Review: Taza Stone Ground 80%

Lindy's Rating: 6.0

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Taza bar Stone Ground 80% region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario, Criollo year 2011 size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 80% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $6.50

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring and lines, surface bubbles aroma sour, roast (cocoa), earth, fruit (citrus, berry, blueberry), sweet, spice snap medium hard taste fruit (berry), sweet, wine, port, sour melt grainy length short finish slightly sour, very slightly acidic

Stone Ground 80% is a single origin bar made with a combination of primarily Trinitario cacao beans and some Criollo cacao beans, all sourced with direct trade from La Red de Comercializacion Loma Guacanejo cooperative in the Dominican Republic. The chocolate was made with 80% cocoa solids (cacao beans plus some cocoa butter made from the same beans), cane sugar from Sertãozinho, Brazil, and vanilla beans from Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation in Villanueva, Costa Rica. Taza ground the beans using granite stone mills and did not conch the chocolate. The bar was certified organic by the USDA.

As with all of the bars in their Stone Ground line, this three ounce bar was scored into 16 pieces, each imprinted with three parallel lines. Stone Ground 80% came wrapped in silver foil-sided paper inside a textured paper sleeve. The sleeve of the bar we reviewed had a large orange sticker labeled with batch number 487. There was no best before date, but by entering batch number 487 on their home page, you can see information about how that batch of chocolate was made. For example, the beans were roasted within three months after they were received, for a total of 48 minutes at 237°F. The bars of this batch of chocolate were wrapped on 28 September 2011.

Stone Ground 80% had a medium-dark brown Bracken color (PANTONE 19-1015). Its surface was mostly smooth, with slight scuffing and several bubbles (much less substantial than on Stone Ground 87%). The bar had a medium hard snap.

Initially after breaking the chocolate, we received a sour aroma, quickly followed by scents of roast, earth, and fruit. The roast was cocoa and the fruit was a combination of citrus and berry. Lindy identified some blueberry in addition to the generic berry scent. We also smelled sweet and spice.

The taste of Stone ground 80% was sweet with a berry fruit flavor. I tasted a red wine flavor and Lindy tasted port. We also both experienced some sourness, which was a good contrast to the sweetness.

This chocolate had the expected grainy melt from a stone grind. The flavor lasted about 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a short length. The final aftertaste was slightly sour and very slightly acidic.

You can purchase Taza Stone Ground 80% online for $6.50 directly from Taza.

Review: Taza Stone Ground 87%

Lindy's Rating: 5.5

Richard's Rating: 5.0

chocolate maker Taza bar Stone Ground 87% region Bolivia plantation (blend) cacao trees Criollo, Forastero year 2011 size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 87% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $6.50

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring and lines, surface bubbles aroma roast (cocoa), earth, spice, sweet, hint of floral snap medium hard taste roast (cocoa), sour, bitter, nut, hint of butter, hint of sweet melt grainy length short finish slightly sour

Taza introduced their Stone Ground 87% chocolate bar this year. It is a single origin bar with a combination of Criollo and Forastero cacao from Bolivia. The chocolate was made with 87% cacao beans, cane sugar from Sertãozinho, Brazil, and vanilla beans from Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation in Villanueva, Costa Rica. No cocoa butter was added. Taza ground the beans using granite stone mills and did not conch the chocolate.

As they have done with all of their suppliers, Taza established a direct trade relationship with Central Integral Agroecologica de Alto Beni cooperative in Bolivia, from whom they sourced the cacao beans for this chocolate. The bar was USDA certified organic.

The three ounce bar was scored into 16 pieces, each topped with three imprinted parallel lines. Stone Ground 87% came wrapped in silver foil-sided paper inside a textured paper sleeve. The wrapper was stamped with batch code 473 and a best before date of 22 August 2012.

By entering the batch number on their home page, you can see information about how that particular chocolate was made. For example, the beans for the bar we reviewed were roasted within two months after they were received, for 45 minutes at 276°F. The bars of this batch of chocolate were wrapped on 23 August 2011 (revealing that Taza recommends eating their chocolate within one year after production).

The color of the chocolate was a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The surface was mostly smooth, but had several bubbles, including a few substantial ones. The bar had a medium hard snap.

Stone Ground 87% had an aroma that included a rich cocoa roast, with earth, spice and sweetness. I also smelled a suggestion of something floral.

The taste of this chocolate was primarily that of a sour roast. Both of us found it slightly bitter. I tasted additional flavors of nut as well as a hints of butter and sweetness.

As desired for a stone ground chocolate, Stone Ground 87% had a grainy melt. The length was short, with the flavor lasting 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was slightly to somewhat sour.

