Things That Make You Go Hmmm: Taza Chocolate

Remember that song in the early 90's that just kept repeating "it's those things that make you go hmmm"?  I think it was by C&C Music Factory or something?  Well that is exactly what I thought when I bit into my first bite of Taza chocolate (http://www.tazachocolate.com/).  It was a unique first bite.  It had a surprising and gritty, yet almost whipped and light quality to it.  It intrigued me and was like no other chocolate that I have ever tasted before and I totally caught myself involuntarily sighing, "Hmmm?" after my first bite and it reminded me of that song.

I want to stop right there and preface the rest of the post with the fact that I am not really into chocolate nor sweet things really for that matter.  I'm a salty girl all the way.  That might be part of the reason why I had never even thought to try Taza chocolate, I just didn't think it would do much for me.  But now I find myself wanting more and trying their flavors.  The one I sampled was Salted Almond.  Maybe that's why I liked it so much?  The flecks of salt paired so well the rich and sweet, but not too sweet, chocolate.  I have been known to be a total sucker for sweet and salty together.

Another factor that made me admire this unique chocolate that comes in wax paper wrapped disks, is the fact that it is locally made, right here in Sommerville.  It's still a young company, getting it's start in 2006 and it has rapidly become a household name, at least locally.  It's organic and stone ground.  Because I had no idea what stone ground chocolate was, I did a little research and found out that this process is a Mexican tradition and one that yields a grainy and minimally processed product.  The company is also sustainable and they get their ingredients the fair trade way, which is just, well, fair.

I never in a million years thought I devote an entire post to chocolate.  Never.  I still can't even believe that I have.  So now I have two problems: First, I found a chocolate that I actually really like and will want to buy.  Second problem?  I have that C&C Music Factory song stuck in my head.