Mohon maaf atas updatenya yang (sangat super duper) lama! I'm back @Surabaya!

Sungguh maaf atas update-nya yang benar-benar lama.

I've been busy lately.

Keluar masuk kota Jakarta dan Bandung. Menyenangkan juga! :D

Sudah lama tidak tasting cokelat membuat gw jarang update blog ini.

Eit, jangan salah, gw MAKAN cokelat setiap hari. Tasting cokelat?

Nah itu berbeda! Dan hal mengenai tasting selalu gw post di sini! :D

About the Chocophile 101?Berhasil dengan sukses!

Banyak yang kaget dengan manfaat sesungguhnya cokelat, dan bagaimana sebenarnya cokelat dibuat.

Bukan hanya itu, mereka berkesempatan mencoba salah satu cokelat TERBAIK di dunia : Valrhona!

Survei membuktikan, Valrhona Manjari memenangkan cokelat favorit(sejauh ini)!

Well, mereka juga pulang dengan souvenir Valrhona bar dan satu set pralines dari Theys Chocolate!

Penasaran?

Nantikan Chocophile 101 di kota-kota lainnya. :D

About new chocolates?

Well, gw berhasil mendapatkan Michel Cluizel tasting set.

Siapa itu Michel Cluizel?

Dia adalah salah satu French chocolatier saat ini!

Wait for the review!

Other info?

Well, gw menemukan beberapa chocolate spot terbaik di Jakarta dan Bandung!

Buat warga Bandung yang doyan cokelat kualitas ULTRA, meluncur saja ke BAWEAN Bakery di Bandung!Tepatnya?tentu saja di JALAN BAWEAN!

Gw makan Guanaja Cake di sana, dan rasanya...WOW! It's VALRHONA!

Bener-bener salah satu cake terbaik yang pernah gw makan!

Ahhh~~~!!! JADI PENGEN LAGI!!! >____<

Sedangkan untuk Jakarta, coba mampir ke ISMAYA Cafe di LEVEL ONE Grand Indonesia.

Gw dapet info kalau cokelat di sana juga kemungkinan VALRHONA!

Kalo sudah cek, kabarin yah! :)

Chocophile 101 : Introduction to Fine Chocolate and Chocolate Tasting - Surabaya

Sesi Chocolate Tasting Cholo - Chocolate Appreciation Community untuk pertama kalinya diadakan di Surabaya!

Diselenggarakan di Surabaya Town Square(SUTOS) pada tanggal 15-17 Oktober 2010, Chocophile 101 menghadirkan cokelat 6 macam French Chocolate Valrhona dan 8 macam Singaporean Chocolate Theys.

Suka cokelat?Ingin suka cokelat?Atau sekedar ingin tahu bagaimana merasakan rasa tannic, woody, acidic, smoky, etc dalam sebuah cokelat? Sebaiknya anda segera daftar sekarang, karena pada event Chocophile 101 kali ini hanya tersedia 30 kursi.

Novi Nero Nero 80% Venezuelan by Serizawakatsuki

Ga pernah denger ni chocolate, bahkan search di google pun hampir ga ada.

Dg origin Venezuela, uda berharap bnyk ni, too bad, not as I expected for Venezuelan.

Ingredient: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin and natural vanilla.

Notes
Hampir ga ada aroma, buset deh, baru skrg buka chocolate ga ada aroma yg menyeruak. Begitu deketin ke hidung, tercium bau cigarette aja. Ga tercium aroma chocolate. (Ini rokok apa chocolate?)

Initial Impression
Ga heran aroma ga ada, wrappernya aja buruk, dg gold foil, tp uda terbuka di salah satu ujung, cape deh. Dark brown, not bloom neither polish shine (sejauh ini, blm ketemu chocolate yg sebaik Amedei ni). Sharp and clean 'snap', held firmly for a few seconds.

Taste Impression
Roasted nut or coffee; ashy or burnt; slight acidity; slight bitterness; not have chocolate flavor; real disappointed for me.
Finished with coffee; tea like tannic perharps.

Texture Impression
Waxy and sticky when chewed. Not as creamy as Valrhona, at least, it melted easier than Godiva. Unpleasant and short dryness aftertaste, need water to clear it. (Bagusnya, gw sediain teh oolong, aroma teh jd lebih berasa, nilai plus dr chocolate ini hehehe)

Overall Impression
Wrapper buruk; aroma hilang jd bau cigarette aja; ga berasa chocolate flavor; nilai plus cm menolong teh jd lebih enak aja.

Rating
1-2: will gladly to have this as a gift, don't want to spend money for this one.

