Tag: Akesson’s

Tasting: Akesson’s 75% Criollo Cocoa

Yes, Dowser series research is just so damn hard. Sigh.

IMG_0088

Akesson’s award-winning Madagascar Ambolikapiky Plantation, 75% Criollo Cocoa. If you follow that link it’s the second bar down on the page.

This is a brand new bar for me. YAY! I purchased it during my New Year’s Eve rush through Xoxolat. Fearing they were going to close before I could get there, I called ahead of time to say I was only blocks away. Arriving 10 minutes before closing, I flew along the shelves snatching up old favourites as well as some new bars – astonishing an employee I’d never met, though the lovely owner didn’t batt an eyelash. I – of course and always – dented my visa hard and was out the door 8 minutes later.

Tasting notes

  • My thoughts: 1st taste – silky smooth, deep cocoa. Buttery. Lingering, pleasant aftertaste. 2nd taste – subtle tartness, very buttery, the cocoa coats the tongue and mouth.
  • According to the bar: expressive cocoa aroma with a subtle fruity-sweet tartness and pleasant flavour notes that evoke citrus and red berries.

Usually my sweet spot is 65% – 70% cocoa but there was no niggling bitterness or harshness to this 75%. I’m pretty sure this bar will be making an appearance in the Dowser Series.

8 seconds of the stash.

I’m testing out shooting tiny clips of video on my new phone because I’m thinking about vlogging a bit as the year progresses … live chats, chocolate tastings, reading excerpts from my books, etc.

Here’s my first 8 second test – a beauty shot of my chocolate stash drawer:

 

Preemptive answers:

  1. Yes. I tidied the drawer. And I removed Michael’s portion of the stash, which currently consists of coffee beans and a mason jar full of Dulcey by Valrhona.
  2. No, this does not include baking chocolate. That’s a different drawer.
  3. Yes, this is a lot of chocolate. I was gifted a number of these bars at Christmas. [YAY!] And I stopped by Xoxolat in Vancouver to replenish the stash for the new year and writing Dowser 6.
  4. The mason jar holds a portion of my Manjari by Valrhona, which I consume in my daily hot chocolate. Yes, that means that the bag of Manjari is currently too large to fit in the drawer.
  5. Yes, the Amedei bars are already half (or more) eaten. I’ve also cracked the Saint Domingue by Cacao Barry and the Araguani by Valrhona. Everything else is blog fodder. 🙂
  6. It took me five passes to capture this eight seconds. Leo jumped in the drawer twice while I was filming.

What’s in your stash? What are you saving to savour?