Goodnow Farms - Limited Release, Yasica Especial 70%

Rediscovered ancient Nicaraguan Criollo. A single sack of beans, one very limited bar.

Above-the-fold callout
This is as rare and as story-rich as craft chocolate gets. More than a decade ago, farmer Giff Laube found what he suspected were ancient Criollo trees in a remote stretch of Nicaraguan jungle near the Yasica river; USDA testing confirmed one of them as genuine ancient Nicaragua Criollo, and he spent the next ten years grafting and coaxing it back into a grove that finally yielded a single sack of dried cacao. Goodnow Farms turned that sack into this — a delicate, creamy, unmistakably heirloom 70%, made in tiny numbers and priced for what it truly is.

Origin & Craftsmanship
Ancient Criollo is the cacao the rest of the world lost — the original fine variety, almost bred out of existence for being fragile and low-yielding, and this is a strain resurrected one grafted tree at a time. Because only a single sack of beans exists per harvest, everything about the bar is exceptional: Goodnow work it with their signature restraint in Sudbury, Massachusetts, pressing cocoa butter from the very same beans so the chocolate is built almost entirely from one origin, sweetened only with organic cane sugar. Three ingredients, one farmer, one sack. As Goodnow themselves put it, this bar is a flavourful exception rather than a model of viable farming — which is precisely what makes it worth preserving.

Flavor Profile
Nothing about it reads as a typical 70%. The ancient Criollo gives a delicate, low-bitterness, almost creamy chocolate carrying the maker's own notes: sweet Concord grape and juicy strawberry up front, then honey and a soft cashew nuttiness, with a smooth melt and only the faintest astringency to close. Gentle, floral, and quietly astonishing — the kind of bar that recalibrates what people think dark chocolate can taste like.

Award & Recognition
When Goodnow debuted Yasica Especial at the Northwest Chocolate Festival, it took the highest score in the dark chocolate category at the opening-night awards and sold out within hours — with the farmer himself, Giff, on the main stage. Recognition earned by the bean as much as the bar.

Tasting & Pairing Guide
Treat this one as an occasion. Let a small square melt undisturbed so the grape and strawberry have room to unfold before the honey arrives — no coffee, no distraction, at least the first time. If you do pair it, keep it gentle: a lightly floral tea, a delicate dessert wine, or simply on its own after a meal. Store it cool, between 14 and 20°C, and don't rush it. There won't be much of it, and there may not be more.

Summary
The Yasica Especial 70% is a genuine collector's bar: rediscovered ancient Nicaraguan Criollo, grown from a single farmer's decade-long labour, crafted three-ingredient and single-origin by one of America's most decorated makers. Delicate, grape-and-strawberry sweet, and produced in numbers so small that "limited" undersells it. For the person who wants to taste chocolate history while it still exists.