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Out of the very pretty, if idiosyncratic, wrapper, the chocolate looks very nice, using the same attractive mould as William Curley. As with a lot of Arribas, it’s quite dark, but the tempering has been done competently if not perfectly and swirling on the back isn’t overly pronounced. It all seems rather immaterial, though, next to the mighty aroma. Powerful waves of plum and prune rush in, then hints of floral and honey (as good Arriba should have but so rarely does), and then more full-bodied sensations of grape and earthy. Not only is it powerful, it’s remarkably balanced and displays a favourable evolution, leaving you prepared for a sensational flavour.

As it goes, though, the flavour is excellent but maybe not sensational. Initially the notes are brown sugar and cocoa, a classic Ecuador. Then something unusual hits, a powerful, unmistakeable taste of cinnamon and cream, so potent one would almost imagine it a flavoured bar. A bit disappointingly the floral hints never really materialise; the rest of the flavour is swallowed up in an earthy finish. Not a depressing, utterly flat result, but one is left wanting more. Texture is also in that same category; it’s good, but one is left wanting more at this high percentage; what should be an ultra-smooth and creamy bar has merely good melt.

But at the end of the day, if one is left wanting more, this is a good result for a very new manufacturer. It indicates there’s real potential here, and even as it is the bar is very much worth getting, probably more than once. If the Chocolate Tree are dedicated to improving their bars, we may see improvement on this chocolate. The ways to improve it here aren’t hard to spot: lower the conching time a bit, to get more distinctiveness in the flavour, and maybe very slightly reduce the roast. It’s a chocolate, though, on its way to success, and with an entry like this, there is reason to expect bean-to-bar chocolate may be here to stay in Scotland.

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In typical Friis-Holm/Bonnat fashion, the bar out of the wrapper looks awe-inspiring, if forbidding in both size, and to some extent, colour. That is, it’s on the dark side, but with an exceptional finish virtually free from imperfections and with ideal temper. The aroma is exceptionally enticing, with raspberries leading the way accompanied by woody hints, then the fruitiness shifting to raisin and grape. Treacley and earthy hints are typical of Chuno and also add power, the boldness of the overall aroma issuing the challenge to taste.

How does the flavour respond to the challenge? Surprisingly meekly. It begins with citrus, possibly a modulation of the raspberry in the aroma, and then the flavour becomes clearly chocolatey, quite neutral before shifting to a drier cocoa with hints of tobacco. Hints of red fruits (redcurrant, raspberry), woody, and treacle justify the aroma. But unusually, all this is very mild, as if a flavour “volume” knob had been turned down to a low setting on a series of exceptional flavours. A glorious evolution, but with rather little resolution.

The texture of the bar – near-perfect with an unbelievably smooth and creamy melt – almost gives away what’s going on: very high cocoa butter percentage. Friis-Holm has proven before that it’s possible to extract good flavour definition in a high cocoa butter bar, but here perhaps the combination of the ferment process and the cocoa butter gets away from him just a bit. It should be noted that the Triple Turned doesn’t seem to be affected in this way. So, inevitably, how do the two compare? Astonishingly, it’s if the bars swap roles between aroma and flavour. The aroma of the Triple Turned is reminiscent of the flavour of the Double Turned, and vice versa. One would certainly not expect this sort of result from a variation in processing. It feels, though, as though the Double Turned may be, in terms of potential, the more interesting, but the Triple Turned will probably yield more consistent results. So it’s going to be a question of batch variation versus formulation. How these develop in time will be a fascinating thing to see.

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The post Friis-Holm – Chuno Double Turned appeared first on Seventy%.

Out of the wrapper, the large, chunky bar has an intimidating look, not just from the size but the darkish colour and somewhat matt finish. It will be said that perhaps the temper on it might be marginally improved, but it’s well within the range of well-tempered. Aroma is surprisingly retreating, soft and reminiscent of vanilla and cream, with hints of tobacco and fruits, along with molasses. Mostly it looks like the flavour will be quite mild, a definite departure from the typically assertive Chuno bean.

As it happens, the flavour isn’t so much mild as it is balanced. The initial flavour is very much dark, sugary raisin/blackberry, then there is a soft vanilla and cocoa interlude, almost like a hot chocolate, before stronger elements reassert themselves: woody and olive with hints of molasses. There’s a good flavour evolution here, with a sense that the peakiness common in single-origins has been smoothed out, so that the progression seems seamless rather than abrupt. Only in Porcelana and other pure Criollos has it heretofore been typical to find such smooth flavour progressions in a single varietal.

