Kaoka Ecuador 80%

I want trawling through my box of chocolate waiting to be tried (as you do), and found this little gem tucked away.

This is another from the Kaoka stable – again found in my local Foodland supermarket.

The back of the pack has quite a long spiel about how they work with their producers, its organic (and certified). Oh, and it’s made in France. Which explains why the back label descends into Franglais at times.

At 80%, I was expecting this to be a pretty mouth-puckering bitter bad-boy. It’s not. Well, not quite. Milk chocolate lovers won’t like this one, but the dark side dwellers will. It compares very favourably with my personal favourite from Lindt. In this case the comparison is against the Lindt 85% – which is considerable harsher by comparison. Those who think a 70% is about right may find both of these to be a little on the bitter side.

Interestingly, when I first tried this it was a warm day (and I had kept this in the fridge), so I was sitting under the air conditioner drinking a dry Cider. And I find that the two go together unexpectedly well. I have to point out though, that mixing this with a sweet cider would be sheer folly.

This chap is certainly not for everybody, but it does carry its 80% off with some finesse. There is enough bitterness that you know you are dealing with something BIG. The first taste is “oh goodness”. The second though, is something quite special. And the third… hooked.

At about $5 for 100 grams, this is no bargain – but worth hunting down if looking for something a little unusual.

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