Tasting Notes: Toasted Marshmallows, Honey Graham Crackers, Think luscious s’mores!
It’s nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite bar among the multi-awarded Goodnow Farms lineup. Each bar is an exquisite masterpiece expression of the fine flavor bean it showcases. That said, this Colombia Boyaca 73% Dark Chocolate Bar is a 2022 Good Food Awards winner and has earned that award for the past five years.
- Good Food Awards 2022
- Gold - Academy of Chocolate 2021
- World Bronze - International Chocolate Awards 2020-2021
- Americas Silver - International Chocolate Awards 2020-2021
- Silver - Chocolate Alliance Awards
- Silver - SOFI Awards
All of the Goodnow bars are velvety, delicious perfection as they melt in your mouth, and the tasting notes indicated on each bar are exactly what reveal themselves to me as I savor.
My advice: identify the tasting notes that light up the dopamine reward pathway in your brain just by reading them, and then click “Add to Cart.”
Now a little about the beans, the farmers and their process…
This is the first chocolate bar ever made with cacao beans from Impulsa Bacao in San Pablo de Borbur, Colombia. Colombia is one of the birthplaces of cacao and Goodnow chocolate makers Tom and Monica fell in love with the Colombian beans from this region. Just looking at the breathtaking view of this cacao-growing region is a delicious experience!
Impulsa Bacao is a new fermentation and drying facility in the town of San Pablo de Borbur, Colombia. Impulsa, along with a company called FUNRED Agro created an association to improve the lives and livelihoods of local farmers while teaching sustainable farming practices that protect the land.
The experts launching this venture offer technical assistance that enables farmers to identify genetic cacao varietals that possess fine flavor while instructing in best pre and post harvest practices.
During harvest season, Impulsa Bacao sends trucks on the daily to transport the freshly harvested wet cacao (known as “baba”) from each farm to the fermentation center.
Like many cacao-growing regions, Boyaca farmers once relied primarily on the coca crop to earn a living. Now, however, thanks to Impulsa Bacao’s willingness to pay farmers a premium for fine flavor cacao, cocoa beans have emerged as the new cash crop.
Tom and Monica of Goodnow met with the Impulsa Bacao staff, toured their impressive facility, and met the farmers of FUNRED Agro who provide the Boyaca beans for this beautiful chocolate bar. The farmers are enthusiastic about the potential of their fine flavor cacao and are working diligently to uplevel their varieties and yields.
And now, meet Tom and Monica, your Goodnow Farms chocolate makers!
Tom and Monica Rogan, the excellent team behind Goodnow Farms Chocolate, have developed friendships with the cacao farmers whose fine flavor beans they meticulously source. This dynamic duo follows the beans, traveling directly to origin to secure outstanding, flavor-packed cacao.They’ve learned so much about post harvest practices and often request that their farmer partners ferment and dry the beans according to their custom specifications.
Tom and Monica pay significantly more than Fair Trade prices to ensure that farmers earn fair wages and engage in sustainable practices.
Another reason why Goodnow Farms Chocolate is utterly superb is the fresh-pressed single origin cocoa butter that Tom and Monica incorporate into their bars. Many chocolate makers do not press their own cocoa butter, but these dedicated makers go above and beyond the standard to provide an authentic single origin experience, with cacao beans and butter hailing from the same terroir. This labor of love results in a rich, lusciously flavorful chocolate.
Every bar is lovingly made and wrapped by hand at the Rogans’ 225 year-old farm on Goodnow Road (named after one of the town’s first settlers) in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
- Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Organic Sugar, Fresh Pressed Cocoa Butter
- Net Weight: 55 g./ 1.94 oz.
- Country of Origin: USA