Though it was exhausting--it really was -- I recently forced myself to taste 11 different types of Amedei chocolate: Amedei's two signature chocolates grown on small Venezuelan plantations, Porcelana and the "legendary" Chuao; Toscano Black, in 63 per cent, 66 per cent and 70 per cent cocoa; and chocolate squares from Venezuela, Madagascar, Jamaica, Ecuador, Grenada and Trinidad. Tasting 11 different kinds of excellent dark chocolate in quick succession can dull your palate, but it was astonishing how different the various chocolates tasted. The Porcelana tasted so delicate as to be barely noticeable, while the Toscano Black 70 per cent had a strong smoky taste that went on for ever. The Madagascan one was mild, whereas the Grenadan one was spicy. My least favourite by far was the Jamaican, which had a taste so weird and pungent I could scarcely be sure it was chocolate -- it tasted something like insect repellent mixed with cedar wood and mushrooms; like a very bad dream. In miraculous contrast, the Chuao, w ith which Amedei is currently building its reputation, was simply astonishing -- fruity and plummy, yet somehow savoury and winey, too. If all chocolate tasted like that, it really would be the food of the gods.
