I first tried a piece of Taza chocolate at Garden At the Cellar. They were included with my bill as a free gift. The chocolate had a unique, granular texture that was unlike any chocolate I'd ever had. I later found out that Taza chocolate is organic and "stone ground," and therefore retains a rougher texture. It tastes much less processed - you can almost taste the sugar crystals in the chocolate. The flavor of the chocolate was really good, and I was hooked on the unprocessed, rough texture of this local chocolate.
Taza is local to Boston, and is made in small batches in Somerville, Massachusetts. The founders were inspired by the way chocolate was made in Mexico - minimally processed and stone ground. They decided to apply socially responsible business practices to this unique way of making chocolate resulting in Taza.
I have since found out that you can buy Taza chocolate at several farmer's markets in and around Boston. I have picked up Taza chocolate at the Central Square Farmer's Market (Mondays) and also at the Kendall Square Farmer's Market (Thursdays).
This chocolate does not come cheap. A small disc (pictured above) about 4 inches in diameter costs $4 and a bar costs $6 ($4.50 and $6.50 if you buy online). This is partly because the chocolate is made locally in small batches, and also partly because Taza uses high quality ingredients.
Nevertheless, I find it's worth the splurge, and I find that I keep going back for more.
You can also order in online directly from their website.
(Note - I am in no way affiliated with Taza nor am I getting anything from my posts that promote this product. I just personally really like this chocolate!)
You can also buy it at Diesel Cafe in Davis Sq., Somerville. I also like the texture - so much more interesting than your average Hershey's!
ReplyDeletewasn't too bad, but i think it's not much of an improvement over mexican chocolate like ibarra. and for 6x the cost, i'm not sure i would want to make the expense. Tho it is organic... which matters probably not much given it's a highly processed product.
ReplyDeletejim
@Seth - thanks for the tip!
ReplyDelete@masa - maybe I just haven't been exposed to Mexican chocolate. I'll have to try ibarra sometime.
I tried the cinnamon and almond varieties, but found it hard to really get into either of them. Especially, as you mentioned, at the price. It was neat though to try a "stone ground" chocolate and the texture it provided!
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