Connoisseurs of spicy chocolate will love this exotic combination of Merken and dark chocolate. Merken is a traditional South American mixture of dried toasted goat's horn red chili, coriander seed and salt that adds not only a bit of heat, but also a touch of alluring smokiness to the chocolate. There's nothing else like this bar.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, chili, coriander seeds, salt, sunflower lecithin.

Soy free , may contain traces of nuts and peanuts.

Kosher.



  PLANET POSITIVES:

+ USDA and EU Certified Organic

+ Fair trade with growers ensures fair wages on the farm

+ Organic Agriculture Educational Project

+ Technical Enablement Program for Underserved Agricultural Schools

PROFILE: Pacari Chocolate

Two Ecuadorian entrepreneurs, Santiago Peralta and Carla Barboto, developed Pacari Chocolate to bring you the highest quality organic chocolate from Ecuador. Carla and Santiago also wanted to build a business based on socially and environmentally sustainable principles to ensure that their products supported the well being of the land and the community around it. Combining their passion for sustainable business and their commitment to high quality chocolate, they developed Pacari, the first artisan organic chocolate produced completely in Ecuador.

Pacari starts with beans purchased only from 100% organic farms that are USDA and EU certified. Their high–quality flavor beans all come from within Ecuador and reflect the rich growing conditions in these regions: Esmeraldas, Manabi, and Los Rios.Each produces chocolate with a somewhat different flavor profile: itrus aroms with banana and honey notes from Esmeraldas, more nutty nose and citrus flower notes from Manabi and an exotic aroma with deep citrus flower and guanabana notes from Los Rios. These special beans are transformed into artisan chocolate in small batches using carefully–selected ingredients.

In addition to bars and chocolate coated nibs, Pacari has also introduced some innovations such as Chocolate–covered golden berries and raw chocolate.

Pacari not only produces a certified organic product, but they also take an active role with their farmer–partners to help improve their organic agriculture processes. Taking things further, they are involved with two initiatives to help schools within Ecuador. The Organic Agriculture Education Project provides curriculum support for agricultural schools to ensure that information on organic production is an integral part of the overall agricultural curriculum. The Technical Enablement Program coordinates the donation of used computers to be used in the class rooms and computer labs in the agricultural schools.

Their actions underscore their genuine concern for the sustainability of the ecosystem within Ecuador.