The enforced long hiatus in Pralus’ Chuao brought about by Amedei’s exclusive agreement seems to have given Pralus the opportunity to think carefully about process decisions. Clearly the new version would have to be different from Amedei while at the same time true to the Chuao origin. However, the appearance completely belies the origin, being very dark-brown indeed, almost unrecognisable in terms of the origin. That said, it’s otherwise very nice, with relatively minimal swirling, although a bit of surface scuffing probably brought on through shipping.
The aroma, however, is all Chuao, all the way. First, it has the distinctive and unmistakeable power that is simply the strongest of any origin, period, and asserts its indisputed dominance with the same blueberry and brown sugar characteristic that marks virtually all Chuaos. Hints of strawberry and earthy further verify the secondary characteristic, dispelling any lingering misgivings about the chocolate. Then Pralus’ own style signature makes itself known, that dark, coffee and earthy note betokening a fierce roast.
Interestingly, it’s the roast that emerges first in the flavour, so that coffee and earthy appear instantly, verifying Pralus as the source beyond question – one could almost taste this blind and guess the manufacturer. But then a mighty chocolatey wave takes over, that which one has long suspected a Chuao roasted to the maximum allowable might yield, almost the essence of single-flavour perfection. But in spite of this, Pralus has somehow managed to save the Chuao characteristics from consignment to the fire, and all the usual suspects: blueberry, molasses, strawberry, make a surprise appearance in the finish. How Pralus has achieved this miracle with such an insistent roast may have less to do with the process itself as to the assertive and resilient characteristics of the bean, which is prepared to survive even fairly brutal treatment.
Texture is among Pralus’ best: extremely creamy indeed and with nice smoothness – it must be said here Pralus has improved upon Amedei. This could be Pralus’ best bar of all, in fact, a great example of a bean that takes well to a dark roast being given the opportunity to see what it can reveal with such strong treatment. Is it better than Amedei? No. But it offers a worthy alternative and demonstrates the extraordinary range of the Chuao origin, a source that not for nothing is among the most revered in the world.
