Rain Republic triple-single-origin Guatemalan Chocolate - 10 Pack
$24.99 + $5 shipping
PRODUCT: 10 100% Natural 70% Cacao Guatemalan Chocolate 2.oz Bars

Product website

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Previous offer:
4/2/10

There are some reports on the last page of the previous Woot - all mouth-watering.

Oh, to have been at that photo session....wonder how many bars of chocolate had to be eaten because of the bright lights melting them too quickly?

Interesting story on Guatemalan Chocolate

Golden Ticket

sugarpike wrote:Oh, to have been at that photo session....wonder how many bars of chocolate had to be eaten because of the bright lights melting them too quickly?

I had to open one up right now to see if mine were ever that shiny. (Nope) Great, now I only have two left...hmmmm

WOOT! Finally, something vegan! And CHOCOLATE of all things! /happydance

I wish I had a bottomless wallet, or I'd be in for 3, but since I don't, I'll have to just get one

Edit: The allergen info does say may contain TRACES of milk, but the product itself is anyway.

NightGhost wrote:There are some reports on the last page of the previous Woot - all mouth-watering.

Here 's my review:

Some of the best chocolate I've ever eaten. Better than cadbury's. Better than see's. Better than girardelli's, like amazing boutique Choc, not t sweet,

I was waiting for this to return

i was very excited about this last time. but i experienced blending issues with about half of the 3 cases i ordered. not heat bloom, mind you. there were blobs of unblended cocoa mass and fat.

i contacted rain republic and they gave me a few bars to replace not even half of what i had that was garbage (what they claimed was the last of what was in the US) and very empty promises of more. (the replacements were also afflicted.)

(woot also helped out with a couple bars - tyvm.)

mind you, when it was good - it was wonderful.

Great chocolate, great value, was in for 2 last time, in for 3 this time!

BUT

Where oh where is the chile cobanero chocolate? Josh?

If a single two-ounce bar is considered to be one serving, how small is each bar in W x H x T?

I'm imagining maybe about the size of a Halloween "fun"-size Hershey bar?

JimBToo wrote:If a single two-ounce bar is considered to be one serving, how small is each bar in W x H x T?

I'm imagining maybe about the size of a Halloween "fun"-size Hershey bar?

Significantly larger - maybe 1.5"x4"

JimBToo wrote:W x H x T?

The box packaging is roughly 5.25" x 2.5" x .5" and the bagged chocolate fits neatly inside of it.

Hmmm, this is just down the street. I wonder if they have a retail shop...

20 oz for $30.

I bought these before — they’re good, not great. Actually, I’m not sure I’ll bother again. Nice stuff but if you live in a decent size city (I’m in Chicago) it’s easy to find better. But it’s nice to have a stash and so easy to order from Woot... so I’ll sleep on it.

I guess the one good thing about having chilly weather here in South Florida is I don't have to worry about the chocolate melting
just *liked* Rain Republic Chocolate on facebook, I wonder how many more fans they will get today...
thank you woot!

editorkid wrote:I bought these before — they’re good, not great. Actually, I’m not sure I’ll bother again. Nice stuff but if you live in a decent size city (I’m in Chicago) it’s easy to find better. But it’s nice to have a stash and so easy to order from Woot... so I’ll sleep on it.

What/where in Chicago do you find to be better for a similar price?

Want

What is "Bean to Bar"?


Understanding Chocolate Basics: Bean-to-Bar Tutorial


List of Bean to Bar chocolate makers


More Chocolate Bean to Bar info

geo8rge wrote:20 oz for $30.

$1.50 an ounce or $24 a pound.
Lindt 90% Cocoa bars are 3.5 ounces and can frequently be purchased on sale for $1.50 (Less than 50 cents an ounce) but, if you think these taste 3 times better, go for it.

Isn't a typical bar of chocolate around 3oz?

How does this compare to say, Neuhaus?

davide63 wrote:Interesting story on Guatemalan Chocolate

Golden Ticket

did you read it? it wasn't that interesting.
i did find this page very informative if you are interested in mexican/guatemalan chocolate
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Coffee-Tea-Chocolate-650/mexican-chocolate.aspx

lassow wrote:Isn't a typical bar of chocolate around 3oz?

by "typical" do you mean Hershey's? what is typical?

jkdaaa wrote:Great chocolate, great value, was in for 2 last time, in for 3 this time!

BUT

Where oh where is the chile cobanero chocolate? Josh?

