Don’t let your guard down because it’s chocolate, and often hot pepper chocolate is just a little extra flavor. When Republica del Cacao says “Hot pepper”, that’s really what it means. Don’t be fooled by a little piece of the bar that doesn’t look any different than any other bar. You’ll notice it when you bite into this square that contains a few dry pepper seeds. It’s surprising, the first time.
Yes, there is also a milk chocolate version! For the dark chocolate review, see here. What more can I say, except that it is a bit sweeter, but just as spicy, as the 75% version.
Another sweet bar, rounder and softer than the Inca berry one. The banana-chocolate duo is a classic, and for a good reason: these two flavors blend particularly well. When the cocoa is as good as Republica del Cacao’s arriba cocoa, it is unmistakably delicious. The fine pieces of dried banana melt more slowly than the chocolate in the mouth. The bar can be enjoyed in two stages: letting the chocolate melt gently, and enjoying the sweet and crunchy elements at the end.
Probably made from the same ingredients as the 70%, this chocolate is however more bitter and more acidic. If we find notes of roasted nuts, it is rather an impression of coffee that dominates the flavor. It is a powerful chocolate, which quickly invades the palate, and remains long in mouth. The coconut sugar appears towards the end, and refocuses the trajectory towards the subtle touches of caramel and vanilla characteristic of Pacari chocolate.
This is completely Pacari chocolate. It seems to me that this is the same base from which chocolates with other ingredients are made (except that here it is 70% instead of 60%). So we have a smooth, creamy, well-balanced chocolate. It starts with hints of wood and roasted nuts and finishes with flavors of caramel, vanilla and cinnamon. It hides a very small bitterness behind a powerful and long lasting taste. A classic that will appeal to everyone, playing brilliantly on all fronts.