Zak's Chocolate: Dominican Elvesia 70%

Now would be a good time to draw attention again to the handmade paper that Zak's Chocolate uses to wrap up their bars. Obviously I wish to draw attention to it with this particular bar because green is  usually my color of choice, so this green and gold packaging I find especially attractive. It also goes well with the light blue foil paper inside.

Today's bar is the Dominican Elvesia 70%. Elvesia didn't sound familiar to me (not that I know every cocoa plantation by name, but names start to at least ring a bell after a while), so I might also turn your attention to this article from Taza if you're interested in reading more about the particular area and its cocoa.

As this chocolate begins to melt, it has something of a muddy flavor, nice and chocolatey. This quickly becomes intoxicating with a fruit flavor like dried banana nut or the like. A little more of a zing follows, then smoothens out again. So while it's fruity, it isn't so bright and citrusy as some fruity chocolates are. This one is more mellow, deeper, and more sensual. After you pass the halfway point, the flavor becomes creamy with delicate chocolate flavor. The zing plays slightly on the edges and the finish once more is delicate.

The flavor notes are tropical fruits and earthy maple. Well, banana is a tropical fruit and muddy is earthy, so I came to a similar description. Now, going back to the creaminess I described, dare I call this chocolate a dark chocolate for milk chocolate people? (Not to say that dark chocolate people won't like it, just that milk chocolate people might find it more appealing than they generally find dark chocolate.) It's an extremely inviting dark chocolate, such that I imagine it would appeal to a wide range of palates.

Unless perhaps I'm just saying that because I'm enjoying it so much. But since I was able to do a side by side with the Peru Maranon 80% from last week, I can't say that I liked that one less than this one. They're both great, just different. This one is more nuanced, while also being obviously a lower cocoa percentage and therefore slightly more towards the sweeter side. It's the type of chocolate I'd be excited to share with someone new to artisan chocolate. It'll take you on a beautiful flavor journey.