I had the pleasure of having lunch with Larry, co-founder of Taza Chocolate last week. Taza Chocolate is a pure chocolate-maker based in Somerville, MA (which is the very same town I live in). They released their very first bar, a 70%, this past winter, and then followed shortly after with an 80%. So last week I was excited to learn that they are rounding out their line with a third bar, this one a 60%, which will be coming out within a couple weeks. Taza's chocolate bars are stone-ground using antique Mexican molinos (stone grinders). When I was at their chocolate studio a few months ago, the Taza guys explained that using a stone grinder (rather than a steel grinder, which is what most other chocolate-makers use) to process their cacao preserves more of the natural flavor of the bean. They have an online chocolate journal that has some pictures of the molino and explanations of exactly how their chocolate is made.

Taza 60% Stone Ground Organic Dark Chocolate: I have to admit that I shared this bar with all sorts of people and did not end up being able to taste a whole lot of it. But what I did manage to note was its earthiness and bold notes of raisin and spice. The Taza bars most certainly do not fall in the smooth and velvety category. The bars are minimally refined in order to keep the chocolate flavor as close to the natural form and flavor of raw cacao as possible. That said, the mouthfeel is quite textured and a little gritty; overall, a wholly different experience than other pure chocolates. I'll have more indepth tasting notes once the bar comes out.

So once the 60% bar is out, I'll post an update! In the meantime, you can get Taza Chocolate's other bars online or at one of these places.