Goodnow Farms Limited Release "Yasica Especial" 70% Dark Chocolate
$ 35.00
This very special bar is crafted from the single sack of ancient Nicaragua Criollo beans that were produced by farmer Giff Laube this harvest season.
Over a decade ago Giff discovered what he thought may be ancient Criollo trees in a remote jungle near the Yasica river in Nicaragua. He had the leaves from several trees tested by the USDA, and one tree (identified as “Laube 1” on the test results) turned out to actually be ancient Nicaragua Criollo. Giff cleared a section of his farm away from his other trees and began to propagate this ancient Criollo through grafting.
This year, almost ten years after first beginning this labor of love, Giff’s painstakingly grafted and nurtured trees finally produced enough beans for a single sack of dried cacao. He sent Goodnow Farms that sack.
The beans themselves are white, which result in a light brown color once dried. They’re extremely small, and with only one sack the makers had to get everything right the first time. After deciding on the best roasting temperature, they carefully monitored the entire roast, tasting beans at one-minute intervals and stopping the roast as soon as they felt the flavors were fully developed. They took a similar approach with the conch, tasting hourly throughout the process and stopping the grinders once they felt the chocolate had reached peak flavor.
The flavors in this bar are intense and exquisite, with notes of juicy strawberries, cream, honey and cashews (among others). It’s fascinating to think that these may be some of the same flavors that indigenous Latin American peoples tasted in their cacao hundreds of years ago.
The bar was created just in time for the Northwest Chocolate Festival in early October. The reaction was overwhelming and extremely gratifying – the bar received the highest score in the dark chocolate category at the awards ceremony on the first night of the festival, and the bars sold out within hours. Giff was there, too, and gave a presentation about the bar on the festival’s main stage.
Since only one sack of beans was produced this is a very, very limited release bar. The price is also much higher than Goodnow Farm's usual bars, although it doesn’t even begin to cover the true costs of bringing this bar to market. This is a passion project for everyone involved.
Origin: Nicaragua
Tasting Notes
Juicy strawberries, cream, honey, cashews.
Ingredients
Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter
Soy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free.
Allergens
May contain trace amounts of peanuts and tree nuts.
Storage
The product should be stored in a cool, dry, odorless, and at a temperature between 14 and 20 C.
Net weight
55g / 1.94oz