Nice to hear from you and I'm glad you are still interested. It took us 5 years to get this formula so.... the chocolate arrives the first week of Jan! Weather permitting. Its awesome. Not too hot but not understated either. It will be on our website and I have some dried chile for you too.

sodalite wrote:did you read it? it wasn't that interesting.
i did find this page very informative if you are interested in mexican/guatemalan chocolate
http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Articles/Coffee-Tea-Chocolate-650/mexican-chocolate.aspx

I found it to be an interesting read - may not have been super relevant but it was interesting none the less

The 70% Cocoa Green & Blacks Organic is my standard around the house chocolate - I can find it regularly for $2.50 at my local grocery stops. I sometimes will pick up a Lindt 85% when they are one sale for $1.50. Can someone who likes good dark chocolate tell me how the Rain Republic stack up? At $1.50 an ounce for the Rain vs $0.83 an ounce for the Organic Green & Blacks... it needs to be some darn amazing chocolate.



http://www.amazon.com/Lindt-Excellence-Chocolate-3-5-Ounce-Packages/dp/B000HQNBSU/ref=pd_sim_gro_8
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Blacks-Organic-Chocolate-3-5-Ounce/dp/B000LKV7Q0

vinithehat wrote:i was very excited about this last time. but i experienced blending issues with about half of the 3 cases i ordered. not heat bloom, mind you. there were blobs of unblended cocoa mass and fat.

i contacted rain republic and they gave me a few bars to replace not even half of what i had that was garbage (what they claimed was the last of what was in the US) and very empty promises of more. (the replacements were also afflicted.)........

What are the rainrepublic rep's comments on the this chocolate's condition--and the implications for future orders--and, as well, the failure to make good fully in some manner?

Both failures are disturbing to a potential buyer.

Very much looking forwards to trying out this Guatemalan chocolate.

I am in again. Would go for 2 but just tapped out, I loved it last time around in fact I rationed it so I still have a bar left.

Benjaroo wrote:What are the rainrepublic rep's comments on the this chocolate's condition--and the implications for future orders--and, as well, the failure to make good fully in some manner?

Both failures are disturbing to a potential buyer.

I was basically informed that they were having a very hard time keeping any stock in the US, stores were not buying their chocolate, which is why they couldn't replace my bars. They blamed the heat during shipping (i live in the northeast and it was april.) If that's their excuse, they'll never be able to sell their stuff south of the mason-dixon line.

edit: This also doesn't take into account that only 2 of my 3 boxes were lousy. plus the few (about 5 bars) they sent to replace my over a dozen messed up bars were packed with freezer packs and were still messed up.

Here's photos. You can see the graininess and pockets of air in the chocolate. This is not heat-bloom, I've eaten bloomed chocolate before. This was mis-blended.

http://twitpic.com/3l71id/full
http://twitpic.com/3l70fy/full

I got one last time. I thought it was very good, but not amazing. The flavor is great, but the chocolate feels a little waxy at first and is very slow to melt in your mouth. Still, I ate most of it out of hand, savoring a square at a time, and liked it a lot. I also used some in baking (cookies) and it was excellent there.

I just finished the last bar of this a week ago. I have been storing it in a cabinet at room temperature since the previous woot in April, and it held up great. If anything, the bars that had been sitting around for a while suffered from the waxiness problem less than the early ones (or maybe I just got used to it).

I'll probably go in for another batch. Those cookies were really good...

Another note, regarding their "recyclable" packaging:

These come in a pretty cardboard box, which has a mylar packet inside. You can recycle the box, but not the mylar. A paper wrapper instead of the cardboard would have been less wasteful in the end, though.

vinithehat wrote:A paper wrapper instead of the cardboard would have been less wasteful in the end, though.

A paper wrapper would probably also be less effective at keeping the chocolate fresh too though, no?

Waiting for Josh to address the mis-blending/replacement issue before going in for 3 - bad batches happen, but being unable or unwilling to replace them is unacceptable. I hope this gets resolved soon, as the 2 boxes I had last time were excellent!

Also, WD: I admire the transparency, but please don't put nutrition facts for chocolate, cheese, or salumi on the front page, it makes us feel like pigs. =P

NightGhost wrote:There are some reports on the last page of the previous Woot - all mouth-watering.

I don't mean to be a nay-sayer, but having ordered these last time, and compared them with a pretty wide variety of high-end chocolate, these bars are just very... meh. Kind of bland, not very flavorful, on the relative scale of things. I ended up cooking with some of them, which they worked fine for, but for the price I'd rather buy some good Ghirardelli chocolate chips for that purpose instead.

vinithehat wrote:

edit: This also doesn't take into account that only 2 of my 3 boxes were lousy. plus the few (about 5 bars) they sent to replace my over a dozen messed up bars were packed with freezer packs and were still messed up.

Here's photos. You can see the graininess and pockets of air in the chocolate. This is not heat-bloom, I've eaten bloomed chocolate before. This was mis-blended.

http://twitpic.com/3l71id/full
http://twitpic.com/3l70fy/full

Those pictures aren't quite as attractive as the Woot pictures. Thanks for the info - it has definitely given me pause to see what Rain Republic has to say. They chimed in quite a bit last time.

vinithehat wrote:Another note, regarding their "recyclable" packaging:

These come in a pretty cardboard box, which has a mylar packet inside. You can recycle the box, but not the mylar. A paper wrapper instead of the cardboard would have been less wasteful in the end, though.

Hey Guys, the packet inside is not mylar, rather it is poilypro and gets recycled like any plastic.

This is not everyday chocolate, but if you want something special, I think it's great. Also great for gifting. Now, I'm Lindt lover myself, but this stuff is even better last time it came around. Of course I'm not comparing it to the truffles, only the bars. If you want melt in your mouth go with Lindt truffles. If you want complex, interesting flavors (which pair great with a nice pinot noir!), grab some of these.