I love this Odyssey Dominican Republic Zorzal Communitario 70% Dark Chocolate Bar. At its heart, it’s deep, rich, velvety chocolate with notes of caramel and a touch of cranberry at the finish. If you are seeking a bar that will satisfy your chocolate craving, choose this.
Zorzal Communitario is a collection of hearty beans grown near the northern shore of the Dominican Republic. The farmers who grow the trees and harvest the beans are guided every step of the way by the esteemed Zorzal Estate cacao experts. Zorzal Estate is a renowned 1,019-acre cacao farm, fermentary and bird sanctuary.
When you savor Odyssey Chocolate, get ready to be whisked away on a dynamic and delightful journey. Made with beautiful intentions, a mission-driven mindset, sheer talent, and cacao from unique origins, chocolate bars from John Epps of Odyssey have the capacity to transport you to another realm. That was the experience one blind customer had when she tasted a sample of John’s for the very first time. The vibrant tapestry of flavors that unfolded as the chocolate melted in her mouth was unlike anything she had previously encountered.
As a child, John preferred the more sophisticated taste of chocolate over candy. Years later, he became intrigued by the history of cacao when a friend casually mentioned that “cacao was reserved for kings.” This one statement launched John’s chocolate odyssey. Before long, he was researching the rich history of cacao while learning about its psychoactive properties. His morning coffee was soon replaced by cacao beans he crushed in a coffee grinder to combine with hot almond milk, honey, herbs, spices and chili peppers.
This turned out to be a “life-changing, heart-opening” elixir that prepared John for a deeper exploration of chocolate. As luck (or The Universe) would have it, a bean-to-bar shop called Art of Chocolate opened up across the street from John’s workplace. It was there that he savored mind-blowing Mesoamerican chocolate drinks as well as re-creations of the luxurious sipping chocolates that aristocratic Europeans enjoyed once cacao crossed the Atlantic. Soon, John was interning at the shop, honing his skills as both a chocolate bar maker and chocolate drink master.
You might imagine that someone as skilled as John has been making chocolate for more than a decade. Actually, at 27, he is one of the youngest chocolate makers featured in the Barometer Chocolate collection. He has an inherent gift when it comes to crafting bars from fine flavor beans. Down the chocolate road, this visionary hopes to create a lounge in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he is currently based. It will be a place where people of all ages can gather, connect, relax and learn while enjoying chocolate in a variety of glorious formats
John’s ultimate dream is to use the profits from Odyssey Chocolate to fund an egalitarian community that unites people while deeply rooting them in the mystery and majesty of cacao. Chocolate Lover, I invite you to be one with the mystery and majesty of cacao as your adventures in chocolate reveal themselves. Find a quiet place. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath along with a square of Odyssey Chocolate, and rejoice as you are transported and transformed!
- Ingredients: Cacao, Cane Sugar
- Net Weight: 57 g. / 2 oz.
- Country of Origin: USA