Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Bar of the Week: Pralus Equateur

Cacao Content: 75%

Origin: Ecuador

Bean Type: Trinitario (Arriba)

This week's featured bar is the Pralus Equateur. Not only is this a single origin bar, but Pralus can pinpoint the region so closely that they print the coordinates right on the package: 2 degrees 20 minutes South, 78 degrees 40 minutes West, which puts the plantation in south central Ecuador.

The Equateur is a fine example of the Arriba bean. Full flavored, fruity, and strongly aromatic with a delightful hint of walnut. For an interesting comparison, try Pralus' version alongside another chocolate maker's treatment of the very same bean. Republica Del Cacao (Ecuadorian), Pacari (Ecuadorian), Askinosie (American), and Domori (Italian) all offer bars made from the Ecuadorian Arriba Nacional.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The Chocolate Life- re: Ecuador chocolates / the famed Arriba bean- "One more statement concerning the typical Arriba flavour: I recently had a discussion with Michel Barel, a researcher from the French Institute CIRAD (Barel is respected by the cocoa/chocolate world in France for his knowledge about cocoa varieties). I told him that our Arriba chocolate is much more fruity than floral and that some French chocolatiers are complaining about it. He said, that meanwhile there were so many different Arriba varities available, that it is just normal that the flavours vary as well. Real quality does not depend on the existence of a jasmine flavour but is drawn from a coincidence of several characteristics: a distinct fruity or floral flavour, free of off-flavours and astringence!"

http://www.thechocolatelife.com/forum/topics/chocolates-of-ecuador-arriba?id=1978963%3ATopic%3A16788&page=3#comments