Chocolate brands
The big names
If you ask an Ecuadorian to name a brand of fine chocolate from their country, you will receive one of two answers: Pacari, or Republica del Cacao. These two companies are the driving force behind Ecuador’s effort to take its place among the leading fine chocolate producing countries. Stores in airports and shopping malls, cafes and restaurants, by-products, sales in supermarkets and pharmacies, and international exports: these two companies are the pioneers, the most famous and the proof of this chocolate’s potential.
Pacari
[Pacari (www.pacari.com) is a family owned and operated company founded in 2002 that produces organic and fair trade chocolate. They were among the first to bet on arriba cocoa for high volume production. Pacari bars have since won (and are still winning) many international awards.
The term “Pacari”, in Quechua, means “nature” and “awakening”, and its logo represents a hieroglyph of man-tree, more than 5000 years old, belonging to the Valdivian culture of the Ecuadorian coast.
Pacari also relies on sustainable agriculture and the support of the farming families who produce arriba cocoa. In particular, according to this interview, they only deal with small producers, whom they encourage to follow the permaculture path and grow other crops alongside cocoa.
Pacari chocolate is sold in over 60 countries around the world, including Canada since 2020: in Montreal, it can be found at Rachel Berri, and in Ontario at Metro.
Republica del Cacao
Republica del Cacao was founded in 2007 by two Ecuadorian brothers who learned in Paris that the best cocoa according to a renowned chocolatier comes from the Guayaquil region. Determined to take advantage of the potential of Ecuadorian cocoa in a local and sustainable way, they first offer bars for the consumer and then in 2014 fine cocoa for companies. They then diversified their sources, going to Peru, the Dominican Republic and Colombia for new flavors of aroma fino cacao.
As far as I know, Republica del Cacao’s bars are mostly based on nacional arriba cocoa, but sometimes Sacha as well. They may go for other species - it will always be fino d’aroma.
The established brands
In the steps of Pacari and Republica del Cacao, several companies have established themselves in Ecuadorian chocolate. Although their products are not sold in every grocery store, they can be found from time to time in large stores in Quito.
Hoja Verde
Hoja Verde is the chocolate branch of a family company that also produces roses. It is also associated with the Velez coffee company. Their products can be found everywhere in Quito, among others at the Velez Café in La Floresta.
Minka Gourmet Chocolate
Minka Chocolate is sold in Ecuador, but also in the United States and France. Minka means “teamwork” in Quechua, the Inca language. The cocoa comes from plantations in the province of Guayas, near the Naranjal River.
Kamm
Kamm is a rather unusual brand. Chocolate is sold as a health and wellness product, especially accompanied by crystals of “superfoods” like ginger and lemon (to relax), mango (for energy), caramel (for smiling) and hemp (for… health). And also, but only sold in the USA, CBD (to relax and be happy, of course). In any case, their superfood staple is fine Ecuadorian flavored cocoa, so it’s worth a try!
Valdivian
Valdivian owes its name to one of the oldest civilizations in Ecuador, which lived on the west coast, near Guayaquil. They use organic arriba cocoa from several regions, and distribute their bars in all SuperMaxi stores.
Arawi
Arawi is a company founded in 2010 in Cuenca, which produces several types of bars of organic aroma nacional fino cocoa. You can find their bars in Supermaxi and Coral supermarkets, among others.
Conexion
Conexion, an Ecuadorian and American company, aims to promote artisanal and fair-trade chocolate made from arriba chocolate. Targeting the market of American fine chocolate enthusiasts, you can order their chocolate bars in the United States. In Quito, I found their chocolate at Cacao & Cacao, a must-visit small shop for Ecuadorian chocolates.
Rights
Rights is a company that promotes inclusivity by employing individuals living with physical or intellectual disabilities and producing chocolate from fine flavor cocoa in a fair-trade manner. Its chocolate bars can be found, among other places, in SuperMaxi supermarkets.
La Leyenda del Chocolate
La Leyenda del Chocolate is yet to be discovered - I haven’t bought a bar from this brand yet!
From Mindo
Located in the Mindo Valley, among the orquids, hummingbirds and butterflies, three chocolate makers offer tours and tastings. Each has its own cocoa producers, a little further down the coast. We visited El Quetzal - Mindo Chocolate. We were introduced to the golden pods of the “fino d’aroma” cocoa (arriba), as compared to the red pods of the Venezuelan “fino” and the brown pods of the “Forastero” cocoa, which grows faster and produces more, but whose flavor is not as fine and whose trees do not last as long. We were able to see the stages of chocolate production, and taste it at several stages (the pure paste without sugar is really not very good! It’s bitter but above all it’s floury and it dries the mouth) and then buy some bars… We could also buy bars from the other chocolate makers: Mashpi and Yumbos.
Mindo Chocolate Makers
Mindo Chocolate Makers has a strong connection to Michigan, where most of the production takes place. The cocoa, however, comes from Ecuador and its history began in Mindo. Before the Ecuadorian chocolate explosion, two Americans opened an internet café in Mindo. To make brownies, they brought chocolate… from the USA. Aware of the paradox of importing chocolate to the country of cocoa, they tried to produce their own chocolate from cocoa seeds… and that’s how Mindo Chocolate Makers was born. They then founded their factory in Dexter, Michigan. I’m not sure, but I believe the bars we bought from Mindo came from the original Mindo production facility (the one we visited). You can’t buy these chocolates in Quito, but you can order them in Ecuador as well as in the United States (for twice the price!).
