Food Stuff

A bar of fine chocolate usually lists the percentage of cacao content on the wrapper—the higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate. Such knowledge can lead to a spiritual awakening, especially if you encounter , which ranked at the top in a dark-chocolate taste test by the San Francisco Chronicle. Dagoba produces 15 varieties of luscious two-ounce bars (about $2.50 each). Five are milk chocolate (37 percent cacao) and the remainder are dark chocolate (from 59 percent to 87 percent cacao). We were particularly smitten by Xocolatl, a 74-percent exotic beauty infused with chili, cacao nibs, vanilla and nutmeg. All of Dagoba’s products are from small, sustainable farms shaded by rainforests. Many of the farmers are of Aztec and Mayan descent. Those ancient civilizations considered chocolate the food of the gods, and we bet the gods always looked at the percentage on the wrapper. Available at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op and www.dagobachocolate.com.