Impact
Appearance 4.3 / 5
| Color: | warm medium brown + red tint |
| Surface: | clean, even finish |
| Temper: | semi-gloss |
| Snap: | snub, exposing air holes in coarse grain |
Aroma 7 / 10
Taza’s now familiar scent: dust -> dried cocoa fudge -> helichrysum -> cardboard; vanilla & sugar cutting-off its usual fermented notes; overall, semi-unprocessed
Mouthfeel 13.4 / 15
| Texture: | soft, really soft powder, brown snowflakes... |
| Melt: | ... dissolve into sandy micro-crunch |
Flavor 39.4 / 50
copies its color: brown-sugar carmelita -> vanilla wrap posing as date -> chocolate-chip cookie dough w/ cherries that sour into twanging ‘Cherry Garcia’, a hologram vibrating in the depthless space of modern media, thinly supported by practically raw cacáo underneath -> helichrysum & palmarosa, then camphor -> pineapple + alcohol drips -> slight astringency... paper pulp mixed w/ closing cocoa powder
Quality 17.6 / 20
Exceeds even Domori’s minimal processing technique. Was there any conching at all? Cooler roast than the sprightly light-handed Valrhona. Plus, a specific flavor note to rival República del Cacao regional cacáo portfolio. Sugar & vanilla subdue a lot of the volatiles & bitters, making this the Taza for the masses - proletariat no doubt - the sweetest of Taza’s Domincan Trilogy (80 - 70 - 60), displaying the effect of those additives on the outcome. Rough along the edges for sure (& this bar is mostly edges) but a relatively smooth accomplishment in that stylistic vein.