My husband and I have dear friends from Guatemala who travel back there at least three times a year. Whenever they return they have the most incredible stories to tell, which include tales of their food adventures. Although I’ve had chocolate from many different countries, for some reason a chocolate bar made with beans from Guatemala hasn’t come across my path – until now.
Enter, Fresco Polochic Valley 100% Chocolate. In 2018 this bar won a series of awards: the Silver International Chocolate Awards (World and Americas) and a Bronze Academy of Chocolate Award. This is truly impressive for a bar that comes from the quaint town of Lynden that is home to Washington State’s largest Dutch settlement.
There is a great quote on the home page of their website that is also found on their packaging:
EXCEPTIONAL CHOCOLATE is created through a series of events. Change any one event and the outcome is a new creation. Fresco.com
Fresco Polochic Valley Guatemala 100% – flap with quote and tasting instructions
Their description of what they do is quite simple.
Fresco makes pure, dark chocolate. By purposefully changing cocoa roasting and chocolate conching, we create new chocolate experiences for your consideration. We use three ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, and cocoa butter.
Our chocolate is dairy free, nut free, soy free and gluten free.fres·co: noun \’fres-(,)kō\ – Italian for fresh. It’s how chocolate should be. Fresco.com
My Fresco experience started the moment I examined the packaging. I was quite impressed with the amount of educational information that was housed on the packaging itself. Each flap provided valuable chocolate related information such as: what is cocoa roasting and chocolate conching; the effect that each of the different levels of cocoa roasting and chocolate conching have on the flavor of chocolate; the specific roasting and conching level used for this particular chocolate; tasting instructions; and information about the company.
Fresco Polochic Valley Guatemala 100% back of package
Fresco Polochic Valley Guatemala 100% – inside top & bottom flaps with information on cocoa roasting and chocolate conching
The bar has a lovely sweet aroma that also encompasses nutty, fruity, and cinnamon spice type notes. The bar is wrapped in a shiny gold foil wrapper that brings back memories of the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Peeling back the wrapper exposed a bar that has six individual pieces adorned with their logo and one large piece displaying the company’s name. The way the bar is scored made me chuckle a bit because once you taste the bar you may find yourself gravitating for the larger piece. Okay, I better not get ahead of myself.
Fresco Polochic Valley Guatemala 100% – bar
I followed the tasting instructions on the package, which said not to chew but to allow the chocolate to melt on your tongue. This unveiled sharp tart red fruit flavors like cranberry and sour red cherry up front. As the chocolate melted on my tongue, it imparted a delightfully creamy mouthfeel and taste akin to tart yogurt with a hint of earthiness. The best way for me to succinctly describe this bar is that it tastes like strawberry yogurt. The flavor of this smooth chocolate lingered long after the chocolate was gone. What was left was a bit of acidity on the tongue as if you had eaten some tart yogurt.
This incredibly appetizing chocolate was one of the most unique bars I have come across in a while. Talk about making a favorable first impression for chocolate made with cacao from Guatemala!
Check out Fresco Artisan Chocolate for a captivating experience for your palate: https://frescochocolate.com/