Mashpi
Mashpi Chocolate Artesanal produces its chocolate near Mindo, in the Mashpi River Valley. It is a family cocoa plantation that promotes organic farming, permaculture and community participation in the surrounding area. It is also a tourist farm. You can find its products in Mindo and Mashpi. We also found them at the Wayuro Organico shop in Quito. You can also order them to be delivered in Quito or Guayaquil.
Yumbos
Yumbos Chocolate is a chocolate factory in Mindo. It was founded by a couple: Claudia Ponce and Pierre-Alain Molinari. The cocoa comes from the provinces of Los Rios and Esmeraldas. You can visit the workshop in Mindo, or buy their products at their store in the historical center of Quito.
The Amazon communities
Kallari
Kallari is a community-based company, born from the association of local and Quechua producers located around the Napo River in the Amazon. It is around this region that the greatest genetic diversity of cocoa is found. It is also where the consumption and cultivation of cocoa appeared, according to historical research. Some people have been cultivating it for more than 5000 years, following the ancestral agricultural system of the chakra. The chakra implies an agricultural management of natural resources according to the cosmology of the Quechuas. Women play a leading role as guardians of ancestral knowledge, guarantors of food security and administrators of the production space. Kallari is therefore part of the Chakra, Womn and Chocolate campaign, supported by the province of Napo and the European Union, among others, which aims to promote these elements of culture in an integral way, both locally and internationally.
They sell several types of chocolates, some made from nacional arriba cocoa, others from Sacha. The bars are not available in stores in Quito, but they can be ordered. You can also find bars by chance during visits in the jungle: my first contact was on a stall of handicrafts of a community living near the lunch stop of a rafting tour in Baños…!
Tsatsayaku
Tsatsayaku is a small brand associated with the Chakra, woman and chocolate campaign. It is an association of women producers from the canton of Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola, in the province of Napo, in the Amazon. The project looks really nice, but I haven’t bought any bars of this brand yet: the treasure hunt will continue next year!
Witoca
Witoca is a community in the Amazon that primarily produces coffee but also crafts chocolate using the Chakra system. I found a chocolate bar at the artisanal market in Quito.
Wiñak
Wiñak is another community enterprise associated with Chakra, focusing on women and chocolate. I was able to order their chocolate bars in Quito by contacting them via email.
Malky
Malky is a project with limited available information. It appears (though I may be mistaken) to be an enterprise founded by a Kichwa woman, Senaida Cerda, with the aim of supporting women in Amazonian communities. It is somehow connected, closely or loosely, to the Woman of the Rio Napo project by Rainforest Partnership. According to the packaging of the chocolate bars, there is also a link to the company Valenco, which produces, among other things, fine flavor chocolate for chocolatiers. I found a chocolate bar at Pasaje Arzobispal in the historic center of Quito.
The small productions
Following the example of the larger productions, several small entrepreneurs are trying their luck. These chocolates are more difficult to find: in fairs, small markets, or specialized stores. It’s a little treasure hunt!
Cleo’s
Website: Cleo’s tortillas Facebook page. Promotional video produced by the Mexican Embassy in Ecuador. Sales points in Quito? The little fruteria don Vic on Gonzalez Suarez.
From what I understand, Cleotilde Gascon is a Mexican established in Quito, who produces a few food items, including arriba chocolate. Which is by the way excellent. To contact her, the number is in the description of the promotional video!
Yaussa
Met in a Christmas fair, the tourist farm Yaussa is located in Puerto Quito and offers, among other products, two arriba chocolate bars and 100% chocolate for cooking.
Chaman Ecuador
I think I got my hands on one of the last bars of this brand: it’s the chocolate bar distributed by Cacao & Cacao, a small store specialized in chocolate in Quito. They always sell other chocolate brands, as well as coffee and pure cocoa. That’s where I bought it, and they told me it was the latest available.
I have a little doubt, however, because according to the box, it was made by La Leyenda del chocolate by Calderon… But it is impossible for me to find the brand in their store.
Viferchi
Launched in 2018 in Cuenca, Viferchi offers a small variety of bars for now. I got my hands on it in Quito, at the same fruteria as Cleo’s bars. I assume, however, that it will grow.
Galletti
Galletti is an Ecuadorian coffee brand. However, if you visit their cafe on Gonzalez Suarez in Quito, you will find their homemade chocolate. It is not listed on the Ecuadorian site, but it can be found on the sales site for the United States.
Nat Kaw
Nat Kaw, Nativaromas’ chocolate, comes from small farms in the province of Manabi. Each farm produces a unique type of cocoa, the result of a natural blend achieved through cross-pollination of different endemic species of aroma fino cocoa. The fermentation process is also adapted to the micro-fauna of each farm. Each type of bar comes from its own farm, and therefore has a different profile without added flavors: fruity, floral, or herbal. These chocolates have all won awards in 2021, so I think it’s a very new brand. In December 2021, we found these bars at the Cacao & Cacao store in Quito.
