Yeah, it’s been a while since I did an Indonesian Chocolate Series post. We actually did this tasting back in March but I’d been recovering from my surgery at the end of March and posting about other stuff that I’m only getting to write up our notes from this tasting in the last week.
I keep finding more bars with Indonesian cacao beans, so I keep buying them and eating them with friends, namely Phil and Astrid. The four bars:
- Pralus Indonesie 75%
- Pralus Djakarta 75%
- Manufaktura Czekolady Java 70%
- Akesson’s 45%
We reversed the tasting order, to test the theory that sugar is harder to remove/get over than higher cocoa content. Other than that, usual drill in checking the aroma, texture, melt and flavour.
Pralus Indonesie 75%
Astringent throughout, this bar is not as balanced in flavour as its brother, the Djakarta, nor is the melt as smooth. It was smoky and woody, qualities that were stellar in the Bonnat Java bar, but here was too one-dimensional. I tasted mushroom-y flavours although this was not tasted by Phil and Astrid.
Was left with nearly the entire bar after the tasting and wasn’t quite sure if I should toss it, give it away or just keep it for cooking/baking opportunities. Yeah, it was kind of a “meh” bar.
Pralus Djakarta 75%
Intense and sweet throughout, with an astringent mouthfeel at the end. Smooth melt but slow at the start, and a long finish. Texture was buttery. It’s generally better than its brother, the Indonesie, and afterwards, in the days following, I didn’t have a problem finishing the remainder of the bar.
Has similar smoky flavour as its brother, and hints of tobacco. The reverse happened to the three of us: I didn’t taste the mushroom flavour but Phil and Astrid did.
Decent bar.
Manufaktura Czekolady 70%
Oddly sweet and astringent throughout. Good melt, although the texture was gritty. The dominant flavour was smokiness. We agreed on the fruity-ness but not on the flavour of the fruits. Phil and Astrid tasted blackberries and cherries. I tasted citrus notes.
Was reminiscent of Willie’s 69 Javan Breaking, which was yuck to all of us, but this bar is better than Willie’s.
Akesson’s 45% Fleur de Sel with Coconut Blossom Sugar
Love! One of the bars I regularly buy and consume. Nutty, caramelly, salty with smooth melt and buttery texture. It presses all of our buttons. Get this if you love sweet and salty in one package!
Overall impressions
The Akesson bar being the group favourite was not a surprise to me. It was rated highly in our salted milk chocolate bar tasting and I do buy it regularly for the handsome-and-talented husband.
The Pralus Djakarta was a decent bar; came in second for the group favourite. Saying that, I am not sure why Pralus bars have been reviewed so positively. I’ve had the Melissa, Djakarta and Indonesie where the texture and snap are just OK, even a bit gritty in the Melissa and Indonesie, and the taste is not exceptional. I probably would buy Pralus bars again, for research and not personal consumption.
I get the feeling that as we eat more chocolate bars, and not just for the Indonesian Chocolate Series, we are getting more and more picky about what chocolate we are eating. At the moment, Domori is the standard to which we hold texture and melt against. For flavour, Belyzium, Chocolate Naive Javan/Papua and Original Beans Papua Kerafat are how we define “chocolatey” taste.
This is good. We are learning and training our taste buds and developing our personal preferences : )
See you in the next episode of the Indonesian Chocolate Series!