Impact
Don’t believe the hype or you won’t believe your tastebuds. 85% in name only; cacáo-content here is sheer marketing buzz. Sly 3-bean blend: a “Dark” casting the illusion of Milk Chocolate.
Appearance 4.9 / 5
| Color: | scarlet brown |
| Surface: | starlet Cover-Girl |
| Temper: | matte |
| Snap: | butter soft to the touch; same w/ the snap |
Aroma 8.2 / 10
smoothly focused & deep: sesame & buttered pecan, coconut palm , hibiscus & mamey sapote, vanilla & slippery elm, all encased in leather-bound cocoa-wood
Mouthfeel 12.4 / 15
| Texture: | super soft, richly buttered, nearly thick-creamed ganache |
| Melt: | goes down lump fudge w/ slight grain |
Flavor 44.2 / 50
sweet rolls into dark dairy dough (vanilla, coconut, caramel)... reaches stasis -> light spice (nutmeg) -> hits its peak on breadfruit flashes -> cream swirls back in for milk-chocolate pap w/ caramel drizzled syrup on top -> a stretch of apparitions: hibiscus emphasizing raspberry -> sapote -> underlying spice re-emerges w/ cinnamon -> pecan oil -> reality returns to end where it began – coconut cocoa
Quality 11.3 / 20
Tame & timid. Deceptively sweet for 85%. Infected by the confectionary side of Marcolini’s business ala bakery pastry. An easy staple, like a bread-spread, orchestrating 3 grand tenors of cacáo (a blend of Sur del Lago, Carenero, & Rio Caribe strains) for some versions, plus Ghana for some versions. Adds up to a deficit less than the sum of its parts, & suspiciously underpowered. Portions seem less dutched-out than steamed-off in the processing. Taken as a whole, it feels focus-group tested yet possesses nearly faultless, if bleary, flavor.