Review: Fresco 213 Dominican Republic

Lindy's Rating: 8.5

Richard's Rating: 8.0

chocolate maker Fresco bar 213 region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year 2011 size 40g ~ 1.4oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-light brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle texture lined with scoring, bubbles aroma earth, roast (smoke, cocoa, malt), fruit (raisin, hint of plum), sweet, hint of floral snap medium hard taste roast (tea), fruit (plum, dried fruit, berry), sweet, tangy, earth melt smooth length short finish slightly tannin, slightly acidic

U.S. bean to bar chocolate maker Rob Anderson began Fresco in 2008. He is an advocate of transparency in the chocolate making industry and reveals information about roasting and conching for each of his chocolate bars. Fresco makes all of their chocolate from effectively two ingredients: cacao beans and cane sugar. They make the cocoa butter they use from the same cacao beans.

Fresco tries many variations and decides upon a batch recipe based on cacao origin, roasting temperatures and time, ingredient percentages, and conching temperatures and time. You can read more about this process on their website.

213 was a single origin chocolate made with cacao beans from the Dominican Republic. Cocoa solids (cacao beans and cocoa butter) were 72%, and thus cane sugar made up the remaining 28%. The recipe for this chocolate included a dark roast and no conche.

The small 40 gram bar was scored into 10 square pieces, each alternating with either vertical or horizontal lines. The surface looked great other than bubbles in some of the top corners of the pieces. The bar came wrapped in silver foil-sided wax paper and packaged in a paper container. The production date was August 16, 2011, and the batch number was 11-018 (with a production run of 298). The best before date was September 2013.

The chocolate had a medium-light brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431) color, and the bar had a medium-hard snap.

213 had an aroma of earth, roast, and fruit. The roast contained smoke, cocoa, and malt. There was a dried fruit that we both identified as raisin, and Lindy also noticed a hint of plum. In addition, I experienced a sweet scent and Lindy smelled a hint of floral.

Lindy described the flavors as sweet, tangy, a plum fruit, and a roast in the form of tea. For me, 213 tasted strongly of the tea roast, along with earth, fruit that included plum, dried fruit, and berry, as well as some sweetness.

The melt was smooth. The length was short, with the flavor lasting about 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was slightly tannin and slightly acidic.

Lindy liked this chocolate more than I did (I found the roast to be too heavy). However, we both rated 213 highly enough for it to make it onto our list of Best Chocolates Overall.

You can purchase Fresco 213 online for $7.00 from Chocolopolis.

Review: Escazú Guapiles, Costa Rica

Lindy's Rating: 7.0

Richard's Rating: 6.5

chocolate maker Escazú bar Guapiles, Costa Rica region Costa Rica plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 80g ~ 2.8oz cocoa solids 65% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $5.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring, bubbles aroma earth (must), roast, floral snap hard taste earth, sweet (brown sugar, caramel), coconut, vanilla melt smooth length medium finish slightly sweet, very slightly sour

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Escazú Guapiles, Costa Rica

Escazú is a small U.S. bean to bar chocolate maker in Raleigh, NC, started by Hallot Parson in 2005. They make pure chocolate, flavored chocolate, hot chocolate, and truffles. Guapiles is one of their two pure single origin chocolates, and is made with cacao beans from Costa Rica.

Guapiles, Costa Rica was made with 65% cocoa solids (including added cocoa butter made from the same cacao beans). Other ingredients were sugar and vanilla bean. The generous 80 gram bar was scored into 24 pieces, wrapped in gold colored foil, and enclosed in a paper sleeve. There was no production date or best before date on the bar we reviewed, and the Batch # space on the sleeve was blank.

The color of this chocolate was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The surface was smooth, but there were small bubbles in several of the top corners of the pieces. The bar had a hard snap.

There was musty earth, roast, and floral in the aroma. Initially, the earth was dominant, but the floral scent grew to become nearly as strong.

