Mission Puerto Rico 70% Dark Chocolate Bar

60 gram bar - Brazil

We have tried a lot of chocolate over the last 25 years or so. Are we jaded by this? Perhaps a little, but we still get excited to taste something new.

All chocolate is good, especially when you don't have any. I remember when I was in the hotel bar in Addis in the 80's, and some guy had his stash of Snickers and Hershey's stored at the bar (... and I had none). I realized right then and there I would never travel again without chocolate.

Arcelia has made a chocolate bar worth dreaming about.

This is what Arcelia shared when we asked her to tell us about the chocolate.

"Hacienda Cacao Valent (the cocoa farm) is located on the west coast of Puerto Rico. The cacao trees were planted in 2014 and soon after, Hurricane Maria destroyed 40% of the trees. The producer David Valentín Bayón, a multi-generational farmer, has spent most of his time planting and making sure his trees grow and survive to become strong mature trees.

"On his farm he has a blend of mostly trinitário and forastero trees, with a few criollo. In 2017 and 2019 his cacao received a Cocoa of Excellence Award.

"This is the third harvest that I have received from him; the first two harvests I received I made into chocolate and both times [it was] awarded. So this makes his cacao and my chocolate the most awarded in Puerto Rico.

"It is important to support Puerto Rican cacao because most of it goes to bulk processing and made into Dominican chocolate. Creating a demand ... for single origin Puerto Rican chocolate incentivizes farmers to sell their cacao to small chocolate makers instead of the large industry buyers."

Tim's tasting notes:

To the nose there is no hint at the wonderful flavors to come.

At first bite it is a soft chocolate, that melts nicely in the mouth releasing wonderful flavors. It is a gentle mix of cocoa. It is enticing, with a wonderful finish, and an ever-so-slight dryness to the edges of the tongue. You will find yourself sucking in on your tongue and cheeks to eek out the most flavor possible.

You will want to eat this bar slowly, savoring each piece you have broken off. You could easily consume the entire bar in one sitting over an hour or two.

It would pair well with a wine like Cabernet Sauvignon. This chocolate is so special you want to tell everyone about it, without sharing any.

Ingredients: Cacao, organic sugar, cocoa butter