Trader Joe’s Chocolate Passport – Dominican Republic 70%
March 13, 2017
Chocolate of the week: Dominican Republic
Today’s chocolate bar is a 70% dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic shares the tropical island of Hispaniola with Haiti.
Dominican Republic offers great conditions to grow cacao. There is plenty of rich, fertile soil, and the right amount of rain and elevation.
There are two varieties of cacao grown in the Dominican Republic; the Hispaniola (only about 4%), and the Sanchez (around 96%). These varieties harbor flavor notes of citrus, raspberry, leather, and tobacco.
Much of the Dominican Republic cacao is organically grown, an initiative started in the early 1980’s.
Passport Dominican Republic - The Taste Experience
Upon opening the wrapper, I picked out leather aromas among the chocolatey ones.
Tasting it, I found lemon and floral and red berry flavors along with a hint of spice and nut at the end. Overall, this is a very good chocolate.
What I appreciated most was the constant chocolate presence the whole time I was eating it. It did not come and go in waves of intensity. Instead, it was a steady, even balance of chocolate and cocoa flavors from beginning to end.
Something interesting to note about the Trader Joe’s packaging for the Passport Collection... Each bar has a beverage or food pairing listed on the wrapper. This particular bar shows an “Ideal Pairing: Syrah”. If you’re like me and enjoy wine with your chocolate, make this part of your plans this weekend. I know I will!
So far, I have tasted Peruvian, Ecuadorian, Venezuelan, Ghanaian, and now Dominican Republic from the TJ’s Passport collection. All are good.
After this week's tasting, the Venezuelan 70% remains my favorite to this point.
Next up: Papua New Guinea.
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The package from this Dominican Republic chocolate suggests pairing with Syrah.
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