Maya Mountain Herself

This tasting set brings together three bars made from cacao grown by the women of Maya Mountain in Belize. You get two 70% bars and one 85% bar, each shaped by distinct choices in the roasting and making process.

The two 70% bars come from the same harvest but were crafted in different cities. One was roasted and made in San Francisco, the other in Tokyo. Each team applies its own roast profile, drawing out different notes from identical beans. Tasting them side by side reveals how much control the chocolate maker has over flavor, even when the raw material stays constant.

The 85% bar pushes the proportion of cacao higher, leaving less sugar to mask or round out the beans' natural character. That intensity works here because the underlying fermentation was handled with precision. When beans are fermented skillfully, they develop balanced acidity and fruit notes that hold up even when almost nothing else is added.

Cacao terroir includes climate, soil, topography, and the plants growing nearby. But fermentation is just as decisive. The women managing this origin control every step from harvest through drying, and their choices echo through the finished bars. You taste the results in the fruit, the roast, and the way the chocolate breaks and melts.

This set was released to mark International Women's Day, and it centers the work of the people who grow and ferment the beans rather than simply sourcing from them. All three bars come in full-size format, so you can taste them over several sessions or share them with others who care about how chocolate is actually made.