Zotter Labooko 75% Ghana & Colombia

Zotter's Labooko CONTEST range pairs two chocolate bars together for comparison. The range mainly includes different origins at the same cacao %, to show the diversity of cacao flavour

 

The Ghanaian had an aroma very chocolate and of wheat. The Colombian was more fruity and herby, with gherkin. In picture, they look very similar, however in real the Ghanian was a little darker

The snaps were crisp and clean, typical of Labooko dark

The flavour of the Ghana was wheat, chocolate, cake batter, with something almost meat-like. The Colombia, on the other hand, was more flavourful. I did expect that! It had fruits and acidity, garden cress, tequila. The Colombian was a lot more vibrant

The idea of the comparison seems a good starting point to those unaware that different origins have different flavour profiles 

Hotel Chocolat Rabot 1745 Colombia 75% Aractaca

image from Hotel Chocolat

The cocoa beans in this chocolate are from northern Colombia on the Caribbean coast. Hotel Chocolat give extra details such as the cocoa being a 2013 harvest, having a roast of 25 minutes at 130°C and with a refine and conche of 60 hours. As a high street brand, this is good to read, as even amongst craft chocolate such explicit detail is rare

The aroma was raisin, smoky, cherry, nice. The taste was noticeably acidic, with then tannins, H2O and finally metallic notes. Overall it was pretty sour

I appear to have messed up settings on my camera

In texture was the fine sugar particles. There was no soy/sunflower lecithin, whereas in other Rabot chocolate there often is. I think this is interesting

Willie's Cacao Colombian Gold Los Llanos 88

It's Willie's darkest GOLD yet. If you were to buy the Colombian 88%, you'll find that on the packaging, and online too, it will say "redcurrant and spice" notes, however on my packaging it was "soft cherry & plum". I was curious to find out which was more accurate

The single estate, Los Llanos, cacao aroma was cocoa (standard, dutch-processed), coconut, and most definitely plummy. Like dark, verging on overripe plums and their pits fermenting in barrels. Strikingly it became a malt loaf, packed with raisins, lightly spiced and made extra sticky with black tea. The malt loaf was toasted. I suspect Willie went for a medium roast 

The flavour opened with cocoa, which also finished the chocolate, and a soft bitterness. Naturally, as chocolate melts, flavour compounds break down on the tongue and you begin tasting all the different flavours of the chocolate. With this Colombian 88%, cherry quietly surfaced, which brought a sour-cherry feeling on the tongue. The cherry remained mild in taste though, with only the slightest sourness. I discerned the toasty roast, but apart from that ... nothing. I was hoping for more flavours, like the plentiful fruits in aroma. Once, whilst chewing it tasted like a cherry sponge cake

The chocolate didn't take me on a gustatory journey. I will admit that the intense cocoa flavour distracted me slightly, but I still don't think it had a complex flavour. I liked the aroma though, that was nostalgic. Like Willie's Peruvian, it smelt like Polish sweet things - cherry, plum, prune etc.

I like my chocolate to be a little sweeter and fruitier

Artisan du Chocolat Colombia 72%

This Artisan du Chocolat bar is a blend of lightly roasted Trinitario beans from the Colombian regions of Hulia, Tumaco and Santander. The 'robust' Santander, 'floral' Huila and 'fruity' Tumaco beans are refined with cane sugar, extra cacao butter and soya lecithin

A dark seal brown colour. It was thin and delicate to hold with a crisp snap

In the nose was coconut, light brown sugar, lime sherbet, rich vanilla and a little malt. It was very sweet. It had a low chocolate quotient which was something I found unusual

A slow start on the tongue, opening with a mild cacao bitterness. The "light roast" was so influential of this chocolate, oscillation in flavour between perfectly browned toast and caramelised sugar/créme brûlée. An overlaying touch of vanilla. There were the slightest hints of coffee and tobacco however the flavour wasn't deep enough to pronounce these more clearly. A longer, higher temp roast or higher cocoa mass to cocoa butter ratio would have developed those darker flavours as well as the overall chocolate flavour/aroma. I had a frangipane vibe once

The melt was luxuriously smooth, the added cocoa butter could not have been misinterpreted. However, this beautiful texture often distracted from the flavour, and as there was little complexity in flavours, the chocolate occasionally seemed tasteless

A long lasting finish of hot cocoa, with a sourness intervining after the initial hinting of nut, and malted rice 

Although a very low acidicity, it was mouth watering. The cocoa butter made for such a wet mouthfeel. I couldn't taste floral nor fruity notes at all, and neither did it seem robust. This chocolate was sugar-sweet and subtle in flavous. I was unsure about this Colombian blend at first, but it grew on me after trying it again at night. I guess I'm more alert around 10pm. It seems as though the additional cacao butter compromised the flavour intensity, however the light roast and sweet subtleties created a warm, soft experience which was more than likely Artisan du Chocolat's focal point

I think paying £3.50 for 45g can be easily justified. You are after all paying for quality. Though don't opt for this bar if you want expressive and loud notes. It is a relaxed, soft vibed chocolate. But that sweet softness was unlike any dark chocolate I have experienced yet, which is something encouraging for a beginner in the world of fine cocoa. I really liked this chocolate