Original Beans - Cru Virunga

Holy crap, I just spent $15 on one chocolate bar. Actually....$30 on two bars but I am only going to discuss one of them now. I am only half way through the other and refuse to rush something so delightful. Yeah, it's good.

Original beans packages their chocolate in some of the most beautiful packaging in the chocolate industry and promises to plant a cocoa tree for each bar sold. You can go to originalbeans.com and use the code from my bar to see my tree (2S30E.) I have always liked the idea of paying more money for chocolate (I'm not kidding) because economics dictates that if people pay more for something suppliers will likely produce more. This company does not let greedy capitalists decide on supply and demand....they just plant a tree which is good too. One of the worst parts about chocolate industry is the part about farmers not getting their fair share due to warlords and screwed up governments (especially in the Ivory Coast and Ghana.)

I was honestly worried about what I consider "charity chocolate." I was concerned that the makers may have been more concerned about their cause than excellent chocolate.

I was pleasently surprised. The bar was well done and left me wanting more. While the bean from the Congo were probably not the most exotic in the world it felt like they were treated with great care. The chocolate had a shiny finish with a clean break. A gentle bitterness and very slow, smooth melt endured the entire time the chocolate was in my mouth. Quick flashes of cooked red wine and mild citrus came and went but what was most interesting was an aftertaste that will sound worse than it actually was. About 20 minutes after eating a piece of this bar I found myself wondering if I had recently eaten Mexican cuisine. The aftertaste of cumin was slight but noticable. I love the complexity of chocolate.