NB: Denger nama Venezuela, yg ada di otak gw, criollo and trinitario bean dg fruity and complex flavor, juga aroma yg semerbak pastinya. Sepertinya ini barang cacat (dr wrappernya yg uda kembung dg udara karena salah satu ujung tidak rapat alias terbuka)

Valrhona Abinao 85% - Powerful and Tannic by Serizawakatsuki

Satu lagi chocolate yg masuk 80% class, Valrhona Abinao dg cacao content 85%. Dg cacao bean dr Africa, minggu ini akan gw siapkan '80% class death match' antara Godiva Santo Domingo 85%, Valrhona Abinao 85%, dan jg Novi Nero2 Venezuela 80%.

Ingredient: cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla extract.

Notes
Begitu dibuka, aroma chocolate menyeruak, dg hint floral sebentar, woody, slight nutty, and maybe i can finally smell some vanila (hope it's right), or is it spicy?

Initial Impression
Shoot! Another chocolate that have 'bloom', memang seharusnya begitu dibeli langsung sikat, biar ga kena perubahan suhu gini. Hope the other Valrhona just fine. Berhubung kena 'bloom', warna dark brown hanya terlihat ketika diusap sebentar (ga sampe warna hitam seperti Whittaker Ghanaian 70%), dan tentunya uda ga ada high shine.
Bagusnya, ketika dipatahkan, it's still have a clean and sharp 'snap'.
Begitu diusap pun, butuh beberapa detik untuk sedikit melelehkan cacao butter-nya di jari.

Taste Impression
A slight bitter (that so often tasted from Forastero bean), but it last for a second (not as Godiva 85%, which last till the end, make Godiva not quite palatable for me). Than, citrus acid (usually I tasted in Madagascan bean) came out, followed by a tannic (herb or wood?), roasted coffee. After take some pieces, the bitterness not tasted anymore, nicely done. Another piece I tasted, a slight sweetness came along too. And maybe a subtle nutty when I chewed it.
Finished with coffee bean aroma, oat, and maybe spicy too.
The aftertaste, dry like light bodied red wine, still lingering and it's almost an hour now, sure it's a pleasant for me.

Texture Impression
Smooth and velvety, fairly easy melt than Godiva, maybe it's have more cocoa butter. With mild intensity for my palate, feel like Lindt Ecuador 75% (I'll review it another time).

Overall Impresion
More palatable than Godiva (that's for sure); flavors that gradually change; nice and real long, red wine aftertaste; what more can I ask? Oh, maybe the supply, so I can easily buy it hahaha.

Rating
3-4: A joy to the world!

Godiva 85% San Domingo Chocolate by Serizawakatsuki

Godiva chocolatier (dr namanya aja uda ngaku kl dia ga proses dr cacao bean, tp proses dr couverture produsen lain untuk membuat chocolate). Walaupun Godiva brand dr Belgia, varian satu ini ditulis made in Germany, gw blm dapet info pake couverture siapa si. Santo Domingo atau Dominican Republic, salah satu negara di Caribean, biasanya memiliki deep earthy flavor with fragrant tobacco notes.
Ingredient: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, flavours. (Ini yg gw ga suka, kenapa si ga ditulis terang2an, flavournya apa)

Oke, mulai buka packagenya yg cukup menarik gambarnya walaupun biasa saja packagenya (baca: umum digunakan merek lain). Wrapper dr gold foil, sulit untuk unwrapped dg rapi (so far, Amedei yg paling oke wrappernya).

Begitu unwrapped, aroma floral tercium sebentar yg kemudian hilang digantikan aroma chocolate yg cukup intense. Dipatahkan jd dua untuk jatah malam ini hehehe. Kemudian, sambil mengusap satu piece, menghirup aromanya jg. Tercium sedikit aroma woody, nutty, kacang asin gt. Kemudian didominasi aroma chocolate dan smokey gt. Hold firmly when I rubbed it for a few minutes.

Saat masuk mulut, sedetik kemudian, bitterness quickly evoke, taste like medicine (atau pahitnya tunas di dalam biji teratai kl ada yg pernah makan). Sedikit rasa asam, fruity like. Yg mendominasi tetap rasa pahitnya. Sewaktu dikunyah pun, masih rasa pahit dg rasa nutty sebentar, kemudian tannic, seperti chinese herb, hingga chocolate menghilang. Finish dg coconut impression (still bitter for a while though), coffee. Kl dimakan lg, jd terbiasa dg pahitnya dan akhirnya jd bs diterima oleh lidah.

Texture bisa dibilang waxy, sticky and gummy when chewed. Agak sulit melt di mulut. Aftertaste, pleasant dry for a fairly long time, yg jelas ga perlu minum jg ga masalah.

Overall, sepertinya tekstur chocolate ini (waxy) ga bs dibilang kurang cacao butter (dg total fat 52,5gr dlm 100gr, bs dibilang itu cocoa butter semua), tp mgkn conching time yg kurang atau over roasted ya? Blm bs komentar banyak, karena blm dibandingkan dg Valrhona Abinao (sama2 85%) atau dg Valrhona Tainori (sama2 dr Santo Domingo namun dg cacao content 64%), yg pasti, rasa pahit di awal2 bisa membuat jera lidah yg blm pernah makan chocolate pahit.

