Chocolate of the Day
Valrhona
Araguani Pur Venezuela 100% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 211.7 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order
Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.
Today's Araguani Pur Venezuela 100% Cacao (bar) was from Valrhona (Tain l'Hermitage, France).
Aroma notes for this ultra-dark bar included: an aromatic, attractive dark chocolate with a small bouquet of subtle fruits (including sweet berries), nut (almond butter) and barely detectable spice (aromatic, floral ground pepper, warm spices), sweet green, and very faint, freshly sawed wood.
The texture was thick and buttery smooth.
The strong 100% cacao chocolate had a balanced bitterness (porter, ale) throughout. It also had mellow faint wood and almond butter notes; faint acidic dried fruit notes, followed by a very faint refreshing, clean mineral water taste in the finish.
If you're not put off by bitter, deep flavors (or the 100% absence of added sugar), then this pure Venezuelan cacao would be a good ultra-dark bar to try, by itself or as part of a 100%er flight. The aroma was rich and pleasing, the texture was buttery smooth, and while it did stray into unsweetened baking chocolate territory*, the taste of this un-sugared chocolate wasn't too far off the rails.
Note: what you eat (before or during this tasting) may also make a difference in what you're tasting with this bar more than others. Eating lightly toasted fresh bread with grated melted cheese; roasted savory almonds; baked, stuffed potatoes; or a cheese plate may create interesting pairings. (Think of foods you might pair with a bitter ale.)
Maker's Tasting Notes: "Chocolatey (chocolatee) woody (boisees), full-bodied (corsees)
Ingredients: Cocoa beans from Venezuela. "Milk (Made in a facility that uses milk)."
Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that uses milk. This product may contain: gluten, nuts, soya.
*For chocolate lovers who, as children, opened a bar of baking chocolate found in a kitchen cupboard, and expected a sweet treat--and were shocked to find otherwise--you'll know what I mean here.
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