Soma Bean To Bar Bean Blends Triad and Equator Chocolate Bars Reviewed
I love Soma as anyone who reads this blog probably already knows (but it bears repeating). Not only are the owners Cynthia and David absolutely passionate about chocolate but they started out hand sorting beans on a table, cobbling together a cracker and winnower then making their own amazing chocolate from used equipment in full view of everyone. If that kind of openness in chocolate making is not enough, they are also Torontonians. Awesomeness cubed.
Soma is a chocolate maker and chocolatier. As some of you reading this will probably know, making chocolate and making chocolates are two very different things. Making chocolate involves buying beans (or in the case of Hotel Chocolat, growing your own), roasting, cracking, winnowing, refining, conching and tempering. Making chocolates involves taking ready made chocolate from a chocolate maker and doing creative things with it – making bars with inclusions or filled chocolates and ganaches. That’s it in a nutshell as it were 😉
I was gifted these two bars by Cynthia when I visited their shop and of course I also bought more chocolate of course. I’ve gifted these bars on to other bloggers as well so I di share the love as it is so difficult to buy this chocolate outside the Soma shops. You’ll be able to see from the flavour notes why it is so great though.
The Triad – a daring (if I may use that word with reference to a chocolate bar) combination of Papua New Guinea, Peru (Apurimac) and Dominican Republic (La Red) described as fruity, earthy, dynamic – gangsta. The nose is fudgy, slightly fruity and very chocolaty. The amazing flavour explodes when you place it in your mouth moving from purple fruits to fudgy brownie to a slight earthiness. It is absolutely as described with the dynamic flavour absolutely moving around on your palate to really excite it. It is a really mild, sweet 70% bar – perfect for nibbling!
Equator – a combination of Peruvian and Dominican Republic beans. It is described as having notes of roasted grains and brownies with an end punch of astringency. Absolutely spot on though I got a bit of yellow fruit as well. As the chocolate melts it absolutely has those darker, richer chocolaty notes and despite it being a 67% you get the sense of a darker bar. Very little bitterness makes this absolutely glorious dark goodness.
Each of these bars, though having similar origins, has very different flavours. They each balance beautifully in your mouth (or at least in mine) and are some of the finest bars on the market. Absolute brilliance in the chocolate makers art. If you want to try and get some, you’ll need to contact Soma directly HERE.
