The 72-year-old Italian led me through a series of his creations, delicately carving slivers of chocolate onto a board and waiting for me to taste each one. As I slipped them onto my tongue, he watched me, head slightly cocked to one side, eyes twinkling through his glasses, waiting for the reaction he knew was coming.
His 100% cacao was strong but not bitter, and it mellowed the more I rolled it around inside my mouth. "Strong and bitter is not the same thing," he said. "We are taught that good chocolate is dark and bitter, but bitter is wrong and dark is burnt."
