Taza Stone Ground Organic Chocolate - 80%

Taza is a little company in Somerville, MA that makes its own chocolate the old-fashioned way. Stone ground chocolate is a little gritty, but can be enjoyable to chew on if you like the texture. This particular bar of 80% surprised me because I expected a dark-roasted kind of flavor but instead got something really bright and fruity. By that I mean it has a slight tartness to it. The gritty texture is the product of stone-grinding the roasted cacao beans, but it feels like you are eating granulated sugar. I've had this chocolate once before a long time ago and I think I had the same reaction: I like the idea of stone ground chocolate very much, but the reality disappoints. I don't think I like bright, fruity chocolates (although if you've never tried one, try this and you will see what I mean)and I don't know whether that is the result of the type of beans they use or the particular way they roast them. The granulated texture keeps making me think I'm eating raw sugar, which is a bit unsettling. The good thing about Taza, though, is that they are a small, New England company, their products are becoming more and more available, and they sell chocolate-covered cacao nibs! If you've never had nibs, you really must seek these out. They are just cracked pieces of cacao bean covered in chocolate, which adds a bit of sweetness to the otherwise bitter nibs.
If you like chocolate with a lot of texture, try Taza.