Chocolate of the Day: Dandelion Chocolate
70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2016 Harvest bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift
Buenas dias y bienvenido a (good day and welcome to) Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.
Venezuela has produced some of the best cacao in South America in the past. We hope that present economic troubles will resolve and that cacao varieties and farms will not be lost as things work themselves out there. Given the present circumstances, it is with great appreciation that we feature several single origin bars made with cacao grown in Venezuela this week.Today's 70% Mantuano, Venezuela bar was made crafted by Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA), and was received as a gift. (Thank you Mike and Donna!)
The makers at Dandelion describe this Mantuano, Venezuela 2-ingredient* bar as being chocolatey with mild spice notes; and they provided the following origin story printed on their packaging:
"The beans are fermented and dried by the Flor de Mantuano co-op in northern Venezuela (that was founded in 2008). Minda (a Dandelion employee) loves the cocoa and coffee flavors we find in these beans year after year. In this bar, we taste notes of classic dark chocolate, roasted almonds, and espresso."
Our tasting found this bar to have a pleasing, dark chocolate aroma with light spice and a hint of green. The flavor had dried fruit notes, and pulses of rich and chocolatey taste (baked brownies). The chocolate was was uniformly delicious with a light, lingering finish.
Sadly, this bar made with 2016 Harvest cacao is no longer available on the Dandelion website—unless you buy it as part of a Dandelion Chocolate 2017 Collection box. But after this collection sells out, you may have missed the opportunity to try this chocolate.
*Ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar
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