Chocolate of the Day:Dick Taylor Chocolate
70% Ecuador bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) total bar
Calories: 148 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA
After eating Pacari Chocolate bars from Ecuador this past week, it was fun to get a different, finished, take on cacao beans from the same country -- this time from Dick Taylor Chocolate (Arcata, CA), a Northern California chocolate maker.
This bar was made from organic cacao and organic cane sugar by these small batch craft chocolate makers in Humboldt County (not far from Humboldt Bay where boats are built). And the makers statement describes how they "delicately roast, crack, winnow, stone refine, and age our chocolate in our factory..." The complete bean-to-bar process took approximately one month.
In contrast to the Pacari bars, today's 70% Ecuador bar was richer, slightly more bitter and acidic, a bit earthier -- and with no up-front floral notes that I could detect. Although there was one pleasant fleeting hit of olive at the beginning of one bite. Later after lunch I re-sampled this bar; it was consistent with what I recalled tasting in the morning, but I picked up one tiny little floral chocolatey hint.
Dick Taylor Chocolate is an amalgam of the talents of Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor -- who also have a background in handcrafted boat building; thus the shipwright-related craft illustration on the packaging. The bar was also imprinted with a beautiful patterned illustration, that spoke to the owners sense of thoughtful design.
Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.
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