Archive | October, 2008
Spreading the Passion

Spreading the Passion

by on October 20, 2008 in On Chocolate & Cacao, Reviews

Lately I’ve been ‘sacrificing’ quite a lot of my premium bars to my friends and family to invite them into the world of chocolate, or better the world of ‘my’ chocolate. Because the only way to really enjoy your passion is to share it with others and listen to their input. From the Dusseldorf Collection I already briefly reviewed the Hussel Madagascar, Pralus Venezuela, and the Neuhaus Ocumare, origin bars I had taste at several visits. I wrote a story about my nephew with the Michel Cluizel 1er Cru ‘Mangaro’ and also with a bunch of various people shared a Pralus Colombia, Domori’s Sur Del Lago Classificado and their Arriba, a Coppeneur Trinidad bar and finally also unwrapped a Valrhona Ampamakia 2007 vintage.

Spread the Passion

The Pralus Colombia was mild and fudgy but came with original flavours, again a typically dark roasted Pralus bar that tempts you to discover its terroir aromas. The first Coppeneur I tasted was a Trinidad, and though the first impression wasn’t delivering a lot of ‘wow’, it seemed to taste distinctively better the day after; is it because the cacao had had the time to acclimatize after being sealed in so long in its plastic foil? The Ampamakia 2007 was a known friend from Madagascar, whose mild fruity character and gentle texture pleases to many. Both the Domori’s were a big discovery, since they manage to create indulgent, well-tempered smooth bars that taste far from ‘chocolate’, and with their very expressive hyper-aromatic characters they are definitely an hate-love challenger brand to introduce to people.

Armed with a short introduction into origin chocolate, people were all curious to expect and experience something different, and tasted the chocolate chunks with patience. Almost all of them spontaneously started talking about the taste of cacao on other terms than good or bad, and put aside the ‘bitter’ cliché. I never pushed them into a certain feedback or direction, but on every moment I had offered a tasting, people were into describing various flavours and textures rather than nag on the bitterness of bars.
It works better if you immediately showcase more than one origin bar, so people can nibble from various aromas and experience the differences and character varieties instantly, which always brought the taste discussion on a higher level.

Spread the passion!

Monsieur Chocolat

by on October 19, 2008 in Marketing

Since my sister in law started calling me ‘Monsieur Chocolat’ – with a French touch, I had to post this funny AXE advert spot, self-identification case in point:

Neuhaus Venezuala Ocumare 71%

Neuhaus Venezuala Ocumare 71%

by on October 15, 2008 in Marketing, Reviews

A while ago I passed by a local Neuhaus branch and for fun decided to jump in and have a look around. I noticed they had a bar collection of origin flavours I wouldn’t expect at this typical ‘pralinier’ brand, so off course I was rather curious to get their story. It turns out Neuhaus is offering an origin range with also a Sao Tomé, a West Africa and a Trinidad. They do so since 2005 at least but I hadn’t noticed them yet, then again the visibility is rather low at Neuhaus.

Neuhaus Venezuala Ocumare 71%
(more packaging photos on Flickr)

What is well done on this bar is the packaging: it opens like a booklet, and comes tied in with branded ribbon. Once unwrapped the packing reveals a bar foiled in yellowish paper. It’s one that clearly stand out from its competitors.
Ocumare de la Costa, a town near the Venezuelan “chocolate coast”, is a spot that delivers well-fermented Criollo with lots of delicate high notes. Local family-run cooperatives are harvesting some of the finest organic cacao in the world and the ‘Ocumare’ is the type of cocoa bean that gave Criollo its reputation they say.

For the bar itself, that is designed in bite size chunks, the texture is thick, smooth but not creamy, with a soft & munchy bite character that complements the luscious nature of the cacao. Aromas come one after another and hints nuts and cream, strawberries and has a clear ending that closes a modest but decently complex profile. This unobtrusive tasting experience makes this bar addictively easy to eat. Neuhaus (had) created a mild and very accessible origin flavour that doesn’t come too bitter at all, maybe some might discuss on the aftertaste.

All in all, I think this first Neuhaus origin bar was a nice discovery, and when the Ocumare wasn’t an immediate punch in the face, I surely may check out Neuhaus’ other flavours and buy some bars next time I walk by their store.

