Taza Chocolate Mexicano Chipotle Chili

2.7oz (77g) in two disks

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, o. cane sugar, o. chipotle chili powder

Corporate Info: (Copied from 5/5/12) Taza Chocolate is pretty lovely. The chocolate comprises only organic ingredients, sources its cocoa beans using a variation on fair trade principles called Direct Trade, was made in the U.S., and is wrapped in recycled paper (and foil) or just old-school wax paper. It's neat tasting, too: Rather than being smooth throughout, the chocolate is made from stone-ground cocoa beans and not conched, both of which make for a gritty chocolate with discernible sugar crystals. Taza produces dark bars; Chocolate Mexicano Discs that are just sugar, cacao, and flavorings; and baking chocolate and other items, including a neat Chocolate Mexicano Extract.

Today's Bar: Chipotle! And in 70% cacao.

Appearance: Virtually identical to last week's “rich, orangey-brown with slight gloss,” despite the big jump in cacao content. I should also mention that Taza's chocolate has a very slightly mottled look: tiny lighter-colored flecks in the darker chocolate around it. I wonder if that's the sugar?

Smell: Beany, rawish chocolate with a definite sweet, smoky chipotle smell. Aroma-wise they're well-balanced, with neither smell overwhelming the other.

Taste: The chipotle's roasted heat hits first, throat-filling but not painful, along with some sugar. Then the tart rawness of the chocolate. Finally, only in the aftertaste do I really get the pepper's smoky-sweet flavor along with lingering heat. I wouldn't mind a little more accessible flavor along with the heat, but if you like the particular kind of fire that chipotle provides (i.e. smoky and not searing), this delivers.

Conclusion: Taza Chocolate Mexicano Chipotle Chili is warm, tart, and beany, though it delivers more chipotle heat than chipotle flavor.

Taza Chocolate Mexicano Guajillo Chili

2.7oz (77g) in two disks

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, o. cane sugar, o. guajillo chili powder

Corporate Info: (Altered from 8/27/11) Taza Chocolate is pretty lovely. The chocolate comprises only organic ingredients, sources its cocoa beans using a variation on fair trade principles called Direct Trade, was made in the U.S., and is wrapped in recycled paper (and foil) or just old-school wax paper. It's neat tasting, too: Rather than being smooth throughout, the chocolate is made from stone-ground cocoa beans and not conched, both of which make for a gritty chocolate with discernible sugar crystals. Taza produces dark bars; Chocolate Mexicano Discs that are just sugar, cacao, and flavorings; and baking chocolate and other items, including a neat Chocolate Mexicano Extract.

This Bar: In the past I've only had Taza's plain bars, but I saw a (fairly minor) sale on the Chocolate Mexicano Discs and use it as an excuse to finally buy several. Today's “bar” contains guajillo chili, which one site says has “either a green-tea or fruity flavor, with hints of berries”; Taza claims the disk has “powerful notes of citrus and smoke, with a slow-to-develop heat that's assertive but not overwhelming.” Oh, and this bar is lower than my usual cacao requirement, only 50%.

Appearance: Rich, orangey-brown with slight gloss.

Smell: Beany, a little roasted, almost coffee-ish. I don't smell chili.

Taste: First, Taza's signature gritty, stone-ground texture. As for flavor, for me, sweetness can often get in the way of discerning other elements, and this is indeed sweet, but it still has a really dark quality, probably because of the rawness and roasted flavors. The chili is super-integrated, more like an enhancement of the chocolateyness: I do get a little tart, rounded fruit, and smokey vibe, and just a little warmth on the back of the throat—I wouldn't even call it spicy, only warm. Unless you're super sensitive to heat and chili flavors, you might not even notice the chili, just thinking of the chocolate as really complex and sour-fruity-earthy-toasty. Very cool.

Conclusion: Despite its relatively high sugar level and added chili powder, Taza Chocolate Mexicano Guajillo Chili just tastes like a super-complex, tart-fruity-earthy-roasted, close-to-the-tree chocolate.

Taza Chocolate 70% Dark Stone Ground Organic Chocolate

3oz (85g) bar

Ingredients: Organic direct trade cacao beans (Dominican Republic), o. cane sugar, o. cocoa butter, o. vanilla beans

Corporate Info: Taza Chocolate is pretty lovely. The bar I'm holding comprises only organic ingredients, sources its cocoa beans using a variation on fair trade principles called Direct Trade, was made in the U.S., and is wrapped in recycled paper. What Taza produces is interesting too. Rather than being smooth throughout, the chocolate is made from stone-ground cocoa beans and not conched, both of which make for a gritty chocolate with discernible sugar crystals. In addition to bars, Taza produces Chocolate Mexicano Discs that are just sugar, cacao, and flavorings as well as baking chocolate and other items, including a neat Chocolate Mexicano Extract.

Appearance: Reddish.

Smell: Rich and complex, beany, fresh. “Together”: Yes it's complex, but there's nothing that stands out as particular sharp or dominant.

Taste: The texture is dense with a fine graininess; it reminds me of homemade fudge—the crumbly kind, not the soft kind you often buy in tourist shops. Flavor is indeed fresh, with a pleasantly tart beginning that fades into a light bitterness, like a light red wine. To my taste the chocolate and sugar balance each other well, as more sugar would be too sweet and less would make it just sour. I'm not sure I'd want this tart flavor profile every day, and for what it's worth, ten minutes later my tongue still tastes bitter...but it's very good, and I'd like to try some of Taza's other products.

Conclusion: Taza Chocolate 70% Dark Stone Ground Organic Chocolate is tart and complex, with interesting flavor and texture. Worth trying. 

Taza Chocolate Stone Ground Organic Chocolate 80% Dark

3oz (85g) bar

Ingredients: Cacao beans (Dominican Republic), cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans. (All certified organic.)

I found this bar at a specialty chocolate shop, and at $8.00 ($2.66/oz) it was one of the most expensive I’ve considered. (I later saw it for a few cents less elsewhere.) I was able to taste it in the store, and I elected to buy it despite its high price because of the stone-ground texture, which was unlike that of other chocolate I’d eaten.

Taza Chocolate’s 80% bar is gritty and almost dusty; whatever roasting and other processing may go into it, to me the texture makes it taste more “raw” than smoother, creamier bars. The flavor is also somewhat challenging, because it has a clear sour note, coming across as bright rather than deeply fruity, with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. (I’ll be interested to see if this flavor profile will show up in other single-source bars from the Dominican Republic.) Because of the texture, the sugar's sweet counterpoint is distinguishable from the sour and bitter flavors—it’s almost as though the bar's flavors sit side by side in a mixture rather than being melded into one taste experience.

Conclusion: Taza Chocolate’s 80% bar is challenging and relatively expensive, so it’s not for everyone and won’t be a Chocolate Basket staple. On the other hand, if you’re interested in trying something different I’d recommend searching it out. Besides, it’s just a chocolate bar--it’s not like you’ll have to skip a car payment for this sort of luxury.

*You can read more about Taza Chocolate’s bean-to-bar process here.