Vanuatu

Pralus

PERCENT: min 75% Cacao

CACAO BEANS:  Trinitario

ORIGIN OF CACAO:  Vanuatu

Latitude: 15 degrees 18’S,  Longitude:  166 degrees 50’E

CHOCOLATIER: François Pralus

CHOCOLATIER'S TASTING NOTES:

Spicy, slightly smoked, chewy tobacco, long on the palate.

OUR NOTES:

This is one of those surprising bars that make you realize how different chocolate from various places can taste.  I must admit that on the first taste this chocolate was my least favorite of the Pralus bars.   "Burnt rubber" was my first impression. (The Vanuatu cacao farmers dry the beans on slate platforms over smoking embers, giving the chocolate an intense smokiness).  But, I have learned that first impressions with chocolate, as with people, can be deceptive.  It was when I allowed myself to slowly nibble through a 50 gram bar that I began to appreciate this intriguing chocolate. By the third or fourth taste the smokiness drifted to the background revealing a hidden world of delightful flavors.   Now I really like this facinating chocolate. Tasting is a never ending adventure.