Duncan’s Ultimate Dark Chocolate Tasting
I wasn’t actually present at this event, but Duncan gave me the whole collection to taste on my own. All the chocolate pieces were individually wrapped in foil, so it was a relatively blind tasting, though several of the chocolates were visually identifiable once unwrapped anyway.
1: Amedei Toscano Black 70% Venezuela Trinitario
Note: Haha ok well, it has "Amedei" stamped on the chocolate itself, so, this one's not particularly blind. I don't actually know which Amedei bar it is, though.
Nose: Rich deep red brown. Warm enveloping. Quiet peaceful going for a run in the rain, three miles in and there's just you and the rain and the road. Satisfaction.
Mouth: A tiny bit of purple. Rich sharp redbrown, a cherry wood desk office fireplace. A soft roundness, like a cat sleeping on a plush carpet in front of the fire. Coming in out of the cold. Something underneath it's hard to describe. Reminds me of boba (as opposed to kiki), undercurrents, cool flowingness. Red-brown and blue-green together here. An older man with a family and so many memories. A whole life.
Reflection: Shockingly well rounded. Solid. A paradigmatic example of dark chocolate.
2: Goodnow Farms Putnam Rye Whiskey 77% Ecuador Nacional
Note: This one also has a word stamped on it, though I can only see two letters. But "Go" probably indicates "Goodnow Farms", so I bet this one is Goodnow Farms Putnam Rye Whiskey. I don't *want* to be guessing these from the visuals, but I can't help it.
Nose: Quiet, soft, yellow-pink. A light amber river flowing, sunlight dripping. Serene and happy. Lightly sweet.
Mouth: Wonderfully smooth melt. Blossoming funky sharpness, but with a soft edge. Blooming radiating enveloping. Pink and yellow honey flowers, a soft gentle insinuating whiskey tea ambrosia drink. A delicate dance. This makes me feel happiness, awe, lightness, drifting, satisfaction, round enveloping freedom. Sunlight glistening on the tips of a soaring bird's wing feathers.
Reflection: This is absolutely beautiful. It definitely belongs on my [[favorite chocolates]] list if it's not there already. This is a deep and delicate experience with happiness but also interest and curiosity. A masterpiece.
3: Firetree Mindanao Island 73% Philippines
Note: I noticed that something was written on one of the squares, so I turned the square over before I could read it.
Nose: Oh gosh that's a whollup of a scent experience. Hm it's kind of mellowing out over time. It's like, "galUMPH". I've got an image of something galloping, careening. A gigantic boulder tumbling down a hill. It reminds me of alcohol, maybe an IPA. There's something round and approximate about it. It's almost clumsy, yet deliberate.
Mouth: Sharp, sharp, still sharp. Yes, definitely an alcohol. Bourbon, I think? Wafting. Hill people. Porch chatting. Smooth long strolling. Liquor breath. A finger shoved into dirt to check the dampness of the soil, the way trees whip around in a storm.
Reflection: I have no idea what this was. It's good, but it's a bit too sharp for me. I feel sort of battered by it. My mouth actually hurts a little bit in the aftertaste; I'm very aware of a spot where I must have bit my cheek recently, though I don't remember that happening. I feel like this one might take a while to get to know.
4: Choquiero Puro Sabor Dark Lover's Bar 80% Ecuador Nacional
Nose: Oh, a spice. Something powder-musky, like chai, or cardamom, possibly some anise. This has a lot of spicy stuff going on in it. But it's sort of powder grandmothery spicy stuff. I see an old woman making amber-colored hard candies at an old-timey candy shop in a little tourist town.
Mouth: What on earth is that. That's another alcohol I think. There's something like butterscotch. It's like a butterscotch liqueur. Maybe a beer, one of those deep red-brown ales they serve in Bloomington around October in the extra wide hefty stemware. A chocolate lagger? I honestly have no idea if there's actually any kind of alcohol in this at all, it's just very strange and unfamiliar to me. If this were a person it would be a bearish academic baker and blacksmith with a big old beard.
Reflection: I don't know what to make of this. It's definitely good. It has so much character. I feel a little bit overwhelmed by it, like I need to sit with it and get to know it for a lot longer, perhaps over several tastings. It's kind of a lot to take, but I have a feeling we'd be good friends in time.
5: Mirzam Kashmiri Chilli 62% Ghana Forestero
Nose: Warm. Sweet and a little spicy. Reminds me of riding a bike down a hill. The rush of it. Fun and a little danger.
Mouth: Sweet. Spice. Definitely chili. Oh, this is the Mirzam chili-infused chocolate, maybe. Cayenne? The heat is strongest at the back of my throat. Prickling burning. Bright. If this were a boat it would be racing, a competitive racing boat with a sail, the kind you stand up in almost like a surfboard. But there's also something relaxed about it. Relaxed and happy. The sun on your skin as you smoothly rush over the water.
Reflections: Lovely. Delightful. Smooth and clean.
6: Puchero El Castillero 70% Nicaragua Trinitario
Nose: Quiet cool. Sweet. Wet. Lily pads in Alaska. Dipping your feet in the water.
Mouth: Very sharp at the front. Spreading out. Bitter. Round. Splashing in a pond. The sound of frogs. Cat tails. The sharp red of clay in the mud. A childhood friend.
