Chapter Thirty-Four: Equal Exchange Chocolate

An errand to Laura's favorite coffee supplier brought us a serendipitous find! Ten Thousand Villages is a local fair trade shop offering unique goodies and interesting wares from across the globe. We happened upon another bar from Divine (that we're saving for a future post) and this week's Equal Exchange Chocolates: Panama Extra Dark 80%. The packaging was what initially drew us because it is biodegradable and produced with sustainably harvested wood and renewable materials.  We love that!

Tasting No. :32
Equal Exchange Chocolates: Panama Extra Dark 80%

Initial Impressions:
This bar is much thicker than base bar leading to a very firm snap; it was rather difficult to break. It was lighter in color than base bar with an extremely firm bite.  We found the aroma to be mild and sweet, almost like vanilla blossom. 

Flavor Profile:

Initial – straw

Middle – raisin, vanilla, olive

After – rum, soil, walnut

Texture:
This texture was so odd to the point of being almost distracting. It was dry, and crumbly.  We would have preferred a smoother transition into melting instead of having to manipulate it so much in our mouths.

Overall:
At first, it was quite difficult to draw the flavors out. We found that we needed to work on a piece, sucking on it for a while. This is indeed the preferred way of tasting chocolate as is allows the flavor profile to develop while chewing does not. We'd like to pair this with a hot drink in the future (the package actually suggests this and specifies coffee) as it would allow the chocolate to melt. Ultimately, although this bar was work, we found it to be supremely satisfying with a well-rounded and gratifying flavor.

Rating: 9 /10

*Notes:

Purchased at Ten Thousand Villages

Price range under $4

Join us next week as we delve into the intrigue of a chocolate bar delivery gone awry!

For now savor: "Chocolate is a perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power...it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits." - Justus Leibig

Remember, fairly traded chocolate is a responsible way to support farmers by ensuring that the chocolate that you consume has been bought for a fair price. By choosing to purchase fair trade chocolate, you can honor the cocoa tree growers and support their way of life which in turn leads to better chocolate.