Mashpi Chocolate - Guayabilla Chocolate Bar 65% Cacao - Sept. 25, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Mashpi Chocolate 
Guayabilla Chocolate Bar 65% Cacao
Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Choiba Agroforestry Products, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Guayabilla Chocolate Bar 65% Cacao was made by Mashpi Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador); and imported and distributed by Andean Ecocrafts, LLC (Reno, NV).

The cacao variety used to make this bar was "Cacao Nacional Fino de Aroma."

The Guayabilla fruits (Eugenia victoriana) from Colombia and Ecuador (also known as "sundrops") are tart (sometimes described as having notes of passion fruit and/or eucalyptus) that are rich in Vitamin C. They are related to the Surinam cherry (native to NE South America).

Aroma notes included: slightly peppery tart-sweet fruit and dark chocolate.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with a pleasing melt, interspersed with very small, dehydrated, tart-sweet fruit pieces--that were full of bright and complex flavors.

After taking a few bites, I was launched into a different universe -- feeling the joy of the newly discovered. The tasting notes that follow are the ecstatic rantings of a novelty seeker. 

Tasting notes included: tangy and tart-sweet, then the guayabilla + chocolate shimmered its way through peppery; very faint menthol; and then a combination of flavors that included dried persimmon; bittersweet white grape/golden raisins; candied red bell pepper and green bean; candied watermelon and mango; golden berries; goji berries; and a few notes that I couldn't quite identify. A remarkable fruit. The chocolate provided a rich, smooth flavor base for this fruit to really shine.

I loved tasting this guayabilla fruit for the first time. What an impressively complex and flavorful fruit -- that also paired so well with the smoother, darker and richer cacao.

Ingredients: Cacao mass, raw sugar cane, cacao butter, guayabilla.

Allergen-related information: (None listed on package that I could see.)

Obolo Chocolate - 70% Cacao with Nibs (bar) - Nov. 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Obolo Chocolate
70% Cacao con (with) Nibs (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

Today's 70% Cacao con (with) Nibs (bar) was made in Chile by Obolo* Chocolate (Santiago, Chile). Obolo is one of the first (if not the first) small-batch, bean-to-bar, locally-based, chocolate makers  based in Chile, certainly in recent times.**

Chile is known more for fine wine grapes than cacao. However, cacao-growing neighbors like Peru and Bolivia to the north (where cacao grows best, within 20 degrees of the Equator), are relatively closeby, and Obolo has already made chocolate with other cacao (origins) and flavor inclusions. It's delightful to have a Chilean-based maker join the growing list of artisan chocolate makers.

This dark bar had chocolate flavor with fruit (dried banana, grape, fresh red plum) and faint green notes. The texture was smooth and uniform and cacao nibs added a bit of soft crunchy cacao texture.

*Obolo means a small gift or contribution.
** Most large chocolate companies selling products in Chile are from Europe or elsewhere.

Ciao Bella Gelato - South American Dark Chocolate gelato - Nov. 19, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ciao Bella Gelato Company, Inc.
South American Dark Chocolate gelato
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup serving (105 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) in total container
Calories: 250 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $ missing information 
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to the last stop on our 29-day virtual chocolate tour of South America. We've explored many single origin, ultra-dark chocolate bars from countries ranging from Venezuela to Bolivia for the past 3-4 weeks.

This month ends on a completely different note: two scoops of South American Dark Chocolate gelato from Ciao Bella Gelato Company, Inc. in the northeastern U.S.

This frozen dessert was packed with a lot more chocolate flavor than one normally finds in a frozen dessert. It was made with fair trade cacao grown in South America, via a partnership with TCHO Chocolate (Berkeley, CA).

At first whiff, this gelato smelled more like rich chocolate; and it had a richer, more fruit-acidic chocolate flavor. The texture and melt were smooth creamy.

L'Amourette - Trinitario Venezuela Carenero 80% bar - Oct. 29, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

L'Amourette Chocolat LLC
L'Amourette Gold - Trinitario Single Origin Venezuela Carenero Superior 80% bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 206 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's two ingredient bar was from L'Amourette Chocolat LLC in San Francisco, CA. It contained Venezuelan Trinitario cocoa beans (Carenero Superior) and cane sugar. Nothing else.

This high-percentage 80% cacao bar was part of the company's single origin L'Amourette Gold series that also included other Venezuelan and Colombian bars.

The bar had a coy dark sweet and buttery aroma, and was refreshingly mild. It did possess a bittersweet note in the first seconds of tasting, but was very smooth, slightly fudgey, and low in fruit acid for an 80% cacao bar. It left only a faint, innocent dark chocolate aftertaste.

