This intense dark chocolate is made from directly traded cocoa beans from the eastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Fazendas Reunidas Vale do Juliana is a large agroforestry ecosystem located just off the Atlantic Coast in the lush hills between Salvador and the Ilheus, a town that has become the epicenter of Brazilian cocoa trading. This terroir yields strong, herbaceous flavors. Vale do Juliana was founded in order to provide a (somewhat utopian) model for ecologically sound, economically sustainable, and socially constructive tropical farming. Although cacao growing is the focus of the farm, it also harvests acai, bananas, rubber, and eucalyptus, all of which are inter-planted with cacao trees to improve shade a biodiversity. Vale do Juliana also includes cultivations of “pupinho” for palm hearts, aquacultures for raising fish, a hydroelectric power station, and its own school for local youth. Perhaps the most impressive feature of the farm is that 2/3 of its land mass is intentionally left as rainforest reserve. Bean Origin: Bahia, BrazilIngredients Used: 3 – Cocoa beans, Organic cane sugar, Organic cocoa butterOrganic: NoCocoa Content: 74%Cacao Variety: TrinitarioWeight: 2.1ozAllergy Information: Possible traces of dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.Tasting Notes: Balsam, tobacco, peppercorn
