Java 74% milk chocolate from Hotel Chocolat's Rabot 1745 range. The cocoa beans were roasted for 39 minutes at 130 C, with a refine & conche time of 42 hours
Due to Java's "almost perpetual" rainfall, it is common for farmers to use wood fired dryers to dry their cocoa. This in turn, unfortunate to me, lends the distinctive smoked flavour that Javanese chocolate is known for
The tasting description was "Old-school glam. Opens like an enriched mousse au chocolat, filling the mouth with a lush smoothness. Notes of malted biscuits and baked banana swish by." Haha, NICE!
The aroma was intensely chocolate, with metal, minerals and cocoa nibs. I understand the "mousse au chocolat". When the nose sat, there came the infamous smoked note. There was a distinct rich caramel and butterscotch, of which I pictured drizzling down the "baked banana"
The taste was cocoa, noticing the very little sugar (14%) right away, unripe banana, fairly roasted. It was bitter and creamy, with an astringent feel in the finish. There was a bright, fruity sweetness in the middle, and the bitter cocoa restored with a spiced feel too. The texture was very smooth
This 35g chocolate was £3.75, and I really love the rustic look of it and how delicate it felt. Its flavour profile was not one I enjoyed so much, but, if a little sweeter and a little fruitier it would have been definitley more enjoyable than Artisan du Chocolat's 72% dark Java
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