Cocoa Camino Panama Extra Dark

I picked this up along with their Chili & Spice. I was intrigued by the cacao content, 85%, though I didn’t hold much hope out for it being really good because of the high cacao content, and that the beans came from Panama, a country of origin whose beans I’m not that familiar with. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, golden cane sugar, oocoa butter, whole cane sugar and ground vanilla beans. All the ingredients are Fair Trade.

How does it taste? Because of the high cacao content, 85%, it tasted to me a little chalky; not really surprised by that, 70% cacao content seems to work very well. The chocolate itself was okay in taste, nothing spectacular, and didn’t leave me wanting to try more beans from Panama. I don't think that I will buy this bar again.

Cocoa Camino Chili & Spice

I’ve tried Cocoa Camino’s Espresso bar before, and liked it well enough; it did put in the back of my mind to try some of their other products. I do like the combination of spicy heat and chocolate, give it a try if haven’t. The cacao content is at 71%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, golden cane sugar, oocoa butter, whole cane sugar, cinnamon, ginger, chili and ground vanilla beans. All the ingredients are Fair Trade.

How does it taste? The heat from the chili is good, more than moderate, and pairs well with the dark chocolate. It leaves a pleasant aftertaste, and a little burn. I would definitely buy this bar again.

Cocoa Camino Espresso

This Swiss chocolatier I had heard good things about, and I see their bars now all over the place, but more in health food stores; this is the first of their bars that I have tried (though I have tried their organic cocoa powder). Cocoa Camino is a company that is attempting to create products from ingredients that are Fair Trade (in which local producers receive more for their raw materials, with training and other aid) - the organization they deal with is called La Siembra Co-operative (based in Canada, but the local producers are in South America). So, all the ingredients are Fair Trade, and this bar is their idea of marrying their Fair Trade coffee with their Fair Trade dark chocolate. The ingredient listing, with 55% cacao content, looks good, cocoa mass, golden cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole cane sugar, ground coffee and ground vanilla bean.

How does it taste? I'm still unsure of the merits of coffee and chocolate together, and some people, I have read, think it's absolutely wrong, but this was a fairly good chocolate bar. The chocolate was smooth and melted in the mouth well, the coffee was not too strong but definitely pleasant. I did enjoy it, and it makes me want to try some of their other offerings.

Cocoa Camino

Having finished my excellent Green&Black's cocoa, I was looking for another good cocoa. I decided to try the organic cocoa powder from Camino, I've seen a few of their natural products at Health Food stores. What I like about their products, other than being organic, is that this is a Fair Trade product, meaning that they buy their cacao directly from small family producers, giving them a fair price for their product, allowing them to have sustainable agriculture, rather than what many large corporations do, that is, giving very little in recompense for their product and selling it at a high price and taking all the profit. Beyond that, it all depends on whether the cocoa is actually any good, whether it works well in your end product, baked goods, and this one works well. It is Dutch-processed, which means it has a milder flavour, but a darker colour. You can see the end result in several of the last cookies I baked, they are quite dark.