The Official Kiya chocolate thread (no bonbons)

[kiya]

From the most sought after bean in the world, just broke up maybe the rarest bar i've ever had.

 

[indesertum]

does it live up to the hype? better than the amadei offers?

 

[indesertum]

Originally Posted by Tarmac

So are Cluizel, Scharffenberger and Callebaut the Citizens of Humanity of chocolates?

cluizel is really good, scharffenberger is pretty good (for a now hershey company), i've never had callebaut.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by indesertum

does it live up to the hype? better than the amadei offers?

I had them side to side, and I feel like this version is more complex, but I'm a chocolate neophyte. Actually, in another tasting, I prefered the other single origin bars amedei made to their porcelana.

Re. $15 bars - that's actually pretty rare. You can get really good bars for under $10, which is why people gobbling up bars like Mast Brothers for $10 is a travesty.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by indesertum

cluizel is really good, scharffenberger is pretty good (for a now hershey company), i've never had callebaut.
I wasn't too impressed with the bulk Callebaut 65% that I picked up at WF. The El Rey was much much better.

 

[Kent Wang]

Where did you learn all this? Is there some sort of chocolate forum?

Do you buy all your chocolate online? Is shipping, and potential melting, a problem?

I'm a total noob. What do you think of Dagobah, how does it rank?

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

Where did you learn all this? Is there some sort of chocolate forum? Do you buy all your chocolate online? Is shipping, and potential melting, a problem? I'm a total noob. What do you think of Dagobah, how does it rank?
Melting during shipment is a very big problem, especially if you're in a hot climate. You're not going to want to pay $40 for dry ice shipment just to try out $20 in chocolate bars. This is why I get my chocolate locally from Whole Foods and such. Dagobah's fair. They just started stocking a 73 and 80 so I'm trying those shortly. The Becoup berry flavor isn't half bad.

 

[rachister]

I wanted to make a few of the bittersweet chocolate recipes out of Simply French, which recommends Lindt. But Lindt changed their recipe and have received bad reviews since. What would you suggest instead?

 

[indesertum]

^most megamart places should have scharffenberger. if they have valrhona grab that.

Originally Posted by Kent Wang

Where did you learn all this? Is there some sort of chocolate forum?

Do you buy all your chocolate online? Is shipping, and potential melting, a problem?

I'm a total noob. What do you think of Dagobah, how does it rank?

seventypercent.com is a pretty good forum. they have good articles too.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Melting during shipment is a very big problem, especially if you're in a hot climate. You're not going to want to pay $40 for dry ice shipment just to try out $20 in chocolate bars. This is why I get my chocolate locally from Whole Foods and such.

Dagobah's fair. They just started stocking a 73 and 80 so I'm trying those shortly. The Becoup berry flavor isn't half bad.

www.chocosphere.com, based out of Portland, has some good stock, and are very service oriented. Even the dry ice shipment is not outrageous, and the first time I ordered from them, they actually phoned, and recommended the ground transport since the weather was cool, and the hub that air shipments went through was hot.

$20 in bars is about 2 or 3 bars. That's like ordering socks. My lowest order has been for $50, and my highest, for about $150, which was about 12 bars of the good stuff. We have a local wine store which carries some really decent brands - Pacari is probably the best they have, which I think is really good, and there is a restaurant in Spokane, where I fly out of regularly for business, called the "Latah Bistro", which stocks, among other brands - Domori and Pralus, including the Chuao that Kiya showed. Even in a really small place, you can often find local place (not whole foods, but proprietor run places with heart) that carry a well bought assortment of good chocolate.

 

[airportlobby]

Is there a good shop in LA (preferably near either Silver Lake or Santa Barbera)? My girlfriend loves dark chocolate, but I doubt there is a spot selling the bars discussed in this thread in Austin - however, she's going to be in LA on Valentine's Day, so I could send her off with a gift certificate, so she could try some of this stuff (I know she likes Dolfin and Lindt, among others).

Edit - hmm, maybe I should snoop around more in town. There are some good coffee providers, etc.

 

[Kent Wang]

Have you tried pairing with Belgian beers? I tried recently with Urthel Samaranth and thought that was some next level synergy.

 

[grundletaint]

i wish i could appreciate chocolate's nuances. i'm like a divorced woman going through menopause when i'm around the **** and would just maul it until i'm eating my own fingers.

 

[edinatlanta]

Thread is relevant to my interests. Where do you suggest I go to learn more about the beans' terroir and **** like that? What's a good starting point for a n00b to craft chocolate (there has to be a better name).

 

[Homme]

Originally Posted by kiya

From the most sought after bean in the world, just broke up maybe the rarest bar i've ever had.

Walked to the Pralus boutique today; bought two of these bars and a "mini pyramid" sampler, contains squares with the beans from papouasie (png), Sao tome, Trinidad, Venezuela, tanzanie, Ghana, madagascar, colombie and equateur. Liked the balance between the bitterness and acidity, first time ive ever had chocolate with earthy notes that came through. Wish I discovered the shop earlier, only have one week to go in the city

Haven't yet managed to find Amedei or Domori in a shop, might have to order them online.