Description
TASTING NOTES
Yet another decadent chocolate ingot from French maker Pralus. Francois Pralus has sourced the beans for this creation from Claudio Corallo’s Sao Tome plantation and the hand of both cocoa experts shine through the chocolate.
Take a bite and you are immediately hit by a wave of flavours. Spicy fruit notes mix with a hint of tart berries and some tropical fruits. The strong flavours are matched by the powerful nibs. This intense addition adds a strong earthy flavour and wooded note.
The nib pieces mixed throughout this generous chunk of chocolate also give an unusual texture. Unlike the buttery smoothness of Pralu’s bars or the fudgy nougat of his Barres Infernales, the Brut has a crunchy crumbly texture. The nibs break up the chocolate which falls apart slightly as you eat it. Eating this bar is a more rustic experience than you might expect from the French maker. But the less refined chocolate is far more fun to eat as you break off irregular crunchy pieces and enjoy the intense mix of flavours and textures.
ABOUT THE MAKER
Pralus has been making patisserie and baked treats in Roanne, France, since 1948. Auguste Pralus quickly became famous for his Praluline, a gorgeous brioche packed with rose-sugar-coated pieces of almonds and hazelnuts. Auguste’s son François is now at the helm, and Pralus has become famous the world over for its fabulous chocolate. François is a master chocolate maker – he’s always on the lookout for new cocoa beans and has recently bought his own farm on the Madagascan island of Nosy Be.
Matthew W. –
I really enjoyed this thick, chunky bar. It’s like a chocolate Pico Cao Grande. The size and shape work so well for the nibby texture. I can’t get enough of Sao Tome cacao with its earthy aroma and rich flavours. Add in the crumbling texture of this bar and you feel you are tasting the essence of a volcanic, tropical island.
This is quite a different flavour from other Pralus bars that I have tried. It tastes much closer to something that Claudio Corallo would produce himself. Less berry and fruit, but stronger earth and woody notes, which are complemented here by the texture. There’s a subtle complexity that almost goes into porcelana territory.