Cacao Connoissieur’s Club

September 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Madagascar 67% Producer:  Patric Chocolate,, Missouri, USA Origin:  Sambirano Valley, Madagascar Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes You’ve tasted this chocolate. It is the heart of our magnificent Tango 67% Sambirano-Ghana blend. Alan McClure is a master at transforming pure Sambirano Valley cacao into the most intensely plummy chocolate […]

July 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  El Pedregal 64% Producer:  Valrhona,, Tain L’Hermitage, FR Origin:  El Pedregal Plantation, Venezuela Notes: Porcelana varietal Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes Venezuelan cacao’s getting harder to find. Political unrest, socialization; it’s an old story. The chocolate you hold in your hand is a masterpiece. It begins dark and

June 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Rio Caribe 70% Producer:  Patric Chocolate,, Missouri, USA Origin:  Paria Peninsula, Venezuela Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes The Paria peninsula juts into the Caribbean Sea from the North coast of Venezuela. Rio Caribe, a fishing village rests at the shore; bright boats and market stalls. Cacao from this

April 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Puertomar 75% Producer:  Domori, Italy Origin: Paria Peninsula, Venezuela Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes I taste. Strong, dark, acidic; Unusual for a criollo cacao. White bean is rarely so aggressive. I wait;  I taste again. Soft, delicate, almost sweet; The chocolate has changed, Or has it changed me?

March 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Toscano Blond 63% Producer:  Amedei, Tuscany, IT Origin:  Blend Notes: Peach and apricot Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes In a small shop in Firenze I bought a bar of cioccolato. Mild and delicate, my attention On other things (in Firenze, there are many other things!) I thought it

February 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Piura Blanco 75% Producer:  Chocolat Bonnat, Voiron, FR Origin: Peru Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes Precious criollo–King of Cacao Pale white Peruvian bean. Do not look for The dark and bitter here– This is Criollo–King of Cacao. Elegant, delicate Taste of honey Apricots, dried in the sun Cashews,

January 2012 Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Selection Name:  Papouasie 75% Producer: Francois Pralus, France Origin:  Papua, New Guinea Cacao Connoisseur’s Club Liner Notes Papua, New Guinea, North of Australia. Seventy-five percent and yet curiously sweet. Smooth like silk, roasted dark, bitter-rich notes of  almond butter gather in the cheeks and eaves of the mouth, sidle sinuously

Cacao Connoisseur’s Club November 2010 Selection A filigree dish of gently- toasted nuts; a glass of creamy raw milk. Smooth to the tongue; a little sweet, a little toasty, more a sense than flavor of honey. Balance: toasted nuts and creamy raw milk. When all is said and done and the texture and flavor have

Cacao Connoisseur’s Club September 2010 Selection Real chocolate from Nashville — Who’d have thought? Two southern gents with an itch and some fine Ghana beans. Delicate green note of lightly-roasted cacao. Just a trace, and then KABOOM! Chocolate chocolate chocolate of mouth-filling Ghana beans made fudgy by the O&S secret ingredient: pure molasses-brown sugar. Enjoy

Cacao Connoisseur’s Club August 2010 Selection Palmira Plantation, Venezuela. Connoisseurs agree: A masterpiece of chocolate. Nuanced, delicate, balanced. 2009. A revered vintage. Tang of coffee soars Atop traditional notes Of pineapple and citrus. A lively roasting leaves Sweetness in the cheek. Consume the bar slowly. Savour it; revel in its Elegance. Palmira.