El Carmen

Taste the unique flavors of single origin chocolate crafted from cacao sourced from El Carmen, Nicaragua. We roast the beans in small batches, using a custom roast profile created specifically to maximize the cacao's unique flavor. We stone grind the nibs in melanguers and conche for five days, using a conche profile that's also specific to this bean. This allows us to fully develop all of the incredible flavors. The result is our award-winning chocolate with a deep, earthy flavor profile and tasting notes of raisin and caramel.

We also freshly press the cocoa butter for this from the same El Carmen beans we use to make the chocolate, resulting in intense single origin flavor and exceptional smoothness. Goodnow Farms is one of the only chocolate makers in the North America to press our own cocoa butter, and it makes a world of difference in flavor.

Tasting notes:  Deep, rich and earthy. Cocoa with caramel and raisin notes. 

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Organic Sugar, Freshly Pressed Cocoa Butter
Soy Free | Gluten Free | Not Alkalized | No Lecithin | Vegan

How We Source Our El Carmen Cacao

We source our El Carmen cacao from Cacao Bisiesto, which has a fermentation facility just outside of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The owner, Giff Laube, has his own cacao farm, but also sources from dozens of farmers in the surrounding area, paying farmers premium prices for their cacao. The beans for our bars are sourced from a handful of small family farms located in El Carmen, just down the road from the fermentary.

On our numerous visits to Matagalpa we've visited not only the fermentary but also the farms from which our cacao beans are sourced. We also worked with Giff to develop a custom fermentation profile, which highlights our favorite flavors in the beans.

Giff maintains the highest quality control standards, including the requirement that cacao pods are harvested, opened, bagged and delivered to the fermentary same day. His extensive knowledge of, and familiarity with, cacao genetics and the science of fermentation ensures the beans are always of the best quality.

Learn more about our trip to Matagalpa and how we source our El Carmen cacao.

Collections:  This bar can also be found in The Gold Winners Collection and The Signature Line Collection.

Pairings:  For cheese pairing selections please visit our Tastings & Pairings page.