(Note: the bar I’m trying is too old and the chocolate has spoiled over time. I’ll try to go over it and imagine a fresh bar - but the evaluation obviously suffers, both in texture and taste).
I really like cherries. And I really like chocolate (yep!). So it was with high expectations that I opened the case of this bar. Maybe a little too many hopes, in fact. Because cherries, to be tasty, must be fresh. For obvious reasons, in this chocolate, they are rather dried. So we have a chocolate that is very normal for Pacari - its base is always excellent - and at the end, when it has melted, there are little bits of dried cherry left in the mouth that taste very light. It’s a bit disappointing.
Mindo Chocolate knows how to make chocolate. Let’s start with the texture: perfectly smooth, gently crunchy before slowly melting, rich but light. Then the taste: in the first few seconds, it fills the mouth with warm notes. Slowly, woody, leafy, barky and honey flavors unfold. Then, as it begins to melt, tones of butter and almond join in. It finally disappears, leaving the impression of having taken a sip of an excellent hot chocolate.
Like its 77% cousin, this chocolate is incredibly fine. While remaining quite similar, it is less woody, goes for more butter and mint tones, and leaves an almost refreshing taste in the mouth. The result is a chocolate that is a little less powerful, that tastes a little less long, but that is perhaps the best entry point for amateurs of gentler chocolates.
I need to put the review of this chocolate in its context. I first tasted this chocolate 1) after a bad memory of the price (we hadn’t looked at the price before buying it… $8 for 30g) and 2) while talking to some Ecuadorian friends about the chocolate delights of their country. My first impression was quite bad. Above all, I felt an earthy and bitter taste that remained in my mouth. A disappointment that also fueled the speech we had…