Atelier Materi Cacao Porcelana Review (Marie Hugentobler) + Award Winning Draw

November 8, 2020November 20, 2020

Atelier Materi Cacoa Porcelana. Photo @ 2020 Indigo Perfumery

I love chocolate; the dark, the white, the milky, spiced, fruited, peppered, and yes, of course even bitter raw and bakers chocolate. But despite my passion for every concoction and quality of chocolate; I admit that I am a chocolate snob.

Fresh cacao fruit prior to fermentation, opened to expose the delicious white pulp. Photo courtesy of Andrew Gross ©

Whenever possible I prefer to indulge in chocolate products created from the Arriba Nacional Cacao, the prized native cacao trees of Ecuador and from the light colored pods of the Cacao Porcelana, an heirloom white Criolla cacao grown in Venezuela. Both of these rare varieties are noted for their creamy, rich and complex aromas and for the taste of their white, sweetly nutty pulp.

(L-R) Véronique Le Bihan, owner and Marie Hugentobler, perfumer, photos courtesy of Atelier Materi.

I love cacao-centric perfumes as much as I love chocolate. There might be as many gorgeous, fragrant cacao gourmands as there are chocolates in a candy shop, but every now and then one of these beauties stands out from the crowd. This fall my new chocolate perfume infatuation is the award winning Cacao Porcelana, designed and brought to life by Atelier Materi’s owner and creative director Véronique Le Bihan and perfumer Marie Hugentolber.

What is it about Atelier Materi Cacao Porcelana that distinguishes it from so many other cacao and chocolate-based perfumes? What are the qualities that convinced the Pure Beauty Awards to honor Cacao Porcelana with their 2020 Silver Award for the Best New Niche Fragrance? First, of course, it has to be the high quality chocolate experience, unmistakably the real thing; white porcelana criolla, sensual, smooth, bitter-sweet, vegetal and plump, without the opacity associated with lesser quality chocolate. As the name implies, Cacao Porcelana is translucent and lustrous, a liquid representation of the precious white cacao. After the initial robust and fleshy opening, the heart of Cacao Porcelana pours into a fragile demitasse of cocoa, fortified with touches of rum and boozy davana, glazed with delicate, bright, dry nuances of immortelle.

Cacao Porcelana with cacao pods. Photo composite by Gail Gross.

As Atelier Materi Cacao Cacao Porcelana matures, floral hues of jasmine, accents of fruit and tobacco and the woody, mineral sweetness of Australian sandalwood are expertly cast against a deep, rich chocolaty background. Over a period of eight hours a varnish of light patchouli and deep vanillac tonka bean cuddle ever closer to the skin, inextricably binding the senses of smell, taste and touch into one addictive multi-sensory chocolate experience. Atelier Materi Cacao Porcelana satisfies my craving for the finest cacao, pleasing and sating both palate and nose, providing a sugar (and fat) free relief for people like me, those of us who simply can’t get enough of the world’s best chocolate.

Notes: White cacao, rum, immortelle, Indian jasmine, light tobacco, davana, patchouli, sandalwood and tonka bean.

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Ann Bouterse of Indigo Perfumery for the quickly disappearing sample of Atelier Materi Cacao Porcelana. My opinions are my own.

Gail Gross – Senior Editor

Thanks to the generosity of Ann Bouterse of Indigo Perfumery, we are able to offer one 100 ml. flacon of Atelier Materi Cacao Porcelana for one registered reader, USA Resident ONLY. To be eligible, please tell us what intrigues you about Cacao Porcelana based on Gail’s review. Do you know this brand and do you like chocolate centric perfumes? Draw closes 11/12/2020

Ida Meister’s Review of Atelier de Materi Cuir D’Iris here

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