It is a chocolate with a sweet and pleasant taste. The texture is peculiar: a bit brittle, it lacks smoothness. It forces to chew at the very beginning, which does not facilitate the tasting. But once the chocolate finally starts to melt, you can feel different flavors mixing. A little bitter, a little toasted, a little butter, a little nutty. A bit of sweetness at last.
Once again, Yumbos seems to offer a brittle chocolate, which hardly melts in the mouth. I think this is a real shame because it prevents you from feeling all the flavors of the chocolate. If you make an effort, you can feel that the chili is definitely present. It stings a bit and gives flavor and a little power. It is not dominant, and that’s okay: the finesse of the Playa de Oro chocolate (see this post) is still there if you look for it. Surprisingly, it’s mostly small grains of salt that take up a lot of space when you find yourself biting into them. I wasn’t expecting that, but it’s not a bad thing. In the end, it’s a good chocolate, but it’s difficult to fully appreciate because of its texture. Too bad!
This chocolate is probably the best representative of Yumbos. As for the other chocolates of the brand, the texture can be surprising, as it is a little bit brittle. It is a very light and round chocolate, which is to be quickly enjoyed. As usual with Amazonian cocoa (I guess it’s Sacha), we can notice a little bit of butter and mint, as well as a little touch of vanilla.
For some reason, this chocolate, associated with Yumbos, is named after the co-founder and co-owner of the brand, Molinari. He probably wanted to make his signature chocolate. Like the other Yumbos, it is a chocolate with a brittle texture. It breaks into several pieces under the tooth, and only then it melts slowly. This chocolate has a particular taste, very fruity, a little acidulous, which takes a lot of space. One guesses behind the usual notes of butter, and, far away, of wood. There is no bitterness at all. It’s quite light, a bit airy - if it were music, it would be mostly high-pitched, and would lack bass. The taste doesn’t stay in the mouth for long. In short, a good chocolate, which demonstrates by its flavor and texture the variety accessible with aroma fino cocoa. To be tried, as it deserves its place on the map.
Vinces is the capital of the province of Los Rios. Known as “Little Paris”, in the 19th century it was the center of a golden age of cocoa. Its farms were among the most important in the world and its elite traveled to Europe, and France in particular, bringing back luxury tastes and objects. It is in honor of this history that Republica del Cacao makes this chocolate in collaboration with the community of Vinces. It is a chocolate with character, strong in the mouth, very dark, but without a touch of bitterness. In its slightly malty depth, we find touches of honey, hazelnut and pecan. In terms of consistency, it melts quickly and smoothly, leaving time to explore all its nuances.