Alex Rast wrote:
<snip fabulous list>

> 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

Gran Saman is indeed what I had in mind. I also use Mijao, Caoba, and Icoa.
(I use Mijao instead of Bucare because it is more fluid and better for
dipping. Bucare thinned with cocoa butter, which I have had to resort to
upon occasion, produces an inferior result.) Caoba is not my absolute
favorite milk chocolate, but the one I've had that I prefer (Valrhona Jivara
Lactee) is too expensive. When I first started making chocolates, I used
Callebaut, since that was what was available locally. I found them bland in
contrast to the El Rey suite. (Particularly the white, of course.) And there
is a difference between chocolate that one might simply eat as is, and how
chocolates perform when mixed with other things. That's where the
assertiveness helps, IMHO.

I'd be interested in your estimation of the various El Rey chocolates, as a
matter of comparison, if you wouldn't mind?