The rica rica, generic name of the Acantholippia deserticola, is an aromatic plant from the Andean high plateau. This is the first time I’ve tasted it, and it’s hard to separate it from the taste of cocoa. In any case, we have a chocolate with a herbal flavor. Here, no butter or caramel, no fruity acidity. Rather, a herbal side and a certain lightness.
This bar, the sweetest offered by Cleo’s, tries to put forward the specific notes of Sacha cocoa despite the overly important place taken by sugar. Butter and caramel are well present, in a pleasantly fresh impression. The delicacy of the cocoa, and even its comforting side, are however undermined by an impression of a cheap treat. This is not my favorite of the collection.
Chocho is a legume, also called lupine in English, which is popular in some parts of Latin America, such as Ecuador. Mashpi’s chocolate is, as usual, extraordinary. Floral, fruity, powerful but also sweet and without a hint of bitterness, it is without question among the best.
Panela is a type of molasses, made from sugar cane, and common in Latin America. With this chocolate, Mindo puts forward this unrefined ingredient, whose taste resembles, for the Quebecers, that of the Ste-Catherine taffy.
It begins with a few strange seconds where we do not know what we have in the mouth, before the taste of chocolate finally appears. Then come the acidulous and bitter notes, which hide the floral and fruity side of the nacional cocoa. As a result, it is difficult to detect any other nuances. What a pity: while the social initiative of the French company is interesting, the bar does not honor the potential of Ecuadorian cocoa… as it is often the case with foreign chocolate makers (except Legast).