Tag Archive: Peru
Trader Joe’s Chocolate Passport – Peru 60%
February 13, 2017
Chocolate of the week: Peru
Peru is situated in western South America, bordered by Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and the Pacific Ocean.
Cacao is grown in many regions throughout the country. (As an interesting aside, in 2007, a rare variety of cacao called Pure Nacional was rediscovered in Peru. Decades earlier, disease had destroyed 100% of these trees, or so it was thought. Pure Nacional was put on the extinct species list. Pure Nacional is a white cocoa bean, not the common purple color.)
Peru’s diverse microclimates provide unique growing conditions for cacao - different varieties of cacao growing at different altitudes.
Kilwins Republica del Peru 80% Dark Chocolate
January 18, 2016
During the holiday season, I was leisurely strolling along State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, with friends, when they abruptly steered me into a sweets shop.
While sugared candies quickly got their attention, I focused on finding the chocolate. I ran into the homemade fudge first, but I am OK with that kind of distraction!
Rare Chocolate Bars
August 31, 2012
For the most part, we tend to lean towards fitting in. But some people still love the idea of uniqueness, the kind where you almost always stand out, rare, to be exact. And yes, even chocolates have their own take, as the rarest chocolate in the world is readily available on the shelves of one small store in Wichita, Kansas.
Cocoa Dolce, located in the Bradley Fair shopping center, has claimed to be in possession of a chocolate that has been considered to be already extinct. Most cocoa beans are purple in color, whereas these are white. But more than anything else, its taste has confounded chocolatiers and chocoholics around the world. "We're really excited because we're the exclusive retailer in the state of Kansas for the rarest chocolate in the world," said owner Beth Tully.
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Equal Exchange Very Dark Chocolate
March 12, 2012
The Equal Exchange brand Very Dark Chocolate (71% Cacao) is organic and uses 100% fair trade ingredients. 
The chocolaty richness of this bar is absolutely excellent. I love the fruity notes that come right away at the beginning and the soft, vanilla cocoa that lingers in the finish. This is one of my favorite chocolates and at 71%, is the best in that percentage range.
This bar is made from cacao from farmer owned co-operatives in CONACADO, a famous cocoa growing region in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru.
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Aldi, Lidl Brand Chocolate Bars
February 28, 2011
This is the last review in my consecutive series of store brand chocolate. Aldi stores in the US, and the equivalent in the UK called Lidl, have a few store brand chocolates to choose from.
Lidl's own brand offers a selection of single-origin tasting squares that I think are really good. Right now, as a matter of fact, I am eating a dark chocolate with cocoa from Peru at 72%. The snap is crisp, the intense chocolate is rich, the texture smooth, and the fruity notes are outstanding.
The Aldi near me carries a luxury line of in-house brand chocolate called Choceur. They carry single origin bars, truffles, and nut clusters in milk, white and dark chocolate.
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Lost Cacao Rediscovered in Peru
December 30, 2010
A rare variety of cacao called Pure Nacional thought lost or extinct has been rediscovered in Peru.
Pure Nacional, once famous for its fruity and floral flavor notes, was wiped out by disease within a three year time period in Ecuador and Peru. At least 95% of the cacao trees died out during that plague.
However, some unusual cacao trees growing pods containing white beans were discovered in a remote canyon in Peru’s Maranon Canyon. Samples were sent to the United States Department of Agriculture for testing. The USDA recently confirmed these were Pure Nacional variety of cacao.
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