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.
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!
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