Chocolate of the Day
Taza Chocolate
70% Dark Chocolate "Deliciously Dark" (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #3 of Dark Chocolate Week.
Today's 70% Dark Chocolate "Deliciously Dark" (bar) was made from bean-to-bar by Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA).
The company offers a variety of bars, drinking chocolates and confections. Several years ago, I sampled another "plain" 70% dark chocolate. However, this had a slightly different title, and likely was made with a different cacao blend (different cacao growing regions, farms) and different harvest years.
Aroma notes for this vegan and dairy-free bar included: dark chocolate (deep, rich chocolate cookie/warm drinking chocolate); sweet green floral/botanical; subtle, balanced earth; and dried fruit (plum, banana).
Taza Chocolate is known for its slightly rougher texture. Their description notes that this chocolate "isn't silky smooth--on purpose." This 70% dark bar had a stone-ground, slightly granular texture--that wasn't objectionable to me because the company delivered (once again) on their promise of chocolate with texture and "bright, bold flavor that is...unique...never boring and always satisfying."
Shorter cacao bean grind/processing times can mean a rougher texture; but you also get a more flavorful chocolate. And if makers purchase/start with high-quality cacao, why wouldn't they want to preserve great flavors--not to mention more of the nutrients, like polyphenol/flavonols and trace B and C vitamins?
If you prefer silky, buttery texture over flavor, there are plenty of good options out there. But, either way, if you're a dark chocolate fan, I recommend giving Taza Chocolate dark chocolate a try. (The company has also focused on cacao sourcing practices and partnering with farmers in cacao growing countries since their inception.)
Flavor notes for this 70% "Deliciously Dark" bar included: hearty, authentic cacao flavor with deep, dark chocolate and mild, well-balanced earth notes and very subtle green floral and fruit notes similar to the aroma notes (listed above). It also was relatively sweet for a 70% dark chocolate -- perhaps due to some of these naturally sweet-tasting flavor notes and being able to "taste" the rougher grains of sugar more. I'm not sure.
I enjoy well-executed, complex dark chocolates, where you can taste the variety(ies) of cacao that were used. Today's chocolate had cacao flavor notes I associated with bold Forastero (deep, dark cocoa)--with a little Trinitario (fruit) and possibly Arriba or Nacional (green, floral) cacao varieties blended in for good measure.)
Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter.
Allergen-related information: "May Contain Traces of Tree Nuts and Sesame Seeds."
