Jeff de Bruges - No 8 - Équateur Corsé & Aromatique - 80% Cacao
Here’s another European chocolatier offering Ecuadorian cocoa. The bar is thick, the texture silky, the color uniform and deep.
ChocoCumi - Mandarina y Te Verde - 60% Cacao
This is a chocolate that gives much more space to the added flavors than to the cocoa. The essence of mandarin, in particular, is very strong, and leaves no room for the cocoa arriba to express itself. A good tangerine treat, but hard to distinguish from a supermarket orange chocolate, except for a bit of bitterness at the end. A pity.
Kakoart - Bruno's Chocolate - 70% Chile
This chocolate is not from Ecuador, but from Costa Rica. It’s a trinitario cocoa, with a different aroma to the Ecuadorian nacional. It was a gift from a close friend who had just returned from this country, and whom I thank!
Conexion - Chocolate & Cacao Nibs - 70% Fine Cacao
Conexion offers us a very good bar. It’s a pure, smooth chocolate, with a caramel taste, a touch of acidity reminiscent of rhubarb and a hint of bitterness, just to deserve its 70%.
Pacari - Chocolate con Aceitunas - 60% Cacao
A former flatmate of mine used to eat nutella with feta cheese. In the face of my initial disgust, he offered me a taste - and I was surprised to have to admit that it wasn’t such a bad idea (though I haven’t had it since).