You can purchase Taza Stone Ground 87% online for $6.50 directly from Taza.

Maker Profile: Taza Chocolate

company name	Taza Chocolate
website	http://www.tazachocolate.com/
email	info@tazachocolate.com
chocolate makers	Alex Whitmore Mike Schechter
factory location	561 Windsor St, Somerville, MA 02143
factory tours	$5 per person click here for more information
direct online purchase	Taza
direct stores	Taza Factory Store 561 Windsor St, Somerville, MA 02143 (617) 284-2232
retail store purchase	Taza retail store finder
selling bars since	2006
plantation bars	none
single origin bars	Cacao Puro Mexicano 70% (Dominican Republic) Stone Ground 87% (Bolivia) Stone Ground 80% (Dominican Republic) Stone Ground 70% (Dominican Republic) Stone Ground 60% (Dominican Republic) Wicked Dark (Dominican Republic)
blend bars	none
other bars	nine single origin flavored Chocolate Mexicano bars
production cycle	bean to bar
added fat	cocoa butter from same cacao beans
sweetener	cane sugar
flavoring	vanilla bean
emulsifier	none
organic	all bars USDA certified
sustainable	zero percent waste, local bike delivery, carbon neutral shipping, etc.
economics	direct trade
last updated	November 15, 2011

From their website: "Taza Chocolate was born out of a desire to combine the Mesoamerican tradition of chocolate with a modern, high-quality product manufactured in a socially responsible way."

Taza makes chocolate using granite millstones to stone grind their cacao beans and they do not conch their chocolate, resulting in a grainy texture and unrefined flavors. The cocoa butter they use is from the same cacao beans. Taza does not use an emulsifier in their chocolate. All of their ingredients are certified USDA organic and grown using sustainable agricultural practices.

They have built direct trade agreements with the suppliers of their cacao beans. Their primarily suppliers are the La Red Guacanejo cooperative and Finca El Vesia in the Dominican Republic. This year, Taza also sourced cacao from the Central Integral Agroecologica de Alto Beni cooperative in Bolivia and they are in the process of expanding and diversifying their cacao suppliers.

Taza pays at least $500 per metric ton above market price in exchange for quality cacao beans with at least 95% fermentation and a maximum of 7% moisture. They are quite open about the details of their direct trade practices and document them on their website. Taza published an Annual Cacao Sourcing Transparency Report in September.

In addition to disclosing information about their suppliers, Taza generously shares information about how each batch of chocolate was made. On their home page, you can type in the batch number from the back of the wrapper and Taza displays where the cacao beans and other ingredients came from, when the beans arrived, roasting details including temperature and time, grinding date, etc.

The company was founded by Alex Whitmore (pictured above), Larry Slotnick, and Kathleen Fulton. Mike Schechter joined Taza in 2007 and took over for Alex as head chocolate maker. You can read more about the people of Taza in the About Us section of their website.

Taza has its factory and store in Somerville, Massachusetts, just northwest of Boston. They give public factory tours (with sample chocolate) nearly every day for $5, and you can purchase chocolate at the factory store. You can buy directly from Taza online, and Taza chocolates are found in many retail stores.

Chocolate Rankings page added

In the past, we've done a few head-to-head comparison tastings of different chocolate categories and labeled them with ranking label.

To make these more accessible, we've put a summary of the ones so far on a permanent Chocolate Rankings page. As we do additional comparative tastings (e.g., other single origins), we'll add them to the permanent page, as well as post to the blog.

Review: E. Guittard Chucuri

Lindy's Rating: 7.0

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker Guittard bar Chucuri region Colombia plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario year (unknown) size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 65% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.89

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1317 Bitter Chocolate texture smooth with signature imprints and scoring aroma sweet, roast (smoke), floral, hint of vanilla snap hard taste sweet (butterscotch), floral (rose), herbal (mint), tannin, fruit (melon), hint of nut melt smooth length medium finish tannin

E. Guittard made single origin Chucuri with Trinitario cacaco beans from the San Vicente de Chucuri Valley in Santander, Colombia. This chocolate had 65% cocoa solids (including added cocoa butter) and additional ingredients of cane sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla beans.

This two ounce bar was scored into 12 pieces, each with the E. Guittard signature imprint. The chocolate came wrapped in brassy-colored foil inside a paper cover. The best before date on the wrapper of the bar we reviewed was April 2012.

Chucuri had a medium brown Bitter Chocolate (PANTONE 19-1317) color. The surface was smooth, with a few tiny bubbles. The bar had a hard snap. The aroma of this chocolate was sweet, with a smoky roast and obvious floral scents. I also smelled a hint of vanilla.

