Mast Brothers Chocolate Hazelnuts

2.5oz bar
Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, hazelnuts, olive oil  

Last week I reviewed The Brooklyn Blend from Mast Brothers Chocolate, which I learned about during a visit to New York City. This week I'm tasting the other bar I brought back with me, Hazelnuts. Why did I select this one? Since I didn't have a chance to visit the company and taste its wares, I was choosing from among several flavors at a nearby store. I'd just reviewed a bunch of bars involving salt and/or almonds, I'm tired of chocolate that's spicy with no other flavor, and I'm not a huge coffee fan, but I don't get a lot of hazelnuts unless they're in European bars, and then they're usually in some sort of fancy filling. Plain old crushed hazelnuts are surprisingly novel. So there you go.

Corporate Info: (copied from 1/28/12) Mast Brothers is based in hipster-soaked Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the eponymous brothers do fit the description. The company's website doesn't go into many details about the operation itself, but it does link to articles that describe the process as bean-to-bar and at least partially organic and direct trade. (If you're really interested, follow through on those links to see photos and much more on Mast Brothers.) Reviews seem to be love-it-or-hate-it regarding the taste, prices, and aesthetic of the chocolate, and indeed a lot of the press seems to be related to its uniquely patterned packaging. Mast Brothers' products are available mostly in New York, but also in select high-end food stores around the country.

Appearance: This non-Brooklyn Blend looks different too, a little less ashy and more glossy, less orange and more purple. Neat. Oh, and the back is very prettily covered with crushed hazelnuts.

Smell: Side by side with the Brooklyn Blend, the chocolate in Hazelnuts has less of that earthy (a.k.a. dirt) and green smell and more of a subtle, straightforward fruit thing going on, in the sweet berry direction.

Taste: Fruity, bitter, and tannic—very winey, with all the flavors balanced well. Seriously, it's like drinking a full-bodied red wine here, but with more sugar, and as a total afterthought, I can't taste the hazelnuts under all that. Texture is initially crunchy, then thick and rich, so the hazelnuts don't stand out there either. You'll get no complaints from me since it's nice chocolate and the hazelnuts look lovely on the back, but otherwise I'm not sure why they're there.

Conclusion: Mast Brothers Chocolate Hazelnuts is like eating fruity red wine in quite a nice way, but after you've looked at the pretty hazelnuts on the back, you'll forget about them entirely. Oh, well.

[Update 2/4/12: Since I wrote this, Mast Brothers' website has changed and now I can't find a "where to buy" list that covers brick-and-mortar stores. I'm leaving the link in case they change it back.]

Mast Brothers Chocolate The Brooklyn Blend

2.5oz bar

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar

This past fall I took a long-awaited trip to the East Coast to see friends, and a buddy in New York City introduced me to Brooklyn's own Mast Brothers Chocolate. Sad to say we didn't have time to visit the company's tasting room, but I did come home with two bars, and this week I'll tackle the aptly-named Brooklyn Blend, one of a small assortment of the usual sorts of bars (spicy, coffee, salt, nut, etc.). This bar is just plain 74% chocolate, and the copy describes it as having “hints of plum, tobacco and earth.” Leaving aside the lack of an Oxford comma (it just doesn't sound right that way!), is that description borne out by my taste buds?

Corporate Info: Mast Brothers is based in hipster-soaked Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the eponymous brothers do fit the description. The company's website doesn't go into many details about the operation itself, but it does link to articles that describe the process as bean-to-bar and at least partially organic and direct trade. (If you're really interested, follow through on those links to see photos and much more on Mast Brothers.) Reviews seem to be love-it-or-hate-it regarding the taste, prices, and aesthetic of the chocolate, and indeed a lot of the press seems to be related to its uniquely patterned packaging. Mast Brothers' products are available mostly in New York, but also in select high-end food stores around the country.

Appearance: Mostly matte, and a bit pale as dark chocolate goes. (Also broken, but this happened to all the chocolate I brought back from NYC in my tightly packed suitcase.)

Smell: Pretty basic. Warm, with a nutmeg vibe and notes of caramelized raisin.

Taste: Different! Flavor is light, sweet-tart like juicy orange citrus or, sure, maybe plum. I could definitely get earthy from it. I'm not a smoker so I don't know about tobacco, but I could see something fresh and green (it doesn't say dried to me), though not smoky at all. Very little bitterness or tannins. In normal-person language, it's kind of tart and refreshing. Texture is chalky and thick—not in a bad, powdery way but also not waxy or anything like that. When you try to break off one piece it fractures into several small chunks, and it tastes a little crumbly too.

Conclusion: Mast Brothers Chocolate The Brooklyn Blend is light and tart, with a somewhat chalky texture.

[Update 2/4/12: Since I wrote this, Mast Brothers' website has changed and now I can't find a "where to buy" list that covers brick-and-mortar stores. I'm leaving the link in case they change it back.]