70% cocoa, unique mild taste with hints of floral and dried grasses
ideal pairing: Earl Grey tea
The Venezuela kicked off our chocolate tour with a strong, rich scent, reminiscent of a good dark hot chocolate. It started off dry and sweet but darkened the longer we savored it. On a texture scale, it was evenly balanced between smooth and chalky — there was a sharp snap but it wasn't too dry.
After an initial taste, we combined it with Harney & Sons Earl Grey tea. This brought out more dry, grassy flavors in the chocolate. It was almost musty, like a hay bale in the summertime, and the tart and bitterness of the chocolate came through more as well. The chocolate also heightened these flavors in the tea.
Wine is the usual suspect for in-depth flavor analysis, so I find it delightfully intriguing that other foods also have a deep complexity of flavor. Hello again, chocolate. It's nice to know you've grown up alongside me.