Galler’s bar looks hastily produced right out of the wrapper, with considerable bubbling, swirling, and unevenness. A dark colour also is an ill omen, although rather expected with beans of this origin. Aroma is more or less what one might expect of the Sao Tome/Tanzania blend, starting out with redcurrant/raspberry fruitiness (Sao Tome), before moving on to coconut with hints of rubber (Tanzania), ending on a grassy note (Sao Tome). Nothing terrible, but there’s nothing exceptional here either.
The flavour does manage to capture the raspberry fruitiness of Sao Tome, but all too briefly before cocoa and coffee take over and an earthy background appears. This is clearly the result of the Tanzania. Meanwhile, the typical woody bitterness of Sao Tome also rears its head in the finish, not exactly a sparkling finale to a bar at once predictable and somewhat harsh.
Texture is also a problem, being rather dry and dusty – in this case more cocoa butter would probably help, not to mention smoothing out some of the rough flavour notes. Granted, the chocolate reveals all the typical characteristics of its origins, but it must be said, all the negatives as well as the positives. Furthermore a choice of these 2 to blend is misconceived: against the aggressive brighness and tannins of the Sao Tome there is a need for something softer, like a Colombia; to match the brooding, dark characteristics of Tanzania requires a lively varietal like a Carenero Superior. Galler’s experimentation with blending origins seems to be very noncommittal, as if they aren’t ready to put the effort into it enough to achieve successful results.
