There are, to my knowledge, only a handful of shops that are carrying Claudio Corallo’s chocolate in the US. Fortunately, one such shop is fairly close to me and I got a chance to pick up several of Corallo’s bars on my trip to Zingerman’s Deli.

Before I bought anything, I sampled all of the bars (they allow you to sample everything in the store), including a 75% cacao, 80% with sugar crystals, 73.5% ‘soft’ with cocoa nibs, a 100% puro bar.

I also sampled a very special Corallo creation: Chocolate covered raisins that have been soaked in a distilled spirit that is made from cacao liquer.

Most of his chocolate has an interesting underlying flavour component: Graham cracker. His bars tend to be a little more rustic in terms of their texture, but I think it definitely works in Corallo’s favour.

The chocolate covered raisins are out of this world. Very strong stuff and you can definitely ‘feel’ the spirit upon inhaling. I imagine eating a 100 gram serving of these raisins would be the equivalent of taking a shot of a potent spirit. The raisins are positively saturated with the cacao “rum”.

Any other experiences?

He lives in Sao Tome and Principe and make chocolate from his own beans. Not much found on Claudio Corallos own website but you can check press info:
[url]http://www.claudiocorallo.st/[/url]

More about his chocolaet and a picture
[url]http://sahagunchocs.livejournal.com/19301.html[/url]

“Porcelana: The Holy Grail of Pure Criollos” (Maricel E. Presilla)

Just tried the 80% again with sugar crystals. If you are looking for a wonderfully rich and textbook cocoa flavour, this is your bar.

It has a slight touch of bitterness, but it is minimal given the fact that it is a forestero, 80% and not conched.

The flavour lingers in the mouth for a long time. The sugar crystals seem to work out better for this bar, as opposed to Domori’s gem. Gem is also far more bitter.

Anyways, try it if you get a chance. I find some of the Corallo bar are starting to grow on me, though they have a ways to go in terms of development. Nonetheless, his line has its highlights. Case in point is his 73.5% soft. This bar is similar to the bar he made with Pralus, but much better. It is indeed softer, as the nibs seem to just disintegrate in the mouth.