The taste of Chucuri first gave us a butterscotch sweetness. We tasted an unusual rose floral flavor, along with a herbal mint. Lindy also noticed tannin, and I experienced a melon flavor and a slight nuttiness.

The melt was smooth. The flavor lasted 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a medium length. Lindy tasted a flash of bitterness before the finish. The final aftertaste for both of us was tannin.

Overall, while not as wonderful as the magnificent Colombia bars of Santander or Domori Teyuna, Chucuri is a good single origin chocolate from that area and better than Pralus Colombie.

You can purchase Guittard Chucuri online for $3.89 directly from Guittard or for $3.35 from Chocosphere.

Review: E. Guittard Ambanja 65%

Lindy's Rating: 7.5

Richard's Rating: 8.0

chocolate maker Guittard bar Ambanja region Madagascar plantation (blend) cacao trees Criollo, (unknown) year (unknown) size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 72% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.89

color light brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle texture smooth with signature imprints and scoring, slightly uneven sheen aroma earth, spice (clove), roast (cocoa), coconut, vanilla snap hard taste sweet (brown sugar, honey), blueberry, orange, spice, roast, earth melt smooth length medium finish sweet, slightly sour, slightly tart

Ambanja is a single origin bar made by U.S. chocolate maker E. Guittard. It was made with a mix of Criollo and other cacao beans from the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar. Ambanja had 65% cocoa solids (cacao beans and cocoa butter); the other ingredients were cane sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla beans.

This two ounce bar was scored into 12 pieces, each with an E. Guittard signature imprint. The chocolate came wrapped in brassy-colored foil inside a paper cover. The best before date on the wrapper was October 2012.

The color of Ambanja was a surprisingly light brown Fudgesickle color (PANTONE 19-1431), almost as if it were a milk chocolate. The surface was smooth, with some slight differences in sheen. Those differences appear more dramatic in the photo above than they were in person. The bar had a hard snap.

This chocolate had a strong earth aroma, but with other scents as well. We smelled a spice that I experienced as clove, a roast in the form of cocoa, a scent of coconut, and vanilla.

Ambanja had sweet flavors of brown sugar and honey, but the strongest flavor became blueberry as the chocolate melted. Adding complexity were an orange and a mixed spice. Note that the orange wasn't a citrus fruit, but more like an extract. I also tasted roast and earth.

The melt was smooth. The flavor lasted about 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a medium length. The finish was sweet and slightly sour, and after a few minutes the final aftertaste was slightly tart as well.

You can purchase Guittard Ambanja online for $3.89 directly from Guittard or for $3.35 from Chocosphere.

Review: E. Guittard Quetzalcoatl 72%

Lindy's Rating: 5.5

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Guittard bar Quetzalcoatl region (unknown) plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 72% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $2.89

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with signature imprints and scoring aroma roast (cocoa, smoke), sweet, vanilla, hint of floral snap hard taste sweet, vanilla, roast (cocoa) melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter, slightly chalky

United States bean to bar chocolate maker E. Guittard makes both single origin and blend chocolates. Quetzalcoatl, named for the feathered serpent god who brought us chocolate, was made from a blend of cacao beans and is the only chocolate Guittard makes without added cocoa butter. The ingredients were 72% cacao beans, cane sugar, soy lecithin, and vanilla beans.

The bar was the standard two ounce size of Guittard's chocolates. It was scored into 12 pieces, each with an imprint of the E. Guittard signature. The chocolate was wrapped in brassy-colored foil and enclosed in a paper cover. The best before date on the chocolate we reviewed was April 2013.

Quetzalcoatl had a medium-dark brown Bracken color (PANTONE 19-1015). The surface was smooth, with only a little scuffing. The bar had a hard snap.

We both smelled aromas of roast, sweetness and vanilla. The roast was primarily cocoa, but also included clear scents of smoke. Lindy clarified the vanilla aroma to be vanilla bean. I also noticed the suggestion of something floral. As for taste, this chocolate had a straightforward and simple flavor profile: it tasted sweet, with flavors of vanilla and cocoa roast.

The melt was smooth and Quetzalcoatl had a short length, with the flavor lasting 10 to 15 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was slightly bitter and slightly chalky.

Overall, this chocolate wasn't particularly interesting, but it was better than most comparable mainstream bars, such as Ghirardelli, Godiva, Green and Black's, and Lindt.

You can purchase Guittard Quetzalcoatl online for $2.89 directly from Guittard or for $2.50 from Chocosphere.