Belyzium Belize Single Estate Tree to bar 83%
Belyzium - Craft Chocolate - Belize Single Estate - Tree to bar - 83% - Batch 02.10.2020
Cacao origin/type:
Local cacao variety
Ingredients:
Cacao beans, raw cane sugar, cacao butter
Other facts:
Made in Germany (Belyzium UG, Berlin), BMEL-seal for organic farming, Fairtrade
https://www.31-grad.de/
As a package for their bars Belyzium (like Le Petit Duc or Georgia Ramon) uses the classic upright, hinged slipcase able to reseal. With Belyzium its design is rather minimalist, coherent with the craft philosophy rather simple in beige-brown, with a few details and the beautiful logo on top. Not the most elegant, but also definitely not cheap looking, it fits well with the company image and the attitude behind it. Inside the bar lays in a silk paper wrap, which I really like and gives it some elegant vibe, a small card with a few sentences about the special features behind the bar/production is included.
The bar itself has a slight red tinge, overall chestnut color. Here you notice the size and maybe also the focus of the production, some mini chips and slightly fuzzy edges are there, the perfection of some noble manufacturers like GR or even larger brands like Domori with industry control is not there. The bar is divided into one half in classic rectangles, but also with a special floral motif spanning over several rectangles and one half as a solid block with the company logo, it is also nice and thin. Unfortunately, it does not really break along the indicated edges on one half, due to the floral motif and you get rather pointy fragments, a small shortcoming for me. The snapping is hard and clear, slightly porous cross-section, overall satin to matte finish.
Aroma:
Nice organic, fermented nose, woods that are drying, something green like zucchini or green peppers, rubber freshly bleeding from the tree, parchment paper, subtle hazelnut and old dry leather
Taste:
In the mouth an interesting first impression, dry and slightly rough, quite rough, gentle sandpaper slides over the tongue. Noticeably mealy, grainy melt. Again, the fermented notes, cocoa beans with still some earth attached to the beans inside the bag, short splash of cherry juice behind that, oak and other woods come forward noticeably, some walnut grated on top, impressions of grapes and grasses too
Finish:
The finish is not too long, with nuts, oak and grasses
Comment:
I would like to hold the Belyzium in all honor, it is a solid, handcrafted chocolate where you notice the knowledge and quality of the cocoa. At the same time, it has a very different texture than one is used to and is certainly not the most multilayered in its notes, so I have to include these factors purely in terms of points. It is thus certainly not one that I would show a newcomer to the subject of craft chocolate, it is something for advanced chocolate fans who know about the production. A little bit like a new make whiskey from an exciting, nice, small, new distillery.
