Recently Dormouse Chocolates conducted an experiment of making two special chocolate bars: one from reddish-brown cacao pods only and a separate one with beans from yellow pods only, with the assistance of Kablon Farms in South Cotabato in the Philippines. Kablon Farms kept the reddish-brown and yellow pods separated and Dormouse Chocolates conducted the same roast, recipe and time of conching for each bar to see if there was a difference in taste with bars made with beans from different colored pods. Will there be? Let’s find out!
Dormouse Chocolates is a craft chocolate maker located in Manchester, England. They also happen to be one of my favorite bean-to-bar chocolate makers. A big congrats to Dormouse for their recent UK Rising Star Award from the Academy of Chocolate Awards! Well done ladies!!!
1st up today is their Limited Edition 75% Dark Honduras bar. This bar was in one of Dormouse’s monthly chocolate bar subscription boxes. The origin of the beans is Copan Highlands, Honduras, and the bean type is Mayan Red. Conch time 48 hours.
Limited Edition 75% Dark Honduras Dormouse Chocolates Pic taken in Port Townsend, WA
Color: This bar is a medium/dark brown that also has a reddish/purple color in certain lights.
Nose: Black currant, jammy, new world red wine, coffee.
Texture: Good snap and very smooth.
Dormouse Chocolates 75% Dark Honduras Limited Edition Bar
Taste: Buttery to start, some tannins, dried cherries, Cabernet Franc grape taste and acidity, red fruit. and dark honey.
Finish: A very long finish around 25 – 30 minutes.
Dormouse Chocolates happens to be making a fantastic white chocolate bar called Toasted Madagascar White 38%. This bar keeps selling out so be sure to check their website often, or send them an email to see when it will be back in stock. The cocoa butter in this bar comes from criollo and trinitario beans from Madagascar Sambirano Valley and has a 28 hour conch time. The milk powder in this bar is toasted which makes this an extra tasty white chocolate bar.
Color: Toffee, golden color like caramel.
Nose: Caramel, condensed milk, nutty.
Dormouse Chocolates 38% Toasted Madagascar White (full size bar)
Texture: Very smooth.
Toasted Madagascar White (mini bar size)
Taste: Buttery, caramel, roasted macadamia nut, cream and light brown sugar.
Finish: A medium/long finish with some fruity notes.
Note: Dormouse added a mini bar of the Toasted Madagascar White bar to one of my orders I had placed with them and I loved it so much I immediately ordered a full size one.
Today’s chocolate bar reviews feature three of Damson Chocolate’s Vietnamese dark chocolate bars. Damson Chocolate is a bean-to-bar craft chocolate maker located in London, England. Today’s chocolate review post includes Damson’s 70% Lam Dong, 74% Tien Giang, and 80% Dak Lak dark chocolate bars. Side-by-side tasting from bars made from cacao from a single country with different percentages, is a great way to learn about chocolate and figure out what your favorite tasting notes are. Learning never tasted so good!
Damson Chocolate Vietnam Bars pic taken in Port Townsend, WA