85% Single-Origin Bar

Maya Mountain

Belize

2023 HARVEST · BATCH no. 1 · By Trevor
tasting notes: cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, strawberry tea

The beans for this bar come from Maya Mountain Cacao, Ltd., a social enterprise that buys freshly harvested, unfermented cacao from indigenous Mayan smallholder farmers in southern Belize, then gathers the beans at a centralized fermentary in Punta Gorda. By fermenting and drying all the beans in one place, Maya Mountain Cacao carefully controls quality and flavor consistency in their cocoa, allowing them to fetch a high price. This in turn empowers Maya Mountain Cacao to pay farmers extremely well for their beans.

Trevor was the Origin Lead for our Tokyo factory’s Maya Mountain bars crafted from both the 2015 and 2016 harvests, as well as for the 2018, 2021, and 2022 harvest bars produced in San Francisco. For this 2023 harvest, he roasts the beans at a higher temperature to bring out punchy berry notes.

INGREDIENTS & ALLERGENS

All of our single-origin chocolate is made with just cocoa beans and sugar; no added cocoa butter, lecithin, or vanilla. Our chocolate is free of soy, dairy, eggs, and gluten, and it is made in a factory that does not process nuts.

WEIGHT
2.0 oz (56 g)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Storage instructions:

  • Store in a cool and dark place; back of pantry is ideal
  • Best results somewhere between 40°F-68°F
  • Keep away from heat and direct sunlight
  • Keep away from strong odors
  • Do not freeze
  • Two-ingredient chocolate won’t go “bad” like milk chocolate or chocolate with additional ingredients (e.g. inclusions or nuts)
  • If your bar melts or blooms, the flavor notes will still be present though the bar will have lost its characteristic snap. Feel free to use bloomed chocolate for making hot chocolate or baking.

Shelf life:

2 years from factory production date

Vegan

gluten free

nut free

kosher-svg

kosher

soy free

Direct Sourced

Dandelion Chocolate Chocolate Bar Maya Mountain, Belize 85% 2023 Batch 1 Single-Origin Chocolate Bar
85% Single-Origin Bar
Maya Mountain, Belize

About Maya Mountain, Belize

Maya Mountain Cacao (MMC) is a social enterprise established in order to connect small-scale cacao growers in Belize with the international specialty-cocoa market. Located in Toledo, the least-developed region of Belize, MMC was the first company in the country to buy wet (unfermented) beans from farmers, and to emphasize the importance of quality in both the raw beans, and throughout fermentation and drying.

For their centralized fermentary, MMC purchases from family farms in southern Belize, committing to a consistent price throughout the season. MMC currently buys from over 400 farmers, a majority of whom have been suppliers for more than two years. We have been sourcing beans from MMC since 2013, and while we have witnessed their growth and success, we have also seen obstacles they face. 2017 was a particularly challenging year for MMC, as they experienced competition from seven other buyers in an area that yields an average of fewer than 150 tonnes of cacao per year. Dandelion Chocolate invested in MMC directly to help them with the capital they needed to build their new post-harvest center, which allowed them to expand capacity and improve quality.