Review: Grenada Chocolate Company 71%

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Grenada bar 71% region Grenada plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 71% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla beans other ingredients (none) list price $4.60

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth, scoring, image imprint, bubbles, slightly uneven sheen aroma roast (tobacco, cocoa), floral, earth, dairy (cheese), sweet snap hard taste floral, roast, sweet (honey), earth, spice, fruit (berry), wine, bitter, acidic melt more smooth length short finish bitter, slightly sour

Grenada Chocolate Company is a tree to bar chocolate maker whose solar-powered factory is only a mile from where they ferment their cacao beans. Their cooperative includes more than 150 acres of organic cacao farms growing Trinitario cacao. With the recent addition of a 100% bar, they now make four unflavored chocolate bars: 60%, 71%, 82%, and 100%.

All of their bars are USDA and CERES certified organic. Grenada is one of the few makers that actually presses cocoa butter from their own cacao beans. The ingredients of 71% were cocoa beans, cane sugar from a cooperative in Paraguay, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and vanilla beans from Costa Rica.

Grenada 71% came in a three ounce bar that had a stylized image of cacao imprinted in the center third of the bar. The two sides were each scored into 4 pieces. The bar came wrapped in heavy brass-colored foil-sided wax paper inside a paper sleeve. The best before date was 20 January 2013. The number 181 presumably indicated the batch number.

The chocolate had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The surface of the bar was smooth with many substantial bubbles and a slightly uneven sheen. The bar had a hard snap.

71% smelled strongly of tobacco, especially from a fresh break. Some cocoa was also present in that tobacco roast. Other scents in the aroma included floral, earth, a dairy that reminded me of cheese, and sweetness.

The taste of 71% was initially floral, followed quickly by roast, honey sweetness, earth, and spice flavors. As the chocolate melted, I tasted berry fruit and wine, along with some bitterness and acidity.

The melt was more smooth. The chocolate flavor faded quickly after the chocolate was gone, with the sweetness lasting a while longer. I judged it a short length, with the chocolate flavor dissipating within 15 seconds. The final aftertaste was bitter and slightly sour.

This chocolate won a Silver in the Best Dark Organic Bar category at the 2008 Academy of Chocolate Awards.

You can purchase Grenada 71% online for $4.60 in the U.S. from Chocosphere or for £3.45 in the U.K. from Chocolate Trading Co.