March 5, 2008
March is a rough month to get through. To make a track and field analogy, it's like the 3rd lap of the mile. You are half way through the race — 800 meters behind you, 800 meters to go — but you're slowing down from the start and it's still too early to start your kick. It's just... the middle. Mentally, it's the toughest part of the race for a miler.

So here we are at the beginning of March, starting the 3rd lap. We're about halfway through winter, but it's still too early to start thinking about spring. We're all hoping that March will go "out like a lamb," but who is to say? To help motivate us as we race around the next few curves this month, I've brought in a new treat that is getting rave reviews from staff at the Deli — Chocolate Mexicano from Taza Chocolate. There are also two great tastings this month. A Valrhona Rendez-Vous and the first-ever "Best of Zingerman's Next Door" tasting. At that event, Reina, Emily Hiber (our Gelato Lady!) and I will be guiding you through you the wonderful world of cakes, pastries, bagels, coffee, tea, gelato and — of course — chocolate.

So hang in there — next month is the bell lap! Then we can all really start sprinting towards spring.

New stuff Duff is excited about

Chocolate Mexicano from Taza Chocolate
This particular chocolate has been on my mind since October, when the good folks at Taza Chocolate first sent us samples at the Deli. Taza Chocolate is based in Somerville, MA, about 15 minutes NW of Boston. As you are reading this, you might be thinking to yourself, "Wow, there are so many new chocolate companies starting in the US. I wonder what makes Taza Chocolate special?" I'm so glad you asked! Here are five things you should know about Taza Chocolate.

#1. Taza is working bean-to-bar on a small scale.
Taza buys beans from co-ops in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Mexico to make their chocolate. They import a couple thousand pounds of cacao a month to their factory in New England — which is small potatoes compared to most choco-companies out there! They are a small operation driven by two people, Alex (the chocolate guy) and Larry (the business guy).

#2. Taza stone-grinds their chocolate.
Freshly milled, minimally processed chocolate is easy to find in Mexico. A lot of people mill their own cacao and make their own chocolate. Many families have recipes for chocolate, just like we have recipes for chocolate chip cookies or meatloaf! Heck, it's not even that hard to make fresh chocolate. You can do it at home with a few great cacao beans and a spice grinder. Simply roast and peel the beans, grind them in a food processor or spice mill until they become pasty and wet (that's the cocoa butter liquefying), and then mix in sugar and other spices of your choice by hand. The process is deceivingly simple and the resulting chocolate can be delicious.

This is basically the process that Taza is following, except instead of using a tiny spice mill, they are using a molino. When I asked Larry what a molino is, he told me that it is a kind of "modern metate" that uses circular volcanic stones to grind the cacao beans into a paste. The molinos that they use are from Oaxaca. They run the cacao through the molino twice. The first time they grind it and on the second pass, they add sugar. With the Chocolate Mexicano, they also toss in cinnamon sticks.

#3. Taza chocolate is organic.
Organic cacao, organic sugar, organic cinnamon...

#4. Taza chocolate has texture, and that's OK.
Taza wants their chocolate to have some grit to it, especially the Chocolate Mexicano. It is a coarse ground chocolate, which means you're going to get a little crunch from the sugar crystals and a little texture from the cacao particles. For those of you who haven't experienced a textured chocolate before — like Bonajuto or Zingerman's Mexican chocolate — I think you'll enjoy it. Because the chocolate isn't so tightly bound together, it dissolves easily in the mouth. It is crumbly and grainy and... wonderful.

#5. Taza's Chocolate Mexicano is something really special.
Taza makes a handful of good bars, but their Chocolate Mexicano really stood out to our team of tasters as an exceptional product. The Mexicano is a hockey puck-sized disc of yummy, aromatic, and sandy-textured chocolate. There are but three ingredients in the Mexicano — cacao (sourced from the Dominican Republic and Mexico), cinnamon and sugar. I love the packaging — a semi-sheer white wrapper with red print. Simple and rustic — a lot like the chocolate inside.

Just like Zingerman's Mexican Chocolate, you can eat this chocolate right out of the wrapper (it breaks into bite-sized triangles) or you can use it to make any number of traditional Mexican beverages. My favorite is aromatic Mexican hot chocolate, made with hot water and whipped up until frothy. I would recommend using 2 ounces (by volume) of chocolate per 8 oz of water. You could also try making champurrado, or any of the other sweet, drinkable gruels — or atoles — popular in Mexican cuisine.

As I've been taking the Chocolate Mexicano around the Deli for staff to taste, I've gotten some interesting feedback, including:

"Does this have pineapple in it?"
"Wow. Tastes like green banana!"
"This reminds me of the texture of a Flintstone's vitamin — in a good way."
"This is really different than our Oaxacan chocolate."
"I can't believe all that flavor is coming from the cacao!"
"Hey, can I have some more of that?"

Come taste for yourself! And to read more about Taza Chocolate (and see pictures of their production), check out www.tazachocolate.com.

Got any questions about our chocolates or tastings? Email me (eanderson@zingermans.com) or call 734-663-JAVA anytime.

Yours,
Chocolate Lady Duff