Reflections: I don't know what this is. Maybe Quantu? I'm not a huge fan of the sharp bitter hit at the front, but I really like the rest of it, and maybe I'm a little overly sensitive right now from a headache.
7: Maraná Cusco-Perú 70% Quillabamba Chuncho
Nose: Warm sweet sharp fast. Maybe some cool spice? A rolling blanket. A weighted blanket unrolling over you.
Mouth: Super sharply metalic at the front. Wow like electric current running over my tongue. A little grainy in the melt. I don't know what this is but it's got to be an inclusion right? Sharp wet electric two-spirited. There's the electricity, and there's something else. Something more round and cool, maybe lazy. An air conditioned couch potato of a chocolate underneath.
Reflections: I don't particularly care for this one.
8: Domori Dark Chocolate Ginger 70% Venezuela Criollo
Note: This one has "Domori" stamped on the chocolate.
Nose: Whoa what? Spicy red sour hot? Oooooh oh oh I see. This is the Domori ginger inclusion. I'm used to thinking of Domori as warm brown central chocolate, and that's why I was so surprised. Anyway. I... don't like this smell. It's very sour. It's like puking after eating General Tso's chicken. Ok but what if it was different than that? It's like a wild edible plant I'm foraging for.
Mouth: An awful lot like the smell. Also: Sweet. A little chalky. Spicy. The inside of a step pot that's empty but hasn't been scraped down or cleaned.
Reflection: You know what I don't like this one today and I don't feel like finishing my serving.
9: Belvie Thien Tuy 75% Saigon Trinitario
Nose: A quiet smell. Very quiet. Honestly I suspect my memory of the ginger one is getting in the way. It was so very much louder. Yeah, it's just sort of... slightly sweet. If I have to make something up, I think it's kind of powdery and reminds me a little of marijuana.
Mouth: Oh nice smooth melt. Sharp metallic at the start. Gets a little sweet. Dark, black spreading. Spaceships and lasers. A space battle around a station orbiting a moon. Sort of cold distant superficial character relationships. Rivets and antigrav and such.
Reflection: This is really dark. I'd be surprised if it's less than 85%. I'm not so sure it pulls it off. I find it a little alienating and not especially interesting, though perhaps I'm not looking closely enough. I'm not into it today.
10: Amedei Blanco de Criollo 70% Venezuela Criollo
Note: This one says "Amadei" on every single square. For a truly blind tasting, we'll have to scrape of the surface of some of these, or something.
Nose: Also very quiet. Maybe warm red dark, like a room lit only by a fireplace that's burning pretty low. Contemplation.
Mouth: Surprisingly round. Not sharp. I'd like to find out what makes the sensation I've come to describe as "bloobly". The one that's like frogs and wet round things. This has some of it. But it also has red-brown warmth. It's sweet. It's sort of a chill happy feeling, like strolling along unhurried but not lagging on a comfortable early autumn day. Friendly receptive approachable.
Reflection: I suspect this is one of those that somehow tastes sweeter than it is. I don't know what I suspect that. It tastes like a 75%. Perhaps just is a 75%, but for some reason my brain says it's an 82% that can't be bothered to be bitter.
11: Definite Coffee and Sea Salt 65% Dominican Trinitario
Nose: Tar asphalt ash. Sweet and fiery. Kind of quiet. Slightly pukey.
Mouth: A little chalky. Sweet. Cool. What is that? Something very familiar. A very common food flavor I'm going to be embarrassed by not being able to place. Gosh that's maddening. That's ok, I get to describe it originally, without it falling into my usual summary of it. It's a soft burnt ash, gray and umber. Sort of quiet or muted, like a layer of powdery snow. I imagine volcanic aftermath, the part where it's all over and everything is silent and still. It's almost restful.
Reflections: This chocolate is sort of contemplative and almost soothing. It's like a memory of excitement.
12: Amano Ocumare Village 70% Venezuela Criollo
Note: This one has "Amano" stamped on every square.
Nose: Mmm. A little sour. Earthy dark cool. This is Ocumare Village. It's like the light of the moon reflecting on a pond, observed from deep shadow.
Mouth: Sweet. Oh my god it's so beautiful. Earth and water, light and dark, stone and dust. A secret and ancient academic school that meets in the woods at night and keeps its vast library in hidden caverns beneath the forest. A celebration with with fungus fae.
Reflections: I really fucking love this chocolate. It's got a bit of a ruggedness, more of a bite than I usually expect in excellent chocolate, which requires me to see it on its own terms. But when I do, it's breathtaking.
13: To'ak Galapagos Harvest 2018 75% Ecuador Nacional
Note: I recognize this one from the shape of the pieces. There's an equilateral triangle connected to a slightly larger obtuse triangle. That's the corner of a To'ak bar.
Nose: It's very subtle. Quiet. Slightly blue-green. Calm. Interested. Young, playful, relaxed. A little boy playing with blocks.
Mouth: Shockingly smooth texture. It coats my mouth. Quiet. A little bit of smoke. Greenery, leaves drinking in the sun. Black volcanic soil. Taking a nap while listening to the rustling of branches and a distant low windchime. A gentle breeze.
Reflections: This is lovely. I can't tell if it's just that the Galapagos bars are like this, or if it's me, but I'm not finding as much in it as I expected to. Overall I'd describe this as smooth. Very little jumps out.
