The cacao used here has been designated Heirloom by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund, an organization working globally to identify and protect rare cacao varieties while supporting small-scale producers and biodiversity. These beans come from El Beni, Bolivia, grown by the Tranquilidad Wild Cacao Estate and Research Center, an influential estate led by agronomist Volker Lehmann, and featured in the book and documentary podcast Wild Cocoa by Rowan Jacobsen.
Thw bar opens with notes of browned butter and blueberry — stewed and slightly fermented — before moving onto notes of whiskey and oak, with a mesquite BBQ note that carries through the finish: smoky rather than sweet, giving the chocolate a savoury edge that feels grounded, earthy, and rustic. The finish is long and structured, with gentle tannins, echoing wood, smoke, coffee, and dark fruit.