tasting notes: black forest cake, darjeeling tea
About 15 miles from the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, within acreage designated as a private bird sanctuary called Reserva Zorzal, cultivates organic cacao on farm plots interspersed with “forever wild” land, then ferments the beans, and sells them under the name Zorzal Estate. They also buy and ferment beans from independent farms surrounding the Reserva, and sell them under the name Zorzal Comunitario.
Zorzal Cacao’s operation is based on and around their sanctuary, which is devoted to preserving Bicknell’s thrush, an endangered bird that migrates each winter from Vermont to the D.R. The business’s income helps fund Reserva Zorzal’s conservation efforts; in 2023, Zorzal Cacao earned the first granted to a cacao farm.
Beans for this bar come from the Comunitario farms neighboring Reserva Zorzal. We are honored to support the Reserve’s mission, and we share Comunitario cocoa with our Dandelion Japan team. Our S.F. and Tokyo chocolate makers explore Zorzal Comunitario cocoa’s flavor potential from complementary cultural perspectives: for the 2023 harvest, maker Shannon roasts hotter and conches shorter, revealing deep chocolatiness, while preserving delicate cherry and herbaceous notes. We taste notes of black forest cake and darjeeling tea.
- Ingredients & Allergens
- All of our single-origin chocolate is made with just cocoa beans and sugar; no added cocoa butter, lecithin, or vanilla. Our chocolate is free of soy, dairy, eggs, and gluten, and it is made in a factory that does not process nuts.
- Weight
- 2 oz (56 g)
- Learn More
- about our cocoa beans and sugar — the region, the farms, and the producers.
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