Minka - Raw 77% with Golden Berry
Small pieces of uvilla (golden berry) are added dry under the bar. They quickly give an acidic-sweet color to an otherwise serious Minka Raw chocolate with notes of tea, pepper, and rind.
Pacari - Organic Chocolate with Cedrón (Lemongrass/Verbena) - 60% Cacao
Cedrón (hierba luisa/verbena) appears under different names across chocolatiers. It’s almost a classic, and Pacari executes it well. Balanced, this bar skillfully marries Pacari’s round chocolate aromas with the calming aura of verbena, making it a pleasant and refined chocolate.
Leyenda - Dark Chocolate 70% - Sweetened with Panela
Panela has a pronounced flavor and takes center stage here. Still, you can detect a chocolate that goes straight to caramel flavors without any bitterness. With some effort, fruity accents appear.
Pacari - Organic Chocolate with Cardamom - 60% Cacao
Chocolate and cardamom pair very well. Mashpi and Mindo have shown this, and Pacari is no exception with this flavorful bar. Cardamom in the foreground takes advantage of Pacari’s chocolate roundness. Powerful yet gentle, it’s one of my favorite bars from the brand.
Wayta - 85% Fine Aroma Cacao
Imagine walking into an Amazonian forest clearing, the sun beating down and heavy humidity — then stepping into cool shade under dense foliage, a small bench, colorful birds singing, and you are offered a piece of chocolate. This Wayta bar is much like that: dense and smooth, rich and refreshing, a concentrate of forest flavors from woody to floral, herbal to fruity.