lago – joined by L’Olivier French olive oil (characterized as ‘fruity’ by the maker) but w/ Guittard’s underachiever del Lago (forsaking fruits for nuts), coats overall contour in an heavy pine / walnut stain which nullifies any chocolate presence w/ a pasty, dull quality
70% São Tomé – a 2nd rendtion of the L’Olivier, this time set in the non-complexity of São Tomé; herbaceous & resinous occlusion w/ a similar, though less overbearing, staining-effect to the 65% Sur del Lago
Black Truffle Honey – a lot going on subliminally; hard shell / languid liquid center; honey the primary flavor, 72% Dark gives it width & juniper berry provides length; excellent
Thai Curry – soft top-notes of cilantro & coriander kick it w/ surprising heat but components never really settle
Grapefruit Rosemary - almost passion fruit brash, cut by an orange-like zest, until rosemary cream calms the acids; under development
Lavender Noire – all lavender; beautiful lavender-tinted coat; herbal thru & thru as, again, the Dark cover meets White cream center to cancelled effect; texture its saving grace – silk cream
Crimson Star – a lot of moving parts that come together flashing forward; Oregon Comice pear hit w/ star anise, vanilla & Poire Williams brandy in Java Milk Choc that works for a dessert piece
Spiced Berry - cinnamon shooting thru the shell, hyped as ‘Guayaquil’ but why bother mentioning it let alone wasting it when that Ecuadorian bean just gets bombarded by strawberry marmalade cut w/ black cardamom equalized in balsamic vinegar; wildly elaborate
Smoky Blue – Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese meets Vintage Plantation’s Ecuador Nacional; slightly sharp w/ antique tones of old fromage missing the sweet nuttiness typical of blues; enough smoke & cheese, however, to be an udder cigar that settles roughly on a rustic chocolate plank; one of the better versions yet of the recent wave in goat-cocoa fetishes
Habanero Tequila – starts out a freak show, turns into a brujo of heat & alcohol
Basil Meyer Lemon – chocolate (both White & Dark) a mere ornamental conduit for clearly pronounced infusions mitered closely together w/out fusing ala ‘pesto bismal’
65% Sur del Lago – joined by L’Olivier French olive oil (characterized as ‘fruity’ by the maker) but w/ Guittard’s underachiever del Lago (forsaking fruits for nuts), coats overall contour in an heavy pine / walnut stain which nullifies any chocolate presence w/ a pasty, dull quality
70% São Tomé – a 2nd rendtion of the L’Olivier, this time set in the non-complexity of São Tomé; herbaceous & resinous occlusion w/ a similar, though less overbearing, staining-effect to the 65% Sur del Lago
Black Truffle Honey – a lot going on subliminally; hard shell / languid liquid center; honey the primary flavor, 72% Dark gives it width & juniper berry provides length; excellent
Thai Curry – soft top-notes of cilantro & coriander kick it w/ surprising heat but components never really settle
Grapefruit Rosemary - almost passion fruit brash, cut by an orange-like zest, until rosemary cream calms the acids; under development
Lavender Noire – all lavender; beautiful lavender-tinted coat; herbal thru & thru as, again, the Dark cover meets White cream center to cancelled effect; texture its saving grace – silk cream
Crimson Star – a lot of moving parts that come together flashing forward; Oregon Comice pear hit w/ star anise, vanilla & Poire Williams brandy in Java Milk Choc that works for a dessert piece
Spiced Berry - cinnamon shooting thru the shell, hyped as ‘Guayaquil’ but why bother mentioning it let alone wasting it when that Ecuadorian bean just gets bombarded by strawberry marmalade cut w/ black cardamom equalized in balsamic vinegar; wildly elaborate
Smoky Blue – Rogue Creamery Blue Cheese meets Vintage Plantation’s Ecuador Nacional; slightly sharp w/ antique tones of old fromage missing the sweet nuttiness typical of blues; enough smoke & cheese, however, to be an udder cigar that settles roughly on a rustic chocolate plank; one of the better versions yet of the recent wave in goat-cocoa fetishes
Habanero Tequila – starts out a freak show, turns into a brujo of heat & alcohol