Dandelion Small-Batch Chocolate
All of these bars are 70% cacao, with nothing but cacao beans and cane sugar.
Costa Esmeraldas, Ecuador 2020
Nose: Mmm that's lovely. Coffee excitement fruit flowers. Pink yellow sunshine street dance bouquet.
Mouth: Bright! Definitely juicy coffee vibes. Playful, rollerblading with friends wearing neon kneepads, jumping down the stair flights. Fruity and florid above everything. Smooth texture, but not a super fast melter. An LSD-type chocolate. A summertime outdoor rave chocolate.
Reflections: Lots of fun. Excellent (in a Ted Logan voice). I love how the fruit doesn't overpower the flowers, and how a touch of earthiness keeps it grounded.
Dandelion Says: "These beans come from Freddy Salazar's estate near the coast of northern Ecuador. Eric finds the 2020 harvest a bit sweeter than previous crops, so he applies a medium roast to achieve a balanced flavor profile, rich in chocolaty and fruity notes. We taste chocolate ganache and blueberry." Yeah, totes agree.
Ambanja, Madagascar 2017
Nose: Creamy and light. Smooth. A buttercream fairy, flitting about pouring magic into people's pastry and bread dough during the holidays.
Mouth: A round fruitiness, like pear. Custard. Sweet, cookies and cream. Lute music and crackling fires. Cherry cordials, brandied pears. "Merry and bright." A chocolate for hobbit holes. Bit of an astringent aftertaste.
Reflections: I like it. It's jolly.
Dandelion Says: "These bright-red beans from Bertil Akesson's Bejofo Estate pack a complex flavor punch; they changed how Nate thinks of chocolate! For his second Ambanja bar, he balances dairy and fruit notes, allowing subtle flavors to shine. We taste cherry yogurt, honey, and fresh citrus." Heck yeah.
Wampu, Honduras 2019
Nose: Whoooa whaaaat? What is that incredibly delicious smell? Browned butter, I think. Butterscotch that's still cooking in the pot, but with something deeper too like yeasty beer. Sweet and intoxicating. I see a big brown bear in an apron making cookies.
Mouth: Holy shit that's amazingly tasty. It's like caramel flakes sprinkled over hot butterbeer, and the butter was definitely browned. Dark brown dinner rolls with honey butter. What it feels like to have just finished a second glass of port after a filling dinner in a cozy room.
Reflections: I am ravenous for this chocolate. This might be the most straightforwardly animalistic deliciousness I've ever tasted in a chocolate. Calm joy and satisfaction.
Dandelion Says: "These beans start their long journey from the La Mosquitia region of Honduras in a dugout boat. While the 2017 harvest yielded honey notes, Richard coaxed rich, buttery flavors from these 2019 beans using the same roast profile. In this bar, we taste hot fudge, hazelnut, and brown butter." I hadn't identified the hazelnut, but in retrospect that makes perfect sense. And yes if I were going to compare this chocolate bar to some other kind of chocolate it would definitely be hot fudge.
Zorzal Comunitario, Dominican Republic 2021
Nose: Browned butter, toasted marshmallow, and iris blossoms. Light happy smooth muddy, playing checkers in a treehouse after the rain.
Mouth: A bright high sourness at the start, expands into something more bitter and broad. Twisting into wet, a splash of german irises growing along the winding creek. An engrossed exploratory feeling, a young naturalist hunting for beetles and salamanders with his notebook.
Reflections: This one has a complex and exciting character. Not as much sheer pleasure as some of the others in this line, but I think there's more depth and interest here.
Dandelion Says: "These beans come from a collection of farms surrounding the bird sanctuary, Reserva Zorzal. To develop refined flavors suited to the Japanese palate, Trevor roasts the 2021 harvest lightly, bringing out delicate fruit notes. We taste golden caramel, chocolate syrup, and tart cherry." I'm surprised this says nothing about flowers.
Maya Mountain, Belize 2021
Nose: Delicate light sweet creamy caramel, candied pecans and twinkling lights. A block of fresh fudge.
Mouth: Warm round sweetness. A sip of whiskey. Fingerstyle guitar. Candied fruit. Skipping and holding hands. Dumping all of the candy out of your stocking on Christmas morning. Rollos. A big gulp of ice water.
Reflections: This one hasn't really settled down for me. It's interesting, but not quite coherent in one short taste. There's definitely a lot of joy here, though.
Dandelion Says: "This cocoa comes from Maya Mountain Cacao, Ltd., a social enterprise that ferments beans from small family farms in southern Belize. Trevor highlights berry notes that remind him of Japanese strawberry-chocolate candies he loved as a child. We taste honey yogurt, lava cake, and berries." Yeah that makes sense. I hadn't picked out "berries" specifically but in retrospect that's exactly right.
Tumaco, Columbia 2017
Nose: Honey. Honey honey honey fudge. Sweet happy marmalade. Toasted almonds. Definitely a Valentine's Day tea party.
Mouth: Woooow something fascinating going on here. Something backwards wet and upside down. Fermented maybe. Sweet and woobly, dizzy, drunken. Dancing in the warm night rain after taking pot or possibly mushrooms, thunder rumbling in the distance. Uninhibited joyfulness with fully body integration.
Reflections: This is the strangest one, but still solidly delicious.
Dandelion Says: "These beans come from Tumago, where Cacao Hunters and regional producers cooperate to preserve local cacao. A devoted fan of Tumaco origin, Ryan roasts these beans to accentuate their creaminess. We taste notes of chocolate ice cream, walnut brownies, and wildflower honey." You're forgetting about psychoactive drugs, but other than that yeah sure.
Reflections On Dandelion
Every single one of these bars is wonderful. I am so impressed.
There's a common theme running through all of them, and it is comfort and food. This is the foodiest line of chocolate I've so far encountered. Om nom nom. High end hygge chocolate for sure.
