My colleague brought this back from Peru the other week, it's a favourite in Peru. It's essentially a chocolate bar with peanuts, and fairly good tasting if the chocolate is a little sweet, somewhat offset by the saltiness of the peanuts. Interesting, but not and no way my favourite.
The chocolatier Pacari makes chocolate bars from cacao beans sourced from Peru; they select small, independent growers who follow organic and equitable trade practices. The ingredient listing is short, cacao beans, evaporated cane juice and sunflower lecithin. The big thing about this particular bar, is that all the ingredients are minimally processed and kept at low temperatures, to make a Raw product.
How does it taste? This is a very good bar, and another fine example of their chocolate. The rawness, its minimal processing, did not make it end up tasting like eating ground raw cacao beans, the chocolate was very smooth and melted well. The only thing I don't like about this, is that it is such a small bar. I would definitely buy this bar again (and do, when I see them on sale).
The Belgian chocolatier Kim's Chocolates has a line of Limited Selection chocolates, featuring cacao beans from a particular country (this one features beans from Peru); these are of varietal criollo and trinitario. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla (natural flavour). The cacao content is at 64%.
How does it taste? I have enjoyed chocolate made from beans from Peru before, these are similar in taste, and quite good. I preferred the Costa Rica one much more, but I would definitely buy and eat this again.
This is the second of two chocolate bars from Mecsa Osha I've tried, the other being similar but at 75% cacao content. This chocolate bar, like the other, is produced from cacao beans from Peru, and is Fair Trade chocolate (meaning the local producers get paid more for their beans) and Organic. Mecsa Osha means "Sleeping Beauty" and refers to a mountain in the jungle of Peru where the beans are produced. The ingredient listing is fairly good, cocoa liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter and soy lecithin.
How does it taste? Like the other one, the bar is very hard, you need a fair amount of strength, in your hands and teeth, perhaps because it is much thicker and less wide than other 100 g bars. This tasted better than the 75% bar, fruitier and less chalky. Ultimately, though, I wish to spare my teeth, and doubt that I would buy this bar again.
This chocolate bar is produced from cacao beans from Peru, and is Fair Trade chocolate (meaning the local producers get paid more for their beans) and Organic. Mecsa Osha means "Sleeping Beauty" and refers to a mountain in the jungle of Peru where the beans are produced. The cacao content of this bar is at 75%. The ingredient listing is fairly good, cocoa liquor, cocoa powder, cane sugar, cocoa butter and soy lecithin.
How does it taste? Not that good, fairly chalky, and the bar was quite hard, ie. it took a fair amount of strength to break (though the bar was certainly thicker and thus less wide than other bars, so that probably was the reason why). This bar was about $3 from a health food store. I don't know if I would buy this again.
