Sale: 15% off Bonnat, Cluizel, Pralus, Valrhona, and more!

World Wide Chocolate has 15% off French chocolate, including Cacao Barry, Bonnat, Bernard Castelain, Michel Cluizel, Francois Pralus, Yves Thuries, and Valrhona chocolate this week (through December 12th). Use coupon code FRENCH15 during checkout for this discount.

Other promotions include:

• 20% off Ghirardelli and Lindt using coupon code SPECIAL20
• 15% off Becolade, Cafe-Tasse, Callebaut, Cavalier, Chocolove, Côte d'Or, Dolfin, Galler, Godiva and Nirvana using coupon code BELGIAN15 (only valid through tomorrow)
• additional promotions can be found here
  

REMINDER: Only one coupon code is allowed per order.

In addition, the first 100 buyers to add "Free T-Shirt" in the Comments field will receive a large size WWC t-shirt.

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.

Sale: 10% off all chocolate at World Wide Chocolate

World Wide Chocolate is having a cyber Monday sale today for 10% off all orders. Use coupon code 1day10-0 during checkout. This is a good deal for purchases under $25, as they usually require a purchase of at least $25 for 10% off.

Alternative offers include 20% off any combination of chocolate from Callebaut, Côte d'Or, and Guittard. For this discount, use coupon code SPECIAL20.

If you are interested in spending more on multiple chocolate brands, World Wide Chocolate also has other offers:

• $10 off orders $60 or more: special10
• 15% off orders $75 or more: 1day15-75
• 20% off orders $250 or more: 1day20-250
• 25% off orders $600 or more: 1day25-600

REMINDER: Only one coupon code is allowed per order.

Finally, there may still be a chance to get 5 free Valrhona chocolate squares with your order. Add "Free Valrhona Chocolate Squares" in the Comments field during checkout.

World Wide Chocolate only ships to United States, APO (military), and FPO (diplomatic) addresses. They do not seem to be offering free shipping today (typically available for orders of $150 or more). Shipping information can be found at World Wide Chocolate shipping policies.

Sale: 20% off Taza chocolate through Monday

Taza is running a sale today and tomorrow for 20% off everything at their online store.

On the Shopping Cart page, simply enter Take20M in the "Enter coupon or promotional code here:" field and press the SUBMIT button to apply the 20% discount.

This is the best deal I've seen from Taza, so now is the time to take advantage of the best prices of the year. The sale ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday, November 28th.

Taza ships to the United States, Canada, and Europe. Additional shipping information can be found here.

Review: Taza Cacao Puro 70% Chocolate Mexicano

Lindy's Rating: 6.0

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Taza bar Cacao Puro 70% region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees (unknown) year (unknown) size 77g ~ 2.7oz cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $4.50

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring and letter imprints aroma earth, fruit (berry, citrus, lime), wine, spice, roast snap hard taste sweet, fruit (berry), earth melt grainy length medium finish slightly sweet

Taza crafted its Chocolate Mexicano line with cacao beans and cane sugar. Cacao Puro had no other ingredients. (The other nine chocolates in this line were flavored, mostly with spices). Cacao Puro was a single origin chocolate from the Dominican Republic.

The chocolate was made with 70% cocoa beans and 30% cane sugar. Cacao Puro was USDA certified organic. Taza had a direct trade arrangement with La Red in the Dominican Republic where they sourced the beans. The cacao beans were stone ground once by themselves and then a second time with the sugar.

The bars of Taza's Chocolate Mexicano line were formed into round discs (as pictured above), and two were included in the package. Each disc was scored into 8 pieces and each piece had an imprint of one letter of the Taza name. The bar came wrapped only in wax paper that was held closed with an informational sticker (ingredients, bar code, etc.). In addition to being an eating chocolate, Chocolate Mexicano can also be made into drinking chocolate by whisking it into hot liquid. There was neither a production date nor a best before date on the wrapper or sticker.

Cacao Puro had a medium-dark brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. Its surface was smooth (and had no bubbles, unlike the Stone Ground line). The disc had a hard snap.

The chocolate had aromas of earth, fruit, and spice. We experienced the fruit as berry and citrus, and Lindy was able to clarify the citrus scent as lime. She also smelled some wine. A roast aroma was also present for me.

The taste of Cacao Puro was relatively simple: sweet and berry fruit. I also tasted some earth, but it was secondary to the pleasant sweet berry flavor.

The melt was grainy, as expected from a stone grind. The chocolate had a medium length, with the flavor lasting between 20 and 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was slightly sweet.

You can purchase Taza Cacao Puro 70% online for $4.50 directly from Taza.

