Review: Dandelion Papua New Guinea

Lindy's Rating: 7.5

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker Dandelion bar Papua New Guinea region Papua New Guinea plantation blend cacao trees unknown year 2013 size 56g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $12.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle appearance smooth, scoring, imprints aroma earth, roast (cocoa, smoke), spice (cinnamon), fruit (blackberry) snap hard taste sweet (brown sugar), wine, fruit (blackberry, cranberry), roast (smoke), earth, tart melt smooth length medium finish somewhat sweet, somewhat acidic

The cacao beans for Dandelion's Papua New Guinea bar were fire-dried after fermentation, as it typical for that region. The beans for this chocolate came from a 2011 harvest.

Dandelion never adds cocoa butter, lecithin, or vanilla. They crafted Papua New Guinea in their nut-free facility from only two ingredients: 70% cacao beans and 30% cane sugar.

The two ounce bar came wrapped in heavy gold-sided foil inside an outer wrapper of beautiful craft paper. The bar reviewed here was from batch 1, with a best before date of September, 2014.

Papua New Guinea looked great, with a smooth surface. The bar was scored into 18 pieces, each with imprints of 5 parallel squiggles.

The chocolate had a medium brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431) color. Though the snap seemed medium hard on the thin scoring lines, breaking one of the pieces revealed a nice, hard snap.

The aroma contained scents of earth, a smoky and cocoa roast, a cinnamon spice, and blackberry fruit.

The taste of Papua New Guinea began with a sweet brown sugar flavor over a background of earth and smoky roast. Red wine and fruit flavors -- blackberry with some cranberry -- came next. Lindy described it as jammy and tasting of preserves. The taste grew tart and the earth and smoke flavors increased towards the end.

The label described the taste as "a bold Southeastern-style barbecue tang. Its fruity notes give way to an earthy, leathery finish."

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting about 35 to 40 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The final aftertaste was somewhat acidic and surprisingly somewhat sweet.

In 2012, Fresco raised expectations for chocolates made of Papua New Guinea cacao, and this is another great chocolate from that region.

You can purchase Papua New Guinea online in the U.S. for $12.00 directly from Dandelion and in the U.K. for £5.95 from Bean to Bar Chocolate.