I bet you didn’t see chocolate as my next offering in my online shop, but I’ve been in love with Dick Taylor’s Single Origin chocolate bars since my visit to Eureka last year (granted it wasn’t that long ago, but still). I’m not kidding when I say this is the best chocolate bar I’ve ever tasted, and believe me I’ve tasted a lot (A Lot) of chocolate in my almost 40 years. So what makes these chocolate bars so special?
First off, each chocolate bar is made by the most hand-crafty of crafty people in Eureka. Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor, the founders and chocolate makers, were former carpenters (thus check out their old-timey sketches of boat-building, another very precise craft that they used to do, on their packaging) who really got into the craft part of craft chocolate. They refurbished old machines purchased off of eBay to make all their chocolate “bean to bar” in their Eureka facility (they actually just moved to a much larger space at the end of last year). They even letter-pressed their own exterior packaging in the beginning so it truly feels handmade from the moment you pick it up (I don’t know if they do this now, but their packaging does look letter-pressed still).
And all their chocolate is sourced ethically and transparently. They detail where each bean is sourced and how much they paid for it (usually way over fair-trade prices). You can tell they really care where their beans come from and how the farmers are treated by the collective that does the selling (usually small farmers will work with a larger organization to get their beans exported). And Dick Taylor cares because good chocolate starts with skilled farmers who know how to ferment and dry the cocoa beans (as detailed on their website).
And you really can taste the difference. Dick Taylor’s single origin chocolate bars are made only with organic cocoa beans and ethically sourced Brazilian organic cane sugar. That’s it! No added flavorings (like vanilla) or emulsifiers (like cocoa butter or soy lecithin). And you can tell, because when you do a tasting of the chocolate bars from the various origins, it’s like a wine or coffee tasting. There are notes to the chocolate that makes each bar distinct and totally different (I have a favorite but I won’t tell you just yet). This is as pure of a chocolate as you can get.
And like they say, you get what you pay for. So yes, Dick Taylor’s chocolate is expensive for a chocolate bar ($10, I know). But you are 100% getting what you pay for, and what you’re paying for is the most delicious, ethically made, bar of chocolate in the world (ok maybe just in the US). Here is why this chocolate is so expensive in their own words: “There are many factors that affect the price of our chocolate bars. One of the main reasons is the cost of the raw ingredients are very high, as well as the labor that goes into making chocolate on such a small scale. The only way to make it sustainable, is that the bar has to cost more. In order to adequately pay farmers a reasonable living wage, as well as the craftspeople that make the chocolate, the finished bar price must reflect the cost of production.”
Also side note: yes they do have a plastic air-tight wrapper for their interior packaging. I’m definitely working towards #plasticfree2023 but sometimes plastic is needed (like for medical reasons). Am I equating the plastic used for this chocolate bar with life-saving medical equipment? Maybe, but sometimes you just need a little bit of plastic. In this case, it keeps your ($10) chocolate as fresh as the day it was made. I’ll work on eliminating plastic in other areas of my life (hello ready-made salads and take-out) for a bigger impact.
Anyway for all these reasons above, Dick Taylor’s Single Origin Chocolate Bars are this month’s Fairly Curated Shop’s offerings. Treat yourself (or a loved one) to a single origin chocolate tasting and really blow your (or their) mind. And this month if you pair it with January’s product, the Huppy toothpaste tablets and floss, you’ll not only have a super amazing gift (a treat plus something that shows you care for their dental health lol), but you’ll also get 10% off your purchase and free shipping.
P.S. I think these chocolate bars would pair great with a wine tasting. If I ever get my wine-loving friends to recommend any pairings I’ll let you know (or let me know your recommendations)!