Chocolat Madagascar 50% Milk Chocolate

Woa,    I'm pretty sure this is my first post on Chocolat Madagascar

This is a 50% milk chocolate, so essentially a 'dark milk' chocolate. It won a Bronze award at the 2015 Academy of Chocolate

It has a pretty low added sugar content at around 25% (ignoring the natural sugars in the milk), which is less than your 70% dark chocolate. The ingredients puts cocoa butter first, followed by whole milk powder, cane sugar and then cocoa beans (plus sunflower lecithin)

The aroma is rich, wheat, metallic, malt vinegar. It's slow to melt, but once it gets going it's pretty consistent. The taste starts with barnyard, wheat, malt, then simple 'cocoa' flavour comes in. It has Demerara sugar and toffee flavours dispersed within a balanced acidity

The finish is very fresh and clean, which is helped by there being a lot of cocoa butter. There is actually a lot of cocoa butter here, making chewing it feel too fatty, but it makes the chocolate melt very smoothly. This chocolate seems super French, no political correctness 

The finish is somewhat tannic or raw wholemeal bread dough. An enjoyable milk chocolate, easy to eat... 

Dandelion Chocolate

Founders with their backgrounds in the dot com bubble of Silicon Valley, now immensely respectable chocolate makers, Dandelion Chocolate is case study material. Chocolate factory & cafe, in San Fransisco and Tokyo, with menus too amazin

When Todd, founder of Dandelion Chocolate, visited Damson chocolate, he left 3 bars ...

Zorzal, Dominican Republic. Smooth in flavour, it was woody, walnut, caramel, brandy, chocolatey 

Camino Verde, Ecuador. Straight away digestive biscuits. It melts into chocolate fudge brownies, taking on my mum's approach to baking: cutting the sugar. It feels as if more sugar would have made the brownie-feel to be more effective, but overall super chocolatey and warm

Ambanja, Madagascar. Raspberry jam, liquorice, wholewheat, it was noticeably thicker in the melt. It was beautiful with its flavour. This one was so good, so, so, so good

Dick Taylor 72% Black Fig

image: Caputo's Deli

Dick Taylor, handcrafted in Northern California, bought in UK up-market supermarket M&S, wow! That is a great moment for craft chocolate. Selected Marks & Spencer stores currently stock Dick Taylor's Belize and Black Fig bars. Belize I've had, so Black Fig I had to buy. I am fond of Dick Taylor craft chocolate, mostly because of their Belize bar...

The ingredients: organic cacao from Madagascar, organic cane sugar, black mission figs. The chocolate itself is just 2 ingredients. The figs get sprinkled on the back, although less do than I expected (from having seen pictures)

It was pretty vinegar in flavour, though the subtle fig was a nice touch. This chocolate probably tastes like Chocolate Noise's fig and balsamic vinegar truffles, if I ever had one. It lacked the fruity quality of Madagascan cacao, harnessing predominantly the acidity of it. It had a smooth melt, despite no added cocoa butter. Admittedly, I think anything I have said or could say about this particular bar is unreliable, as it just didn't seem like Dick Taylor's approach, nor did it match what other people have found the chocolate to be, i.e. great. (batch no. 16195, if you're interested)

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

Menakao Madagascar 72%

Menakao 72% became my airplane chocolate, and then my backpack chocolate - something to enjoy from time to time when desired

Menakao is Madagascan-cacao chocolate made in Madagascar. The ingredients are cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, non-GMO soya lecithin 

The aroma was cocoa, lightly vinegar, overall simply chocolate

The taste started cocoa, with red fruits, mainly cherry, with light smokiness and an overlaying cane sugar juice. I noted this chocolate to be very chocolate and sweet. Two weeks later it was raisins and chocolate covered plums, pretty Polish to me

The chocolate felt rustic with its grainy, slow melt

Dormouse Madagascar 75.6%

Dormouse, small-batch chocolate makers, had won bronze in this year's Academy of Chocolate. This award had been won for their 75.6% Madagascan dark chocolate. The recipe is Madagascan cacao beans, muscovado sugar and cocoa butter

The aroma accentuated different starting notes upon each tasting. Firstly sour, the next was smokey, the next metallic. Overall I would describe it to be sour fruited. Forest and summer fruits, particularly raspberry, macerated in balsamic and apple cider vinegar. There was raisin, treacle and cedar wood too

