Manufacturer: Pacari
Cocoa Content: 72%
Location: Ecuador
Manufacturer Website
Rating: A

Today's review is Pacari's Los Rios 72% dark chocolate bar. The bar is made from beans originating in the Los Rios region is west-central Ecuador. The bar is a deep, purplish-brown color.

On the palate, the Los Rios leads with a rich chocolate note. There are some herbal/floral and grassy notes up front as well. The acidity starts at a moderate level then builds from there. Key lime is the most notable fruit flavor, and there are some blackberries here as well. There is a nice evolution from a bit of an herbal bitter note that develops into Key lime along with a hint of lemongrass as the acidity licks in. Some woody notes and cinnamon are here along with a touch of cream as well. Chewing the Los Rios highlights lime zest and chestnuts. The melt is fairly smooth with a slight cooling sensation. On the tail end the fruit simmers down revealing nutty notes over some lingering Key Lime.

The bars from Pacari have been a bit of a mixed bag for me up to this point. The Los Rios totally solves the issues I've seen with construction issues and flavor near-misses from Pacari in the past. This really shows the amazing potential of the Ecuadorian Arriba Nacional cacao beans. There is a nice, distinct Key lime flavor here with herbal and berry undertones that compliment it nicely. The flavor reminds me of some of the top-end Madagascan Sambirano Valley dark chocolates. Outside of the Waialua Estate, this is the best single-country bean-to-bar chocolate I've come across. If you're looking to sample Ecuadorian chocolate, or are interested in the potential of bean-to-bar chocolate, then this is the bar to try.

Manufacturer: Pacari
Cocoa Content: 100%
Location: Ecuador
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

Today we kick off our theme week of 100% chocolates with Pacari's Raw Chocolate 100%. Raw chocolate refers to chocolate that is minimally processed and has few (or no) additional ingredients added. And you can't get more raw than 100% unsweetened cocoa. The Pacari Raw 100% is deep ebony in color with purplish red undertones.

The first impression of the Pacari 100% on the palate is that this is a very bitter chocolate. There is a brief off note of sulfur/egg but that dissipates rather quickly. There is a very light acidity that has notes of currant, cranberry and a touch of grapefruit. Espresso and chestnuts are here as well. It does seem to me that the more complex undertones seem to be muted by the strong alkaline bitter bite. Chewing the Pacari Raw 100% brings forward wood, mushrooms, red wine and a "barnyard" note. The melt is thick and creamy. I find it interesting that the 100% cocoa raw chocolate seems to be smoother in texture then the other bars I've tried from Pacari. The finish is lingering bitterness with espresso and faint berry notes.

Pacari's Raw Chocolate 100% bar is well-constructed and has a lot of potential. My main issue is that the bitterness of this chocolate is so potent that many of the other flavors are overwhelmed. As you will see later on this week, the key for an unsweetened chocolate is to have enough acidity to cut through the bitterness. The Pacari Raw 100% just doesn't have enough acidity to counterbalance the bitterness of this bar. All-in-all this is a decent showing for a 100% chocolate, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Manufacturer: Pacari
Cocoa Content: 60%
Location: Ecuador
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

Today's tasting is the Esmeraldas, a 60% dark chocolate bar from Pacari. The Esmeraldas cocoa comes from the rainforest on the North coast of Ecuador. The chocolate bar is notably dark for only being a 60% cocoa, and has highlights of purples and reds.

The initial impression on the palate is a rich, sweet chocolate. There are notes of bread, sunflower kernels, earth and mint. The sweetness also leads to notes of caramel, toffee and "cream & sugar" coffee. The acidity level on this chocolate is fairly light. Chewing the Esmeraldas brings forward caramel as well as a faint berry note. The mouthfeel does have a slight graininess and waxiness to it. At the tail end the finish has cocoa and caramel that fades slowly and lingers for longer than I expected, given that this is a fairly mellow tasting chocolate.

The Pacari Esmeraldas is a decent tasting chocolate that seems to fall just a bit short. At 60% I find that the sweetness tends to mask some other flavors that want to peek out. There are some construction issues as well. Despite these caveats, this would be a good chocolate for those who are graduating from milk chocolates up to darker territories, especially with the notable caramel and toffee undertones.

Manufacturer: Pacari
Cocoa Content: 65%
Location: Ecuador
Manufacturer Website
Rating: B

Today's tasting is the Manabi 65% dark chocolate bar from Pacari. Pacari produces single-source organic chocolates bean-to-bar exclusively from Ecuador. Manabi is located in southwestern coastal Ecuador, and the beans used in this bar are from that region. The bar itself is a ruddy brown color.

The Manabi hits the palate with roast coffee and hot cocoa notes. Floral and herbal flavors are notable as well. The acidity level starts off rather mild, but then slowly builds to a rather lively level with notes of ripe strawberries and raspberries. Undertones of black pepper are detectable as well. Chewing the Manabi brings forward notes of currants and a faint cashew nuttiness. The texture of the Manabi bar is slightly coarse with some grittiness. The finish has green bananas, floral notes, hot cocoa and some spice. There is also a faint herbal bitterness.

I have some mixed feelings about the Manabi dark chocolate. I really like how the flavor develops over time. There is an herbal bitter note that seems a bit off to me, and there are definitely some construction issues. Still, I like what I see so far in this bar from Pacari. I'm looking forward to trying some of their other dark chocolates.