I remember my first taste of a piece of Valrhona chocolate. I was just starting my third year working in the pastry kitchen, working at a high end Vietnamese restaurant. There were two bags of Valrhona 82% cacao and 70% cacao in the kitchen which was used to make the chocolate praline mousse. I pulled out an oval button from the 82%. I don't remember when was the last time that I ate a piece of chocolate by itself: unadorned and unaccompanied. Just by itself.
But I remember my eyes lighting up: the immediate bitterness followed by a sweet wave of evolving flavor. But I found that I enjoyed the 70% so much more. Because it has a less cacao than the 82%, it was a bit sweeter. I definately enjoyed the fruity notes in Valrhona.
I recently started trying different brands of chocolate, just to taste, to experience the different flavors, to figure out my own preferences. My latest bar of chocolate is Valrhona's Palmira 2007. Valrhona has a line of vintage bars, which like wine, is label according the year it was made. The cacao beans are from Venezuela, and the chocolate is mildly fruity with some acidity. (I think that is why it reminded me of wine.)
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