I’ll be honest and spoil the conclusion up front. This is pretty much the best. Taza is a little company out in Somerville, Massachusetts, and they make a fantastic line of stone-ground chocolate products (and assorted accessories). There’s everything from vanilla to orange cinnamon to salted almond and salt-and-pepper (though not, I am sorry to say, any straight-up sea salt chocolate like Madacasse makes – more on that in a later post).
Packaging
The wrapper is a pretty standard red label. There’s 60%, 70% and 80% options, and each one is clearly colored so you always know what you’re picking up at the checkout counter. Opening the foil is actually one of the little pleasures of this bar, though. I’m a huge fan of bars that don’t assume that you’re going to eat the whole thing in one sitting. That means being able to close it back up reasonably well, which in turn means:
-Not having to rip the packaging to get it open
-Not so stiff that one cannot re-fold the foil around the leftover chocolate
This one succeeds on both counts. It’s easy to have a bit, then keep the rest to enjoy later. Plus it breaks easily and cleanly, and the divisions between pieces are distinct enough that a little summer heat won’t make everything mush together into one undifferentiated chocolate blob.
Flavor
Starts dark. Then bright. A little fruity. Melts in the mouth, but slowly. There’s a transformation that each piece goes through as it changes from a crisp and rough texture to smooth, a transformation that mirrors the changing flavor notes.
Overall
If I had to describe it as an experience – It’s like sipping wine on the porch at sunset. Thoughtful. Something you consume a little bit at a time and savor as a quiet evening slips away.