For a blend, this is one of the most characteristic chocolates on the market - a clear exposition of style. While it's good, better, more definitive blended chocolates exist, especially in this percentage which is loaded with strong players. Dark and bitter, it will win many converts yet disappoint others. Still, as a blended chocolate that stands out from the crowd, it's worth tasting - and for some there will be no substitute.

Appearance isn't really Castelain's focus. The bar definitely has some bubbling, and an uneven colour, suggesting a "rustic" approach conflicting a bit with the professional-looking package. The aroma is strong and dark, with a grapey cast to it, relieved with vanilla contrasts. There's also a woody background, somewhat faint but slightly concerning. Strong, dark, and bitter appears to be where the bar is headed.

The flavour is quite complex although with few surprises. The grape comes to the fore in the taste as well, perhaps here with a leaning towards melon. Then it evolves into a bitter blackstrap molasses flavour, definitely in the same zone as the grape but more aggressive and dark. Continuing on, the bar becomes darker still, moving to a walnut and coffee finish. It's very crisp in mouthfeel, but a bit dusty, so that overall the texture impression is of something slightly aggressive.

What you have going on is sort of a descent into the Heart of Darkness - every note becoming progressively darker, lower, more ominous. This is going to thrill people looking for a dark experience - fans of cyberpunk will no doubt be pleased, but it will seem gloomy to people of perhaps a sunnier disposition. It's obvious that Castelain is aiming for a maximum demonstration of a personal style and interpretation and in this respect the bar succeeds. What one might say is that this chocolate is what many newcomers to bittersweet expect - a somewhat forbidding but fully exposed experience.

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The front of the bar looks classy and shiny, sectioned in large pieces, each of which containing a cacao pod relief. The backside, however, shows lots of action as well, in the form of bubbling and swirling. A near black color doesn’t help the matter, but red tints are always nice to see. Smelling the chocolate reveals a slightly sweet, yet full-bodied aroma of strong cinnamon and coffee accents. Plain, basic, and good in effect, but a lack of complexity and the near black color are certainly alarming.

Tobacco enters the scene, developing into woody cinnamon, and then raspberries and vanilla come in for a softening effect. Yet the flavor never was assertive or forceful, just calm, soft, and not nearly as potent as the visuals suggested. Continuing thusly with vanilla and wood, the chocolate draws to a close—about just as forceful as this calm bar will ever get—delivering coffee and nuts.

Texture reinforces the subtly in flavor with a smoothness that actually appears slippery and thin in the mouth. Strange perhaps, but it certainly is silky and smooth. Subtle in impact yet agreeable in flavor, the profile is a highly pleasant one that emphasizes flavors usually delivered at louder volumes. One can deduce the blend is largely composed of Forasteros, but Castelain has tamed the usually more assertive cacao into a calm and gentle chocolate. It's a conservative approach, very much suggestive by the name written across the box: "Tradition." It’s a chocolate for the masses, reliable and calm, the traditionalist's bar.

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Attractively moulded with a solid brown colour and a pearlescent lustre. Good snap with no bubbles and slight red flecks in the grain. Sweet aroma with mild tobacco, cut grass and damp wood.

Melt is simple at first with an initial 'candy' flavour typical of forestero beans. Notes of 'wafer' then evolve with hints of dark molasses, coffee and with milk towards the end, as well as some liquorice spice hints. Texture has a biscuit like thickness with a glutinous feel to the melt.

Wafer and coffee persist in the length, which does not turn and is just a little acid towards the end.

Overall a fair, blended chocolate, probably mostly African forestero, with some added criollo for flavour notes. A reasonable eat without any strong unique features.

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