Askinosie – San Jose Del Tambo 70% with Cocoa Nibs

Description

TASTING NOTES

This is a wonderfully punchy bar of chocolate, with tonnes of berry jams, and some woody afternotes

ABOUT THE MAKER

Chocolate maker Shawn Askinosie spent 20 years as a criminal defence lawyer before switching his attention to chocolate in 2005. He travelled across four continents to build relationships with farmers and figure out how they could work together to create the perfect chocolate. Now, he and his team place great emphasis on social responsibility: putting fairness, justice, sustainability, and education at the heart of everything they do.

THE BEANS

A quiet, unassuming village at the foothills of the Andes Mountains holds one of cocoa’s best-kept secrets. Once an outpost for journeying Quechua Indians looking for rest before ascending the Andes, San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador, has made its mark in South America as one of the best regions in which to grow cocoa. Its balmy weather and high altitude, coupled with the roaring waters of the Rio de San Miguela, together create one of the world’s best environments for growing superb cocoa beans.

Askinosie’s first-ever origin, Shawn visited this town in 2006 and has been excitedly journeying back every year since. Today, he works with a very small group of family farmers in San Jose Del Tambo that harvests the highly coveted Arriba Nacional cocoa beans. These beans—considered by some to be the best in the world—evoke the unbelievably rich, earthy soil of the Ecuadorian Andes.