The chicao is a small bird, called yellow-backed oriole in English, from the cloud forests of South America. There are similarities with the chocolate bar of the same name: light, fruity, joyful.
In more detail, the flavor begins with a passion fruit and mango note, which remains on the palate for a long time. The taste then evolves towards a rather light fudge, ending quickly. There is almost nothing left once the chocolate is swallowed.
The texture is like the heart of a chocolate fondant cake: a little floury at the beginning, it becomes smoother when the chocolate warms up on the tongue.
I’m a little disappointed, because the chocolate bar I received is in bad condition. You can tell right away: the surface is whitish, which means that the cocoa butter or sugar has separated from the solids, and the texture is severely altered. I bought it at the end of December and it’s January. I’m usually very careful about storing the bars - and the other ones do not have any problem. Without being sure, I assume that this is the condition in which Kallari sent it to me. In short, this, combined with the difficulty to order the chocolate in Quito with Kallari (delays and wrong products), gives a bad impression of their customer service.
Anyway, the goal is to evaluate the quality of their chocolate. It’s a bit tricky in this case, but I’ll make an effort and focus on the taste, which shouldn’t be changed, rather than the texture.
This is a little treat.
Dominated by the flavors of strawberries and raspberries, its taste is light and refreshing. The 55% chocolate binds it all together and brings a little warmth. The whole dried fruit slices underneath the bar add a touch of tartness and sweetness, to the delight of the taste buds.
It says on the package that the cocoa comes from Joya de los Sachas, in the Amazon. I deduce that it is Sacha cocoa. The chocolate has the same characteristics: it has a sweet and comfortable taste of caramel and butter. The texture is quite smooth, although if you try hard to criticize, you may find it a little floury.
It’s not chocolate! But it is a special product: it is a cocoa salami. I believe it is an Italian recipe… in any case, it is made from Ecuadorian chocolate.