Hoja Verde – Ecuador 72%

Overview

Our rating: 67.8% (1 review)
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Company:
Bar description: George Gensler
Cacao solids: 72%
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Facts

Production: Maker sourced beans, chocolate made elsewhere
Certification:
- Organic
- Fair Trade
Certification:

Maker's info

Hoja Verde Fino Arriba Dark Chocolate is made from only premium cacao beans grown in the tropical lowlands of Ecuador, one of the planet’s most biologically-diverse countries. Ecuadorian cacao has long been recognised as the source of the world’s finest beans. Hoja Verde produces this high quality dark chocolate with 100% certified cacao beans. Our cacao beans are produced in small shaded plantations in farms that implement standards for the conservation of natural resources.

Your scores

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Taste
Melt
Length
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Review guide

Hoja Verde prides itself on its Fino Arriba cacao beans, grown on small plantations that focus on conservation, and on its locally-made organic chocolate, made for them by Ecuadorian private-label producer TuliCorp.

Reviews

George Gensler: 9-Oct-2011

Posted: October 9, 2011 by George Gensler

SCORES	Score/10	Weight
Aroma:	7	10%
Look/snap:	2	5%
Taste:	6.5	35%
Melt:	2	5%
Length:	9	15%
Opinion:	7.5	30%
Total/100:	67.75	100%

Review guide

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Source:	Sourced by Seventypercent
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Before the taste: The mold is of standard pillow segments with wavy lines. The bar is a rich dark color, but is nearly matte, with little sheen. The aroma is surprisingly complex, beginning with an earthiness that is slightly medicinal (which could come from the metallic inner wrapper), becomes fudgy then fades to cinnamon.

Getting to the heart of it: The snap is soft; there’s a bit of resistance at first bite, but that quickly becomes chalky with some grit. Despite the added cocoa butter, the chocolate is neither creamy nor smooth. It is surprisingly sweet for a 72% bar. The complexity of the flavor follows a similar path to the aroma. The first impression is somewhat earthy, but bright like green pepper, rather than tobacco. A fudgy richness follows with a faint spark of cinnamon spice at the finish. This bar is very brownie-like in texture, taste and sweetness.. The aftertaste is faintly metallic (again, this could be from the packaging) with a slight peppery sting, but overall not unpleasant and relatively short.

Overall: This is a very accessible bar, which would appeal to a variety of palates, though the texture needs some refinement. I enjoyed the hint of cinnamon, but the pastiness of the texture was a drawback for me.

About the Author

George Gensler

George Gensler is a copyrights specialist during the week and a runner on the weekends. She lives in New York City now, but has lived in five countries on three continents. She spent her early years traveling the world with her siblings and parents, who also instilled in her a love of - and appreciation for - travel and chocolate. She continues to take every opportunity for travel that comes her way, from visiting friends and family to destination races and chocolate hunts. She has eaten chocolate on all seven continents and is working her way around them again. George and a small group of like-minded friends formed the Manhattan Chocolate Society in 2007. The Manhattan Chocolate Society holds focused tastings, mostly of bean-to-bar chocolates, and has worked with several chocolate makers to refine their product.