As per usual, Friis-Holm does a great job with the texture, as smooth and balanced as is the flavour. Maybe there is a bit too much cocoa butter to be ideal, but that certainly helps the fluidity and provides the appropriate texture for such a refined flavour. Roughness here would just be inappropriate. So how does this put the Triple Turned overall? Ultimately it stands or falls on its process. On the one hand, this is an excellent and accessible chocolate, which will appeal to a wide audience while having enough distinctive character to be convincingly interesting. On the other, it feels as though still better interpretations of the Chuno bean lurk: somehow with the right combination of processes the sense is that something truly extraordinary might result. It doesn’t have that sort of electric appeal, not yet. But regardless of that, it sets a standard for a new way of looking at chocolate, as a total process. Considered as half of a matching pair with the Double Turned, it’s a chocolate that proclaims powerfully that there is no one “canonical” process that can be seen as the only appropriate way of creating a chocolate, rather, there is a spectrum of possibilities, with different outcomes, each of which deserves to find expression.

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Chapon goes for a very polished style in the visuals, quite literally, the bar having the high sheen of the smooth-faced mould. An almost complete lack of moulding defects, and again, that sheen, indicate impressive handling, although the bar is worrisomely darker than typical for the source. However, the aroma is so archetypal of the source as to be a reference standard, immediately bursting out in redcurrant and blueberry, then moving to dark liquorice and wood, with some interesting hints of floral and honey that put it that step above all other Chuao interpretations. It’s hard to imagine an aroma much better or more characteristic than this.

But where the aroma compels tasting, as it turns out, the flavour is much more basic. Initially it begins with fairly generic creamy and chocolatey, before clear signs of strong, heavy roast turn up as the flavour evolves to cocoa and then to coffee, with some hints of ashiness in there as well. Fruity hints do emerge, mostly of a dark blueberryish variety, but on the whole it’s the roast that dominates, unfortunately erasing most of the notes so prominent in the aroma. Not that the flavour is bad per se, but still, a real pity.

It’s really too bad that the flavour speaks of heavy-handedness too, for the texture is at the peak of perfection, impossibly smooth and creamy and completely remaining true to the visual impression. It’s a bar that, to judge from the aroma, could have been the best ever, but for the roast. If it weren’t so aggressive, and if the flavour could have retained the elements so obvious in the aroma, this chocolate would have been very close to getting the unimaginable, a perfect score. But as it is, it turns out to be another worthy and interesting interpretation of the Chuao origin, but no more than that, something worthwhile to try but something that needs a bit of tinkering

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Rather dark roast is evident immediately upon removing the bar from the wrapper, with its very dark colour, although a dark red-brown rather than a dark purple-brown. Finish is very close to immaculate, even the back side of the bar showing only hints of where a few bubbles might have formed. It has the clean look of a chocolate processed to precision standards.

The aroma is all about blunt force, dense and saturated, with liquorice and raisin prominent in the beginning, then coffee, before very iron notes appear, molasses and even meaty. There’s impressive control despite the power, even if the aroma is quite one-sided in overall characteristics, but this is going to be a bar that explores the extremes of a flavour rather than one that tries to harmonise all flavours. Still, it’s the strength that leaves the lingering impression, and almost gives a sense of trepidation to tasting.

Interestingly, the flavour actually starts out lighter and brighter, with blackberry leading, then raisin. Powerful, yes, but not yet heavy. An interlude follows with a hint of mushroom overlaid on what is a very clean, pure chocolatey flavour, and then the mighty notes of the aroma pound in. Liquorice, coffee, and molasses all pour down in waves, although bizarrely there is somehow room for a slight grassy hint to materialise. But still, this bar is mostly about that powerful, long-lasting finish that never becomes flat or tiresome but just keeps sweeping over you. Texture, meanwhile, is good if workmanlike, smooth, perhaps a bit dry, nothing particularly to get excited about.

It’s that flavour that’s exciting. To this reviewer, at least, flavours in the dark, treacley domain are his favourite within the chocolate spectrum, and with such good exposition, Ocumare 72% will inevitably be received favourably. Others might not be so impressed – time will tell – but here is a bar that’s making a strong statement. It’s exciting to see chocolate makers experiment with extremes of flavour rather than go for a balanced but perhaps unoriginal version, and this bar vindicates Red Star’s patient approach to process. Equally, though, it establishes Duffy’s strength: in powerful, distinctive origins such as this, or the Indio Rojo – this is where he might focus, leaving milder, more retreating beans to a different group. A first-rate job and a good way to introduce a new season of chocolates.

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