Ecuadorian chocolate has been enjoying an increase in worldwide popularity over the past few years. If you talk about chocolate with any Ecuadorian worth their salt, they will quickly point out that Pacari, an Ecuadorian chocolate company, has won dozens of international awards over the past two years, beating out traditional European chocolate makers time and time again.
After decades of merely exporting their cacao internationally, entrepreneurs in Ecuador are realizing how good their cacao is and how much pride (and money) can come from producing chocolate bars from their own cacao right here in their own country.
We had to see for ourselves what distinguishes Ecuadorian chocolate from bars processed by the premier chocolatiers around the world. After a month of traveling around Ecuador, and 21 bars later, we found out.