This pure dark chocolate would be a good "daily dose" bar for those who regularly indulge yet don't want the jaw tingling acidity, bitterness, funkiness or sugar.

Fresh Coast Chocolate - Brazil 70% Dark bar - Oct. 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Fresh Coast Chocolate Co.
Brazil 70% Dark bar
Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (35 g.) / 2.4 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of South American Chocolate Weeks. This week we're visiting Brazil.

Today's Brazil 70% Dark bar was hand-crafted by Fresh Coast Chocolate Co. (Traverse City, MI).

The cocoa beans used to make this bar were sourced from Fazenda Camboa, Bahia, Brazil.

The aroma was a blend of tropical fruit bubble gum and raisin. The tasting notes for this bar read: Tropical fruit, jasmine, espresso brownie—a truly accurate description. It was also a wild, somewhat improbable, but ultimately successful ride. I happily went back for more. Tart dried fruit (cherry) and jasmine floral notes lingered.

SOMA - Black Science Vigia, Porcelana 70% Venezuela bars - Oct. 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

SOMA Chocolatemaker

Black Science Vigia Criollo 70% bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.145 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Porcelana Venezuela Criollo 70% bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.145 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of South American Chocolate Theme Week. One can't talk about origin chocolates of South America without mentioning Venezuela.

Today's two 70% cacao dark bars from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) were both made with Venezuelan grown cacao bean, organic cane sugar, and cocoa butter. That's it. Nothing else. The unadulterated full bean experience.

Black Science Vigia 
The SOMA Black Science Vigia 70% bar (Batch VigL1) is also perfect title for Halloween week, no? Deep, dark and a little mysterious, the cacao for this bar was produced in an area southeast of Lake Maracaibo* in Venezuela known for excellent Criollo beans (Criollo Merida, Guasare, Porcelana and as well as experimental Criollo hybrids). These Criollo heritage beans are known for their subtle, beautiful full flavor.

Today's Black Science Vigia 70% bar had subtle green, dried fruit (light raisin), very mild nuttiness (cashew) and light, creamy cafe latte aroma and flavor notes. I enjoyed a similar Vigia 70% bar from SOMA back in 2013 (Batch EV2). Both were very good.

Porcelana bar
The SOMA Porcelana 70% bar (Batch PorL3) tasting notes read as follows: "cream, cashews, coconut, molasses." This bar was also made with Venezuelan cacao grown near (south of) Lake Maracaibo* in NW Venezuela. It was a great bar. Naturally sweet, well balanced, subtle and full of flavors that harmonized incredibly well together. There was no sharpness or bitterness to be found.

This bar was a World Gold International Chocolate Awards 2015 winner.

Both SOMA bars were worth searching out and trying. I love the pattern stamped on their bars. Look closely and you'll see, amidst leaves, cacao pods and flowers, a bird with a tennis shoe and a maple leaf (Canadian reference in the jungle).

*Lake Maracaibo has always fascinated me. It is a large teardrop-shaped brackish tidal bay/estuary (that once was the largest lake in South America), surrounded by jungle forests, villages, rain and lightning—lots and lots of lightning.

L'Amourette Chocolat LLC - Trinitario Colombia Arauca 80% bar - Oct.

Chocolate of the Day: 

L'Amourette Chocolat LLC
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 258 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - part of a gift basket (thank you GTLA!)
Purchased from: N/A - was part of a gift basket

Bienvenidos (welcome) to the first day of South American Chocolate Weeks.

We're kicking off this series with a single origin Trinitario Colombia (Arauca*) 80% bar. Hats off to the chocolate maker (Andre V.) at L'Amourette Chocolat LLC (San Francisco, CA) for showcasing the complex flavors of these Colombian cocoa beans.

Today's bar was a very multi-layered chocolate. Almost every segment of the chocolate tasting wheel was represented in this 80% dark bar.

The first (aroma) impression was: dark chocolatey chocolate with citrus and light dried fruit (pear). The second impression: a dark chocolate aroma with hints of fresh almost floral green (green plants, green tea, fresh green fronds) and light spice. The tasting arc also included chocolatey, nutty and a faint hint of jungle funk earthiness.

The only "missing" artisanal flavor traits were red berries and coffee; but we haven't finished re-tasting this bar yet. Clearly chocolate tastes different, depending on what else you might be eating or drinking; however even adjusted for this factor, this was a relatively smooth blend of interesting elements, particularly for an 80% bar.

*The Province of Arauca shares a border with Venezuela, and the Arauca River is located on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The cacao beans for this bar may be a mix of Criollo and Trinitario and were grown on a small farm on the banks of the Arauca River.