Dominican Republic Snacking Chocolate

Travel through Chocolate Destination: El Guineal, Duarte, Dominican Republic Tasting Notes: Cherry Preserves, Caramel, Toasted Almond Flavor Profile: Deep & Fruity 68% Dark Chocolate Ingredients: organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar. Size: 6 oz bag, 2 oz mini bag Organic, Vegan, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free The cocoa beans for our Dominican Republic chocolate come from Reserva Zorzal in El Guineal, Duarte, a reserve known worldwide for producing exceptional cacao and protecting endangered wildlife. About the Farm:   Where chocolate is grown is the first key to the tasting notes naturally enjoyed in chocolate. Fruity, nutty, rich & balanced: before there is a chocolate maker, there is a terroir, a farmer, and a cacao harvest. Take a trip with us and experience the adventure in tasting two ingredient chocolate made simply with just cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. Snack away and travel through chocolate with each bite. Reserva Zorzal is a 1,019-acre bird sanctuary and private reserve in the northern Dominican Republic. Over 70% of the land is permanently set aside for conservation, while the remaining acreage supports sustainable cacao farming. This unique model allows biodiversity and agriculture to thrive together. At the heart of the operation is Zorzal’s “Fermentorium,” where post-harvest protocols are carried out with precision to highlight the cacao’s natural fruit and spice notes. Beans are carefully fermented, dried in the sun, and sorted with meticulous attention to quality. Zorzal’s mission goes beyond chocolate. Revenue funds reforestation and supports local farmers, but at its heart the reserve exists to protect the Bicknell’s Thrush, one of North America’s rarest migratory songbirds. Each year this small bird travels from breeding grounds in northern New York and Vermont to its winter home in the Dominican Republic’s forests. By choosing this chocolate, you join a story where protecting a bird’s journey and creating great flavor grow from the same roots. See the Reserva Zorzal Story Watch the Zorzal Cacao film This short video, directed by American filmmaker Pete Warren, tells the story of Reserva Zorzal Cacao. Founded in 2012, the reserve protects critical winter habitat for the endangered Bicknell’s Thrush and funds conservation through organic, shade-grown cacao. It highlights how sustainable cacao farming and global conservation work hand in hand.  Craft chocolate makers around the world — including us — use Zorzal cacao to turn this conservation story into award-winning chocolate you can taste. Taste the story for yourself — every bag of our Dominican Republic Snacking Chocolate supports this work. Why These Ingredients Matter We don’t pick ingredients just because they taste good, though they absolutely do. We pick them because they tell stories. Because they come from people who care as much about their craft as we do. Reserva Zorzal cacao grows inside a 1,019-acre bird sanctuary in the Dominican Republic, created to protect one of the most endangered migratory songbirds in North America: the Bicknell’s Thrush. Each year, this small bird flies thousands of miles between the northern forests of New York and Vermont — the same region where we got married, and where Matt went to college — and its winter home in the Dominican Republic. That connection makes this chocolate special to us. The bright fruit and nutty flavors connect directly to the landscapes that shaped our own story, linking the forests of Vermont and New York to the tropical rainforests of the Dominican Republic.  Every purchase of our Dominican Republic Snacking Chocolate helps protect the Bicknell’s Thrush, supports smallholder farmers, and proves that great flavor and biodiversity thrive together.