Chocolate of the Day:Dick Taylor
Fleur de Sel bar
Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CAToday was Day #1 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week, and the chocolate of the day was a dark chocolate single origin bar with salt, hand-crafted* by bean-to-bar maker Dick Taylor in Humboldt County (Arcata, CA).
This 74% Dominican Republic bar had well-balanced earthy and acid/ripe fruit notes, and just the right, even sprinkling of fleur de sel (sea salt) on the back side of the bar.With a three ingredient bar like this (organic, fairly traded cacao, organic cane sugar and fleur de sel), there's no where to hide if you want a great bar. Each of these three ingredients needs to be of the highest quality and has to play well with others. There are no texturing or flavor agents to cover up off-tastes or an uneven flavor profile.
Thankfully, the makers and serial craftsmen at Dick Taylor (Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor are also boatbuilders and designers/printers, musicians, and I'm sure I'm leaving a few things out here) take each step of their craft(s) seriously. And, I haven't tasted a bad bar yet.
*Note: When I last checked the Dick Taylor website (Dec. 2013), most of their bars were "Sold Out," so stock up when they're available.
