Impact
So many fires at chocolate mills in the early days of American chocolate making ignited a wave of legislation to regulate everything, from their location to hours of operation.
In 1785, for example, an act to prevent damage by fire from chocolate-mills & machines for roasting cocoa was passed in Boston -- the metro area where Taza now operates.
Even with modern safety regulations, Taza's style encumbers even further precautions. So cooly manufactured, it's doubtful this bar could ever violate any municipal ordinances.
Appearance -- / 5
| Color: | burnt-orange / milk-brown patina |
| Surface: | relatively undifferentiated |
| Temper: | neutral |
| Snap: | low in the pocket |
Aroma -- / 10
that proverbial locker box: jock strap, sweat socks & athletic's foot + candida yeast
generalized ginch
generalized ginch
Mouthfeel -- / 15
| Texture: | powder keg with exfoliating shrapnel |
| Melt: | slow dissolve |
Flavor -- / 50
evidently that locker belongs to a Title IX women's sports club that hides its Fruit 'n Flower fragrances under the laundry:
soft feijoa & fuchsia (the strawberry component of the former; the light citrus of the latter) against a dusting from cocoa -> flash algarrobina syrup (from the black carob tree) -> sugar crystals gnash their way around, galvanizing treacle apricot, followed by pear (the combo rare) -> stones of the drupe fruit -> dried maple & barley malt -> grinds to a granite fault zone -> green cocoa finish
soft feijoa & fuchsia (the strawberry component of the former; the light citrus of the latter) against a dusting from cocoa -> flash algarrobina syrup (from the black carob tree) -> sugar crystals gnash their way around, galvanizing treacle apricot, followed by pear (the combo rare) -> stones of the drupe fruit -> dried maple & barley malt -> grinds to a granite fault zone -> green cocoa finish
Quality -- / 20
If Valrhona exemplifies a barsmith that leaves nothing to chance, then Taza represents the opposite: it chances everything.
Unconched, barely roasted, coarsely ground… Taza places the onus on its dear consumers to apply the detailing & refining by catalyzing the flavors inside the oral chamber & swishing them into a blended smoothie. Smart business model. This saves on electricity, heat, equipment, floor space & staff.
Such a light-handed approach works wonders in some cases, proves disastrous in others. It puts a premium on seed selection. What spells the difference between success & failure often lies rooted in the source material -- particularly the cacáo's genes.
No denying that genuine Nacional from Marañón Canyon is having a field day with its recent harvest. Since its cultivators decided last year to spread the bounty around to more than one barsmith -- near & far -- more consumers will be able to have at it.
Taza swears to a rather Hippocratic oath in treating these delicate cocoa nuts: first, do no harm. In laying off the hot-button roasters & vigorous melanguers, it lets the cacáo speak on its own terms, relatively unfiltered / unbranded. Call it the "un-chocolate" (just add saliva). And thus uncut / unpolished next to, say, Ritual's rendition of the same allotment. But by no means unsavory.
Admittedly the level of flavor expression here is less than fully realized… the potential quite latent in stretches yet still evident. That which registers, however, comforts in a benign way, free of any taste warps & snags in a low-biter / hi-fruit capsule. Just another sign of pedigree in this (anti)craft bar.
Save for the putrid scent on the inhale far more than any rough-hewn assemblage, this would join the elites.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed February 3, 2014
Unconched, barely roasted, coarsely ground… Taza places the onus on its dear consumers to apply the detailing & refining by catalyzing the flavors inside the oral chamber & swishing them into a blended smoothie. Smart business model. This saves on electricity, heat, equipment, floor space & staff.
Such a light-handed approach works wonders in some cases, proves disastrous in others. It puts a premium on seed selection. What spells the difference between success & failure often lies rooted in the source material -- particularly the cacáo's genes.
No denying that genuine Nacional from Marañón Canyon is having a field day with its recent harvest. Since its cultivators decided last year to spread the bounty around to more than one barsmith -- near & far -- more consumers will be able to have at it.
Taza swears to a rather Hippocratic oath in treating these delicate cocoa nuts: first, do no harm. In laying off the hot-button roasters & vigorous melanguers, it lets the cacáo speak on its own terms, relatively unfiltered / unbranded. Call it the "un-chocolate" (just add saliva). And thus uncut / unpolished next to, say, Ritual's rendition of the same allotment. But by no means unsavory.
Admittedly the level of flavor expression here is less than fully realized… the potential quite latent in stretches yet still evident. That which registers, however, comforts in a benign way, free of any taste warps & snags in a low-biter / hi-fruit capsule. Just another sign of pedigree in this (anti)craft bar.
Save for the putrid scent on the inhale far more than any rough-hewn assemblage, this would join the elites.
INGREDIENTS: cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter
Reviewed February 3, 2014