The taste was roasted, vinegar (high acetic acid, lingers from a crucial process in the fermentation of cacao!), baker's bread. One tasting where the aroma had piquant metallic, it reminded me of a Peruvian small batch I once had, (of RealHonestChocolate...), and I must stress the "piquant", as I enjoyed the chocolate very much by now. The finish was strawberries and general red and black berries with balsamic vinegar, and bamboo leaves

The texture hadn't been as smooth as the 60% dark-milk I recently had of Dormouse's, but then again the refine and conch time was significantly less at 25 hours compared to the 60 hours for the dark-milk

I love the thinness of Dormouse bars. This award-winning Madagascan chocolate was packed of flavour, that brightness and tartness of Madagascan cacao. A chocolate that would have provoked interesting discussion amongst the judges at the Academy of Chocolate

Akesson's 43% White Madagascar

I remember this bar making an appearance on the chocolate scene last winter. This is Bertil Akesson's first white chocolate; it is made from cocoa butter that had been pressed from organic cacao grown on his Bejofo plantation in Madagascar 

There are a number of reasons as to why this white chocolate is different to 'standard' white chocolate, for example, the simplicity of ingredients. Just organic cocoa butter, organic milk and organic sugar, in that order. The cocoa butter is non-deodorised too, which means you are getting the authentic flavour of the butter of the Bejofo cocoa bean! This is unlike nearly all white chocolate, of which are made with deodorised cocoa butter (i.e odourless). Lastly, there is no vanilla, so again you will get the true Bejofo cocoa butter experience 

That list was not exhaustive, I could go on, but I won't

The taste was great, I loved it, a lot. A little smokey, very creamy, somewhat cheesed, sweet. The aroma and taste matched

Overall, this Akesson's bar was not just a sophisticated white chocolate, but a sophisticated chocolate full stop

A good comparison would be Willie's Cacao El Blanco white chocolate. It has a slightly lower cacao % (36%), of which is Venezuelan (not Madagascan), but similarly it is non-deodorised! The sugar of Willie's Cacao is raw cane, which could add a darker sweetness. Also, it's priced at around £1.80, where Akesson's is £5.95 

Tejas Madagascar

Tejas is an American craft chocolate maker, based in Houston, Texas

The 70% chocolate was crafted from Madagascan cacao and pure cane sugar

The aroma was wheat and soft red fruitiness

The taste started with pure sugar cane juice, very sweet, light raspberry tartness surfaces, wheat comes, and all slowly transitioned to toasty and liquorice. The melt was slow, truly expected from American craft 

The cacao beans were from Akesson's estate, but I'm not thinking that's the only reason as to why this was a good chocolate. Tejas appear to be good chocolate makers 

Black Gold Madagascan 72% dark & 55% milk

Black Gold craft chocolate. I feel privileged to be the first to write up on this chocolate - both these bars were "Batch 001"

This black and gold packaging seems to get a lot of attention: it must be the minimalism and handcraft aesthetic that does it

72% Dark
The aroma was smoky, earthen, coffee, the tiniest suggestion of acidity (red fruits and balsamic). It didn't seem so Madagascan, and as a casual chocolate maker myself, I was slightly envious about this, as my Madagascan chocolate is always crazy acidic. However, this chocolate may be very long aged and I think the beans were more towards a higher roasting temperature or time

The taste started and stayed roasted, with then the accompaniment of the anticipated Madagascan acidity: fruity! Amongst this was icing sugar, which unfortunately made it taste paper tainted. However, I found myself really admiring this chocolate's acidity, as from the experience of the aroma, I didn't expect such fruitiness

55% Milk

The aroma was very mellow, having smokiness and subtle dairy. The taste was that of the 70%, however up came such lovely creaminess! There was a toastiness within that reminded me of Casa Luker (Colombian) cacao liquor 

The texture was brittle. But that taste! The taste meant that this chocolate did not last long. I loved it!

