This bar is made from a blend of cocoas, sourced from the rainforests of Peru and Congo DR. Once harvested these beans are processed in Switzerland into one of Original Beans compostable packaged chocolate bars and for every bar made Original Beans philosophy of ‘One Bar, One Tree’ means that by eating this chocolate bar you’re helping to spread and preserve chocolate in cocoa producing origins.
I’ve not tried many blended chocolate bars before, at least not high end ones, I tend to be much more interested in single origin bars and their unique attributes. That said I’ve heard good things about Amedei’s 9 bar and so it seems worthwhile to see whether there’s an improvement on the general likes of supermarket chocolate. There’s plenty of blends in the world of coffee, especially in beans for espresso, with two types of blends being available.The first kind being a set of beans that blend to create a certain balanced flavour by using beans that are good at one thing or another and blending them to create something balanced overall. The second is much like a good inclusion chocolate bar, where two beans are blended that complement and improve each other. The second being much less common. I’m inclined to expect that this bar might offer something of the latter here, with Original beans using choice cacaos from parts of their single origin range, in this case I suspect their Piura Malingas and their Virunga. I’m unsure whether to expect something more archetypal, especially with the addition of African cocoa, or whether to expect something expressive, but earthy. Only tasting will tell if this bar is a balancing of incomplete flavour profiles or whether it is the improvement by combination of two equally good cacaos. Opening the packaging I’m presented with a fairly light chocolate for an 80% bar with some pretty neat and even chocolate work. Breaking off a piece reveals some fairly archetypal aromas of fragrant cocoa with some hints of leather. Placing a piece in my mouth the chocolate is instantly creamy, developing fruit jelly like textures similar to Turkish delight. To taste the bar opens up with creamy tones and is far lighter in profile than its 80% cocoa would have you expect, but it does feel a little underdeveloped, with cocoa flavours and simple sugars making up the majority of the experience. There’s some notes of forest fruits that add fruity tones, leading in from the middle and while pleasant they’re a little muted and short. This bar feels like two sets of beans have been used to create a particular profile as opposed to having been used to enhance each other, but in fairness they do create a light and fruity chocolate that disguises its high percentage. The bar feels like it has additional cocoa butter and even possibly an emulsifier, but is only made from cocoa and sugar, showing that the processing has helped to provide a particularly smooth and balanced chocolate, which no doubt originates in its Peruvian characteristics. This is an interesting chocolate, but I suspect it might be best experienced as both the Piura and the Virunga single origin bars that Original Beans make. Pair with dry mineral white wines, all butter puff pastry or dried fruit.
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar
Appearance 9/10
Colour: Medium milky brown
Texture: Smooth, soft, light flake
Mould: 6 x 2 sun rectangles
Snap: Crisp
Temp/Shine: Glossy matte
Aroma 8.5/10
Intensity(0-10): 9
Notes: Cocoa, hint of leather
Quality: Fragrant, simple, expressive
Melt/Mouthfeel 9/10
Length: Long
Evenness: Even, malleable
Texture: Creamy, fruit jelly, turkish delight
Quality: Thick, smooth, refined
Acidity 8/10
Intensity(0-10): 3
Notes: Forest fruits
Quality: Mellow, short, muted
Sweetness 8.5/10
Intensity(0-10): 8
Notes: Caster sugar, lemon honey
Quality: Light, citric
Flavour 8.5/10
Intensity(0-10): 8
Type: Sweet, bitter
Notes: Cream, metallic cocoa, forest fruits, caster sugar, lemon
Quality: Creamy, mellow, smooth, dampened
Length 8.5/10
Base notes have a good length, but top notes are a little short with rounds coming at the peak of acidity
Finish 9/10
Notes: Fruit cocoa, lemon
Quality: Forest fruit and cocoa notes make their way to and fill the finish with notes of lemon, leaving lingering fruity cocoa tones
Balance 9/10
Bar has an overt balance with equalised levels, strong base and structure provide plenty of anchoring and stability
Overall 8.5/10
Bar has some depth, but lacks any dimension, very little complexity to balance, structure is consistent, expression feels hampered by processing with processing encouraging smoothness and balance
Original Bean’s Tasting Notes: Dense notes of forest berries and coffee
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