The taste of Guapiles, Costa Rica started off earthy, but soon revealed sweet flavors of brown sugar and caramel. We also tasted coconut and vanilla.

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The flavor lasted 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a medium length. The sweet flavor remained into the finish, along with a very slight sourness.

Last weekend, this bar won one of the 2012 Good Food Awards.

You can purchase Guapiles, Costa Rica online directly from Escazú for $5.00, or, to combine the purchase with other brands, from Chocolopolis for $5.99.

Sale: 20% off Patric and Guittard chocolate

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You can view the full list of promotions here.

REMINDER: Only one coupon code is allowed per order.

In addition, the first 30 buyers to add "Free Michel Cluizel Squares" in the Comments field during checkout will receive 5 free bite-size 5 gram chocolate squares of Michel Cluizel chocolate.

World Wide Chocolate only ships to United States, APO (military), and FPO (diplomatic) addresses. Full information can be found at World Wide Chocolate shipping policies.

2012 Good Food Awards for Chocolate

This weekend the Good Food Awards announced their winners for 2012. The following won awards in the chocolate category:

Amano Guayas
Dandelion Costa Rica
Escazu Costa Rica
Fresco 214
Lillie Belle Farms Perfect Illusion
Patric Signature 70%
Rogue Sambirano
Theo Theo and Jane Goodall 70%

The links above go directly to our associated detailed chocolate bar review.

Review: Dandelion Sambirano Madagascar

Lindy's Rating: 8.0

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker Dandelion bar Sambirano Madagascar region Madagascar plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year 2011 size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1526 Dark Red Brown texture smooth with scoring aroma earth, spice, woody, fruit (berry), floral, butter snap hard taste fruit (berry, citrus, raspberry, plum), sweet, roast, earth melt smooth length short finish slightly tangy, slightly tannin

Dandelion was on batch number 3 for their single origin Madagascar chocolate made with organic cacao beans from Åkesson's in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar. The sticker on the wrapper was titled Sambirano, Venezuela and indicated that the beans were from the June 2011 harvest. The back sticker was initialed twice by Alice Nystrom, indicating that she was primarily responsible for both the batch and the packaging.

Sambirano, Madagascar was made with 70% cacao beans and 30% cane sugar. There was no any added cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring, and no contamination with dairy, gluten, nuts, or soy. The two ounce bar was scored into 18 pieces, each with 5 parallel squiggles, and came wrapped with heavy gold-sided foil and packaged inside a pretty paper cover. There was no production date or best before date on the wrapper, but the bar was made in 2011.

The chocolate had a medium brown Dark Red Brown (PANTONE 19-1526) color. The top surface looked nicely smooth like Dandelion's other bars whose temper Lindy liked so much. It had a hard snap.

Madagascar gave off an aroma that included earth, spice, wood, and a berry fruit. Lindy also smelled some floral, and I noticed the scent of butter.

The taste of Madagascar was fruity -- berry, citrus, raspberry, plum, and likely some other fruits we didn't identify. Berry was the strongest of the fruit flavors, but the others were clearly present. Non-fruit flavors included sweetness and roast. I also experienced some earthiness.

The melt was smooth. The flavor lasted about 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a short length. The finish was slightly tangy, and, for me, slightly tannin as well.

Overall, we both liked this chocolate quite a lot, about as much as Dandelion's Costa Rica bar. Lindy found the more interesting fruit flavors compensated for the melt and length. I concluded that they didn't quite make up for Costa Rica's better melt and length. You can find both of them on our list of Best Chocolates Overall.

You can purchase Dandelion Madagascar online directly from Dandelion for $8.00, or, if you would like to combine the purchase with other brands, from Chocolopolis for $8.99.

