The Cocoa Chronicles

How Taza chocolate makes it from bean to bar.

No food captures hearts on Valentine’s Day more than chocolate. And judging by area dessert menus and local store shelves, Godiva has nothing on Somerville-based Taza. In recent years, chefs, retailers, and bartenders have flipped for the company’s authentic Mexican-style disks and bars, which are grittier than European chocolates. Now Taza has become a staple of pastry kitchens all over the city, and is sold in shops as far away as Germany. Here’s a peek at how Taza’s cacao beans travel from farm to factory to your plate (and even your glass).

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Photos by Michael Piazza (trees, nibs, process); Scott M. Lacey (nibs, bars, baking squares, disks)

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