Tasting Notes: Bright Tropical Fruit Flavors of Mango and Nearly-Ripe Banana

It’s practically impossible for me to play favorites among the multi-awarded Goodnow Farms lineup. Each bar is an exquisite masterpiece expression of the fine flavor bean it showcases. That said, this complex Guatemala Asochivite 77% Dark Chocolate Bar was a Silver “Best Dark Chocolate” award-winner at the Northeast Chocolate Festival.

• Bronze - International Chocolate  Awards 2024
• Gold - Chocolate Alliance Awards 2021
• Gold - Academy of Chocolate 2021
• World Silver - International Chocolate Awards 2020-2021
• Americas Silver - International Chocolate Awards 2020-2021
• Silver - Best Dark Chocolate at the Northeast Chocolate Festival

The beans for this lovely chocolate bar are harvested by the Q’eqchi Maya farmers of Chivite, Guatemala from the wild cacao trees that border their village.  When Goodnow makers Tom and Monica first visited the village, they loved the wild cacao, but knew that the farmers needed a better fermentation and drying facility to highlight the exquisite beauty of these special beans. Tom and Monica partnered with the farmers, as well as Cacao Verapaz, (a company that connects local farmers who harvest fine-flavor cacao in Guatemala with artisanal chocolate makers in the U.S. and Europe) to fund the necessary renovations to their post-harvest facility.  

Guatemala has a rich cultural history that includes cacao production by indigenous Mayan farmers. Just look at this glorious landscape where the fine cacao grows:

Until fairly recently, however, Guatemala hadn’t been exporting much cacao as the commercial focus was on coffee, sugar and cardamom. This was due, in part, to the lack of resources required to take post-harvest cacao practices to the next level so that their fine flavor beans could be on a par with of those from other countries. Thanks to the help of Goodnow Farms and Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala is now assuming its rightful position at the forefront of the fine-flavor cacao industry.