Dagoba Organic Lemon-Ginger Chocolate Bar
Gourmet Dark Chocolate With Lemon Essence and Crystallized Ginger
Oct 13, 2009
Dagoba organic lemon-ginger chocolate bars are wrapped in a pale lemon sleeve with a tracery of cocoa pods and leaves picked out in darker yellow on the front. The label states that the bar contains 68% cocoa, that it weighs 2 oz (56 g), and is "dark chocolate, lemon essence and crystallized ginger." The rear has nutritional information, symbols for kosher and organic certification, and notes that the paper is 50% recycled, printed using vegetable-based ink.
The inner sleeve does not push out easily and so the outer must be broken to reveal printing on its reverse: information about the company, a sustainability tip (shop at farmer's markets) and brief notes from the "founder" on his cocoa-hunting travels. The inner wrapper is silver on the outside, white plain paper on the inside, and upon opening a powerful waft of cocoa-rich gourmet dark chocolate escapes.
This organic gourmet chocolate bar is available at the Dagoba website for $3.45 a bar, or $35.40 for a dozen. The ingredients are: organic chocolate, consisting of organic cacao beans, cane sugar, cacao butter, cocoa, and non-genetically-modified soy lecithin, plus non-organic ginger, cane sugar, and organic lemon flavor and milk.
Dagoba Dark Organic Gourmet Chocolate Five Senses Test
The gourmet dark chocolate is smooth to the touch and slightly waxy. Ten strips are imprinted with the Dagoba name. The color is a dark, almost-burgundy brown with very slight discoloration, most likely due to poor storage rather than manufacture (based on the writer's previous experience with Dagoba).
The aroma close-up is rich and warm, almost exotic. There is no discernible scent of lemon or ginger. The break of this organic gourmet chocolate is solid and clean – a sharp snap – but the break is not clean due to the narrowness of the strips. Two pieces come away easily; one does not.
Tasting Dagoba Dark Gourmet Chocolate
One strip is too large to fit in the mouth, so must be broken in two. The bite is very satisfying and hard, with the immediate release of tiny pieces of crispy crystallized ginger in a flavorsome burst. The subtle taste of lemon oil follows. These flavors are a perfect complement to the rich, smooth organic gourmet chocolate.
The melt test is a reversed experience, equally pleasant. As the dark gourmet chocolate begins to melt, there is a slightly rough texture of ginger against the tongue. The lemon taste does not come through until approximately midway through the slow melt. Ginger is the last flavor to be released, after most of the chocolate has gone.
The serving size is one bar, with 250 calories; however, one or two strips are perfectly satisfying. Please see the photograph below for additional nutrition facts.
About Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Founded in 2001 by Frederick Schilling, Dagoba Organic Chocolate is a small business based in Ashland, Oregon. (Hershey acquired Dagoba in 2006 and Schilling left the company in 2009.) Schilling's search for the perfect cocoa is presented on the website rather like a religious experience. The company is interested in sustainability and works towards the restoration of forests with Costa Rican cocoa cooperatives.
Dagoba used to sell non-organic bars, but now produces hand-poured, organic chocolate bars in 17 different, often unique varieties. It also sells professional and baking chocolate products, including a 100% cocoa baking chocolate, tasting squares, and drinking chocolate.
Dagoba's retail store is at 1105 Benson Way, Ashland and is open weekdays, 10 until 4. As of October 2009, for no apparently good reason, the Dagoba website has been "upgraded" to a slow-loading Flash-only site, with no obvious Flash-free, accessible version.
Related Articles About Gourmet Chocolate
The gourmet chocolate-loving reader may also be interested in reviews of Lake Champlain All Natural Milk Chocolate Bar and the gourmet milk chocolate bar from Gipson's Golden.
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