This 2026-harvest single-origin from Tabasco is made with just cocoa beans and sugar, fermented for seven to nine days and given a 36-minute roast — the longest in Dandelion’s history. The aroma leans dark wood and tobacco leaf, with cacao sitting underneath rather than out front.
This bar is slow to show its true colours — it takes a moment before the plum jam character actually arrives, more patience than punch. Once it does, there’s real ripeness to the fruit rather than sharp acidity, with a warm, comforting quality the maker attributes to that extended roast. Champurrado notes bring a spiced, almost drinking-chocolate richness through the middle.
This bar announces itself, but there is also a touch of tannic bite on the finish, which felt right for a bar this restrained rather than a flaw. A considered, patient single-origin.
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10