Overall, as I've had Black Gold from its genesis - if you like -, I look forward to seeing how his (Brynny's) chocolate develops; only good things can come from this pastry chef

Omnom Dark Cherries + Almonds

          'tis the season for festive chocolate   ?        

picture by Omnom 

Just like Omnom's 2014 limited edition, which was Dark Nibs + Raspberries, this chocolate was a 66% Madagascar

I love Omnom. Their brand is amazing and spot on with the packaging, their 45% Milk of Madagascar has to be illegal (it is that good), they make good chocolate and they just seem cool

Salt & vinegar crisps to the nose. The taste was very cherry and balsamic vinegar! The nuts added crunch and creaminess to taste and the cherries added chew. The cherry matched well with the fruity Madagascan chocolate, and I think salt with vibrant Madagascan always works really well

Overall, a good looking chocolate, a good tasting one too. There are four ingredients that aren't usually found in chocolate of this calibre nor style (sprinkling of fruit and nuts) which discredits Omnom for me. But hey, the 66% chocolate itself has excellent ingredients. And this would make for a cool gift

Menakao 63% Combava & Pink Pepper

Cacao took a long journey before landing on Madagascan grounds. From the origin (South America) it was brought to the Philippines, en route to Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Réunion and then finally the red island of Madagascar (estimated journey)

Menakao use cocoa beans that are organic (though not certified) from the Millot plantation of the Sambirano Valley. Archival documents from this plantation say that the first cacao trees Millot planted (near to 100 years ago) were grafts from Java, specifically the city of Bogor

Menakao use cane sugar from the Menabe region, grown southwards ≈1.5km from the cocoa! And they are one of two Madagascan bean-to-bar companies (the other being Madécasse)

The aroma was strikingly Turkish delight, ever so floral, peppery, basil (it reminded me of Rococo's basil & lime dark chocolate), lemongrass and something sweet & acetic like balsamic vinegar

On the tongue the floral rose was the drone with the spiced pepper as the high note. The Madagascan chocolate was exceptionally red, very bright - though it was only perceptible when it would overcome the pink pepper. I had a taste of Thai green curry few times (lemongrass)

The depth of this chocolate (as in the mould's thickness) was probably the best I've had. I really loved it. The chocolate itself was nice. The way the Madagascan fruitiness would come out was superb. Some may think the aroma/flavour to be a little too 1950s Hollywood dressing-room glamour (perfumed), but I love Turkish delight so I fared well. Though, I'm not one for pepper in chocolate ...

Madécasse Espresso Bean

A creamy, 44% Madagascan dark milk chocolate with ground Arabica coffee and cocoa nib crunches

The aroma was fresh brewed v60 coffee bloom, or the espresso crema - with fresh cream; it was incredibly soft, smooth and creamy

The first taste was coffee then came caramel-ly chocolate. It was milky and with a salt-enhanced sweetness. I feel that the salt was unnecessary as the taste was 'too sweet'. But before that enhanced sweetness it was flavours of relaxed atmospherics and great beauty. Chewing the chocolate: there was bright, fruity acidity and fermentation, the nibs added a satisfying crunch and gave an acidic/metallic taste. The finish was sweet, coffee and fruity

There was surprisingly some cocoa bean shell scattered on the chocolate, I first noticed in texture but I could actually see it. The coffee had strawberry notes, really quite juicy. The chocolate, being Madagascan, had a little sourness after the caramel flavour

Apart from the intensified sweetness by the salt, I absolutely loved this chocolate and I 100% recommend!

The Chocolate Society Madagascar 75

^pic: Selfridges.com

The Chocolate Society use Valrhona chocolate, and do not supplement any of their "high quality chocolate with cheaper Belgian Callebaut chocolate". They are chocolatiers, not chocolate makers; and so I personally wouldn't have bought a chocolate bar from them. I only like paying for bean to bar chocolate. However, as I had been gifted this bar I am not complaining! (especially as it was bought for £6.99! - Selfridges do some serious markups on chocolate)

The ingredients were: cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin & natural vanilla extract. Valrhona make a Madagascan chocolate (Manjari) at 64% but not a 75%, so I am curious as to how this chocolate has been made. Could the Choc Society have used Valrhona's 100% Manjari? Surely not as that would have required refining of the sugar particles. This is all too ambiguous for me, but I presume this is just unadulterated Valrhona chocolate (as in the Chocolate Society melted Valrhona chocolate and set it into their classy moulds)

Anyway, the aroma was nutty, cocoa, sharp red/dark berry, metallic and spice

The taste started cocoa and bitter, with vanilla then slightly fruity with a toasty finish. Going for more I found it became more complex. A vibrant acidity, heavier red fruits, red wine, pecan nut and still that toasty finish

I thought this chocolate had too much "cocoa" (alkalised) flavour, it seemed more a chocolate I would use for a dessert/bake, as it didn't have that sense of sacrosanct, like with craft, bean to bar chocolate. I liked the appearance very much, but I think The Chocolate Society are more about their fine artisan chocolates! However, I imagine this chocolate would appeal to the mass market as it is, after all, origin

Paul A Young 63% Madagascar

Madagascan cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, GMO-free soy lecithin

An aroma quite chocolatey, thread of liquorice, blackcurrant, acidity/metal, foliage, gin, leather, vanilla, hazelnut and juicy pineapple!

