at Sat, 29 Oct 2005 01:44:02 GMT in <CtA8f.370$UW5.264@trndny09>,
(Janet Puistonen) wrote :

>Has anyone tried Dagoba's couvertures, or any others that can be
>purchased in bulk? I'm interested in finding something that has a fairly
>assertive flavor, like El Rey.

The field:

Dagoba Conacado - Worthless. Bitter, woody, horrible. Avoid.

Dagoba Pacuare - Not much better. Once again, woody and monotonous.

Green & Black's 72% - Much better, at least, than their 70%. Earthy and
smoky, hints of raspberry. Decent basic chocolate.

Dagoba 74% - Good but not exceptional, decidedly bitter, mostly
coffee/cocoa flavour. A bit flat.

Dagoba 73% - More floral than the 74%, although with similar bitterness.
Earthy side notes. About the same as the 74% quality-wise.

Dagoba Milagros - Good, very distinctive. Stongly floral in character. May
recede a bit into the background with strong flavours.

Valrhona Cao Grande 70% (available soon in 1kg blocs). Sort of typical -
fruity, molasses, woody, but not bad.

Callebaut 67.5% - Good basic chocolate flavour. A lot of woodiness on the
side. Better than most of the field, still not great.

Rapunzel 55% - Excellent chocolate, tastes a lot of the sugar, but complex,
tropical flavour. Low potency, though.

Dagoba 59% - Better still, more depth, more complexity. Fruity, coffee, and
tobacco all play roles. Excellent everyday choice, although at 59% sweet
and less assertive than some.

Rapunzel 70% - One of the earliest of the bittersweet organics continues to
impress. Very complex, fruity flavour. High cocoa butter content means that
it's milder than some, but also that its melting and couverture properties
are superb. Very fluid.

Dagoba Los Rios - The only non-disappointment among the Dagoba single-
origins. Very characteristic Arriba flavour, blackberry, molasses, floral.
A winner.

It must be said that the very best organic chocolate, namely Domori
Absolute (which is awe-inspiring, chocolatey, strawberry, earthy, just a
total exploration of the world of chocolate taste) isn't available in bulk,
at least not yet, but is so much better than any of the above that it's
worth getting for special occasions.

You didn't say which El Rey you liked. "Fairly assertive flavour" probably
implies Gran Saman. Closest to that flavour profile of the chocolates
listed is the Green & Blacks, but while acceptable, it's not what I would
call great chocolate. I'd go with Los Rios. Good strong flavour and the
best of the organics available in bulk


--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)