Ampamakia - Valrhona

Dentures flossed, mouth cleansed of all gunk, teeth adequately brushed for no more than two minutes and sluiced out with cold, refreshing mountain water and we're ready to go!  Well, mountain water might be verging on the ridiculous but I do take the job of chocolate tasting very seriously and preparation is one important aspect in the process.  It's almost a sport.  Perhaps, there is still time for 'chocolate tasting' to be submitted as a competition for London 2012?  I'm sure Lord Coe could squeeze in a little game of chocolate tasting, perhaps between beach volley ball and weight lifting!  It is ironic to think that a sporting competition, whose athletes train for years and religiously count every calorie, vitamin and mineral that might negate their way through their digestive systems are being supported by the likes of Cadbury, Coca Cola and MacDonald's.  What I really want to know is what will happen with all the BMW's once the games are over? Perhaps, Top Gear can investigate that one. Ok, let's move on from Cadbury's to Valrhona, two names not usually found in the same sentence.


So far this year I've been lucky enough (thank you Santa) to have tasted and enjoyed two bars from Valrhona, including Gran Couva and El Pedregal both delicious but with totally different flavours and characteristics even though they have the same cocoa content, 64%.  The third and final bar is from Madagascar, an estate grown dark chocolate.  Madagascar, an island situated in the Indian Ocean, produces fine quality cocoa beans but only in very small amounts, maybe less than 0.5 per cent of world production.  The Ampamakia Plantation, lies in the heart of the Sambirano river valley, a fertile and lush area where Trinitario and Criollo cocoa beans have been cultivated for more than 100 years.

Ampamakia 64%

The Chocolate:  In case anybody is wondering, I did get rid of the minty fresh taste before attacking this bar. The aroma is full of fruity acidity with a hint of smokiness in the background. It is also a lot lighter in colour in comparison to the El Pedregal. Unfortunately I ate all the Gran Couva! 

The actual fruitiness takes a moment or to come through as the chocolate melts. There is a real 'zest' and delightful 'tang' to this chocolate especially in comparison to the El Pedregal. 


A really well presented bar that scores a 9 from the Essex judge! Out of the three bars I tasted this is possibly my favourite.  Frustratingly, I now have to wait until Christmas for my next tasting of Valrhona ;(. This bar (75g) is priced at £4.75 and can be purchased from The Chocolate Trading Company. 


Enjoy!

El Pedregal - Valrhona

Chocolate is not a good choice of subject to talk about at this time of year.  Everybody is fed up either because they've already broken their impossible New Year Resolutions or because they've just jumped on the scales only to discover that somehow they've managed to ingest the weight of a small child over the Christmas period, myself included! 


Unfortunately, I've just finished working my way through a huge selection box of milk chocolate naughtiness.  Well, you've got to give into temptation now and again!  So, a piece of dark chocolate is required to put me back on that righteous path to saintliness!  So, what could be better than starting the New Year with a rare Porcelana from Venezuela, produced by Valrhona! 

El Pedregal - Venezuela

Valrhona - a name that conjours up 'quality'. They are obsessive about making a limited range of products and in comparison to the industrial giants of chocolate, only make a few thousand tons of chocolate each year. It is a little known fact that Valrhona is a subsidiary of Bongrain, a French food conglomerate that is worth billions. If you want to learn more about Valrhona I suggest you buy, Chocolate - A bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light by Mort Rosenblum available on Amazon.

The Chocolate:  This particular bar is made from very special, rare, Porcelana cocoa, a form of Criollo cocoa.  An almost extinct type of cocoa known for its great flavours. 

In comparison to the Gran Couva that I tried recently it has a much fruitier taste and acidity that bounces off your tongue. It is also very creamy in texture and has a liquorice hint at the end, not that I could taste it.  The flavour is far more intense and long lasting than the Gran Couva which was fairly 'earthy' in flavour and rather short lived.  

Overall a delicious bar of chocolate beating the Gran Couva by a country mile! I award this bar 9/10. You'll have to save your pennies though as this bar is £5.95 for 75g. 

                                                                           

                                                                                       

                                                               

                                                        

                                

Gran Couva - 2011 Vintage from Valrhona

Have left Christine doing some interesting manual work, she is so much better at it than me.  I decided to start my New Year's resolution before 2012 actually arrived in the UK.  How daring of me.   If you're one of those who uses a gym and never ventures outside it, then I suggest you do, as you're missing more than old episodes of Friends.  Take today for example, being a bit of a Twitcher I spotted a Green Woodpecker and Kingfisher, both vibrant birds found in the Essex countryside.  Joggers, there were a plenty and I came across one that was pushing a wheelbarrow through Chelmsford park.  Curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't resist asking him why he was pushing a barrow.  He said it was to strengthen his arms which sounded reasonable but then he went onto say that he was going shopping in Chelmsford.  The conversation became a bit wacky after that so, I wished him well and quickly up'd my pace.  Perhaps, I should think about joining a gym in the New Year?


Well, we're finishing the year on a high with a bar from Valrhona.  This is the first time we've featured a bar from the house of Valrhona and the anticipation is palpable. The company originally started in 1922, known as La Vivarais, but it wasn't until 1947 that the brand came onto the seen. The name Valrhona was derived from the Rhone Valley. The Ecole du Grand Chocolat, opened in 1989, by the celebrated pastry chef and chocolatier Frederic Bau. I've never visited but I've been reliably informed that it is probably the best in the world by a number of chefs who have been lucky enough to attend their courses. See website for more information, Valrhona.

The Chocolate: This particular bar is from Trinidad an historic source of Trinitario cocoa beans. Nestling in the fertile hillsides of Montserrat, the little village of Gran Couva is home of one of the island's oldest plantations. This is an estate grown bar of chocolate with a 64% cocoa content. The initial aroma is very fruity with rich cocoa in the background.  The mouth feel is glassy. A hint of tobacco and leather as the first chunk slowly melts followed by rich cocoa that has a pleasant sweetness about it with tobacco flavours coming in and out. The chocolate is not as intense as I thought it was going to be. Perhaps I prefer a bitter chocolate after all these years! Interestingly, I tasted a Single Origin chocolate from Peru with a 64% cocoa content and noticed an explosion of coconut that I'd never experienced before. How revealing!

Overall a delicious bar of chocolate and I look forward to tasting the two other bars, El Pedregal from Venezuela and Ampamakia from Madagascar. This bar scores 7/10 as it was delicious but I was slightly disappointed by the strength of flavours. You can purchase this bar from The Chocolate Trading Co for £4.75.
Posted by Richard.
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