Oobir Eats

[Mr. Oobir]

In the Currently Viewing thread, a post of mine about chocolate bars got me in the mood to order a few. Thanks to a web site mentioned in that post (chocosphere.com to be exact) I bought a few of the best bars available.


(Just...don't look up the prices. I may have went overboard here.)

The first one up to bat is front and center in the photo - the Amedei Cru 70% Venezuelan Single Origin, produced in Italy. What an excellent chocolate bar! Smooth, pleasant flavor, none of the bitter chalkiness that is common with many dark chocolates I've had. The aftertaste was a simple cocoa flavor. Honestly, even if you're a milk chocolate-only type of person, you'd probably like this. My language for describing chocolate is a bit rudimentary, but the takeaway is all positive. Thumbs up!

Stay tuned for further coverage.

[Mr. Oobir]

I was going to wait until tomorrow for the next one, but what the heck. Next up is the Bonnat 75% Trinité. It opens with a strong cocoa flavorthat quickly gives way to lovely citrus notes, with a short-lived aftertaste of coffee and chile. It’s not quite as smooth or pleasing as the Amedei, but definitely more complex and more like a classic dark chocolate. Also very good!

[Glenn]

following

[Mr. Oobir]

With the remains of the Bonnat and Amedei in the hands of one of my siblings, I'm free to move on to the Valrhona Noir Manjari 64%, a single-origin Madagascar chocolate. It's honestly a bit bland compared to the previous two. The packaging says it's "tangy and fruity," which I guess tracks, but the tangy-fruity part is a bit nondescript, I guess? Again, my lack of chocolate sophistication betrays me. Its best quality is the aftertaste, which lingers with a flavor like an excellent chocolate syrup. The bar is still very good, don't get me wrong, just a bit lacking comparatively.

[Mr. Oobir]

Over halfway there! The next bar up is the Maraná 70% Single-Origin Peru. Maybe it's chocolate fatigue, but I'm finding it tough to think of much to say about this one other than, "It's like the Valrhona, but significantly more bitter." Similar fruity attack, the aftertaste isn't as good... I don't think I'll come back to this one. Hey, they can't all be winners. (Which is ironic here, since the Maraná's packaging boasts of its Amercias Gold award in the 2018 International Chocolate Awards.)

[Mr. Oobir]

I'm going to put the reviews on hold for a couple of days to sort something out. You may have noticed that each review has been less positive than the one preceding it, and there are a couple possible explanations. It could be that I've tried too much chocolate in too little time and have thus burned out, but I think it may be due more to more literal temperature issues. Each of these bars recommends storage somewhere in the range of 60-65F, but I've had them sitting around in temps at least 10F higher than that. In either case, allowing them a little time to cool down seems a prudent move, and hopefully I'll be back at this shortly.

[Vinny]

Sounds like a plan.

[Mr. Oobir]

Getting back into it a bit, let's take a detour with the Michel Cluizel 47% Plantation La Laguna. Being a milk chocolate, this one isn't directly comparable with the others, but it does serve to remind us of the appeal of dark chocolate.

This is a perfectly pleasant bar, creamy and sweet with only a soft snap, and no bitter notes at any point from first bite to gently fading aftertaste. Nothing very complex, but nonetheless enjoyable. Reading the tasting notes on the packaging, though, might have you believe otherwise. It boasts of its "sweet notes of cappuccino and hot chocolate, mixed with hazelnuts and toasted bread," describing an experience a touch more intense than what I got. (Though looking at it again, hot chocolate and hazelnuts both taste like, well, chocolate, and toasted bread is about as neutral as food smells get.) Obviously, milk is going to dominate the flavor profile of milk chocolate, and this one was no different.

Compared to, say, the Bonnat, which was a play in three acts, this was a dramatic monologue with no intermission. Which is perfectly fine! Milk chocolate is delicious. But after several days of sampling dark chocolate, each with its own distinct crags and valleys, I can't help but find this one a bit flat.

Only one more to go!

[Mr. Oobir]

Our sixth, and final, chocolate for consideration is the Domori 70% Criollo. I'm not sure if it was due to keeping this one at the correct temperature or pure coincidence, but this is a return to excellency. It has a satisfying snap to it, bordering on brittle so be wary of chocolate slivers breaking away. Much like the Amedei, it has a pleasant sweetness from start to finish, with a tart presence not unlike sour cherries. The packaging claims it has "notes of almond and toffee," and you know what? If I squint my brain hard enough, I can just about taste that. Another huge success, and a wonderful choice to conclude this journey.

[Mr. Oobir]

My final rankings:

1. Amedei
2. Domori
3. Bonnat
4. Valrhona
5. Maraná

(Not ranked: Michel Cluizel, on account of being milk chocolate)

-Looking at the countries of origin for the cacao beans, both of the Venezuelan chocolates top the list. From my extensive reading on the topic (that is, that one web site I mentioned at the beginning of this whole thing), Venezuela produces some of the best chocolate in the world, and that tracks with my experience.
-Again, I can't rule out that my tastings were influenced by improper storage on my part; mea culpa for my inexperience.
-Bonnat had the nicest-looking chocolate bar of the bunch, and the most attractive packaging. Thumbs up for that.
-That's a lot of chocolate for one week, even if I didn't eat all of it.

Thanks for reading, Glan, Vinny, and Vinny's friend!