Ranking: best Colombia single origin chocolate

In a head to head comparison, I retasted the five single origin chocolate bars made from Colombia cacao that were on our Best Chocolates Overall list (i.e., those with average ratings of 7.0 or higher).

Although I personally preferred the flavor of Santander Colombian 70% to that of Santander Colombian 65%, I felt the latter had a slightly more interesting taste and less tannin in the finish, so I ranked it higher. Similarly, Guittard Chucuri was too sweet for me and I personally would buy Pralus Colombie before it, but I found Chucuri's aroma and flavor to be a bit more complex than that of Colombie. In any case, my final ranking was:

Domori Teyuna Santander Colombian 65% Santander Colombian 70% E. Guittard Chucuri Francois Pralus Colombie

Notes
Clicking on a name above will take you to the detailed review of that chocolate bar.
To see updated information and other rankings, go to our Chocolate Rankings page.

Review: Taza Stone Ground 60%

Lindy's Rating: 6.5

Richard's Rating: 6.5

chocolate maker Taza bar Stone Ground 60% region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario, Criollo year 2011 size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 60% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $6.50

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring and lines, surface bubbles aroma earth (must), fruit (berry, tropical fruit), roast (cocoa, hint of coffee), sweet snap medium hard taste sweet (caramel), fruit (tropical fruit, berry), roast melt grainy length medium finish slightly sweet

Stone Ground 60% is another single origin bar from the Dominican Republic made by Taza. The cacao beans, from La Red cooperative, were a mix of Trinitario and Criollo.

The chocolate was made with 60% cocoa solids (cacao beans plus some cocoa butter made from the same beans), Wholesome Sweeteners cane sugar from Sertãozinho, Brazil, and Villa Vanilla Spice Plantation vanilla beans from 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. Taza has a direct trade relationship with La Red.

The three ounce bar was scored into 16 pieces, each imprinted with three parallel lines, in the same form as the rest of Taza's Stone Ground line. It 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 475. There was no best before date, but by entering batch number 475 on their home page, you can see information about how that batch of chocolate was made. For example, the beans were roasted within two months after they were received, for a total of 46 minutes at a maximum temperature of 239°F. The bars of this batch of chocolate were wrapped on 30 August 2011.

The color of Stone Ground 60% was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). Its surface was mostly smooth, with several bubbles. The bar had a medium hard snap.

Stone Ground 60% had aromas of a dry earthy must, fruit in the forms of berry and tropical fruit, and a cocoa roast. I also smelled a bit of coffee in the roast.

In addition to the obvious sweet flavor that Lindy identified as caramel, we tasted strong tropical fruit and berry flavors. I also experienced some roast.

The melt was grainy, as you would expect from a stone grind. The flavor lasted between 20 and 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a medium length. The final aftertaste was slightly sweet.

You can purchase Taza Stone Ground 60% online for $6.50 directly from Taza.

Review: Taza Stone Ground 70%

Lindy's Rating: 8.5

Richard's Rating: 8.0

chocolate maker Taza bar Stone Ground 70% region Dominican Republic plantation (blend) cacao trees Trinitario, Criollo year 2011 size 85g ~ 3.0oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $6.50

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring and lines, surface bubbles aroma earth, fruit (orange, berry), bubblegum, roast, sweet, floral snap medium hard taste sweet, bubblegum, wine, fruit, floral melt grainy length medium finish very slightly sweet

Taza made their single origin Stone Ground 70% with a mix of Trinitario and Criollo cacao beans from La Red de Comercializacion Loma Guacanejo cooperative of the Dominican Republic.

The chocolate was made with 70% cocoa solids (cacao beans plus some cocoa butter made from the same beans), Zucc 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. Taza has a direct trade relationship with La Red.

The three ounce bar was scored into 16 pieces, each imprinted with three parallel lines, in the same form as the rest of Taza's Stone Ground line. It 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 484. There was no best before date, but by entering batch number 484 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 47 minutes at a maximum temperature of 238°F. The bars of this batch of chocolate were wrapped on 23 September 2011.

Stone Ground 70% had a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015) color. Its surface was mostly smooth, with several bubbles. The bar had a medium hard snap.

The aroma of this chocolate was interesting, with scents of earth, an orange fruit with berry or cherry, bubblegum -- yes, bubblegum, roast, and sweet. Lindy also noticed a floral scent.

We tasted the same sweet bubblegum that we experienced in the aroma. Other flavors included wine and fruit, or as Lindy described it: a flavor midway between the two. She also tasted something floral.

The melt was grainy, as you would expect from a stone grind. The flavor lasted between 20 and 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a medium length. The final aftertaste was very slightly sweet, almost minimal.

You can purchase Taza Stone Ground 70% online for $6.50 directly from Taza.