Taeone
Teaone is a small family production, established on the Teaone River in the unique ecosystem of the Andean Choco, near the town of Esmeraldas and the Pacific Ocean. They also have a store between two resorts on the waterfront, in Playa Escondida. In December 2021, we found their bars at the store Wayuro Organico in Quito.
RaqEri
RaqEri is a very small brand that produces cocoa products like salami and cocoa tea. I found it in a small Christmas fair of 2021 in Quito.
Chicao
[Chicao (https://www.facebook.com/chicaochocolate/) is a small tourist farm around the Silanche River, near Puerto Quito, on the slopes of the Andes that descend to the Pacific coast. They use agroforestry, that is to say the cultivation of cocoa in the forest, in order to enrich their chocolate with the aromas of the woods. Chicao is also a center for the study of arriba cocoa, and is sometimes visited by local and international universities and colleges. The name Chicao comes from a beautiful yellow bird of the cloud forest, the black and gold oriole.
Arariwa
Arariwa is a small Ecuadorian company led by women, whose name means “guardians of the Chakras,” representing the traditional way of managing cocoa production by women (refer to the section on Kallari for more details). You can find their chocolate bars at certain gourmet fairs, the artisanal market, or at Cacao & Cacao.
Choco Cumi
Choco Cumi is a small brand born from the Talita Cumi foundation, which assists single mothers. The dual objective is to valorize Ecuadorian fine flavor cocoa with unique chocolates and to empower women who have experienced violence and are in vulnerable situations. The brand, established in 2016 or 2017, defines itself as the “women of chocolate.” In 2022, I found their chocolate only at the artisanal market. They may have expanded their points of sale since then.
Belly’s
Belly’s Cocoa specializes in high-altitude fine flavor cocoa, cultivated at over 1000 meters above sea level in the Andean Chocó, a protected ecosystem near Quito. To successfully produce cocoa in these conditions, it required many years of research and genetic selection. Originally from the CCN-51 family, whose quality is inferior to fine flavor cocoa, the named Rio Alambi presents unique characteristics. I was given Belly’s chocolate bars. You can order them from Quito on their website.
Victory
Victory Ecuadorian Product appears to be a small Ecuadorian chocolate company that started in 2022 with praline candies and also produces some chocolate bars. It is stated on their Facebook page that they use CCN51 cocoa, the most common and productive cocoa species, but they select the highest quality, fino de aroma cocoa. We found their bars in the cafe of one of the towers of the Basilica del Voto Nacional, in the historic center.
Huma
Huma produces Single Origin chocolate from cocoa purchased directly from producers in various regions of Ecuador, such as Guayaquil, Tsachila, Montanita, Cotopaxi, Quitu, and Yasuni. It’s not arriba cocoa but rather fino de aroma. I found their chocolate bars in a shop in Pasaje Arzobispal, located in the heart of the historic center of Quito.
Mestizo
There is limited information on the Mestizo website, and not much on their Facebook page either. The packaging of the bars simply mentions Ecuadorian fino de aroma cocoa and fair trade with small producers. However, a detail invites further investigation: it is produced by “PapaCacao” in Pomasqui. PapaCacao? A detective would find here an article in the Ecuadorian government’s cultural agenda that highlights Jaime Freire, nicknamed Papa Cacao, who is said to be the originator of the Ecuadorian government’s project to reactivate arriba nacional and fino de aroma cocoa in the 2010s and has since trained several Ecuadorian chocolatiers. What is the exact connection between Mestizo and Papa Cacao? That remains to be explored. In any case, I found these bars in a shop in Pasaje Arzobispal, located in the heart of the historic center of Quito.
Foreign brands
Ecuador’s fino d’aroma cocoa has long been known outside its borders. Here are some brands that use it.
Millésime
Millésime Chocolat is a Belgian luxury chocolate brand, run by Jean Christophe Hubert. I understand that each year the available bars change, probably depending on the vintage of the cocoa. We found the Ecuador bar presented on this site at the fromagerie Yannick on Bernard Street, in Montreal.
Lindt
Everyone knows Lindt, the international fine chocolate and Swiss truffle company. Excellence bars are available in almost every grocery store!
Avanaa
Avanaa is a Montreal based chocolate factory located in Villeray. Their chocolate bars are crafted from cocoa beans directly imported from sustainable producers from everywhere in the world. This includes Ecuador, with Kallari cocoa!
Monarque
Monarque is another small bean-to-bar chocolate shop based in Mile End, Montreal, sourcing its cocoa mainly from Central and Latin America. I found its Ecuadorian bars at the État de Choc store on St-Laurent.
Legast
Legast is a Belgian-Colombian chocolatier based in Braine le Compte, Wallonia. In addition to traditional pralines and macarons, they offer several dark chocolate bars with cocoa sourced from various parts of Latin America, including, of course, one from Ecuador with arriba nacional cocoa. I found this bar during a trip to Brussels, at The Belgium Chocolate Factory store in Galerie du Roy.