The taste was hazelnut, then chocolate came through, washing-up liquid...., sugar, now it's lime washing-up liquid. And then nearing and in the finish was a little taste of soy. The taste hadn't convinced me

The aroma was exceptional, but I'm not too sure what happened with the flavour. That's a shame because Paul's Madagascan whole bean 64% was wicked! I liked this 4 piece mould though

Willie's Cacao Madagascan Gold Sambirano 71

Another chocolate made from Sambirano cacao. First with Domori and then with this, and also being able to taste the Rózsavölgyi and The Chocolate Tree again, it is proving to be some product development research for me (but really, actually heartening to find that I make chocolate that I love)

The aroma had me in a forest, it was toast, spice: cracked pepper, chilli; prune, forest fruits, orange blossom, wood shavings, malt, tree sap, Marmite. The wooded profile dominated the fruitiness (and bare in mind it wasn't greatly fruity)

On the tongue was a juicy acidity, with firstly a heavy roast but then berries rounding it: strawberry. There was also pineapple, the occasional sour hit (loved!) and raisin

The finish was slightly bitter and with some astringency

Tasting again right after the Sambirano chocolate I made: it was alkalised cocoa and wood. But once my mouth became more familiar again, there came the acidity and fruits

It is good chocolate with great acidity (think raspberry and sour cherry!), though I was not so hot on the earthed/wood profile. And it's just SO roasted 

Domori Sambirano Madagascar 70

picture from chocolatetradingco

This Madagascar is made from the same region my cocoa beans are from: Sambirano

The chocolate had a surprising roasted aroma, not fruity, there was rich chocolate, slightly metallic, and ... butterscotch

The texture was sensationally smooth, but I expected no less from Domori. The taste was chocolate, roasted, hazelnut and almond, a slight sourness at the back. I recognised a 'Feast' ice cream. This chocolate was creamy in taste and, as you can tell by my Feast analogy, it was not that sophisticated. The finish had me thinking of a particular coconut and cherry moist biscuit (if I really have had such thing) with a taint of coffee

I don't mean to sound boastful, but I think I achieved a better flavour with these cocoa beans ...

Chocolat Bonnat Madagascar 75%

I bought this chocolate when in Nice, and I chose it because Bonnat is a highly acclaimed French chocolate manufacturer (making bean-to-bar) and because it was made with beans associated with fruitiness - Madagascar! Bonnat make their chocolate bars with more cocoa butter than sugar, which creates the 'traditional' style, but this style is one that I am not so keen on. I like smoothness, but not so much when it becomes a buttery texture and impacts on the flavour - and especially when compared to the rustic style of craft chocolate

The aroma was cream crackers, nothing more. The taste was bran-flakes, toasty, cocoa in water (dutch-processed), buttery. This chocolate was so, so, so buttery - taste and texture, and lacked complexity. Its taste reminided me of a couverture brownie, it lacked that intense 'chocolate' edge

With my third approach at this bar, I did actually sense some acidity. It was only really in the aroma, a little in the taste, however it was not enough to be fruity or give a more prominent flavour. I am convinced this chocolate bar was just an unfortunate bar (a poorer harvest), as I have seen only positive critiques of this Madagascar, and it's been said to be very fruity. Though, if it had been fruity I still don't know whether I would have enjoyed it ... as it was far too buttery. Bonnat, although creamy and mellow, didn't seem to have Cluizel's or Domori's finesse in velvety smoothness

Madécasse 80%

Madécasse are Madagascar's only bean-to-bar company exporting overseas

I bought this 75g bar -when Waitrose first started stocking Madécasse- for just £1.99! Though, as that was an introductory offer to lure in the customers, they now retail for £2.99, which still is of an incredible value. You see, Madécasse source their cocoa from farmers of the Ezaka Cooperative, and as the chocolate is then produced in Madagascar it means the farmers are receiving a greater share of the price we are paying! 

Buying Madécasse means you are supporting and sustaining the growth of this PURE "heirloom cacao", as well as encouraging all cocoa farmers to grow 'flavour' (the higher quality) cocoa beans. But it also means you're getting excellent chocolate. I think this of all chocolate within this market, but I am raising the issue here because of how obtainable Madécasse is! 

