Pacari Chocolate Review
NB. more up to date review (2024) now available here.
The lovely people at Pacari Chocolate recently sent me four of their organic chocolate bars for review.
The flavours I received were Fig, Guayusa Runa, Andean Lemon Verbena and Chilli.
I have to say, this is the sort of review I LOVE to do. I rarely shy away from chocolate, especially chocolate that is well-sourced with organic ingredients! Each bar had its own distinct taste, so here’s a quick run down of each one:
Fig: A smooth chocolate with a subtle fruity taste married with lovely pieces of actual fig to chew. This is my girlfriend’s favourite bar (yes, I did have to share them!)
Guayusa Runa: This one has a lovely scent upon opening the wrapper. The taste conjures a feeling of freshness and this is the sweetest chocolate of the four, yet it is not overpoweringly sweet.
Andean Lemon Verbena: In this one you can really smell the citrus, although the taste is harder to capture. The chocolate itself, as with all of them, has a lovely smooth texture, but it is more via the sense of smell than of taste that you get the compliment with this one. The package of the Lemon Verbena proudly wears the ‘International Chocolate Awards 2014 World Gold’ badge.
Chilli: With the chilli bar it takes a while to notice the effects before a nice tingly sensation begins to grow on the tongue and the back of the throat. The hot chilli taste then lingers in the mouth long after finishing a square – LUSH! As a chilli fan this one is definitely my favourite. Like the fig bar, this one has small pieces of real chilli sprinkled throughout to add a nice bit of crunch to the smooth texture.
The four bars all have flavours that work well to compliment the chocolate and give quite a different experience to one another. The texture of the chocolate in all of them is really smooth and the flavours compliment that smoothness without overpowering it.
Although these bars don’t list any dairy as an ingredient, they do say, ‘may contain traces of milk’, so are not suitable for the strictest of vegans. Other than that they pass other ethical tests: certified organic, socially responsible, no artificial ingredients and they are made from tree-to-bar at origin in Quito, Ecuador.
Pacari Organic Chocolates ranked as one of the ‘best buys’ in Ethical Consumer Magazine’s most recent guide to ethical chocolate bars and I can very confidently also recommend them as best buys for enjoyment too. On to the shopping list they go.