Rating: 1-2 (Gladly to have this as a gift, though will not spend money for this one again)

Re-review : Royce' Criollo Dark Chocolate by Serizawakatsuki

Royce', produsen chocolate confectionary asal Hokkaido, Jepang. Ini variant kedua yg gw review malam ini, Criollo Chocolate "Bitter", itu juga tinggal 9 pcs, dr 24 pcs yg ada awalnya hehehe. 

Description
Pada wrapper tertulis Sur de Lago, berasal dari salah satu region penghasil cacao di Venezuella, yg terkenal dg cacao bean jenis Criollo dan Trinitario. Sayangnya gw ga bs bahasa Jepang, karena deskripsinya bnykan bahasa Jepang, untungnya ada keterangan dlm bahasa Inggris (karena beli di Singapura). Ingredient: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soybean-derived), flavor, (some of the ingredients contain milk constituents). Kok ga ada % cacao, gw jg ga tau ni, tp kira2 si ada sekitar 50% setelah dimakan. Terus yg bikin gw penasaran, cm tulis flavor dan keterangan dlm kurung itu, apa ni maksudnya?

Notes
Chocolate of course, didominasi dg toffee. Setelah dipatahkan, ada sedikit spice maybe, or perhaps wood or tobacco, not sure. Ada aroma nutty jg.

Initial Impression
Package yg elegan, kesannya mewah. Bungkusnya agak sulit dibuka, jd robek deh pas buka. Nah, penampilannya ni, kena bloom warna jingga gitu, sugar bloom kah? Light brown colour dg sedikit reddish yg menandakan adanya Criollo bean. Aromanya mild dg aroma toffee yg manis. Setelah dipatahkan, yg menghasilkan clean and crisp 'snap'. Teksturnya lembut dan halus, tp menurut gw, lebih cepat meleleh di tangan ya.

Taste Impression
Sugary, bisa dibilang, label "Bitter" di sini ga berasa sedikit pun karena rasa manis toffee yg mendominasi dari awal sampe habis. Gw mendapat kesan seperti makan milk chocolate namun tidak semanis milk chocolate jg. Light bodied bisa dibilang begitu. Sedikit rasa kopi di pertengahan, dan waktu dikunyah ada sedikit rasa nutty jg. Finished with coffee flavor, a little bit bitter and acid, linger for a minute.

Texture Impression
Smooth and creamy, ga nempel di gigi sewaktu dikunyah. Sayangnya, ga merasakan cool sensation dr cocoa butter di sini, sedikit curiga ni. Aftertaste jg lumayan, mild and pleasant,jd bisalah ga minum air beberapa lama.

Overall Impression
Sebelumnya gw makan disandingkan dg Valrhona Guanaja dan Caraibe, jg Amedei Porcelana dan 9, lalu Lindt Ecuador dan Madagascan. Ga heran rasa yg gw dapatkan dg sekarang makan tanpa disandingkan, berbeda jauh (dulu gw merasa ini chocolate kok manis doang ya, uda gt lebih mirip makan permen toffee drpd chocolate, bikin eneq).
Sekarang rasanya lumayan jg walaupun ga istimewa, so, layak dicoba dan tidak menyesal jg, walaupun gw ga akan beli lg (tp kldikasih si, dg senang hati menerima hehehe)

Rating
3.5 out of 5, good chocolate.

Note: Thank you very much Ms. Agnes, uda repot2 beliin waktu ke Singapura ^^

Amedei no. 9 by Serizawakatsuki

Description
Amedei 9, 75% cacao, combined from 9 different plantation, with the family secret recipe. Ingredient: cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla.

Notes
Intense chocolate aroma, nutty and floral or herb hint, sometimes with leather aroma. (Compare with Lindt Madagascar, that I savor while I write this, Amedei aromas was so hard to describe, actually I'm not sure about the aroma that I smell) 

Initial Impression
Look at the picture above, the high shine that I saw just after unwrapped, was cover by dusty, my bad. Actually, compare with Porcelana, the appearance are almost the same, except the light brown colour is a little bit more darker than Porcelana, with slight reddish.
When I break the bar, it has clean and crisp 'snap' sound.

Taste Impression
At first, fresh citrus acid emerge gradually, more intense during the time it melted. When I chewed it, a subtle nutty flavor came out for a while, still dominate by the citrus acid and chocolatey flavor. Just before finish, I sense freshly baked bread and it finish with the flavor of coffee (like I've been drinking coffee). The aftertaste lingering for a few minutes, and still nice even I'm not drink water (usually, after eat chocolate, I must drink some water because it's aftertaste left too dry for me)

Texture Impression
Smooth and thicker than Porcelana. Melted more slowly than Porcelana, still creamy though not ganache-like. 

Overall Impression
With the cheaper price than Porcelana, I think this bar was so great! Absolutely I will buy this bar again if I have the chance.

Rating
5 out of 5, another excellence chocolate!