The light shade of brown looked like a milk chocolate. Unlike the 75% and the 70%, this chocolate does not have vanilla - only cocoa beans, natural cane sugar and cocoa butter. However, the aroma was brazen vanilla. It too was very creamy, mizeria (polish dish: cucumber, dill, sour cream), floral, raspberry, coconut, cherry, leather, smoked. My God, it was beautiful. It was like I was in solitude in a dimly lit room, filled with mahogany and walnut burl furnishings, sitting on a Chesterfield sofa, having spirits neat from the drinks cabinet, with a cigar - pretty lavish 

The taste began with dusty cocoa, it was bitter, then a rush of strawberry, and grains too. It had quite the roasted flavour. The bright acidic fruitiness was dominated by the roast, but it was still there and there too was the occasional luscious Madagascan sour twang

I feel that maybe Madécasse are not as skilled in the making process as they are in their ethical stance, but nevertheless the chocolate is excellent. Although I prefer a lower %, it is real great chocolate and I really hope Waitrose stock the 70%, or maybe I will try the flavoured bars. I just love the fact that it is Madagascan cocoa with natural cane sugar

Paul A Young 64% Whole Bean Madagascar

Paul A Young and his team had made Europe's first whole bean chocolate bars, using a blend of beans direct from Menakao in Madagascar. Along with this 64%, a 73% was made too; both were small batch

The whole beans were granite ground with Billington's Organic Unrefined Demerara sugar! 

The results were said to be "intoxicating, soft-fruited" chocolate bars with a "distinct acidity" which, to me, sounded perfect. The chocolate was also to have a nutty, toasted flavour (which were the characteristics of the outer shell of the beans)

The aroma was red. An abundance of fruits, a little peppery

The initial taste was nutmeg. It was slow to melt, tasting like a rounded red wine, so I chewed and then bolder fruits were unleashed. An intense burst of acidity nearing the finish. Incredible. It was very sweet

The melting texture was coarse, and to chew reminded me of an Aero chocolate bar, but firmer. It was gritty with the tiny pieces of the shell, but that made it a unique and very fun experience

The finish was toasty and quite chocolatey, with remnants of the bean's shell being left to chew

This chocolate was very interesting, particularly the texture, but I just LOVED the flavour. The acidity was phenomenal. Madagascan cacao, because of its bright acidity, makes me feel great!

Omnom Madagascar 66% & Dark Nibs + Raspberries

I first came across Omnom Chocolate when The Dieline wrote up on them at the start of the year. The first thing you notice about Omnom is their distinctive packaging, which means their mission has been a success: "Packaging is the first visual and last physical contact a brand has with a customer and I wanted it to be a lasting one." The cool illustrations were inspired by living and traveling in Iceland

Omnom are an Icelandic bean to bar company, handcrafting their chocolate bars from premium sourced beans, raw cane sugar and cacao butter. The bars had a delicate body, excellent snap and sheen, and a smooth texture

The 66% had a metallic aroma. Apart from that it was quite closed, with subdued wood, and minuscule fruity and floral notes 

The flavour opened with a metallic taste, the same metallic acidity that was in the aroma. The melt was rather smooth. A while in and red fruits started to surface, finally! Then, all of a sudden, sour acidity, like a gun shot, shot through the taste buds. Incredible. This is the Madagascan cocoa I know and love. It became so tangy, and just so wild! 

The envelope design is a "secret chest of happiness", it can be closed to protect the chocolate and also serves as a tray to share and enjoy the chocolate on

The Dark Nibs + Raspberries bar is part of their 2014 festive collection, along with a Milk + Cookies bar (almond spiced cookies, sounds pretty wicked). It's the Madagascar 66% sprinkled with dried raspberries and Madagascan nibs. There is an E number in there (acting as a thickener), make of that as you wish

The texture was cool. The aroma was raspberry with that recognisable metal but also quite chocolatey

The chewy raspberries added such a buzzing tartness to the already sour chocolate! The nibs tasted too metallic (boy is Madagascan cocoa acidic), but the raspberries were great. Such a buzzing chocolate. It was like raspberry jam on chocolate, now just need some homemade nutbutter!

The 66% alone surprised me. After its aroma and first 5 seconds or so in the mouth, one would have never expected such a sourness and fruity acidity to come from, what seemed like, nowhere