Milk presents some moderate problems for appearance, defying the usually lustrous sheen so common of Slitti’s dark bars, but if this can be overlooked, one will find that everything else looks immaculate as always, right down to the charming color which resembles a deep shade of walnut. In the aroma, one will encounter some issues as well, these being primarily a strong milkiness that can be detected easily despite the 51% cocoa solids. Indeed, the general theme is dark milk, yet it’s not too milky to make it cloying or undesirable, which in the case of Cluizel’s mighty Mangaro, is exactly the same impressions that preceded tasting.
Rest assured, the flavor excels. The first taste is mostly cacao, then slightly milk, but these two components quickly merge so that one definitely knows where this bar stands: It’s a chocolate with a simple but good flavor, one that melds the milk and cacao to create a unified flavor that speaks purely of chocolate. Once this impression sinks in, though, the cocoa intensity increases even more, and the length finishes on a very satisfying and impressive note. In other words, the chocolate gets better the more it melts, and there is virtually no disappointment to be found, even if you look long and hard for it.
Until now, one would expect a creamy texture to complete what has been so far a fantastic package, and sure enough it presents itself effortlessly and smoothly, and not in the least fudge-like and overly thick. In the Lattenero range, Slitti may have found his calling. If presumably this line is produced with the same cocoa mass as the Gran Cacao line, milk certainly seems to be a mediating force to achieve good flavor across the board. At 51%, this is a satisfying chocolate that unlike the stronger bars performs a superb balancing act without swaying too far to the dark side, or too far in the other direction for that matter. In fact, it rests squarely in the middle, a place that Cluizel’s Mangaro occupied solitarily but now is met face-to-face with another tenant.
