Impact
Raise a brassy racket, particularly for a 'Porcelana'.
A type of reverse-flip, as elucidated by Frank Zappa... there’s the Mexican poncho (on the likes of Pancho Villa) & then there’s the Sears™ poncho. The chocolate equivalent: real Porcelana vs. Tabasco Porcelana, where this comes from.
Faux-Pocelana, very site-specific. Stands out in the rather lonely crowd that calls itself Porcelana: a priss & a prick.
Appearance 5 / 5
| Color: | pearl brown |
| Surface: | kissable |
| Temper: | narcissistic glints |
| Snap: | sharp tongued; straight & clean edge |
Aroma 8.1 / 10
exotically light: breadfruit & buttermilk cut w/ a piercing welter of souring napoles & neroli
Mouthfeel 12.4 / 15
| Texture: | firm cured-butter |
| Melt: | patient crawl; extremely clean - almost no grip whatsoever |
Flavor 43.8 / 50
aperture opens on avocado & almonds -> sour chocolate -> pataxte -> transitions more cactus-like to napole (prickly pear emphasizing its bumptious citric melon components, pretty high & tight) in danger of overpowering the profile save for a seductive underlay of neroli (orange) & strawberry... releases like this for days - a bit unfocused - until parched spiced-chocolate (achiote [annatto], cumin, & coriander) merges in, dry as the high desert in the upper palate -> cool fading embers of fennel & white hibiscus
Quality 17.6 / 20
Mexican Criollo is still shrouded in the forest smoke of history. This bar does little to lift & clear that, which will only elevate its cult status. Barely fermented making for a cold kind of chocolate. Most Criollo & even more so Porcelana, undergoes a cycle of but a few days. Judging by the taste of this, the estimate is even less than that, delivering feral fruit action with inherent sweetness & acidity to mask underlying bitterness. Shades of Diego Badaró but instead of his Brazil fruit & flora, this naturally reflects Mexican terra - more dry desert tones & lighter tannins lacking the stronger chocolate backbone of Amazon cacáo. Curtailing the ferment also prevents seeds from turning a darker hue, helping maintain pale colored beans in keeping with its "Porcelana" namesake - all part of the tricks of the trade.
The connections are tissue-thin but given true Porcelana's extra delicate & transparent nature, it would present an ideal window on terroir, compared to other cacáo strains, to demonstrate that while genetics are vital, place & processing may be as paramount.
The connections are tissue-thin but given true Porcelana's extra delicate & transparent nature, it would present an ideal window on terroir, compared to other cacáo strains, to demonstrate that while genetics are vital, place & processing may be as paramount.