Marcolini Carré2 Chocolat Samburano Madagascar 78% cacao

I got into a discussion about over marketed chocolate in my review of the Jcoco "Noble Dark" bar. My latest report is about over promising and under-delivering. I visit Cocoa Bella on Friday, stopping by my go-to store for Fraçois Pralus and Pratric bars. I noticed a new bar in the truffle display, so I took a look.  The salesman came over and started telling me how they just got approved to carry this bar, the "best made chocolate" in the world, I was told.  I had never heard of this company, so I was intrigued.

They had several different bars, but they had sold out of the bar the salesman said was considered the "best in the world."  He also said it cost $18.  Perhaps I was lucky it was sold-out.  Instead I decided to try their Madagascar bar, an origin of which I've had considerable, positive experience. The price for this bar was $13 for an 80 gram bar.  That's just less than 3 ounces, or about $4.65 an ounce.  Not cheap!

Today I prepared for my review in my usual way, photographing the packaging, and I decided to open the black box and see whether the bar had any interesting design in the mold into which it was poured. The bar was wrapped in a plastic wrapper, and I was surprised given the "best in the world" hype that the surface of the bar was not well crafted. There were discolorations and pouring voids across the bar. I have pointed out a few of these on the photo I took of the bar, and you should be able to see the uneven surface coloration. I've looked at quite a few chocolate bars, and have seen perfect pours and surface color.  I would expect no less from a bar touted as "the best in the world."

So what about the taste? With my expectations lowered, the bar itself was indeed less wonderful than the best.  The bar is quite bitter, with few of the fruity side flavors that I expect from a Madagascar bar. The bitterness persists in the aftertaste, long after the chocolate flavors subside. 6.9

I will try other of Marcolini's single-origin bars to see if this was a poor sample.

www.marcolini.be