The Real Chocolate Secret of Ferran Adrià

by on October 14, 2008 in Marketing, On Chocolate & Cacao

How could I not think about that earlier while writing my previous article “The Chocolate Secret of Ferran Adrià” !? The latter post eventually was an introduction to Amedei, the chocolate admired by El Bulli’s top chef. But there is indeed a story were Adrià really has a chocolate secret, one that actually lies with his older brother.

Ferran’s talented chef brother Albert Adrià  is one of the key founders & partners of Cacao Sampaka, a company established with backup from Chocovic, the fine chocolate producing company rooted in Spain. Now to be clear before we continue, Cacao Sampaka is a store concept that is conceived as “Cacao Markets” and as such is not exactly delivering the products and quality that would fit our “Cacao Aficionado’s and Chocolate Sommeliers”, but there is a huge cacao history & culture to discover in the gastronomic roots of Barcelona, the stubborn Catalunyan culture and the historic position of Spain.

With Spain being the first country to experience cacao upon arrival from the New World, as well as having the inventor of the first chocolate making machine produced in 1780, Barcelona has a deep rooted history in chocolate. This gourmet city boasts not only a Confectionery Guild, a Pastry and Confectioner School, a Museum of Chocolate, a plethora of patissiers and chocolatiers, but also one of Spain’s oldest and largest chocolate couverture manufacturers, Chocovic, which  is located only one hour north of Barcelona in Vic. Wandering the streets around La Rambla, Barri Gotic and El Born in particular, you are certain to stroll by and discover Barcelona’s love of chocolate.

From the first of my several visits to Barcelona back in the nineties I remember my girlfriend was raving about the hot chocolate served in Bar Schilling, a chocolate so deliciously thick you could almost put your spoon straight up in the cup. Later on I started discovering small chocolate stores as Xocoa, also a local brand with several branches in town, that has recently been expanding towards Madrid, Valencia and Alicante a.o.  And eventually some years ago the Barcelona chocolate culture made me discover the luscious Cacao Sampaka stores. [update] Sampaka actually is a tiny place in Koulikoro, Mali, Africa, though I’m not sure if that is where Cacao Sampaka’s name is derived from. Its apparently also a location in Indonesia, which makes more sense for cacao… [/update] The brand is conceived as a cosmopolitan concept for a high quality chocolate shop and cafeteria, offering an indulgent shopping experience with around 300 cacao based products, ranging from bars to bonbons, and ice creams to sauces…

Continue Reading →

The perfect tasting of an innocent child

The perfect tasting of an innocent child

by on October 13, 2008 in On Chocolate & Cacao

When I returned home this weekend from a family trip, my 8 year old nephew wanted to watch a video before bringing him back to his mom. I inserted the company presentation from Belcolade that I just received from a friend who works at Puratos/Belcolade as a Communication Manager.

My nephew was instantly absorbed by the world of chocolate and he started mouthwatering for a bite, and so I offered him a piece of a Michel Cluizel “1er Cru de Plantation Mangaro” that laid on the table. I actually did this on purpose to see how a little child would react on something so different from the supermarket quality chocolate people are used to buy. Just like the previously reviewed  Hussel Bejofo Madagascar, the 1er Cru Mangaro is cultivated in the rich valley of the Sambirano river, where Cluizel’s plantation flourishes on the land of a former mango tree forest.

Micel Cluizel. 1er Cru de Plantation - Mangaro

He was particularly delighted by the taste and I asked him eventually in an innocent way to describe me what exactly he tasted. To my fun and surprise he closed his eyes and said that only when you close your eyes you taste the aromas so much better. Where did he pick that up?! I insisted and asked him what aromas exactly he could discover in this Michel Cluizel bar… he rolled with his eyes and closed them back and soon after regaling his small chunk, promptly said to taste strawberry, closed his eyes again and a little later also reported oranges! I couldn’t resist laughing out of admiration…
This 8 years young expert evaluated the taste of chocolate with fruity descriptions! This in itself was already amazing, but also how close did he came: The Cluizel Mangaro effectively has tones of citrus and orange in particular, and though strawberry maybe too sweet a description, the bar is being classified with a fruity character and hints of raspberries.

I was astonished by the fact that even a child described this chocolate in a very original way, immediately discovering the rich variations in fruitiness, and hence that he evaluated the bar far away from anything bitter that is usually a prejudice when it comes to ‘dark’ chocolate. I guess I’ll have to hire my nephew whenever I may eventually start a cacao business :-)