Review: Dandelion Mantuano Venezuela

Lindy's Rating: 6.0

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Dandelion bar Mantuano Venezuela region Venezuela plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year 2011 size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring aroma roast (smoke), earth (must), hint of spice snap hard taste roast (smoke, cocoa), nut, sweet (marshmallow) melt more smooth length short finish slightly smoky

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Dandelion Mantuano, Venezuela

Dandelion was also on batch number 2 for their single origin Venezuela chocolate made with cacao beans from the Barlovento coast of Venezuela. The sticker on the wrapper was titled Mantuano, Venezuela and indicated that the beans were from the 2010 harvest. The back sticker was initialed that Todd Masonis was primarily responsible for the batch and Chiann Tsui for the packaging.

As with all Dandelion chocolate, Venezuela was made with 70% cacao beans and 30% cane sugar. There was no any added cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring, and no contamination with dairy, gluten, nuts, or soy. The two ounce bar was scored into 18 pieces, each with 5 parallel squiggles, and came wrapped with heavy gold-sided foil and packaged inside a pretty paper cover. There was no production date or best before date on the wrapper, but the bar was made in 2011.

Mantuano, Venezuela had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. The top surface looked nicely smooth, nearly as great as their Costa Rica bar. It had a hard snap.

A strong smoky roast dominated the aroma of this chocolate. There was a dry musty earth scent, but it was secondary to the roast. I also smelled a hint of spice.

Venezuela had a roast flavor, too -- smoky and cocoa. We also tasted nutty, and a sweetness that included marshmallow. The label described the flavor of Venezuela as "almost hot cocoa in bar form" and that was how it tasted, though the roast was too strong for me. Lindy was surprised by the lack of any fruit flavors in the taste.

The chocolate had a more smooth melt. The flavor lasted about 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a short length. We were left with a slightly smoky finish.

You can purchase Dandelion Venezuela online directly from Dandelion for $8.00, or, if you would like to combine the purchase with other brands, from Chocolopolis for $8.99.

Review: Dandelion Upala Costa Rica

Lindy's Rating: 8.0

Richard's Rating: 8.0

chocolate maker Dandelion bar Upala Costa Rica region Costa Rica plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year 2011 size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring aroma earth, roast, floral (rose), spice, sweet, hint of fruit snap hard taste floral, roast (cocoa, coffee), sweet, vanilla, nut, tannin, hint of fruit melt more smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin

Dandelion is a tiny independent chocolate maker in San Francisco. You can read more about them in our maker profile. The single origin Costa Rica chocolate bar we reviewed was labeled batch number 2 and was made using their second bag of cacao beans from the Upala region of Costa Rica. There was no production date or best before date on the wrapper, but the bar was made in 2011.

All of Dandelion's chocolate bars are presently made with 70% cacao beans and 30% cane sugar. Costa Rica was no exception, and was made without any added cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring. The two ounce bar was scored into 18 pieces and came wrapped with heavy gold-sided foil and packaged inside a pretty paper cover. A large sticker on the outer paper wrapper indicated the cacao beans were from the 2010 harvest and that this was the second batch of Costa Rica chocolate. A smaller sticker holding the cover closed indicated who was primarily responsible for making that batch and packaging the chocolate, and was initialed by Cam Ring and Todd Masonis, respectively.

The color of Costa Rica was a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The top surface of the bar had an incredibly smooth temper that Lindy described as "almost lacquered". The snap was hard.

Costa Rica gave off an aroma that included earth, roast, flowers, spice, sweetness. We agreed that the floral scent was rose. Lindy also detected a hint of fruit.

The taste of this chocolate was somewhat similar to its aroma, giving flavors of floral, roast, sweetness, and vanilla (note that there were no vanilla ingredients). The roast tasted like coffee to me and like cocoa to Lindy. I also experienced a nut flavor and Lindy noticed tannin and the faint fruit flavor she found in the aroma.

Costa Rica had a more smooth melt. The length was medium, with the flavor lasting 20 to 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was somewhat tannin.

Overall, we were both impressed with this bar. It was much better than the previously opened sample I tried in July (that may have suffered during its lifetime).

You can purchase Dandelion Costa Rica online directly from Dandelion for $8.00, or if you would like to combine the purchase with other brands, from Chocolopolis for $8.99.