Review: Dick Taylor Ecuador Camino Verde

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Dick Taylor bar Ecuador Camino Verde region Ecuador plantation Camino Verde cacao trees unknown year unknown size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 76% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $8.00

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1012 Dark Brown appearance imprint, smooth aroma earth (hay, burlap), spice snap hard taste roast (tea, cocoa), earth (hay), nut, fruit melt more smooth length medium finish sour, somewhat tannin

Dick Taylor made this Ecuador chocolate with cacao beans from the Camino Verde farm. The chocolate was crafted from 76% cacao beans and 24% organic cane sugar.

Inside a paper envelope, the chocolate came wrapped in gold foil-sided wax paper. The best before date was September 2014 and the batch number was 13252.

The unscored two ounce bar had Dick Taylor's intricate imprint with only some insignificant, barely detectable bubbles. The color was a medium-dark brown Dark Brown (PANTONE 19-1012). The bar had a hard snap.

The aroma smelled strongly of hay. Secondary scents included an earthy burlap and some spice.

Camino Verde had flavors of roast, earth, nut, and fruit. The roast was mostly tea with a little cocoa. The earthy flavor was primarily the dominant hay of the aroma. Nuttiness and fruit developed, but remained in the background compared with the tea roast and hay earth flavors.

The chocolate had a more smooth melt. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting 30 to 35 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was sour and somewhat tannin.

Overall, it's a great bar if you like the flavors found in this chocolate. The other chocolate we've reviewed made from the high-quality Camino Verde cacao, Rogue's Balao, is even better, but costs quite a lot more.

You can purchase Ecuador Camino Verde online for $8.00 directly from Dick Taylor or from Chocolopolis. I also found it for only $7.00 at The Chocolate Clinic.