Fresco 241 Madagascar 74%

With trial and error, it appears that Fresco have found there to be just one recipe that works best with the Sambirano Valley, Madagascan cacao, and that is recipe no. 214. This is the cacao having been lightly roasted, and the chocolate "medium" conched

The aroma was soft, with cocoa, aniseed and light fruits. The taste was cocoa, fruity, floral, very liquorice, wheat. Very nice and soft. The bite and melt felt brittle, but this happened to be an old bar (check the old style of packaging...)

A new day gave me rubber, smoke, rich acidity, like a Papua New Guinea / Madagascan blend. Overall, an enjoyable bar of American craft chocolate!

A few weeks later I come back to the chocolate, it's liquor filled chocolate coated plums, a flavour with Polish reminiscence

Fresco 219 Papua New Guinea 69%

Cacao beans from a single estate plantation in the Markham River Valley, fermented for 5 days, dried for up to 3 days, shipped to Fresco in Washington, lightly roasted and medium conched, with then cane sugar and cocoa butter thrown into the mix - this bar is recipe no. 219, the first of 4 that Fresco have for the same Papua New Guinea beans

The aroma hit before I intended on testing it. Smoke. There was berry and citrus fruits, it was spiced, dairy and with a woody background

The taste started cocoa with the smoke coming straight after, then opens to a lime'd flavour [but] a lemon acidic kick. It was spiced and oak smoked, with a dash of vinegar. It was not bitter and the texture was smooth

Great chocolate, very sour. For most, I imagine, this 45g bar (£6.95 from Cocoa Runners) would be most appropriate as a 'tasting' chocolate, but I liked it! It has a more summer-feel to it than a winter one. It's fresh and lively, and if it had that caramel note that Willie's' Indonesia had.... "oh yeeah!" -Duffman