Monday, May 11, 2020

Amedei - Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) - May 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei srl
Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar)
Good + 
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $17.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Today's Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) was from Amedei srl (Pontedera (Pisa), Italy).

This chocolate, made with Porcelana cacao, tasted a lot like (yesterday's) Amedei Chuao 70% bar from the same Italian maker. It also had a sweet, relatively delicate, chocolate flavor and a slight, unusual cereal and cereal box/chewing gum (chicle) note.

Yesterday I speculated that some of this flavor could have been from the packaging itself (or an external storage or shipping factor). I believe both bars were packaged, shipped and stored in a similar way, so it's possible.

I wish I'd saved a piece of yesterday's Chuao bar to do a side-by-side tasting with today's Porcelana sibling to see what the subtle differences might have been between the two.

Today's chocolate had a slight soft, tart fruit astringency, with a fleeting throat tickle. There were very mild sweet spiced canned fruit, light vanilla/floral and true delicate chocolate cookie notes. There was nothing objectionable in either bar. But, neither was there much that was particularly exciting.

Expectations run high for artisan chocolate bars that mention Chuao or Porcelana, that come with a high price tag ($17.50 USD for this bar). Amedei has cultivated relationships with plantations in Venezuela that are growing "genetically pure" criollo cacao, known for subtle and delicate flavors.

No offense to larger chocolate makers is intended. Support for farmers and growers of great cacao stock in Venezuela and elsewhere is very important. But if one is chasing legendary flavor, there are a few small batch Chuao and Porcelana bars out there that will blow the doors off this week's Amedei bars, for a fraction of the price.

For example, I'd recommend Wm. Chocolate's Porcelana bar, reviewed earlier this week, that had an incredibly sophisticated, almost magical tasting curve. (I am a sucker for a great flavor ride.)

For those who remember Rogue Chocolatier, small batch bean-to-bar maker Colin Gasko helped set the bar for me, and likely many others, years ago. I can still remember that Porcelana bar.


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